The characters in Shakespeare's play King Lear endure immense physical, psychological, and emotional torment before dying. Shakespeare's exploration of their pain highlights two existential dilemmas. First, the violence of the play raises the question of whether we, as readers, are consoled by our ability to make sense of plot developments, whether through catharsis or other means, or if we think that the final bloodbath was for nothing. Another important question the play asks concerns the role of the gods. Shakespeare's characters universally accept and often allude to their roles, but those who experience suffering and hardship often question the function of the gods as preservers of human justice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay To expand on these questions about the existence of divine punishment, Shakespeare juxtaposes Gloucester's and Edgar's interpretations of the treatment of human lives by the gods. Edgar refers to the system of individual divine justice, for example, when he explains: "The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices/Make instruments to torment us" (5.3.172-3). His attitude is in stark contrast to Gloucester's earlier statement that “As flies to wonton boys, so we are to the gods; / they kill us for their sport” (4.1.37-8). Gloucester's assertion may seem more in line with the developments in the play than Edgar's. However, I argue that Edgar's insight should not be discredited as being overly simplistic or naive. Nor should it be assumed that the gods have reformed in the meantime. Rather, I will offer what Albany describes as "comfort from this great decadence" (5.3.304) by applying the Judeo-Christian model of God's "mysterious works" to justify suffering. By highlighting how tragedy offers new perspectives for characters and explaining how, in the most tragic moments, unlikely characters take the moral high ground by resisting human rights violations, I hope to show that bath of blood from the conclusion of the play and the existential status of humanity, is not futile. The parallel experiences of Lear and Gloucester illustrate this form of divine retribution – which, although cruel and circuitous, can be seen as comforting from a humanist perspective. Although both characters are well-meaning nobles, they each possess a fatal flaw. Lear is ruled by his ego, which results in the pseudo-love test he administers to his three daughters to determine their respective legacies. Meanwhile, Gloucester is such a gullible character that he believes Edmund's fabrication of Edgar's plot to murder him. As a result, Lear and Gloucester initially prioritize their “evil” over their “good” offspring; Ironically, they believe that their siblings committed the crimes that their siblings then commit. Nevertheless, despite their poor judgment, both characters possess a redeeming quality. They are both ready to offer whatever charitable gestures they can to "poor Tom o' Bedlam", Edgar disguised as a wandering beggar. The gestures are relatively meager. However, they show that, despite their suffering, Lear and Gloucester each begin to adopt egalitarian worldviews that contrast with their earlier monarchical principles. However, it is only after Lear's wicked girls ruin him that he becomes truly charitable. Goneril and Regan strip him of hisroyal material possessions and his symbolic power, illustrated by the number of guardians he has, whom they assure him he does not “need”. Reduced to the state of a wretched pauper, Lear begins to help those less fortunate than himself (who, ironically, are now relatively few in number). However, Lear does not come to this realization without suffering great personal anguish and mental harm. In response to Regan's assertion that his unruly servants no longer serve any necessary function for him, since she and her sister can adequately provide for him, he proclaims: Lear: O reason is not necessary! Our lowest beggars are superfluous in the smallest things. Do not allow nature more than it needs, man's life is cheap like that of animals. You are a lady; if only you were gorgeous to keep warm, well, nature doesn't need what you wear gorgeous, which barely keeps you warm. But, for real needs, God in Heaven, give me this patience, this patience that I need. (2.4.264-71) Thus, Lear agrees that although the maintenance of his royal amenities does not directly correlate with his functional abilities, its absence denies him his true royal identity. His poverty makes him indistinguishable from a “poor naked and forked animal” (3.4.108). Additionally, Lear comments on Regan's preference to dress stylishly over staying warm. He uses the word "magnificent" to show that these symbolic gestures, which can confirm the human being rather than just a mammal, can be more vital than the most basic human needs. Therefore, his daughters cannot calculate his need for these validation mechanisms. He becomes so troubled by the self-sacrifice inflicted by his daughters that he loses control of his emotions and goes mad. Nevertheless, by being stripped to the core of his existence, Lear accepts his unadorned and exposed self and is forced to examine his inner character. In doing so, he discovers