In Greek, Cordelia means “revealed heart” and her heart truly motivates her. She is the epitome of female grace and patience as Graham (2009) states. However, admirable designates in the entire sense to be impeccable in all motivations, this essay will assert that Cordelia in “King Lear” is not entirely admirable, and she is not “near to perfection,” as Jameson(1833) asserted.
Shakespeare’s “King Lear “is an incredible work with numerous dramatical, social and philosophical dimensions.Harley Granville-Barker (1927) suggested that the play illustrates Lear’s “agony, his spiritual death, and resurrection.” From the historical point of view “King Lear” is a play about sovereignty, composed amid a period when the monarchy was the significance. Shakespeare’s “King Lear” is a criticism of irrefutably the political power inside King James I whose first words in 1603 to England’s Parliament were: Goldberg(1983)” I am the Husband, all the whole Isle is my lawfull Wife; I am the Head, and it is my Body.” Rule of Elizabeth I exhibited by proceeded with undertaking to legitimize her standard since her gender and an uneasy familial case to the position of royalty were concerning matter. These speculations affected life in Shakespeare’s England, and furthermore in early present-day Europe as a whole. During the 1600s the nation and mainland were feeling the impact of Henry VIII’s choice to isolate from the Catholic church from a century ago. In the play, Shakespeare tackles the issue of man-centric monarchy, where Lear is a leader of the kingdom yet additionally his family. Doran (1976) notes that “in no other Shakespearian tragedy we hear so imperious a voice—so cunningly demanding, ordering, exclaiming, imprecating.”
“The Tragedy of King Lear” is a well-structured combination of verse and prose. Blank verse incorporates the unrhymed iambic pentameters with 5 stressed syllables and 5 unstressed syllables to each line, for example, Lear: “Come on, my boy. How dost, my boy? Art cold?” [3.2.66.] Notwithstanding, Shakespeare does not adhere to the guidelines of blank verse entirely to avoid monotony. High-status characters talked in verse. It might be critical that Shakespeare picked Lear to talk in prose later on in the play as that is the point at which he starts to understand his normal mankind with the individuals who are generally pitiable. Rhyme likewise attracts regard for specific considerations or thoughts. Shakespeare some of the time utilized rhyming couplets to give a feeling of conclusion. Characters likewise use asides and discourses and have their very own ‘styles’ which mirrors their roles, feelings, and natures, for instance, Cordelia [Aside] “Then poor Cordelia…ponderous than my tongue.”[1.1.72-74.]. Lear uses language as “an extension of will” as De Grazia(1978 ) said.
In the first scene of the play where Lear asks Cordelia to declare her love “Which of you shall we say doth love us most?” [1.1.46]—he receives only “Nothing, my lord.”[1.1.82.] as an answer. Cordelia’s response emanates from the purpose of love to her father not to participate with Regan and Gonerill in the utterance of pleasing artifices. Dreher (1998) said that King Lear censured by his very own logic and attack of temper, he overlooks the obligation of Cordelia’s affection, surrendering “Britain and himself” under the control of his “two vicious daughters whose sugared words conceal brutal and savage hearts.” Cordelia realizes that her father will be inadequately treated by her sisters and their husbands: “Love well our father: To your professéd bosoms I commit him.” [1.1. 265 -266.] Unable to be hypocritical like her sisters, Cordelia knows that she will lose the love test. McLaughlin(1978) “instead of entering into the spirit of the contest she will insist upon the literal adherence to the rules…If love is to be quantified, then she will play the game with a vengeance.” Cordelia’s silence is an intimidating feminine defense mode yet, masculine in power as she revokes Lear’s speech, “wounding Lear’s public pride” as White (2000) suggests. Lear exchange from the pronouns “me”, “my” [1.1.43.] as an appropriate tone to a father speaking to his daughters, to the formal “we”, “us” [1.1.129], [1.1.257.] which exhibits hierarchical authority that Cordelia’s silence opposes. King Lear’s love test reveals his despotism in a way that transforms him from king to nothing. Gesch (2008) notes that “speech is brought to the immediate forefront in this scene, with variations of the words ‘speak’ or ‘say’ used eleven times in the ninety some odd lines that make initial questioning of the three daughters.” Morris (1957) states that in spite of the fact that we can feel a specific measure of reverence for Cordelia’s position, actually her answer is not generally adequate to a sovereign, nor notwithstanding for a father… Lear is not completely to fault for the catastrophe that will be played out, because of her ambiguous and unsatisfying answer.
