The theme of madness is explored throughout King Lear in many different ways. It is introduced in the forms of characters, ironies, ideologies and certain events that take place within the story. The storm is a central element, used to symbolise the internal battle going on within Lear, as well as being a representation of nature's reaction to the ill treatment of the King. Characters such as the fool, Poor Tom and Lear each portray insanity amongst humanity, but in slightly different ways. There is the professional madman, the mock madman, and the true madman. The idea of justice, and what is fair, also plays a significant role in the portrayal of madness, complemented by the contrast between reality and Lear's little fantasy world he has begun to live in. Throughout Act III, the audience is presented with numerous different forms of madness. It is a time in the play when the theme of madness is very strong, and the entire world appears to have gone completely insane, specifically marked by the split between the so called "sane" characters who are at Goneril's castle, and the "mad" characters who are out in the storm. Act III raises many questions about what insanity really is, and how can one determine any real difference between those who are normal, and those losing their mind. .
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The storm is, in many ways, symbolic. Not only is it used to represent the inner conflict going on inside Lear's head, but also is a reflection of what will happen when the king is wronged and his authority taken from him. This all has a lot to do with the common belief of the Elizabethan time, that all Monarchs attained "divine right" and were connected to nature and to God somehow. In Act III, scene 2, Lear is calling to the gods ("blow winds, crack your cheeks ."), beckoning them to wreck havoc on the world and punish humanity for their cruelty. It is also ironic how the storm hits simultaneously with Lear storming off after his daughter's strip him of his retinue of 100 knights and, in many ways, of his power as King.
