The items in my box are chosen to symbolize different qualities and events that King Lear from Shakespeare’s play ‘King Lear’ experiences throughout the length of the text.
The first item is a book cover with no pages inside the cover. This refers to King Lear’s inability to see deeper into his daughters to realize which of them truly love him and which do not. Lear fails to look beyond the cover of the book; he doesn’t see beyond the surface of the words that his daughters are quickly making up without any thought or consideration in order to get the power that they want.
The second item in the box is an empty bottle. The empty bottle is relevant to King Lear because of its content, nothing. The idea of nothing is referred to multiple times throughout the play. In the first scene of King Lear, the term ‘nothing’ is what ultimately causes the advancement in the plot. Cordelia responds to Lear when asked what she can say to express her love for her father, with ‘nothing’, meaning that she cannot express in words how she loves Lear. Lear takes this answer to mean that she feels no love for him, when in actual fact it was the most honest and loyal answer of the three sisters. Nothingness is also referred to when the Fool describes Lear as ‘Lear’s shadow’, saying he is nothing without his kingdom and his crown.
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This used match refers to King Lear and how his power has deteriorated in the events following the announcement of his retirement. By handing his kingdom over to his two daughters, he effectively becomes as insignificant in the ruling of the kingdom as a naked, mad beggar on the street. Once his power burns out, just like a match he cannot be