As in his Hamlet, Shakespeare uses the “reason of madness” throughout King Lear by using unexpected characters to help with his overall theme of recognition and fulfillment. However, the reason in the madness can also refer to Shakespeare himself, because in all the chaos and tragedy of King Lear, he preaches a very real and intended message to us. Literary scholars often disagree about the final scene of this play, stating that the lack of redemption indicates a godless theme. We can infer, however, that there is a reason to Shakespeare's madness and that the disaster and the confusion that runs throughout the work has a specific purpose in his work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the opening scenes, we see that Lear is mostly sane: ignorant, but sane. He knows what he is doing when he banishes and disowns the only daughter who loves him, but he ignores the honesty and love behind his few words. While her sisters thoughtlessly and deceitfully flatter their father with empty words, Cordelia prefers to “love and be silent” (1.1.68). Lear, however, does not see things this way and, out of ignorance, decides that her silence means she does not love him and divides his kingdom between his two wicked, treacherous daughters. They strip him of his power and humiliate him as he watches helplessly. As the Fool rudely but sincerely points out, Lear "[gave them] the rod and [dropped] [his] breeches" when he gave up his kingdom. to his daughters (1.4.176-178). This is the first, if minor, of many instances of agnorisis on Lear's part. As Lear's sanity eludes him, he gradually gains insight and humility. In his madness amid the storm, Lear expresses some of the play's deepest truths: "The art of our necessities is strange, and can make base things precious" (3.2.76-77). Initially, Lear appears to have gone mad because of what Goneril and Regan did to him, and this is partially true. But most of all, he goes crazy over what he did to Cordelia. This recognition of his sin and realization of difficult truths contribute to his humiliation. King Lear finally begins to learn from his mistakes when his unfortunate daughters throw him into the storm. He recognizes his sin in denying Cordelia and realizes the emptiness of earthly glory. He finally begins to understand the concept of love and that it is not about power, glory or praise. He puts the needs of others (the Fool) above his own, a sign of true love. Shakespeare chooses to use a sort of unorthodox turning point in King Lear, with the protagonist making his mistake at the beginning of the play and learning throughout. Lear continues to learn until the moment of his death. In the final scenes, with her dead daughter in her arms, she cries: “my poor fool is hanged” (5.3.369). His final discovery is that Cordelia and the Fool both represented a fundamental value for him: the truth. It is quite possible that in his bedlam he confused the characters, or that the word "mad" here was used as an affectionate term for child, but Shakespeare loves to combine reason with madness, and the roles of Cordelia and the Fool in Lear's life they were so similar that he probably confused them. Whether intentional or not, Lear makes this connection to Shakespeare's purpose to contribute to the distinction he makes between love and truth. Lear is aware that he is slowly slipping into a state of madness; he is well aware that his wits are beginning to change” (3.1.73). He tries, however, to fight the descent into madness; “Oh, so lies the madness; let me avoid it!” (3.4.24). It is the love and honesty that Cordelia,Kent, the Fool, and Edgar show Lear that they allow him to see reason in his madness and learn from his mistakes. In his literary criticism, Kim Paffenroth emphasizes that “The Fool and Cordelia embody the truth more than Edgar and Kent”. The fool is painfully honest with the king about his flaws and shortcomings, and Cordelia answers her father honestly in the opening scenes, even though she knows that's not what he wants to hear. “Through their foolish devotion and self-sacrifice for the truth, Cordelia and the Fool teach Lear his infinite worth [as he learns] the deadly futility of lies and appearances” (Paffenroth). Edgar and Kent, however, exemplify love more than truth. Both Edgar and Kent participated in some form of deception, although their intentions were good. But both Edgar and Kent know that “love abides longer and dwells in us more deeply than truth” (Paffenroth). Lear needs both truth and love in his state, and both have different roles to play in his recognition and education. After being thrown into the horrible storm by his wicked daughters, Lear meets a beggar of bedlam, or rather, Edgar disguised as bedlam. beggar named Poor Tom. In what seems almost like an epiphany, Lear understands for the first time the plight of the poor and challenges himself and others like him who take their fortune for granted to "expose themselves to feel what the wretched feel" (3.4.39 ). He begins to understand that love does not necessarily lie in wealth or power. There is much debate as to whether or not justice was served in the final scenes of this play. Since it is a tragedy, a protagonist must die a merciful death. We can say, however, that justice was done to Goneril and Regan, as well as to Cornwall and Edmund. All of Regan and Goneril's sins in the play stem from their insatiable selfishness. They pay lip service to the king for their own personal gain. They fire all his men so he doesn't have to deal with them. They fight over Edmund because they want more than their husbands, living or dead, can offer. They ultimately kill each other, directly or indirectly, with their selfish blindness. Cornwall dies at the hands of a good man who stands up to a bad deed. He doesn't repent, which is right, because he doesn't deserve forgiveness. Edmund clearly "gets his." He dies at the hands of the brother he deceived and betrayed. Whether or not his final attempt at redemption comes from the heart, justice is still served. If he really changed his mind, then he repented and justice was done. If he is trying to bargain with God, it will not go unnoticed or unpunished. Whatever the case may be, we can safely say that justice has been served to the violators of this work. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Shakespeare uses reason in Lear's madness to emphasize the reason for his chaotic madness throughout the play. In what seems the most fragmentary and pitiful of Shakespeare's four great tragedies, there is an unstructured beauty that as literary scholars we cannot allow to go unnoticed. One almost wonders what storm was raging in Shakespeare's mind when he wrote such a beautiful and touching work of art. We may never know, but we must learn from this, otherwise the nobles' suffering will have been in vain. Works Cited Bate, J., & Rasmussen, E. (2007). King Lear. Macmillan. Berryman, J. (2016). Dream songs. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.Carson, A. (2010). Nox. New Directions Publishing.Evans, G.B. (1996). "Reason in madness": King Lear and the paradox of tragedy. Shakespeare Survey, 49, 87-98. Foakes, R. A. (1993). King Lear:.