Lear sinned against the natural order of society and this is ultimately what leads to disagreements and disorder across the whole Kingdom. "Take but degree away, untune that string, And hark, what dischord follows." (Act 1, Scene 3, line 109-110).
Shakespeare uses a variety of literary techniques to reveal the Elizabethan perspective. Through his use of imagery Shakespeare very clearly reveals the disorder that is seen to be occurring within Lear's Kingdom. Perhaps the clearest illustration is through the storm, which metaphorically symbolizes the turmoil and confusion that is occurring not only within the mind of Lear, but over the whole state. Animalistic imagery, used by Lear to describe Regan, reveals how characters that step outside their place in "the chain-of-being" transform into something "unnatural" and unpleasant. "Thou marble-hearted fiend, More Hideous when thou show'st thee in a child, Than a sea-monster." (Act 1 Scene 4, lines 212-215) Gonerill and Regan's transformation into something increasingly unfeminine and unnatural is also illustrated through the way Shakespeare switches their language from verse to prose as the play progresses.
Shakespeare's use of soliloquies also plays a vital role in revealing the Elizabethan reading of the play. Through these personal and intimate speeches the intentions and thoughts of individual characters are revealed. The audience sees, laid bare, the corruption and political machinations that evolve when Lear disturbs the state's natural order. Edgar's soliloquy informs the audience of his amoral schemes, "To take the basest and most poorest shape, That ever penury in contempt of man, Brought near to beast." (Act 2, Scene3, lines 7-8). .
In a contemporary society however, King Lear has been received very differently. No longer preoccupied with social order and structure, people have taken on an anthropocentric (human-centered) view of the world.
