Personal Identity And Love In Shakespeare's King Lear

In his kingdom Lear was practically a god, but he was a god that knew nothing of morals, humanity, personal identity, or love. Lear forces his daughters into open displays of verbal affection for the sole purpose of flattery. Lear’s self-centered mindset is amplified in his speeches to Cordelia after she refuses to participate with hyperbolic love. In his rage Lear says, “he that makes his generation messes / To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom / Be as well neighbored, pitied, and relived / As thou my sometime daughter” (I.i.130-134). Lear feels closer to Satan than his own daughter since the cannibal that feeds on his children is Lear himself. Lear’s daughters are reduced to the status of food; they do not exist beyond the feeding of his ego. Lear continues with his tirade as he proclaims “I loved her most and thought to set my rest / On her kind nursery” (I.i.137-138). To Lear love is synonymous with being a caretaker. Lear does not understand love beyond utility. Before his tragic

Lear’s lack of personal identity becomes painfully clear when he criticizes Goneril and asks, “Does any here know me?” (I.iv. 231). Lear relies on external sources to tell him who he is. It is Lear’s inability to separate himself from the crown that led to his undeveloped personal identity. In answer to his question, the fool provides the answer: “Lear’s shadow” (I.iv. 234). Lear’s identity as king is all he has ever known. Without the title he is nothing but an empty shell with no internal substance. Lear forgot to form an identity for not just Lear the king, but Lear the man. Lear is only able to find his personal identity when he meets Cordelia and says, “I am a very foolish fond old man” (IV.vii.69). Lear has given himself an identity beyond that of a king and it is not a description of vanity, but of truth and experience. Lear has gained an identity for