Lear argues that human beings should not be limited to what is strictly necessary for them [in terms of survival]. If human beings were limited to only [strict] necessities, then the life of a human being will be nothing more than the life of an animal: “Man's life's as cheap as beast's.”2 This speech is extremely pivotal within the play; it is so pivotal, that even within the speech itself Lear endures a [mental] turning point. After his demand of the necessity of having many knights with him, Lear comes to a realization. In actuality, he does not need one (1) knight let alone one hundred (100) knights. All that he needs is patience. “You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!”3. This is a moment of self recognition4. Lear realizes that he compared what he actually needed with something that merely masked what was truly essential for him. A genuine moment of insight in the play is when Lear says: “You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, / As full of grief as age; wretched in
Lear argues that human beings should not be limited to what is strictly necessary for them [in terms of survival]. If human beings were limited to only [strict] necessities, then the life of a human being will be nothing more than the life of an animal: “Man's life's as cheap as beast's.”2 This speech is extremely pivotal within the play; it is so pivotal, that even within the speech itself Lear endures a [mental] turning point. After his demand of the necessity of having many knights with him, Lear comes to a realization. In actuality, he does not need one (1) knight let alone one hundred (100) knights. All that he needs is patience. “You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!”3. This is a moment of self recognition4. Lear realizes that he compared what he actually needed with something that merely masked what was truly essential for him. A genuine moment of insight in the play is when Lear says: “You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, / As full of grief as age; wretched in