King Lear Passage Analysis Act IV, Scene 7 (lines 26 - 69)

…reveal her genuine love for Lear. She does not address Lear with sarcasm and insults as Goneril and Regan do, but instead she shows respect for him, calling him “dear father” and addressing him with the honorific possessive adjective “thy”. She seeks to restore Lear, saying “restoration hang thy medicine on my lips”, alluding to Lear’s recovery of not only his physical state and his mental faculties but also his place as king. Cordelia in some way anticipates this by dressing Lear in royal robes while he is still asleep.

This brings to mind the theme of clothing as a representation of status. Lear, dressed in royal robes, has recovered his status in this extract as he is among people who revere and respect him. This creates much hope in the Elizabethan audience as there is now a semblance of order again.

The portrayal of Cordelia as the paragon of virtue is reinforced here as throughout the extract, she mentions nothing of exacting revenge on Goneril and Regan, only speaking of Lear’s recovery from the “violent harms” made against him by her sisters. She takes pity on him, as she watches Lear in repose, using rhetoric to accomplish this:

...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!--
With this thin helm?…

In Cordelia’s rhetoric, the use of alliteration, “warring winds”/ “deep dread-bolted”, assonance: (“terrible” / “nimble”), plosive sounds (/p/, /d/) and onomatopoeia (to find) emphasises the strength of the feelings inside of her. She senses the injustice that Goneril and Regan have inflicted on Lear and the suffering he has been made to endure. For the first time, we see one of Lear’s daughters acting in accordance with her natural relation with her father, treating him with reverence and respect even though Lear has so deeply wronged her. Her forgiving nature is apparent through this, furthering the impression the audience have of Cordelia as the paragon of virtue.

Cordelia address of Lear as “royal lord” and “your majesty” contrasts with Goneril and Regan’s disrespectful “old man”. The return to order is extremely refreshing for the Elizabethan audience given the series of events that have taken place before this scene. Cordelia is therefore seen as an agent of restoration which places her in favourable light with the audience. Her respect for Lear is shown when she quickly kneels after Lear does, as she does not want Lear to lower his status any longer. She places herself on equal ground with Lear, unlike Goneril and Regan who are always ordering Lear around. Her instructions to Lear, “look upon me, sir”, “hold your hands in benediction o’er me”, are said in a respectful tone and do not contain connotations of demand, again in stark contrast with the behaviour of Goneril and Regan.

The Portrayal of Lear’s Restoration

Lear awakes from his sleep still insane. He thinks that he has died and sees Cordelia as a “soul in bliss”. In contrast, he describes himself as “bound upon a wheel of fire”. This imagery of a wheel brings to mind the cycle of events that have taken place, and that Lear has finally got what he deserved for his unnatural acts. The wheel can also be seen as a symbol of perpetuity, and the fire as a symbol of immense suffering. Thus, Lear, bound to the “wheel of fire”, is destined to suffer for eternity as a wheel never stops spinning. After all, when Lear divided his kingdom in Act 1 Scene 1, he assured Goneril and Regan that each of their domains were to be theirs forever. To Goneril he says “To thine and Albany’s issue be this perpetual” and to Regan, he vows “To thee and thine hereditary ever remain this ample third of our fair kingdom”. Even when he dismisses Cordelia, he condemns her for eternity, “Here I disclaim all my paternal care, propinquity, and property of blood, and as a stranger to my heart and me hold thee from this for ever.” This image of eternal suffering is a reference to the Greek myth of Ixion, a Greek man who killed his father-in-law, a sin which only Zeus, the king of the gods of Olympus, could cleanse. However, Ixion lusted after Hera, Zeus’ wife, and lay with a cloud which Zeus created in the image of Hera. As punishment, he was bound to a wheel of fire that spun for eternity.

Therefore, as Lear desired for his unnatural proclamations to hold for eternity, so will his suffering continue for eternity. In a sense, the audience gets a sense that Lear’s suffering is not at an end even in this touching restoration and reconciliation scene.. Lear’s words continue to convey the great suffering he has been through. He states, “mine own tears do scald like molten lead”. Tears, usually a form of emotional release and relief, is juxtaposed with molten lead, showing that even in release, Lear is still in torment by his inner feelings, reinforcing the idea of the perpetuity of Lear’s suffering. A sense of unease therefore continues from the rest of the play into this extract.

However, as Lear regains consciousness, he soon regains his sanity. He remarks, “I am mightily abused. I should ev’n die with pity to see another thus.” He remembers what has been done to him, but rather than curse at the gods and at the world, he hopes that no one else would be in his situation, showing some newfound compassion in Lear.

For the first time, Lear has a sustained epiphany of who and what he truly is. He describes himself as a “foolish fond old man”. He recognises his “hideous rashness” and “folly” and his emotional tendencies. He even recognises that he has lost his mind, “I fear I am not in my perfect mind”, which is ironic as people who are insane rarely know they are, showing that Lear has some recovery of his mental faculties. His memories come back to him slowly as he speaks, leading up to the point when he recognises Cordelia as his daughter. The build up to the final line, “I think this lady to be my child Cordelia”, prepares the audience for a reconciliation between Lear and Cordelia so touching and uplifting that the ominous events of the play seem to fade in the background for a moment. Hope is restored in the audience, as the virtuous characters finally catch a break in the play. However, this hope is quickly dashed in Act 5 Scene 3 when Cordelia, Lear, and Kent all die. This emotional high that preludes the sadness that is to come heightens the pathos and tragedy that is felt at the end of the play, fulfilling the perpetuity of Lear’s suffering, to be forever separated from Cordelia.

The Depiction of Lear and Cordelia’s reconcilliation

Lear and Cordelia’s reconciliation take place in an atmosphere of peace and love. In this extract, all of the characters present seem to only have good things to say. There is no hellish imagery, except for the “wheel of fire” which Lear uses only to describe the magnitude of his suffering, but rather words like “restoration”, “repair”, “kind”, “dear”, “bliss” and “benediction”. The atmosphere of love and peace is not even disrupted by any bashing of Goneril and Regan by Cordelia, Lear or Kent. Rather everyone from the Doctor to the Gentleman to Cordelia seems intent in restoring Lear, both physically and mentally.

The audience take a breather from the unease and discomfort that have pervaded the play thus far. An this reconciliation scene is a welcome change from all the unnatural subversion of natural order, hellish imagery and ominous settings.