Lear was Shakespeare’s vehicle in which he created a moralistic theme, conveying the need to act with sound moral intent or face a reaction of repercussions. It is through these repercussions that Lear embarks upon a process of self-realisation and sees the error of his ways from which he remarks “You must bear with me. Pray you now, forget. And forgive. I am old and foolish.”

Shakespeare shows that ‘flaws of character’ are not excuses to act in a non-moral way and can be changed, however never erased or forgotten. This is

Costuming in this scene is very significant as it is where Lear rids himself of expensive clothing and dresses as if he were poor. Brian Blessed uses this costuming to help him create a mentally ill Lear, dressing him in clothing that accentuates his patheticness and loss of control. His clothing was raggy and thin, drenched by the rain from the storm. Whereas Michael Elliot uses costuming to highlight Lear’s aggression although dresses him in rags also but much more thickly clothed and masculine and less rain affected.

There are many ways to portray the Lear character and each portrayal brings new meaning into the tragedy. Different representations of the character can either support , contradict or both toward Shakespeare’s initial purpose, however each representation can bring positive aspects to the play. King Lear is a teaching that supports moral behaviour and despite of the way that it is altered or represented in film or other mediums, will always retain that significance.

However, Lear’s unjustified anger and aggression initially shown in Elliot’s version creates a character that is not likeable and that people find it hard to symathise with. Lear then becomes ‘less human’ and simply an evil tyrant of which a responder may lose interest in or have trouble relating to. This is a possible subtraction from Shakespeare’s initial intent which may or ,may not be overruled by its contrast that supports Lear’s transformation. For these reasons, Elliot’s version also shows support and contradiction of Shakespeare’s initial purpose for the tragedy.

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