King Lear-Climax

We have finally read the climax of King Lear. In class today, we were talking about the turning
point of the play. Our group thought that the lines from 108~120 on page 141 was were the turning
point was. We thought that Lear's shedding of clothes represented his going back to innocence,
his rebirth. Throughout the whole play, Lear was a very prideful king. He had lived with everything
he wanted because of his title. However, in this scene, we see that Lear is letting go of his title and
going back to a more humble state. Our group previously discussed how we thought it was
very curious that as Lear grew older, he seemed much more like a baby. Him becoming naked shows
this baby-like state because when babies are first born, they come out of the mother's womb naked
and without any clothing. Lear also strips himself from all of his clothing, connecting to nature.
We also thought that this passage of the play was important because up to this point, Lear
had identified himself similar to God. However, he now saw and realized that he was nothing but
a man, a very insignificant man. He became a lot more humble and less prideful than before.
He didn't see himself as king but as a single man in the world.
I was surprised to see that in the beginning, every group thought that this passage was the turning point
of the play. With the whole class agreeing that this passage of the play was the turning point, I was
positive that Lear's stripping of his clothing showed the turn in the play. However, when Ms. Graham
said that there was a passage in the section before the one that every group had chosen, I was
taken aback. I didn't think that the whole class could actually be "wrong."
Depending on how the play is read, I think that there can be some (not many, but sometimes maybe more than one parts) in the book that people can classify as the turning point. For now, I still think that
the passage our group chose was more dramatic than any other passage in the section. I am
excited to hear why Ms. Graham has a different thought than us tomorrow!
Honestly, I don't think that there was a clear and very dramatic climax to the play. (Maybe if the play was
acted out, it would seem different because of the setting and storm going on outside) It seemed like
Lear was angry the whole time in the play, since the beginning (when he was angry with Cordelia
for not answering the way he wanted her to) until the end (when Goneril and Regan both betrayed him).
However, although to me, the climax isn't that clear, I can see a clear difference in Lear's attitude
which shows a clear turning point in the play. Although we were not able to find the exact passage
that indicated the turning point of the play, we were able to see the clear change in the play.