King Lear is one of the more caged characters of the play, he suffers both social and psychological incarceration and this is one the chief reasons for his descent into mental hell and inevitable downfall. Lear is imprisoned by the role he must play in society and by his own internal shackles. The abdication of the throne initiates the action in the play, through the consequent chain of events. However this indicates that Lear is imprisoned by his responsibility to society, he is bound by a social harness. He renounces the throne to lead the rest of his life in pleasure and in doing so he disrupts the Great Chain of Being, he challenges the position that he has been given and thus his family and indeed the entire nation, descend into disorder and chaos. The storm is symbolic of this occurrence, the weather imitates the state of men. "One minded like the weather," the gentle man recognises the disquiet and unrest of

Cordelia, while she is a 'lovable' character, she never breaks free of the imprisonment of her gender and her mind. She always plays the dutiful daughter; she is honest and loyal to her father. "For the oppressed king, I am cast down," she, even in the face of imprisonment and death, remains devoted to her father and is prepared to do anything for him. Thus she is not free of her imprisonment, as she is not free of her role as the respectful daughter.

Lear suffers psychological imprisonment, both through his societies ideals and his own blindness to the truth. He is psychologically imprisoned by his society, in that his mind cannot break free of the gender roles, he has certain expectations of women and when this mould is broken he is staggered. "Though women all above./But to the girdle do the Gods inherit;/Beneath is all the fiends," this violent outburst is a reaction to the way his daughters, Goneril and Regan, have treated him. The patriarchy in which he lives requires women to be subservient and compliant to the man, however in this instance Lear has been completely dominated by both daughters and finds himself in the middle of a storm. This breaks the gender roles the he has set in his mind and thus he is shaken and curses women, for the prison of his mind, will not allow him to be free to see the true nature of his situation.

The women of the play were all very imprisoned. The gender and role that they were intended to play in society made this inevitable. In the beginning, Goneril and Regan play Lear's "game", they gain land and wealth for their husbands, which as females, was their duty. Their minds and actions conform with the expectations of society, thus they are both psychologically and socially imprisoned. "How, how Cordelia? Mend your speech a little,/Lest you mar your fortunes," Lear taken aback by Cordelia's honesty, he expected to be flattered and told how much he was loved, he expected this because he was man and his daughter's were

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1329
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)