Broken Heart, Broken Kingdom - King Lear Acts 4/5 - Emma Dalgety

As we discussed in class, Shakespeare places great emphasis on the heart in King Lear. This theme begins even in Act 1, when Lear incredulously asks Cordelia (whose name is derived from corde, or heart), "But goes thy heart with this?" (I.1.105). As we move deeper into the tragedy, however, one by one the main characters are dealt crushing blows that test their limits, to the point of each character explicitly mentioning their heart breaking throughout the course of the tragedy. Unsurprisingly, Gloucester is the first one to give up (and does so quite early on, which explains his moment of attempted suicide in Act IV). At the first hint of danger and trouble in Act II, he exclaims, "O madam, my old heart is cracked, it's cracked." (II.1.90) Less explicitly mentioned, the Duke of Albany falls next. His heart is broken by Goneril's betrayal, and he decries her treatment of Lear and Gloucester in IV.2. Cordelia's murder is the culmination of this heartbreak; King Lear, who has just experienced a healing reunion, is unable to comprehend this devastating loss, and he dies from overwhelming grief. When Cordelia dies, Lear's heart literally dies too. In the wake of his tragic death, Kent and Edgar both suffer, and Kent cries, "Break, heart, I prithee break!" (V.3.318)

When viewed in this light, King Lear's divided kingdom becomes a portrait of his heart. Albany, who only discovers the plot in Act IV and V with Edgar's letter, says, "Friends of my soul, you twain / Rule in this realm, and the gored state sustain." (V.3.327-328) "Twain" suggests a literal separation of two parts (split between Edgar and Kent), and the evocative imagery of "the gored state" additionally shows how the kingdom is broken into pieces, both politically and emotionally. The state of the kingdom is overall inseparable from the state of its king, which is something that can be seen today in modern governments around the world. Using this imagery of the broken heart correlating to the state of the kingdom, Shakespeare creates a powerful and, truthfully, heartbreaking picture of how rulers wield more than merely dictated power over the state of their nation; they also hold an individual, emotional power that influences not only decisions, but also consequences, which become devastating in King Lear's broken England. 


I commented on Justin Johnson and Isabelle Ferguson's posts.

Comments

  1. Lily CaswellAugust 30, 2021 at 9:33 PM

    Great post, Emma! I really like how you mention the origins of Cordelia’s name. I also really like how you compare Lear’s kingdom to his heart. And it’s true that the state of the kingdom is inseparable from the state of the ruler because somehow someway, the two are connected emotionally and physically.

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  2. Justin JAugust 31, 2021 at 12:57 AM

    Shakespeare LOVES using imagery of the external world of the story to reflect what is happening internally with the characters. The most obvious example being the tempest that Lear gets thrown into being a representation of the chaos and disorder he has brought to his kingdom. I really like the heart = kingdom connection you've made here, and it's certainly fitting considering how often heartbreak is mentioned in the story

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