Note 47:2 — Chapter III · The Presentation of Madness—from the Standpoint of Literature.
Reading edition
Indeed many critics find incipient madness in Lear’s conduct even earlier, i.e. from the very beginning of the play. This view I cannot hold; Lear’s actions in the early part of the play do not seem to me to be the result of anything but the childishness of old age. The King is quite responsible for his actions. If he were not, he would be the one exception to Shakespeare’s practice in his tragedies.