Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade!

Methinks he seems no bigger than his head:

The fisherman that walk along the beach

Although this quote from Shakespeare's King Lear is made by Poor Tom to

his unknowing father Gloucester about the terrain far below them, it accurately

summarizes the plight of the mad king. Lear is out of touch with his

surroundings, riding high upon the wave of power associated with the monarchy:

even those closest to him are out of reach, viewed with a distorted lens. It

is through this lens of madness that Lear views his friends and family, and thus

he is stripped of everything before he can realize the folly of his judgment.

Reduced to a simple man, Lear is forced to learn the lessons that God's anointed

is already supposed to know. This is the purpose of the secondary characters of

King Lear; they serve to show the many complex facets of Lear's complex

personality, as they force him to finally get in touch with his self-conscious.

For example, the Fool, oddly enough, acts as the voice of reason for t

Lear finds himself reduced to a mere man and must now somehow get back in touch

Will presently appear;

sisters do. It is quite obvious that Lear is most fond of Cordelia, yet he

Kent also plays a vital role in educating this former king in the disciplines of

This is merely a sampling of characters who represent the many facets of

Some common words found in the essay are:
King Lear, Regan Lear, Finally Lear, Poor Tom, Regan Goneril, Lear Kent, Halfway Hangs, Nonetheless Lear, king lear, bitter fool, characters king lear, money power, characters king, distorted lens, facets lear's, voice reason, lens madness, fool attempts, god's anointed,
Approximate Word count = 1423
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)