se. Lear then holding Cordelia asking us to Look there(V,iii,308) defines his own lucidity in a mad world where humanity preys upon itself.What brought Lear to such a moment in Act V? In the Wheel of Fire, Knight believes the universal apparatus in the Lear world to be humanlike. Humans thus chart their own progress and become victims of the mad world they helped to define. Humanity does pray upon itself.An instructive parallel is Romeo and Juliet. Could Romeo be a youthful Lear? I believe so. Romeos history is one of rash, impulsive behavior. Friar Lawrence, for instance, finds Romeos conversion from Rosaline to Juliet more than perplexing:Holy Saint Francis! What a change is here!Is Rosaline that thou didst love so dear,So soon forsaken? Young mens love then liesNot truly in their hearts, but in their eyes(II,iv,65-68)He warns of the dire consequences of impulsive behavior:These violent delights have violent endsAnd in the triumph die, like fire and powder,Which as they kiss consume. The sweetest honeyIs loathsome in his own deliciousness And in the taste confounds the appetite.Therefore love moderately(III,iii,29-33)Romeo opts for suicide rather than banishment, and tells the Friar that philosophical exhortations mean little when confronted with the pragmatics of a permanent separation from Juliet. The Friar retorts, Thou fond mad man, hear me a little speak. (III, iii, 53). The madness is dramatized in Act v. Entering the tomb and thinking Juliet is dead, Romeo now actualizes his earlier threat. His monologue offers an interesting parallel to Lear.Romeo:How oft when men are at the point of death Have they been merry! Which their keepers callA lightning before death, O, how may ICall this a lightning? O my love, my wife!(V, iii, 88-91)Is Lear merry? Bradley thinks that Lear dies in a moment of supreme joy. The issue is further complicated by variant readings. Q substitutes Sir followed by O O O O , with Do you see t...
