Throughout the play the relationship between Kent and King Lear has proved to be very interesting. Even after being banished in the beginning for sticking to what her believes, Kent remains loyal to Lear. He stoops as low to adopting a new identity and following Lear around as no more than a random servant. Lucky for him Lear didn't seem to mind. In the last act of the plat there is so much going on, everyone is dying or on the verge of death and there is hatred and forgiveness going on around between all the characters. Rivalries are ended and some taken to the complete extreme, Goneril and Regan especially. But amidst all of this there is a very touching moment in which Kent the ever loyal companion, is by Lear's side as he comes to his last moments.
There are very few "aww" moments in this play, but I would consider this one of them. Kent tells Lear that he is not Caius, but actually the man banished in the beginning,
No, my good lord: I am the very man--
That, from your first of difference and decay;
Have followed your sad footsteps.
Notice the love, Kent put himself through a lot to follow the king and watch after his safety. He also put himself in potential danger from the wraths of Goneril and Regan, for helping someone on the hit list.
and as Lear is passing on we get another sweet moment when Kent says,
Vex not his ghost. O, let him pass! He hates him much
That would upon the rack of this tough world
Stretch him out longer.
Kent realizes the emotional toll that all of this has taken on Lear, and wants him to be at peace at last, advising that all be silent and let Lear pass on calmly and quietly.
The wonder is, he hath endured so long.
He but usurped his life.
While I do think that these moments lose some of their emotional potential, because of the references to torture and death having a claim on Lear's life. But what I really get from this scene is a sense that the characters who were wronged, like Kent and Edgar will have a chance to move on. It also creates some sadness towards Lear, for at least me who spent the entire play hating him. It's nice to know that there is someone who cared for him no matter the ridiculousness of him or his crazy mood swings. It also relives some of the tension you feel between the daughters and Edmund's love triangle and all of their deaths. I guess this just leaves me with more of an okay feeling, not the depressing feeling that some of Shakespeare's other plays leave you with, and definitely not a happy feeling, but something in between.
-Stephanie Wexler
New Paltz Students Blogging about Shakespeare
3 comments:
I too found Kent to be a very compelling character because of his faithfulness to Lear despite the fact that Lear had banished him. I also find symmetry between Kent and Cordelia. Of all the characters in the play these are the only two that seem to have any integrity. They are not self-serving, but instead they follow a course of action based on principle.
It's unfortunate that Cordelia did not prosper because of her integrity, but I was happy to see that Kent does live, which I think offers up some hope for the future.
It's interesting to me too that, unlike the other plays that we've read this year, Kent's disguise is not designed as a way for him to fulfill some selfish desire. His disguise is a tool he uses to protect his friend.
Great post Stephanie, thanks!
Thank you for calling attention to a character whom we touched on only briefly in our work for the play, Stephanie. There is something moving about the speeches you quote, and yet they also highlight the tragic losses. It is not only family that Lear has turned his back on, but also his allies and servants. But perhaps there is something redemptive about Kent's willingness to look past all of this in the end--much like Edgar's willingness to be charitable with Edmund.
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