Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Mixed Emotions
Right off the bat its easy to see that this play is going to be jam packed with Shakespeare's favorite themes: complicated emotions, weird relationships, and mood changes. It seems complex so far. And not in the "Midsummer's Night Dream" kind of way where the plot is a
series of freaky twists and turns...but rather the characters
themselves. First off, the fact that King Lear demands that his daughters tell them how much they love him, and whoever is the best at it wins royal power, is a weird idea. Sounds like an old retiring guy who has a huge ego, or is super insecure, and just wants to get some compliments. So why not get it from his daughters? Fair enough. But also I thought it was strange how Cordelia was so silent that she could not tell him that she loved him. At first I thought she was only trying to be sincere with her words, but there's also a part of me that is frustrated with the fact that she could not tell him that she loved him. It seems that if you sincerely love someone you have no problem expressing, even if it under weird circumstances...but that's just me I guess. Its hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea that she couldn't just tell him. I have not yet decided if I think it her passiveness is admirable, or kind of dumb in this situation.
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It irks me that the universal perception of Cordelia seems to be really naive and passive. I completely agree that it doesn't seem like it should follow in a play that has such distinct and powerful characters. Maybe Cordelia actually has her father's stubborn pride? If he can't accept her love based on what she has demonstrated so far, she could stubbornly be refusing to play his game. It's an interesting thought.
ReplyDeleteYou have an interesting perspective, because as I read the play Cordelia did not strike me as weak or passive. I know she was silent for much of the conversation, but I interpreted that as courage and honesty rather than fear. I felt like she saw through her father's tirade and was unwilling to go along. She simply said that she just loved her father as much as one should love their father, which probably is not more than life itself, like her sisters said.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a good point that it is weird Cordelia didn't say anything. She could have at least said, "Thou knowest that I love thee" or something. But the fact that she didn't even say that really just makes the kings reaction seem a little understandable. If the daughter you loved the most can't tell you, even remotely that she loves you, wouldn't you be heart-broken?
ReplyDeleteLike Alyssa, I think Cordelia was mostly just refusing to play her father's game. She's not being passive, but instead is refusing to join the power play that's going on between her sisters and her father. As I understood it, she didn't want use her love for her father as a pawn to get more land. When she says "my love's more richer than my tongue" she's saying that her love for her father is too great to be used that way, like her love would be lessened or sullied by doing so.
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