Irony in King Lear

Gloucester’s appearance and statements provide a good example of irony, because his failure to recognize Kent or his own son Edgar, despite how much he claims to love and value them, shows his blindness. This echoes Lear's inability to recognize Kent, and it provides a literal emphasis to the metaphorical blindness of the old men towards the actions of their children.

Edmund’s betrayal of his own father is the ultimate corruption of the bond between father and child. Thus, Edmund’s breach of this parent-child contract in the name of justice and righteousness is ironic, because the audience knows of Edmund’s depravity.

This line is a form of dramatic irony. The audience knows that the madman whom Glocester saw in the storm was actually his son Edgar who now stands before him as Poor Tom. Glocester however does not make this connection, further demonstrating his metaphorical blindness along with his literal blindness.

This statement is meant to be ironic. Edmund is not going to put an end to his father’s life out of pity but rather to protect his evil ambitions. “Dispatch” in this context means to put an end to.