Astrology, mythology, nature and science all find their way into William Shakespeare's plays. Astrological imagery and references about the power of nature are prevalent throughout King Lear. Shakespeare divined planetary prophesy and natural catastrophic events and otherworldly metaphors extensively in this play. It is significant to point out and compare the superstitious beliefs of the characters in King Lear to indicate just how deeply ingrained these tendencies were in the mindsets of Elizabethan citizenry.
King Lear was a British king who reigned before the Roman period. The setting is in a time of remote antiquity where society is still quite barbaric and brutality was common. This facilitated the placement of the play during pagan times. The pagan setting indicated that (most of) the characters in the play were heavily influenced by what they saw as forces of nature, which included gods, astrology, beasts and weather. They believed that if nature was well-ordered then society would reflect this. Animals and nature were frequently personified to give depth to characters" personalities and help explain behaviors held toward the world they saw around them. .
Shakespeare knew a lot about astrology, as did most of his contemporaries. During this time astrology held credibility. Astronomy and astrology were pretty much synonymous. Even though popularity of astrology was on the decline, all citizens believed in some aspect of astrology and were familiar with its terms. Since there was widespread use of astrology in England at that time, it is not surprising that Shakespeare was so well versed in its concepts. Shakespeare was considered a very spiritual person in an unorthodox sense as he was part of a group calling themselves the Rosicrucians, as was Francis Bacon, and this greatly influenced the tones of their work. As there are still lingering claims of authorship to Shakespeare's work, Bacon is considered to be one of the most probable candidates.
