The king ignores the Earl of Kent who tries to defend Cordelia and banishes him for daring to speak out. Without hesitation he cuts off one of his most loyal people without considering the consequences. This act weakens him but he is so arrogant that he won’t listen to criticism: everyone is wrong who disagrees with him. Shakespeare shows a king here who cannot judge a situation rationally or with a view to future implications. The king prefers the over the top flattery of his eldest daughters, though their words, as any audience would detect, are false and scheming. “Dearer than eye-sight, space and liberty,” Goneril says. And Regan declares she is “an enemy to all other joys”. Cordelia reacts fearfully in an aside “Then poor Cordelia,” but determines to be honest. Lear, of course is blind to this, highly delighted with Goneril and Regan’s unrealistic praise, he judges Cordelia’s simple statement more as insult than proper emotion from a daughter.
The play starts with the decisive moment, the carving up of a kingdom. But we get a good idea of what it was like before. Kent speaks passionately about his loyalty to the king, “ Loved as my father,” and “Think’st thou that duty shall have dread to speak, when power to flattery bows?” This signals to the audience the king’s error and complete lack of judgement against someone with a history of obedience and trustworthiness.
Lear casts off his youngest daughter to whoever will have her, as if she never mattered to him. It’s clear she did a great deal: even the King of France refers to Lear’s approval and favour of Cordelia, “This is most strange. That she, that even but now was your best object.”
Goneril says, “You see how full of changes his age is,” and “He always loved our sister most.” These two statements show the first signs of Lear’s impending madness. He is losing his grip on reality already and the stage is set for the tragedy to come.
Running parallel with Lear’s poor treatment of his daughter is Gloucester’s inability to see what is happening with his illegitimate son, Edmund. Both fathers fail to recognise truth and pay a heavy price for their mistakes. Gloucester makes public fun of his “bastard” son, “I have so often blushed to acknowledge him.” This sets Edmund as a rival against his brother Edgar, and leads to Gloucester’s downfall. The play’s subplot of the sons of Gloucester explores similar themes of jealousy, betrayal, greed and revenge, where those in a position of power and authority are easily fooled and quick to judge. Gloucester is as ready to believe his son conspires against him, as Lear is to believe that Cordelia lacks devotion. They both choose to trust their lying offspring instead.
Ultimately every character is destined to suffer because of the above misjudgements. Lear himself only begins to think of others after he loses everything but it is too late then to alter what he has done. He becomes wise to his own faults and selfish decisions, but only when he is made humble by poverty, only when he realises the mistake he made with his daughter, Cordelia, who forgives him. This is Shakespeare’s strongest message of the play: how to measure what really is worthwhile.
