In the play "King Lear" by William Shakespeare the King is perceived as being very unstable and sometimes hints of having sudden mood swings. My essay will explain my opinion to prove or disprove that King Lear was in fact sane or sometimes insane. At the beginning of the play, Lear and his two noblemen the Earl of Kent and the Earl of Gloucester are in his throne room discussing how to divide the kingdom …showed first 75 words of 416 total…

…showed last 75 words of 416 total…says, "O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven! Keep me in temper; I would not be mad!" In that last line before the next act Lear is begging to the heavens to not let him become mad and insane but he is really not becoming . I think he does that to let everyone else around him think that he is insane. Works Cited: 1. Shakespeare, William. Louis B. Wright , ed. 1957 Washington Square Press