that humanity does not, in fact, rely on individual collection and hoarding of resources. On the contrary, he concludes, it is more interesting to practice humanist socialism by "giving charity to poor Tom, whom this filthy demon vexes" (3.4.61), a notion he would never have considered in his role of king. from England. Lear, concerned for the well-being of "Tom o' Bedlam" (Edgar in disguise) comments: LearYou were better off in a grave than responding with your body discovered at this end of the heavens. Is man nothing more than that? Consider it well. You owe no silk to the worm, nor skin to the beast, nor wool to the sheep, nor perfume to the cat. Ha! Here are three that are sophisticated. You are the thing itself; the unhoused man is nothing more than an animal as poor, naked and forked as you. Come on, come on, lenders! Come on, unbutton here. [Starts to undress] Fool: Please, uncle, be happy; It's a nasty night for swimming. Now a little fire in a wild field was like the heart of an old debauchee - a little spark, all the rest on the bodyCold... (3.4.102-13)When Lear realized that his life is no longer precious than that of a beggar, he is ready to sacrifice his comfort and well-being for those of Tom. Lear comments that death is a more favorable status than enduring a tumultuous storm without protection. This foreshadows Kent's remark upon Lear's death: "The wonder is that he endured so long" (5.3.324), regarding the proverbial storm that ruined Lear's later life. Nevertheless, despite the trials and difficulties Lear endures, he remains willing to help someone even more desperate than himself. His actions illustrate the play's theme that inIn the most deprived circumstances, individuals sacrifice themselves to help others, and its utilitarian logic highlights its new idealism. Lear's most authentic and lucid moment is juxtaposed with the Fool's most irrational moment. The Fool had already offered Lear, whom he loves as family and whom he calls “uncle,” wise and witty advice. Now, however, he cannot understand Lear's actions of giving his clothes to a beggar during the storm; the Fool, more concerned about Lear than the beggar, protests, arguing that "it is a bad night for [Lear] to swim" (3.4.110-11). Likewise, Gloucester also suffers immense physical anguish at the expense of his own actions. Questioned by Cornwall and Regan about his supposed decision to send Lear to Dover, he proclaims: "Because I would not see your cruel nails tear out his poor old eyes;... (3.7.57-8). This line turns out to be morbid. detrimental to him, as Cornwall professes immediately afterwards: “You will never see. Friends, stay seated. Upon your eyes I will place my foot” (3.7.68-69), before gouging out both his eyes. At this horrible moment, Gloucester seems more than justified in his blasphemy of “O cruel! O ye gods!” (3.7.89) as they seem to ignore his call to intervene on his behalf. Yet even in the midst of this inhumane torture, Shakespeare provides an unlikely set of moral protagonists: the three court servants who defend the noble and humane Gloucester. Drawing his sword against the Cornish royals, the First Servant rebels against the status quo and gives his life to defend Gloucester. The second and third servants also generously care for blind Gloucester; the Second Servant looks for a visual aid for him in Tom o' Bedlam, while the Third Servant explains: "I will get some flax and egg whites To apply to his bloody face. Now, heaven help him " (4.1.107-8). By balancing humanitarian violations and humanist acts, Shakespeare expresses the idea that the gods are not evil, but rather mysterious in their actions. The situation even offers the possibility of systemic changes within the hegemonic English servant-master monarchical framework. Moreover, the inevitable bloodbath gives King Lear hope that a humanitarian political institution, under Edgar and Albany, can follow. After the servants pair the now blind Gloucester with his noble son Edgar, still disguised as Tom o' Bedlam, Gloucester, who has lost all faith in the moral integrity of the gods' decisions over human endeavors, tells poor Tom : Gloucester: Here, take this purse, you whom the wounds of heaven have humiliated every time. The fact that I'm unhappy makes you happier. Let the man who is superfluous and thirsty for lust, who enslaves your ordinance and who will not see because he does not feel, quickly feel your power; thus the distribution should cancel out the excess, and every man would have enough. Do you know Dover? Edgar: Yes, master. Gloucester: There is a cliff whose high, curving head looks fearful in the confined depths. Just bring me to the edge, and I will make up for the misery you carry with something. rich in me. From this place, I won't need to lead. Edgar: Give me your arm. Poor Tom will drive you. (4.1.66-82) Due to Gloucester's misery, he, like Lear, is now willing to assist Tom in a small-scale redistribution of wealth, as evidenced in the lines "so that the distribution should cancel out the excesses and let every man have enough.” In his desire to commit suicide, Gloucester offers Edgar her purse and observes, "The fact that I'm miserable makes you happier", demonstrating.