King Lear and Don Quixote use madness to recognize the unpleasant truths of humanity. Don Quixote maintains a fundamentally comic madness; while King Lear offers a more tragic interpretation of madness. The two protagonists, King Lear and Don Quixote, base their madness on powerful alternative realities. Cervantes explains Don Quixote's fixation on knight-errant writing: "Thus, with too little sleep and too much reading, his brain / grew dry, causing him to lose his mind" (Don Quixote, Part I, Ch I, 21). We see that Don Quixote, "so convinced in his imagination of all the / false inventions that he read that no / story in the world was more true" chooses to isolate himself from the world (Don Quixote, Part I , Ch. I, 21). . Conversely, King Lear is struck by madness. He is stripped of his identity and asks himself questions: “Does anyone here know me? It's not Lear. / …Who can tell me who I am? (King Lear, 1.4.220-224) Lear's madness is forbidding and degrading. In the context of Quixote's irrationality and Lear's dissociation, we are encouraged to question the meaning of madness and what it means to be human. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayIn Don Quixote we see that madness is self-initiated. Don Quixote decides to be a knight-errant and constructs a reality that supports this fantasy. His ability to play with reality demonstrates the power of imagination and implies a certain self-awareness. Quixote's madness demonstrates a greater restoration of chivalry and self-knowledge. Cervantes describes this saying: "It seemed reasonable and necessary to him, for the sake of his honor / and to serve the nation, to become a knight errant / ... righting all manner of wrongs, ... / winning everlasting and everlasting fame." / fame” (Don Quixote, Part I, Ch. I, Pg. 21). Quixote's humanity depends on purpose, beauty, and courage. He is very invested in himself and interested in exploring his perception of the world. Quixote's perception of the world is motivated by Dulcinea. He expresses a powerful infatuation with her by saying: "For what I want of Dulcinea del Toboso, she is as good as the greatest / princess in the country... / I am quite satisfied... to imagine and believe that the good Aldonza Lorenzo is so beautiful and virtuous” (Don Quixote). Choosing to ignore the world around him, he sees Dulcinea as the embodiment of perfection. Whatever her reality, Dulcinea exists as an extension of Don Quixote. It symbolizes the fame and world renown sought by Don Quixote. As Don Quixote's fantasies become reality, he effectively constructs destiny. On the other hand, Lear's madness is destructive and develops from external impulses. During the storm he says, “Forget / Your horrible pleasure.” Here I am, your slave, / A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man” (King Lear, III.2.18-20). Betrayed by his daughters, Lear is helpless and adopts a position of servitude. Lamenting “I am a man / More sin against than sin” (King Lear, III.2.59-60), Lear expresses his self-pity and condemns his daughters' betrayal. No longer presiding over the kingdom, Lear is aimless. He has lost everything that once defined him: authority, family and memory. In this identity crisis, we see that respect and dignity are fundamental aspects of Lear's humanity. Losing the respect of his daughters and his kingdom, Lear eventually loses his mind. During his descent into madness, Lear observes the shivering, naked body of the.”