METAMORPHOSIS: Transformation in King Lear

One of the greatest aspects of King Lear, to me, is the gradual change we see in Lear himself throughout the course of the play. I have been doing a lot of thinking about Lear's character, probably because I can relate to him in some ways, especially right now in my life. While I was thinking about that, I was reflecting again on my post about Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. I am a huge movie score fan, and the score to this film in particular. The song that plays during the scene I posted and just after, to me, perfectly describes King Lear. Here it is:

It is so perfect for this! Of course, this movie is largely about the transformation of another character, Molly Mahoney. Anyway, King Lear in the beginning of the play comes off as this pompous, arrogant and somewhat cold ruler. I can't see him as being completely evil, but he certainly doesn't seem good. He asks for his daughters to tell how much they love him, and is angry when Cordelia cannot. She loves her father, even more than her sisters, but because of her good nature she does not want to flatter her father into believing that she loves him. She doesn't care about the land that her father is giving to the three girls, but rather, wants to be honest. Lear takes this as a lack of love, and basically blows a gasket and kicks her out. To me, that certainly seems rash and uncalled for, making Lear seem like an angry, selfish old man.

He is blinded to his daughter's love, which is the ultimate tragedy here. And despite this, Cordelia, though she has been exiled, still loves and cares for her father:

"Cordelia. O my dear father, restoration hang Thy medicine on my lips, and let this kiss Repair those violent harms that my two sisters Have in reverence made." Act IV, Scene vii, lines 26-29. Cordelia could be expected to show bitterness or even anger toward her father, but she does not. She  instead only feels sorrow at her father's plight, which came of his own doing.  Lear does not realize that he has made a mistake until his other two children turn against him. It makes  think how sometimes we are blinded to what we have done wrong until it is too late. Especially when  other people point out our mishaps, and we become defensive, as Lear does with Kent. Once Lear is  turned away by both his daughters, and is wandering, then we see the true change. His madness first takes hold of him, and he rails against the storm, crying out in desperation and anger. We're beginning  to see the effect of his change, and we see it finished when he is reunited with Cordelia in prison. He is  overjoyed to see her and doesn't even care that they are in prison. He has realized his daughter's true love for him. "He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven, And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes; The good years shall devour them, flesh and fell, Ere they shall make us weep. We'll see 'em starved first." Act V, scene iii lines 22-25 I love how Shakespeare here creates the idea that people can change. People can transform, and become  better. That, to me, is what makes Lear's character so rich and so tragic. Because he became someone I  could like just as his life was about to end.