Before
answering if King Lear died of a broken heart, I will discuss what is
understood by a broken heart. According to Milne (2002), there two forms of
interpreting Lear’s death. The first one is related to the grief because of
Cordelia’s death. Even though King Lear
had a strong body, his heart couldn’t stand so much grief. On this account, “what
is meant by heart is not the physical heart but a metaphorical heart, where
heart stand poetically for Lear’s heart and soul” (Milne, 2002, p. 60). On the
other hand, the second interpretation of a
broken heart is related to King Lear’s mental state. “If Lear’s flesh is strong
while his mind is weak, then perhaps Lear’s mind gives up the ghost” (Milne,
2002, p. 60). This means that it was King Lear’s mind instead of his heart what
caused his death. This also implies that King Lear was in an altered mental state,
feeling guilty, grief and sorrow because of Cordelia’s death.
In these days,
science has revealed that it is actually possible to die because of grief. According
to Marc Gillinov, and Steven Nissen
(2012) “Grief can cause two different
cardiac problems: a reversible condition called ‘stress cardiomyopathy’
or, more commonly, a standard heart attack” (psychologytoday.com).
Based on those
facts, there is no doubt that there is a strong connection between the heart
and emotions. Since King Lear, at the end of the play, demonstrates symptoms of
a heart attack, do you think he dies from one? If so, what could have caused
it: grief or his own mind? What version of a broken heart do you think is the
correct one?
References
Gillinov, M., & Nissen, S.
(2012, January, 19). Can You Really Die of a Broken Heart? Retrieved November
21, 2014, from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/heart-411/201201/can-you-really-die-broken-heart
Milne, D. (2002). What Becomes of
the Broken-Hearted: King Lear and the Dissociation of Sensibility. In Shakespeare
Survey 55 (1st
ed., Vol. 55, pp. 53-66). Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge University
Press.
Antonella:
ResponderEliminarI found really interesting your post because I have never thought that doctor would care about answering this question.
In my opinion, I think that King Lear died because of a broken heart. He could'nt resist to accept that he was wrong.
He realized that the way in which Cordelia loves him was bigger and better than the way in which his 2 others daughters love him.
His heart couldn't resist the truth, it was too hard for his heart.
I like the way you addressed the death of “our” tragic hero; King Lear. I think the idea of the broken heart is a reasonable explanation for the end of the play, but, mostly, I think that humanizes the king, so it is easier to empathize with him. I supposed that anybody who made such error in judgement and that had to deal with the death of a love one as a consequence, would feel an intense sense of sorrow. Therefore, Lear death influences the reader to feel compassion over someone who was once great but became a poor and ordinary man able to realize what he did and accept his mistake.
ResponderEliminarMorover, If I had to choose between the "two versions" of the broken heart you mention, I would had to integrate both into one. I do not think that one excludes the other, but quite the contrary, I think it was the combination of both, a debilitated heart along with a conflicted mind that made Lear to colapse.