"What you have charged me with, that hath I done, and more, much more; the time will bring it out. "Tis past and so am I" .
Maybe it is too late. Salvation dwindles during Edgar's long explanatory speech and the feared moment seems to come when a Gentleman with a bloody knife enters. Shakespeare engineers the moment perfectly so we are to believe it is Cordelia who has been slain by the order of the now past Edmund. However, we soon come to realize that it is the wicked Goneril who has stabbed herself as a result of her adulterous conduct being revealed. Once more, hope seems to surface and remain, as the death of Goneril signals the expulsion of evil. .
The entrance of Kent furthermore promotes hope, as he has returned from the brink of death, and if he can, others may. As the climax approaches hope and despair are held in almost simultaneous opposition. Just when it seems that Lear and Cordelia will be saved, the heart-stopping final scene is revealed and we are plunged into the darkness of despair as we see Lear come to the fore with Cordelia in his arms. Lear is overwhelmed by the complete and incomprehensible tragedy; .
"And my poor fool is hanged: no, no, no life? Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life, and thou no breath at all?" .
He swiftly dies of a broken heart. .
Many have argued that Cordelia is a type of Christ; and if it were so the end result should be resurrection and hope through it. But in this case there is no resurrection and no hope. It is therefore evident that in this play bleakness abounds, despair prospers and any semblance of hope is shattered like ashes. .
The second thematic idea is that of justice and injustice. In King Lear we are presented with a world of inversion, where the King gives away his kingdom, parents become wards of their children, asses are borne on mens backs over the dirt and one goes to supper in the morning and bed at noon. This extract illustrates the injustice that has been thrust upon Lear by his two daughters Goneril and Regan.
