SYMBOLISM IN KING

LEAR
(MARIUM AWAN)
 SYMBOLISM

Symbolism is the use of words or images to symbolize specific concepts, people,

objects, or events. In some cases, symbolism is broad and used to communicate a
work’s theme. Symbolism is one of the many literary devices which writers use to
make their work more vivid. In a way, symbolism (and certain other literary devices,
like personification and imagery) illustrates a piece of writing by creating pictures in
the reader’s mind.
 SHAKESPEARE’S USE OF SYMBOLISM

• One very important literary technique used by Shakespeare, in all of his works, is
his symbolism, which portrayed Shakespeare’s life, time period, and messages he
wished to get across to his audience. He also used his symbolism to satirize
whomever he wished. Shakespeare never uses a mythological character, holiday,
name of a gem, weed, flower, tree or animal, nor even a cardinal direction or day of
the week, without recognizing the underlying resonance of that symbol and how it
weaves into and comments on the play.
• Like all other plays, King Lear shows Shakespeare’s extensive use of symbols.
Some of the most important symbols are explained here.
 BLINDNESS

Gloucester’s physical blindness symbolizes the metaphorical blindness that grips both
Gloucester and the play’s other father figure, Lear. The parallels between the two men
are clear: both have loyal children and disloyal children, both are blind to the truth, and
both end up banishing the loyal children and making the wicked one(s) their heir(s).
Only when Gloucester has lost the use of his eyes and Lear has gone mad does each
realize his tremendous error.
• Lear is metaphorically blind to Goneril and Regan’s plotting, to Kent’s true qualities, to
Cordelia’s love and most of all to his own foolishness. Kent tries to help Lear see the
truth when he says, “See better, Lear; and let me still remain the true blank of thine
eye”. In act 1 scene 4, Lear highlights this motif as he says, “doth any here know me?
This is not Lear: Doth Lear walk thus? speak thus? Where are his eyes?”.
• On the other hand, we witness literal blindness of Gloucester through which Shakespeare
wants to suggest that he doesn’t need any eyes because when he had them, he could not
distinguish between good and evil. Gloucester himself says, “I have no way and
therefore want no eyes; I stumbled when I saw”
• It is appropriate that the play brings them together near Dover in Act 4 to commiserate
about how their blindness to the truth about their children has cost them dearly.
Albany was another character suffering from the classic case of blindness, but luckily for
him, his blindness doesn’t cost him his life or his literal sight. He survives his period of
blindness and stands up to Goneril. His blindness was purely a result of the love he had for
Goneril. However, in act 1, he conveys Shakespeare’s view in a prophetic manner in the
following words: “How far your eyes may pierce I cannot tell.
Striving to better, oft we mar what's well.”
 CROWN

Typically, monarchs wear gleaming

crowns atop their heads for one
reason – because crowns are a
visual symbol of power. In King
Lear, Shakespeare often associates
crowns with a loss of power and the
king's deteriorating mindset.
At the beginning of the play, Lear's Fool makes an interesting joke about the king's
"crown" after Lear decides to give his kingdom to his evil daughters: "When thou
clovest thy / crown i' the middle and gavest away both parts, thou […] hadst little
wit in / bald crown […]" (1.4.157-160). In other words, the Fool implies that once
Lear divided ("clovest") his power (which was like cutting his "crown" down the
middle into two parts) among his two daughters, he exercised poor judgment in his
head ("bald crown"). Of course, the Fool is playing on the dual meaning of "crown" (a
head or, the thing a king wears on top of his head) in order to demonstrate that Lear's
decision to give up his crown and divide his power reflects an unstable mind.
The idea that there's a relationship between Lear's crown, his lack of power, and his
state of mind shows up again later in the play. In Act 4, Scene 6, Lear enters the stage
wearing a "crown" of wildflowers atop his head instead of a proper crown made of
precious metals and gems. Here, Shakespeare emphasizes Lear's complete and utter
loss of power, as Lear has long since divided up his kingdom among his daughters and
has been stripped of all his authority. The "crown" of wildflowers also signifies Lear's
deteriorated mental state and complete descent into madness – the idea being that
what Lear wears on top of his head (wildflowers) is an accurate indication of what's
going on inside Lear's head.
 STORM

