Nature’s Significance In King Lear

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as a father by all his daughters. Shakespeare demonstrate this idea when he points out that at a later point in the play, after Lear was treated horribly by Goneril, Lear express his conviction that Regan, unlike Goneril, knows better “The offices of nature, bond of childhood.” (2.4.202) It is ironic that here Lear uses the exact same word as Cordelia has used before, that is, “bond” to describe the natural ties that he himself broke before only to expect that they will be followed by his daughter, Regan when he is in a time of need.
However, Lear primarily does not understand what Cordelia means when she says this, and is very upset as a consequence. At this point Lear destroys his natural family ties to Cordelia by breaking off her connections to his family: “Here I disclaim all my paternal care/Propinquity, and property of blood.” (1.1.125-26) Lear looks at the love between a father and daughter as an immutable legal bond rather than a natural bond of love. At a later point in ...

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the goddess of nature: Thou, Nature, art my goddess.” (1.2.1) But Edmund’s final words are “Now, gods, stand up for bastards! (1.2.23) It is a well known fact that at the time King Lear was written, bastards were not considered to accepted under the natural laws of society, hence, one can conclude that the goddess of nature whom he invokes does not represent the traditional nature, which he refers to as the “dull, stale, tired bed.” (1.2.14) but animal vitality alone, which he refers to as “the lusty stealth of nature.” (1.2.12). Edmund vies the accepted laws of society as the “plague of custom” and the “curiosity of nations” (1.2.3-4) which means he sees the natural law as no more ...

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