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Kent
king lear
6 cards
Cards (357)
Lear: '"
Meantime
we
shall
express
our
darker
purpose"'
Lear's decision to divide his kingdom in three
According to which
daughter
claims to
love
him the most
"
darker
"
Hints at something malign in Lear's
motivation
, either deliberate or
subconscious
"
darker
"
Could also suggest something
oblique
in Lear's
motivation
"
darker
"
Perhaps it is
Lear's
compulsive
desire
for his own
downfall
Lear: '"
unburdened
crawl
towards
death
"'
Lear
Appears to want to be
relieved
of kingship: it is a
'burden'
The word
'crawl'
suggests he has become
infantilized
Lear
: '"which of you shall we say
doth love us most
?"'
Lear
Emotional blindness
and
power-driven arrogance
leads him to divide his kingdom according to the flawed love test
Lear conceitedly believes that
love
can be equated to
material affection
(i.e. commodified rather than something given generously)
Lear employs an
imperious
tone of voice – note the use of the
royal plural
in 'we say'
Lear's act of banishing
Cordelia
Demonstrates Lear's
commodification
of
love
Lear: '"what
can
you
say
to
draw
a
third
more
opulent
than
your
sisters
?"'
Lear
Nakedly
prefers
Cordelia
and as such the love-test of
1.1
is
rigged
from the start
The word
'opulent'
suggests Lear
equates
love
with
value.
He has
commodifed
it
Lear: '"Here I
disclaim
all my paternal care, / Propinquity and property of
blood
"'
Lear
Disowns
Cordelia
both emotionally but also materially, denying her participation in the
marriage
market
This is an act intended to do
material
harm to his daughter
"property of
blood
" implies he sees Cordelia as his
possession
Lear's disowning of
Cordelia
Places Lear in a
vulnerable
position
Lear: '"Come not between the
dragon
and his
wrath
"'
Lear
Treats
Kent
brutally and with vituperative rage when he tries to intercede, banishing him on pain of
death
Hints at something demonic inside Lear and that he delights to
indulge
in
Lear's banishment of Kent
Exacerbates Lear's
vulnerability
because he has lost his closest
advisor
Lear: '"Only we shall retain / the name, and all
th'addition
to a
king
"'
Lear
Wants to keep the title of King and the "
addition
" – a vague phrase which includes his
one hundred knights
Wants to divest himself of the
responsibility
of rule
Employs the
royal plural
('we') to emphasise his power as well as conducting a
ceremonial process
Lear's decision to divide his kingdom could cause political
chaos
because it would be
unclear
as to who rules the kingdom
Lear: '"her
price
is
fallen
"'
Lear
Sees
Cordelia
as his
property
Cordelia
: '"What shall
Cordelia speak
?" (aside)'
Cordelia
Panicked
about what to say in response to her
father
The
aside
invites the audience's
sympathy
She has been placed in the position of the victim of her
father's arrogance
and
vanity
Cordelia
: '"
Nothing
"'
Cordelia's response
Bluntly honest
answer as to how much she loves her
father
Can be
read
as the product of her panicked state of
mind
Perhaps she is behaving in a
morally righteous
manner
Her
silence
could be interpreted as
defiance
rather than panic
Cordelia
: '"I cannot heave my
heart
into my mouth"'
Cordelia
Cannot express her
love
for her father as it is too
strong
The
verb
"
heave
" articulates the
pain
she experiences as she tries to force the
weight
of the
affection
she feels for him into words
Could also reflect a
brattish
reluctance
to please her father on
Cordelia's
part
Cordelia: '"I love your
majesty
/ According to my
bond
,"'
Cordelia
Says she loves her father in a way that is appropriate for a daughter
This will not please Lear as he demands excessive
gratification
Whilst this may be logical, it is a response that could be said to lack
empathy
for her father's position
Cordelia: '"I want that
glib
and
oily
art / To speak and purpose not"'
Cordelia
Claims she lacks the
foul deceptiveness
of Regan and Goneril
This could be an example of her acting in a
priggish
and
morally righteous
manner
Such a thing only provokes
Lear
further, whilst also demonstrating a lack of
attentiveness
on her part to the situation
Cordelia
: '"I know you what you are…time shall unfold what
plighted cunning hides
"'
Cordelia
Reveals her as not only an astute and
perceptive
individual, but also someone not willing to hide their
integrity
Goneril
: '"I do
love
you more than word can wield the matter"'
Goneril
Claims
to
love
her father more than words can express
This is a
clichéd
expression she is using to
manipulate
her father
Stands in
contrast
to the physical pain of
Cordelia's
expression
Regan: '"I find she names my very deed of
love
; Only she comes too
short
"'
Regan
Professes to Lear that she essentially is
repeating
what
Goneril
has said only adding to it
Goneril
and Regan: '"You see how full of changes his age is…'Tis the
infirmity
of his age".'
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