Shakespeare connects the unsettled kingdoms of Britain with the troubled natural world. Inside the court, political intrigue rains. Outside the castles, the heavens rain.
In scene two, King Lear contrasts his daughters with the heavens. He doesn’t blame the sky for pelting him with rain because it, unlike his daughters, had no obligation to him. Yet, Lear wonders if the elements are in league with his daughters. It’s hard to see the storm and not feel the power of “the wrathful skies.” Lear eventually connects the elements with judgment and wants the gods to rain down justice.
Shakespeare leaves it ambiguous what causes Lear’s madness. Is he upset because the daughters he gave his kingdom to have mistreated him? Or is he mad because he realizes that he wronged Cordelia? He says he is “a man / More sinned against than sinning.” Does he acknowledge his sin against Cordelia and estimate that what Goneril and Regan did to him is worse? Does he fail to see his sin?
These scenes hint that Lear can be redeemed. He tells the Fool in scene two, “I have one part in my heart / That’s sorry yet for thee.” When he sees Poor Tom in scene four, he remarks, “ I have ta’en / Too little care of this!” He regrets not caring for the poor but remains narcissistic. For instance, he assumes that evil daughters mistreated Poor Tom because his condition is so poor.
Act three gives equal time to the Gloucester plot. Edmund betrays his father while Edgar encounters Lear, and both men receive new fathers. Cornwall adopts Edmund because of his betrayal: “[Thou] shalt find a dear father in my love.” Edgar says of Lear, “He childed as I fathered.” We know that Lear is Edgar’s godfather, so there encounter in the storm hints at a parallel adoption.
Gloucester asks the gods to revenge his blinding: “I shall see / The winged vengeance overtake such children.” Shakespeare piles a great deal into those few words. Gloucester loses his eyes, so he can’t “see” anything. Gloucester misinterpreted his children and gets punished for it. I wonder whether or not he interprets his own misfortunate as “winged vengeance.”
Gloucester asks the gods to forgive his sins and protect Edgar. Lear’s parallel scene comes in Act 4.
Experiments in Criticism 