al nature conditions that are provided by the motehr nature throughout this play, specifically, the storm. A storm is a disturbance in nature. This disturbance in nature in King Lear results form the disturbing behavior of the characters, namely, King Lear. The storm symbolizes Lear’s insanity, that is , when natuer gets out of order it is illustrated in the form of a storm, and when Lear’s nature gets out of order, it is illustrated in the form of insanity. Before Lear actually loses his mind, he establishes a direct connection between the nature and his state of mind when he says “O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet Heaven! Keep me in temper. I would not be mad!” (1.5.45-6) His invocation of Heaven is an indication of Lear’s acknowledgment of a higher power over man’s destiny, that is, nature. This connection between the nature and Lear’s sanity gets stronger later on in the play. After Lear is virtually kicked out of Regan’s house, as well as Goneril’s, he is left wandering about in the middle of the storm, accompanied only by the jesting fool. This storm reinforcesthe effect of unparalleled fury, which represent Lear’s own “impetuous blsts and eyeless range.” (3.1.9), and the threat to his sanity as he “Strives in his little world of man to outscorn/ The to-and-fro conflicting wind and rain.” (3.1.11-12). When Kent manages to find Lear, he tries to convince him to shelter himself from the storm. But Lear replies that, “This tempest in my mind/ Doth from my senses take all feeling else” (3.4.15-16). This is the first time that Lear makes a direct comparison between the storm outside and the storm in his mind, by saying that the because of the emotional storm in his mind, he is not bothered by the physical storm outside. And when Lear adds “In such a night, to shut my out!” (3.4.20-21_ he is emphasizing the fact tha...
