King Lear

King Lear

(3.2 13-24)
Rumble thy bellyful; spit fire; spout rain.
Nor rain, wind thunder, fire are my daughters
I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness.
I never gave my kingdom, called you children.
You owe me no subscription. Then let fall
Your horrible pleasure. Here I stand your slave,
A poor, infirm, weak and despised old man,

In this passage Lear is talking to the Fool during a thunderstorm. In line 13, Lear’s words are short and quick, and make a sound similar to rain. Lear is coming to the realization that nature is stronger than he is when he says, “I tax not you, you elements with unkindness.” Lear still believes that he is “a little god” as James I through this statement, and the uses of monetary language towards earth’s elements. As the passage goes on, he realizes that nature isn’t going to pay taxes towards him; in fact he is a slave to nature and the natural world and will die like everyone else. The use of the word unkindness shows that nature is not moral, and will not pity him, and that nature is not a projection of King Lear himself, rather nature is completely separate and goes on regardless. However, this appears to be contradictory because in the play, this storm goes on as Lear goes into madness at the climax of the play. The storm that Lear is referring to is very much a reflection of Lear’s emotions.