In King Lear, William Shakespeare predominantly uses the two large settings. These are the external world and the internal world. Within the confines of the walls it is Lear who holds the power to do as he pleases, but outside the confines of the bricks and mortar, the same man is at the mercy of Nature. Human hearts respond with harshness and self-devaluation when they are not given love. Lear is one of these characters who, due to family circumstances, relies on his daughters for love, but when he discovers that this love for him is no longer what it once was, he reacts by damaging not only the lives of the people around him , but also himself. Shakespeare makes this evident to the reader through the contrasting settings of the palace and the moor. The composition of Lear's family and the events that take place are used by Shakespeare to show the greed of man. Lear's family consists of his three daughters and himself. From the beginning it is evident to the reader that there is no maternal figure in the family. This fact forces the reader to infer that it is from his daughters that Lear receives love. The first scene shows both the division of the kingdom and a marriage proposal for Cordelia. This juxtaposition of events shows that Lear has a “darker purpose” (1,1,35) for doing so. Cordelia is Lear's "last" daughter (1,1,82), who will soon marry the "vines of France... [or] the milk of Burgundy." This foreshadows that after the events that occurred that night there will no longer be any reason for the three daughters to stay at home with the king. Lear uses the metonymy of “vines… [and] milk,” both symbols of the power of the two lands, to demonstrate that only good awaits her if she is married to one of these gentlemen… .middle of paper.. ....this oxymoron that the only affection he feels now is through pain. By placing Lear in an environment where his desire for love and affection is not satisfied, Shakespeare shows how far the man will go to feel some form of love. Love is like a double edged sword, Shakespeare is able to show this through the created settings of the Palace and the Moor. In the palace where Lear is in control, the lack of affection he feels is channeled into vain evil acts against others; whereas, in the Heath setting, Lear is at the mercy of nature and turns to self-affliction as a means of filling the void within himself. Shakespeare shows the audience that in certain contexts love is a tool that causes harm to others through the vanity it highlights, but by the same token it also causes harm to oneself when one tries to replace the lack of love felt. Works Cited King Lear