•Shakespeare’s use of pathetic fallacy—a literary device in which inanimate

objects such as nature assume human reactions—amplifies the tension of the
characters’ struggles by elevating human forces to the level of natural forces.
•The storm marks one of the first appearances of the apocalyptic imagery that is
so important in King Lear and that will become increasingly dominant as the play
progresses. The chaos reflects the disorder in Lear’s increasingly crazed mind,
and the apocalyptic language represents the projection of Lear’s rage and despair
onto the outside world.
• Lear is trying to face down the powers of nature, an attempt that seems to indicate both his
despair and his increasingly confused sense of reality. Both of these strains appear in
Lear’s famous speech to the storm, in which he commands, “Blow, winds, and crack
your cheeks! rage! blow!” At one point, Lear admits there's a "tempest in [his] mind"
that's not unlike the storm that rages on the heath (3.4.4.). In other words, the literal
storm on the heath is a pretty accurate reflection of Lear's psychological state.
• Along with Lear’s increasing despair and projection, we also see his understandable
fixation on his daughters: “Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters: / I tax you
not, you elements, with unkindness” (3.2.14–15). Lear tells the thunder that he does not
blame it for attacking him because it does not owe him anything. But he does blame his
“two pernicious daughters” for their betrayal (3.2.21). Lear’s sensitivity to the storm is
blocked out by his mental and emotional anguish and by his obsession with his treacherous
daughters. The only thing that he can think of is their “filial ingratitude” (3.4.15).
•We can also argue that the storm parallels Britain's fall into political chaos. Remember,
Lear has divided his kingdom, civil war is brewing, and the King (Lear) is being treated
pretty shabbily by his daughters and some of his other subjects.
•Shakespeare happens to be pretty fond of this kind of symbolism. In Macbeth, for
example, storms are associated with the rebellion against King Duncan and the political
state of turmoil in Scotland.)
 FEATHER

The feather functions as a symbol of Lear's denial of truth, one of

the most common elements of grief. After Cordelia is hanged,
Lear initially seems to accept his loss, as insanely hard as it is. "I
know when one is dead," he proclaims. "She's dead as earth"
(5.3.312-313). Yet, a few moments later, Lear sees a feather stir
upon Cordelia's lips, which leads him to believe that his beloved
daughter is breathing and still somehow alive. "This feather
stirs," he says, "she lives!"(5.3.319). Because it's often just too
painful to accept, we often tell ourselves "Maybe it's not really
true—this must be a terrible mistake.” It seems that Cordelia's
tragic death is just too painful for her father to accept and he
convinces himself that it isn't really true.
 NAKEDNESS VS. CLOTHING

After meeting Edgar, who is clad only in rags, Lear’s wandering mind turns to his own
fine clothing, and he asks, addressing Edgar’s largely uncovered body, “Is man no
more than this? Consider him well” (3.4.95–96). As a king in fact as well as in
name, with servants and subjects and seemingly loyal daughters, Lear could be
confident of his place in the universe; indeed, the universe seemed to revolve around
him. Now, as his humility grows, he becomes conscious of his real relationship to
nature. He is frightened to see himself as little more than a “bare, forked animal,”
stripped of everything that made him secure and powerful (3.4.99–100).
The destruction of Lear’s pride leads him to question the social order that clothes
kings in rich garments and beggars in rags. He realizes that each person, underneath
his or her clothing, is naked and therefore weak. He sees too that clothing offers no
protection against the forces of the elements or of the gods. When he tries to
remove his own clothing, his companions restrain him. But Lear’s attempt to bare
himself is a sign that he has seen the similarities between himself and Edgar: only
the flimsy surface of garments marks the difference between a king and a beggar.
Each must face the cruelty of an uncaring world.
 USE OF LETTERS

• Letters are frequently used in the play. These are missives that fill in important gaps in the story without
needing to be acted out, which could be difficult to do on stage with limited space, money, and time. But
they also have symbolic meaning because writing was, and still is, seen as more "official" or "trustworthy"
than verbal communications. Literacy rates were quite low during Shakespeare's time, and thus the ability
to read and write would've shown a person to be in a relatively important station. People relied on letters to
be true and factual, and this carries weight and meaning when presented in the various scenes.
• William Shakespeare used letters as a dramatic device to symbolize the characters’ loyalty and betrayal in
his play King Lear. The purpose of the letter is to develop the plot and reveal the characters’ attributes.
Three letters help to develop the plot and reveal the characters of Edmund, Gloucester, Goneril and Albany.
 ANIMALS

• King Lear is replete with animal imagery, as the play is known for interrogating whether
mankind is anything "more" than animal after all. Most often, animal imagery appears in the
form of savage or carnivorous beasts, usually associated with Goneril and Regan. By using this
imagery to describe the two sisters, the play sets them up as the clear antagonists in the narrative
while at the same time suggesting that other characters will become victims of their attacks.
• One of the most apparent motifs in Shakespeare's King Lear is the use of animals. The choice of
animal motifs and their role in conveying the playwright's message, speak of their symbolic
significance.
The first reference to an animal in the play is right at the beginning, when King Lear says:
"Peace, Kent! Come not between the dragon and his wrath" (1.1.125). Here, King Lear
is referring to himself as the dragon, which myth paints as a fire breathing unfriendly
animal. Thus, King Lear uses the metaphor of a dragon to symbolize his anger with his
daughter Cordelia.
when he curses his daughter, Goneril: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is/To have a
thankless child! Away, away!" (1.4. 282) The serpent's tooth is used to describe the sting
and the sharpness of the pain that Goneril has caused the king, as her father.
The king also compares Goneril to a wolf to describe her predatory nature: " She'll flay thy
wolvish visage" (1.4.304). The king's Fool, too, refers to Goneril as a fox shortly after as a
comment on her cunning and sly nature: "A fox, when one has caught her" (1.4.315)