This is a clear sign the Lear is becoming something less than natural when it comes to sanity. Another extremely important aspect of King Lear that drags him towards insanity is the extreme preoccupation with appearance and reality. Lear is forced to the verge of madness, until it is impossible to tell when he is mad or sane. After the dreadful, moving storm on the heath, Lear seems truly insane, but as we see in the throughout the play the line between madness and sanity is fine. Appearance and reality become intermixed. At the end of the play Shakespeare restores Lear's sanity when he bears the dead Cordelia in his arms. That is a proof that the father still demonstrates love and compassion towards his daughter. Although, otherwise Lear lacks sanity throughout a large part of the play. When Lear is dying he finally recognized and accepted reality when he realizes how he destroyed his regality by misjudging others. Another misfortune Lear lacked was he was never an intellectual and his great deeds are mixed with madness. An example was when he runs bareheaded into the storm. .
Edgar was another character which suffered transformations throughout the play. Edgar plays more parts and speaks more dialects than any other character in the play. At first he is the good, dutiful son, a bit gullible, especially when he falls into the hands of his brother Edmund, a masterful villain in the play, but when he escapes to the heath he becomes such a wonderful pretender of madness that he confuses and challenges everyone in the play. He later assumes the role of a country rustic, and towards the end of the play we see him again as noble, a bit anonymous, and accepting the challenge that has been set against Edmund. .
The fool is another character who is central to the play. The fool is a wise fool but a really mystical and mysterious character. He is a wise fool in terms that he teaches a king stepping up the road of madness.