In William Shakespeare's play King Lear, the king asked his daughters to confess their love for him, in order to see who will get the part of the kingdom. The eldest daughter, Goneril, tells her father that she loves him more than she can express. "Beyond all manner of so much I love you," (Shakespeare 11). Pleased to hear this, King Lear gives her and her husband a portion of the land. He then asks his second oldest daughter, Regan, to tell him how much she loves him. Regan tries to out-do her older sister by telling her father that she loves him more than Goneril. King Lear was pleased to hear this a second time, so he gave his daughter and her husband a portion of the land. The king then asked his youngest, and favorite, daughter, Cordelia, to express her love for him. Lear says, "What can you say to draw/A third more opulent than your sisters'? Speak," (Shakespeare 13). Cordelia tells him there is nothing she can say, "I cannot heave/My heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty/According to my bond, no more nor less" (Shakespeare 13). After this response, Cordelia is banished by her father.
I agree with Cordelia's response to the question of love. When it comes to loving another person, whether it be a parent, guardian, aunt, uncle, a child, a boyfriend or girlfriend, and so on, there are different ways to do so. It is expected to love a family member different than you would love a friend. The bond a parent has with their child is unlike any other and should be cherished. The same bond can be had with a group of friends; however, there is not the same connection. Usually, a person knows their parents for their whole life and a relationship with a friend is not usually this long-lasting. Over a period of time, one discovers information about another person that may change their feelings for these people, either bringing them closer together or pushing them away.
When Cordelia told her father that she was not going to tell him how much she loved him, he got upset with her. Cordelia was banished from her father's kingdom and left with no land from her father. I believe that it is hard to express your love for certain people. Cordelia felt as if she did not have to tell her father how much she loved him because he should already know. I agree with Cordelia in the sense that many people are unable to share their love for another person and that it should be known without having to be expressed through the words we use.
I completely agree with you, Cassie. The test of real love was a major element in the first Act of the play. In Act 1 Scene 1, Lear shows that he does not understand the concept of real love when he banishes Cordelia from his kingdom. Especially as a father, Lear should have known that Cordelia loved him with everything she had. She was his favorite daughter after all, was she not? Although Cordelia refused to express her love in the way Lear wanted, her love for him certainly remained the same. When we love someone, we do not need words. If you truly love that person you do not have to tell them “I love you” everyday to make your love anymore genuine or poignant. In the end, your actions mean more than saying what is in your heart and expressing those words. In Cordelia’s case, the fact that her father banishes her and she does not go crazy shows how genuine her love for Lear is.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you Cassie and Antonella. I believe King Lear should not have asked his three daughters to profess their love for him in order to inherit land. It seems as Lear is trying to buy love from his daughters. He is not directly giving them money for their love; however, when they profess their love for him, they receive land and his income. When Cordelia does not exaggerate her love for her father, she does not receive any inheritance and is disowned by her father. In my opinion she does not believe she should have to “buy” her father’s love in order to receive her inheritance.
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious Goneril and Regan’s love for their father is not genuine, but it seems as King Lear’s love for his daughters is not entirely genuine either. If he truly loved his daughters, he would not have asked them to make a formal statement of their love in order to recieve their inheritance, but if he did not make them profess their love to him, there would not be a plot for the play.