A Theme of Justice in King Lear by William Shakespeare

King Lear is a play written by William Shakespeare, telling the tale of a king who bestows his power and land by dividing his realm amongst his three daughters, Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril. In the subplot of the play, a nobleman loyal to King Lear named Gloucester gets deceived by his illegitimate son Edmund, who convinces his father that his legitimate son Edgar is trying to murder him. As these plots converge, the idea of justice develops into a complex motif throughout the play, urging the reader to question the meaning and mere existence of it in the world of Shakespeare. This theme is conveyed through the characters of Lear, Gloucester and Edgar using literary and dramatic techniques.

Shakespeare uses the character of King Lear to depict a compelling view of justice, using literary and dramatic techniques. A prominent example of this can be seen in Act 1 Scene 1 where Cordelia informs Lear that she has nothing to say regarding her love for him. Lear exclaims in response, “How, nothing will come of nothing.” Shakespeare’s use of metaphorical expression and repetition of the word ‘nothing’ foreshadows the state Lear will be in later in the play, where he will be stripped of his kingdom, power and family, being left with ‘nothing’. Conveying Lear in this state later in the play allows Shakespeare to deliver a sense of justice to his character, who was an arrogant and ignorant King who had minimal regard for others. This idea is further developed by Shakespeare in Act 2 Scene 4, where Lear is questioned by his daughters regarding his need for attendant knights. In response to the questioning he replies, “O, reason not the need! Our basest beggars/ Are in the poorest thing superfluous; /Allow not nature more than nature needs, Man’s life is cheap as beast’s.” Shakespeare uses irony and foreshadowing to represent Lear’s materialism and narcissism, as he is mentioning beggars in a way that places them beneath him. This idea of superiority is later diminished, and a sense of justice is served to Lear when he is banished by his daughters and must wander the streets. The theme of justice is explored through the complex character of King Lear, using various literary and dramatic techniques.

The captivating character of Gloucester is explored by Shakespeare to confront the cruelty of justice in the Shakespearean world, using numerous dramatic and literary devices. Gloucester’s ebullient yet ignorant character is revealed at the beginning of the play. In Act 1 Scene 1, he jokes about Edmund’s legitimacy, stating, “Though this knave came something saucily into the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair, there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged.” Gloucester’s ignorance is highlighted in this conversation as he is ridiculing his illegitimate son with the knowledge that he is listening. This can also be perceived as blindness, which foreshadows his situation later in the play when he is brutally blinded. Gloucester’s careless nature causes Edmund to develop into the play’s main antagonist, and ultimately being the cause of many deaths. Edmund’s clear distaste for his father’s words is conveyed when he questions, “Lag of a brother? Why “bastard”? Wherefore “base”? /When my dimensions are as well compact,/ My mind as generous, and my shape as true.” The repetition of rhetorical questions allows Shakespeare to emphasise Edmund’s anger towards the people that question him as a person due to his illegitimacy, which is ultimately the result Gloucester’s act of adultery. Shakespeare creates an uncertain and cruel perspective of justice, with the blinding of Gloucester being a highly divisive plot point in the play, forcing the reader to question whether justice truly exists in the Shakespearean world. The complex motif of justice is explored through consequences of Gloucester’s ignorant actions, using various language and dramatic techniques.

Using language and dramatic techniques, Shakespeare delves into the mind of Edmund, a character that takes justice into his own hands. Shakespeare’s representation of the antagonist is the pinnacle of creating a villain that the audience can loathe and sympathise with simultaneously. Edmund is essentially a villain that is created as a result of Gloucester’s corrupt actions, suffering an inferiority complex due to his father not recognising him as his brother’s equal. Consequently, Edmund’s villainous actions are a reply to this mistreatment like a sense of self-driven justice. Unlike most of the characters in the play who are religiously influenced concerning the idea of justice, Edmund ridicules this in Act 1 Scene 2 exclaiming, “Now, gods, stand up for bastards”. The use of high modality and dramatic irony is implemented by Shakespeare to emphasise Edmund’s disregard for the existence of ‘gods’ while also foreshadowing his decision to take justice into his own hands. At the close of the play, Edmund shows a sense of vulnerability for the first time. Mortally wounded, he sees that both Goneril and Regan have died for him, and whispers, “Yet Edmund was beloved.” This aside and use of emotive language allows Shakespeare to show the humane and compassionate side of Edmund, further emphasising that he was a victim of his father’s wrongdoings and his path of self-driven justice was a result of this. The intricate character of Edmund is constructed by Shakespeare to convey a self-driven perspective of justice, using several dramatic and literary techniques.

‘King Lear’ is a prolific tragedy that explores the theme of justice in a unique and intricate manner. This motif is conveyed through the character arc of Lear, where he is served justice for his ignorance and materialism by being placed in horrendous predicaments. Shakespeare uses Gloucester as a catalyst to explore the complexities of justice, prompting the reader to question its mere existence in the Shakespearean world. Furthermore, Shakespeare conveys a unique view of justice through Edmund, portraying an antagonistic and self-driven view of the motif. These characters and their interactions with justice are conveyed through literary and dramatic techniques. 

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