King Lear and Don Quixote use madness to recognize the unpleasant truths of humanity. Don Quixote nurtures a fundamentally comic madness; while King Lear offers a more tragic interpretation of madness. Both protagonists, King Lear and Don Quixote, base their madness in powerful alternative realities. Cervantes explains Don Quixote's fixation with the knight errant's writing: "Thus, with too little sleep and too much reading his brain / has dried up, 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 / false inventions that he read that no / story in the world was truer” chooses to isolate himself from the world (Don Quixote, Part I, Ch. I, 21) . In contrast, madness is forced upon King Lear. He is stripped of his identity and left wondering, “Does anyone here know me? This is not Lear. / … Who can tell me who I am?” (King Lear, 1.4.220-224) Lear's madness is prohibitive 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In 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 attests to the power of imagination and implies a certain degree of self-awareness. Quixote's Madness speaks of 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 as a service to the nation, to become a knight errant / … correcting all sorts of wrongs, … / winning everlasting fame and everlasting /fame” (Don Quixote , Part I, Chapter I, Page 21). Quixote's humanity depends on purpose, beauty, and courage. He is very self-focused and interested in exploring his perceptions of the world. Quixote's perception of the world is guided by Dulcinea. He expresses a powerful infatuation with her by saying, “For what I want from Dulcinea del Toboso she is as good as the greatest / princess in the land… / I am quite satisfied… to imagine and believe that the good Aldonza Lorenzo is so lovely and virtuous” (Don Quixote). Choosing to ignore the world around him, he sees Dulcinea as the epitome of perfection. Regardless of his reality, Dulcinea exists as an extension of Don Quixote Quixote seeks. As Don Quixote's fantasies become reality, he actually constructs destiny. On the other hand, Lear's madness is destructive and develops from external impulses. During the storm he says: “Drop / 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 assumes a position of servitude / More sin against than sin” (King Lear, III.2.59-60), Lear expresses 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 the kingdom, Lear ultimately loses his mind. During his descent into madness, Lear observes poor Tom's naked, trembling body in the storm. Observing Tom's vulnerability, Lear discovers that true humanity is simple and free of superfluous wealth or materialism..”