The motif of nothingness- King Lear

The motif of nothingness begins in the first scene. King Lear orders his three daughters to express their love for him to determine the land he will give them. His insecurities and need for assurance cracks through his royal composure here. Cordelia, who is the youngest and also the favourite, is last. She is stubborn and refuses to play her fathers game. She doesn’t agree with the falseness of the empty declarations from her sisters. Lear asks her what she can say to draw a third of the kingdom, “more opulent” than her sisters. She replies “nothing”. Lear cannot believe the blatant refusal of his orders, he warns his youngest “nothing will come of nothing”.

This is a variation on the ancient Greek philosophical expression “from nothing, nothing comes”. It brings into question the idea of religion. Religion seems mainly pagan in this text but certain aspects perhaps derived from christianity for example the storm scene could be seen as a baptism. Christianity believes in creation ex nihilio (creation from nothing). It could be a reflection on Shakespeare’s view on religion and philosophy and the two in conflict.

If we trace the motif of nothingness throughout the play the tragic end is very suitable. It seems the nothing motif was Shakespeare’s way of foreshadowing the grim and solemn end when that is what Lear is left with. 

We never really know him as a great king but we presume he was a good leader from the loyalty of his subjects for example Kent. He begins with everything. His title as king, the power and the wealth. We watch as this character’s mind warps and twists till he loses his sanity completely. During the storm scene he is a shattered shell of a person. Reduced to a cold, shivering old man taking shelter from the elements in a hovel. This highlights how he went from having everything to absolutely nothing. Everything is gone and has been stripped away from his life. We now begin to see him as an old man rather than a king. This also portrays Shakespeare’s views on material items as worthless. The things we surround ourselves with are only distractions and ultimately mean nothing. We see these wealthy characters with their luxurious clothing and possessions. All these things built up around them to hide what they really are or lack there of.
Lear retires as King. He and the fool seem to have a close relationship. The fool is the only one that can criticize and mock Lear. He tells Lear he is nothing without his crown and power. He also says that the retired Lear is a shadow of King Lear. This suggests  we are all nothing more than our status in society. This could be a possible frustration of the class system at the time. This motif is especially important in my opinion because it is layered in so many different ways and shows Shakespeare’s view on the world as bleak and vacant. I think it is used to express his fear of emptiness once everything is stripped away. Regan and Gonreil have nothing for their father once he starts becoming senile. They refer to him as old man rather than king. His two eldest betray him and he has banished Cordelia who truly loved him. 

The tragic end is particularly poignant because we watch Lear fall from such a height and so the nothingness he is left with stands in stark contrast. It is wholly devastating that this old man is left alone and insane in a world so cruelly portrayed in the text. Shakespeare explores the universal idea of everything coming to nothing in the end through this motif. The tragic nature of the play centering on this motif causes the audience to question oneself.