THE STORM ACT 3, SCENE 4
In this extract King Lear is left out in a raging storm. The outside world is a metaphor for Lear’s mental state, which he starting to come to terms with.Lear personifies the storm; “thou think’s ’tis much that this contentious storm invades us to the skin”. Lear talks about his mental state “When the mind’s free, the body’s delicate. The tempest in my mind doth from my senses take all feeling else save what beats there" By saying his mind is free, Lear knows that he is losing control over his own thoughts. He describes his mind as a ‘tempest’ which is fitting with the chaos within Lear himself and the actions within the play. “From my senses take all feeling else save what beats there” could allude to Lear’s heart which is what is keeping him alive at this point in the play. He is unable feel anything as he is too concerned about his change in mental state. As he grows madder, he experiences a deep anagnorisis and is forced to acknowledge the world he has shunned for years.
“But I will punish home: no I will weep no more.” This shows his aversion to the stereo-typical feminine act of weeping and how. “Pour on; I will endure” This highlights the theme of endurance and how Lear is unbothered by the storm and will endure the cruel nature of his daughters. “Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all" This echoes the elliptical sentence “I gave you all!” in Act 2, Scene 2.
Lear puts others before himself in this extract. “In, boy; go first. You houseless poverty” This shows Lear’s empathy, using the familial noun of ‘boy’, showing Lear’s caring nature towards the Fool. This alludes to the caring Lear Cordelia knew before his mental decline. It also demonstrates Lear’s anagnorisis about the poor which he continues with “poor naked wretches, whereso’er you are". The stage direction that Lear “kneels” makes this speech almost like a prayer but to the homeless instead of the Gods. It also marks a stage in humility, from the moment he kneels in mockery to Regan to begging for forgiveness from Cordelia. For once, Lear thinks about others, which is probably due to the fact he too is just like them. There is consonance in the lines “bide the pelting of this pitiless storm” and “how shall your houseless heads” and this creates a bold, accusatory tone to the speech.
Lear then realises he neglected the needs of the poor during his rule. “O, I have taken too little care of this. Take physic, pomp, expose thyself to what wretches feel, that thou mayst shake the superflux to them and show the heavens more just”. “Take physic pomp” shows that Lear wishes to purge from his own desires and the harshness of “expose thyself” suggests that Lear must reveal his true, innermost self to the world and endure the worst, a prevalent theme throughout King Lear. “Shake the superflux to them” shows Lear’s desire to distribute wealth evenly and fairly to those who need it most. This mirrors his earlier line of “shake all cares and business from our age conferring them on to younger strengths”.