The old man and the large rainstorm

Many of Shakespeare's plays contain scenes that could be considered "Iconic". Macbeth has the witch scene, Hamlet talks to skull, and Romeo proclaims sweet nothings at a balcony. Those are just from the top of my head! The play King Lear has its iconic moment in act 3 scene 2 when a deranged King Lear and his fool journey out into a storm and things start to get slightly... Cray. The king is rambling on about the most random things and the fool is all like "dude, let's get inside". This carries on until Kent enters and leads the king to hovel.

This scene has been immortalized in art as an essential part of Shakespeare's canon. But why? Why would the image of an insane old man wandering in a storm become so popular? How does it still resonate with readers after 400 years?

I feel that the answer is twofold. First, the scene presents the character of Lear at his most miserable. The whole scene starts with Lear crying out to the sky "blow winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow" (Shakespeare III, ii). Right from the beginning the audience knows that Lear is feeling agitated. Lear carries on like this for the whole scene. He cries to the skies and moans of his wicked daughters. Through all of this the audience sees lear's sanity unfold before them and the king even admits "my wits begin to turn" (Shakespeare III, ii). Through all of this the audience gets a deep look into Lear's descent to madness. And as the works of Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft will attest, there's something about insanity that fascinates humans. I think this theme of Lear's madness resonates with readers to this very day.

The second reason for this scene's appeal is its drama. There's just so much going on in this scene compared to others. A massive storm blows while a mad King and his wise jester deliver soliloquies and prophecies. All of this insanity makes for a fascinating and visually striking image. The old adage "a picture's worth a thousand words" applies perfectly here. While the average reader may not remember that one scene where some guys plot about something, they will certainly remember that insane part where the old guy rips his clothes off and there's lots of thunder. I feel like this drama appeals to the audience on a visceral level. It's entertainingly dramatic theater at its finest.