Thou think’st ‘tis much that this contentious storm
Invades us to the skin. So ‘tis to thee.
But where the greater malady is fixed
The lesser is scarce felt. Thou’dst shun a bear,
10 But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea
Thou’dst meet the bear i’ th’ mouth. When the mind’s free,
The body’s delicate. The tempest in my mind
Doth from my senses take all feeling else
Save what beats there—filial ingratitude.
15 Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand
For lifting food to ‘t? But I will punish home.
No, I will weep no more. In such a night
To shut me out! Pour on, I will endure.
In such a night as this! O Regan, Goneril,
20 Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all—
Oh, that way madness lies. Let me shun that.
No more of that. (III,iv,6-22)

An Agonizing Awakening
Shakespeare’s stylistic devices convey not only a feeling of dejected despondency and suffocating anguish, but also tempestuous petulance and melancholic despair to illustrate the consequences of a lack of self-awareness and the painful process of enlightenment which follows. In addition, the breaking of the filial bond provides this necessary hardship for Lear which elicits both a feeling of pity for his state of affairs and retribution for the vanity which previously consumed him. However, these feelings eventually morph into a sense of resolution as Lear gains understanding of his past mistakes and displays an unwavering resolve as a result. Consequently, the stylistic devices in this climax serve to demonstrate both the hopelessness of Lear and the comfort which comes through a conformed conscious as the reader witnesses Lear’s complete metamorphosis.
The use of diction conveys a feeling of agony delineated through intense imagery as Lear sustains severe torment, demonstrating a resolute resolve in response. Furthering the spiritual battle of the “tempest,” the