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Tyler Daley
Ms. DeMaio
English 10 Pre-AP
4/26/12
Cordelia’s Exhibition of Disdain and Affection
William Shakespeare’s King Lear is the tragic story about a king, now past his prime is,
manipulated by his scornful daughters as he slowly deteriorates in mind and body. King Lear,
now senile and rash in his old age is taken advantage of by his daughters, Regan and Goneril.
Only after his land and wealth, they show no regard to his person and ruthlessly plot to take him
off his throne and assume control themselves. Parallel to this plot, the son of Lear’s friend,
Gloucester is befalling the same fate as Lear. Gloucester’s illegitimate son, Edmund is planting
lies in order to secure his father’s fortune. Cordelia, Lear’s banished daughter, voices her
contempt at Goneril and Regan’s to her father, and displays her affection, aside from being
banished. Cordelia amplifies her discontent with her sisters through use of symbolism, imagery,
and diction, expressing the natural desire for greed and power in humans.
Within in Act 4, Scene 7, Cordelia employs imagery and symbolism to describe Lear’s
age. Doing this emphasizes the cruelty of her sisters taking advantage of an elderly man. She
refers to Lear’s age in this passage by saying, “Had you not been their father, these white flakes”
(4.7.1). Cordelia uses “white flakes” to describe Lear’s hair turning white in his old age. The
“white flakes” could also symbolize Lear slowly losing pieces of him and deteriorating. Each
flake represents a little piece of Lear’s sanity, him becoming feebleminded in his old age, and the
color of his hair. Over the course of the play, Lear’s sanity decreases as he becomes even older
and loses more flakes. Cordelia emphasizes Lear’s age because of the disadvantages that came
with it, and they Goneril and Regan abuse them. By the time Lear has realized that he was taken
advantage by Goneril and Regan, it was too late. Shakespeare demonstrates that people are
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naturally greedy and will not hesitate to prey on the weak to achieve their own personal goals.
The natural desire to stand above the rest can consume people, just as it did to Goneril and
Regan. In a world where status, power, and fortune rule all, those with nothing stand at the
bottom of society. It is the prospect of this nothingness that compels people to behave like this
and to satisfy their own selfish goals.
Additionally, Cordelia is able to express her discontent of her sisters’ actions through the
use of diction. Cordelia uses words with a negative connotation to describe the way in which
Lear was treated. Cordelia’s diction is enhanced through the fact the Lear is royalty and for him
to be treated like this is rude and disrespectful. She shows this by saying, “To hovel thee with
swine and rogues forlorn, In short and musty straw? Alack, alack! ‘Tis wonder that thy life and
wits at once Had not conclude all, He wakes; speak to him” (4.7.10-13). Lear, who is used to
living in a castle his whole life, was “hovelled with swine and rogues forlorn.” He is taken from
his comfortable, high class lifestyle, and then placed in an abandoned house with animals and
vagrants. This itself would be considered disrespectful to anyone, but is made even worse due to
the fact that the he is a king. Also, Lear is accustomed to silk and fine linens, but when removed
from his castle, is forced to sleep in broken and dirty straw, a bed hardly fit for anyone. Cordelia
also displays affection in this passage with, “Alack, alack! ‘Tis wonder that thy life and wits at
once Had not conclude all.” She shows that she cares for her father’s health by exclaiming her
surprise that he did not die while in the abandoned hovel. Through this, Shakespeare shows that
people take their life for granted. Cordelia believes that the conditions Lear had to live in were
horrendous, but does not realize there are people who have it even worse than that and she
should have been thankful that Lear did not have to sleep outside. People do not realize that life
is a privilege, not a right. People just assume that their life is something they receive as a birth
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right, but it is more than that. Life is a gift and should be treated as such, not taken for granted,
assuming that it will always be there.
Cordelia also condemns her sisters’ actions by showing sympathy for Lear, showing that
she believes the way her father was treated was wrong. She conveys her sympathy by feeling
sorry for Lear after he is thrown out into the storm with:
Was this a face To be opposed against the warring winds? To stand against the deep
dread-bolted thunder? In the most terrible and nimble stroke Of Quick, cross lightning?
to watch-poor perdu!- (4.7.2-6).
Cordelia uses “most terrible and nimble stroke” to describe the intensity and severity of this
storm. For anyone to be out in this storm, especially an elderly person such as Lear, it would
surely spell doom. Cordelia sympathizes with Lear by saying “to watch-poor perdu!” She feels
sad that Lear had to endure that storm and does not believe that he should have had to. The fact
that Cordelia feels sorry for Lear shows that she does not think that what her sisters did was
right. Cordelia is horrified at her sisters’ actions and feels sorry for Lear which shows that
Cordelia still loves him regardless of what he did to her. Through Cordelia’s sympathy and
condemning of her sisters, Shakespeare shows that it is important to support and love you family,
because no matter what, they will always be there. People cannot let petty arguments come
between them, especially when it comes to family, because in the end, the only people that can
be really counted on is family.
In summary, Shakespeare’s King Lear is a story of how a once great king is taken
advantage of by his daughters and once he realizes what has happened, it is too late. Cordelia
denounces her sisters’ actions through use of imagery, symbolism, and sympathy. Through
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Cordelia, Shakespeare shows that people are naturally greedy, take things for granted, and that
family is what is most important. Shakespeare uses Lear’s mistakes as a way to convey the
natural behaviors of people and to teach everyone a life lesson.