Emily Dickinson, writing around 1862 in America (approximately 250 years after the death of Shakespeare), composed this poem that reflects some of her views about the relationship between insanity and wisdom:
Much Madness is divinest Sense-
To a discerning Eye-
'Tis the Majority
In this, as all, prevail-
Assent- and your are sane-
Demur- you're staightway dangerous-
And handled with a Chain-
What is Dickinson saying in this poem? How is it related to observations in King Lear, made by Lear or the Fool or others, about the connection between foolishness and wisdom, madness and insight? Would various characters share Dickinson's view -- or disagree -- or nuance these observations? Does the play as a whole endorse or reject the ideas in this poem?
Emily Dickinson’s poem, Much Madness is Divinest Sense, is her opinion on how society works. By saying, “Much madness is divinest sense” she is saying that the ones who are 'mad' are the sanest, while the 'sane' are really mad. She feels as though people who think differently from others are considered insane in others eyes. The third and fourth lines of this poem seem to be Dickinson describing society as filled with common people. There is no originality and that is truly madness. The world is filled with madness yet we see it as common because we have always been surrounded by it. She claims that madness is truly sanity at its finest. This poem is relevant to King Lear because of the connections it makes between saneness and insanity. Lear in the beginning of them play is seen as an insane character full of a craving for power, yet later on we see his character as it evolves into a new sense of the word insane. He becomes insane because of the loss of his daughter’s presence in his life. He becomes insane with neediness for his daughter instead of demanding his daughters love. We see his character go from two senses of mad. Characters of this play including the fool would share Dickinson’s perception of madness verses insight because he seems to be a character that sees clearly. This may be ironic that the fool is the one that understands things more visibly than other yet this seems to be the case. The fool is the one that explains to Lear that he has ruined his life because of his greediness. It looks as though the only people who truly understand the world are the fools. The ideas of this poem are shown throughout this King Lear and play a prominent role in the play as a whole.
ReplyDeleteDickinson is saying that madness is just another way of being sane, but is not accepted by most people. It is saying that if a person’s thought process differs from that of the general population then they will be treated with contempt. Dickinson articulates that because most people act sane, they are really the mad ones since they are not being true to who they are, but rather follow social norms. Madness in King Lear appears as more of a medical condition or state of mind rather than an innate thought process. Over the course of the play, madness encroaches upon the mind of Lear. Upon being kicked out of his daughter’s houses, Lear is stranded outside in a thunderstorm tormented by his anger and sorrow. Lear begins to lose some of his credibility when he begins to shout in anger at the storm and refuses to find cover. Conversely, Edgar is forced to appear as a mad beggar in order to stay alive. With essentially no connection to society as a whole and already playing the part of a madman, Edgar will be free to go completely insane, and in the case of Dickenson’s theory, will find this madness liberating. Edgar actually finds peace in his disguise commenting,
ReplyDelete“Yet better thus, and known to be contemned,
Than still contemned and flattered. To be worst,
The lowest and most dejected thing of fortune,
Stands still in esperance, lives not in fear” (4.1.1-4).
It is that hope that prevents him from giving in to insanity. Edgar still wants to return to the life he had despite the fact that he is happy as a beggar. When Lear meets the disguised Edgar, Lear’s madness compounds in an effect similar to what Dickinson described. With the two of them together, the “Majority” were people that were mad rather than sane, creating an environment in which the mad people were actually the sane ones. King Lear generally expresses the ideas represented in Emily Dickinson’s poem “Much Madness is divinest Sense”.
Dickinson’s poem states that the majority vote is the one considered ‘sane’. Therefore, if you agree (“assent”) with the majority, you are sane as well; however, if you disagree (“demur”) with the majority, you are going against most people, and are insane. Anyone considered insane is also considered dangerous, potentially even radical, and “handled with a chain”—meaning incarcerated or treated like a prisoner. The theme of this poem heavily reflects the ideas that Shakespeare presents in King Lear. At the beginning of the play, Lear’s word was majority. He was the king, and anyone who disagreed was against the majority. However, Lear quickly lost power to his daughters, and their word became law. Along with their husbands, Goneril and Regan made Lear out to be the insane one, and this followed by Lear’s actual insanity. The play as a whole definitely endorses the ideas brought up in Dickinson’s poem, as it reflects the concept of insanity in whatever characters disagree with the majority vote. For instance, when Lear wants his soldiers housed, but his daughters (the current majority) refuse him, he is considered the insane one, as far as the public sees.
ReplyDeleteAs Lear is bargaining with Goneril, she advises him, “I would you would make use of your good wisdom,/Whereof I know you are fraught, and put away/these dispositions which of late transport you/from what you rightly are” (1.4.225-228). In essence, she is telling him that he should be wise and agree with the majority vote, as opposed to disagreeing with it (which happens to be her own) and being foolish. The daughters in King Lear (aside from Cordelia) would agree with Dickinson’s values expressed in her poem, while Lear may not.