Perhaps the great lesson Lear learns is humility. In the
storm (Act III, scenes 2 & 4), he encounters Edgar aka Poor Tom. In his
madness, he mistakes him for a wise man. He also realizes that when we are stripped of
our trapping of office and status, we are all just poor naked forked beings. It is in
this scene that the old king learns to put someone else's needs ahead of his own. For
the first time, perhaps, he feel compassion for the suffering of
others.
Gloucester's arrogance is evident as he brags about
how much fun he had in the making of his bastard son to Kent in Act I, scene1. He is
blind to the treachery of Edmund. His literal blinding by Cornwall and discovery that
Edmund is responsible for what has happened to him in Act III, scene 7 opens his
eyes.
Of course the meeting between the mad Lear and blind
Gloucester in Act IV, scene 5 reinforces the lessons these two old fathers have learned
through their pain and suffering.
Edgar learns how to
survive the duplicity of his brother. As the disguised madman he learns many lessons
about himself and man in general. He sees life's cruelty when he encounters his blinded
father and finds out his brother's hand in the events. He grows strong enough to
challenge and defeat his brother in the end. (Act V, scene
3)
It is Edgar who speaks the final words of the play,"The
oldest hath borne most. We that are young/Shall never see so much , nor live so
long."
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