Mack(2005) suggests that Cordelia is a symbol of perfection in terms of herself but withal shown to be estimable as King Lear’s neglecting her ‘true love’, is what commits himself to tragedy through the pursuit of ‘false love in a variety of forms’. King of France says of her: “Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor, Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despised!” [1.1.245-246].Cordelia is treated as a currency whose worth oscillate depending on her adequacy to the men of power which surround her. When the King of France asserts that “Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon, Be it lawful I take up what’s cast away” [1.1.256-257.] Cordelia answer with nothing about the marriage to King of France as he simply takes her hand. According to Thornham (2000) from the Renaissance onwards, women in Western storytelling usually did not decide much of the action and were stereotypically passive and obedient. Although, Greenfield (1977)suggests that there is a contradiction that occurs with an idealistic perspective of Cordelia by endeavoring to ‘establish a simple representative relationship between Cordelia’s character and a conceptualized virtue’. Millard (1989) said, “Having rejected the static role that Lear would have imposed on her in act one, Cordelia goes on to create her own future, to seek retribution and the creation of a new order beyond her sisters’, and eventually to achieve her own transcendence from political constraints through her reconciliation with Lear”. Cordelia’s desire to maintain her integrity and rise to power after being banished and leads the French army to war against Britain to save Lear. Cordelia despite being a woman and not French, takes charge of the French army, creating an image of a desirable leader. In preparation for battle, Cordelia’s position at the head of her army exhibits her power as it seems not unlikely that Cordelia herself appears in an armor.” “Enter with drum and colors, Cordelia, Gentleman, and Soldiers” [4.3.0.] According to Dessen and Thomson’s(1999) the “drum and colors” usually indicate “readiness for battle and are part of a show of power.” Messenger “The British powers are marching hitherward” [4.3.21.], Cordelia replies, “Tis known before. Our preparation stands. In expectation of them” [4.3.22–23.].
When Cordelia reappear in the play crying with pity for her father’s agony, yet in her tears, she is still “queen over her passion”. Whilst Lear thought mourning dishonorable acquiesce of is the masculine authority, Cordelia’s tears became a fount of power: “All blest secrets, All you unpublished virtues of the earth, Spring with my tears; be aidant and remediate In the good man’s distress!” [4.4.15-18]. Heilman(1963) suggest that Cordelia’s development displays her ‘part of the unfortunate substance’. This passes on how Cordelia cannot be seen as entirely admirable, as she experiences a ‘common growth’ with King Lear. Uncovering how notwithstanding Cordelia commendable activities after her return, her own unfortunate actions and inspirations are what to some extent caused the crisis. Nevertheless, Cordelia does come back for Lear and substantiate herself to be the most loving of his children and obligingly take care of him. As Stuart (1967) states that Cordelia “shows Lear that she is and has all along been all that a daughter should be: a daughter to whom a father need not prove himself” As her father awakens from sleep Cordelia asks him, “How does my royal lord? How fares your majesty?” [4.6.41.] The kingdom she returns to is reformed into her sister’s lustful conspiracy, abuse of familial relationships and trickery with no place for the goodness of Cordelia’s soul. As Oates (1974) states that while Cordelia “initiates the tragic action, her sisters continue it, her sisters die, but their evil continues so that Cordelia herself is executed.” Rudnytsky (1999), argues that “Cordelia’s death shatters this morality-play pattern and casts King Lear irrevocably into the abyss of tragedy”. Dying Lear looks upon the dead Cordelia and declares, “Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips, / Look thee, look there!” [5.3.284-285]. Foakes (1993) comments, that what he sees or thinks he sees has been abundantly discussed; to some, it appears a last remorseless dream in the event that he envisions Cordelia to be alive, to others a favored discharge for him in a moment of envisioned reunion. The “conflict is at the center of psychoanalytic thinking—the battle between conflicting conscious and unconscious desires causes the repression which leads to neurosis,” as Thurschwell (2000)states. Cordelia recognizes her fault to some degree in her very last speech, saying of herself and her father, “We are not the first. Who, with the best meaning, have incurred the worst,” [5.3.3-4].
In conclusion, Cordelia as an opposite to her sisters unquestionably is admirable with her flawless intentions of showing love to her father. However, she cannot be seen as entirely admirable as her rashness of action and stubbornness caused all the suffering. Cordelia is murdered following her affecting the significance of reunion and metamorphose of father-daughter love. Van Domelen (1975)argues that Shakespeare viewed the murder of Cordelia as a noteworthy part of the essential criticalness of the play and explicitly on any occasion, the culmination could not have been otherwise.