Term Papers on The Deception In King Lear

Term Paper Title	The Deception In King Lear
# of Words	1442
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.77

The Deception in King Lear

     William Shakespeare's play King Lear is a play full of deceit, betrayal and
meaningless promises.  This becomes evident in the first few lines.  We first
learn of the empty words of Goneril and Regan as well as their hatred for their
father, King Lear.  This becomes the center of the play and also leads to the
madness that the king suffers from.
     The first words that Goneril speaks are totally empty and are the complete
opposite of what she really feels.  She says, "Sir, I love you more than word
can wield the matter; Dearer than eye-sight, space and liberty;" (I.i.54-55)
The reason why there are no words to express her love for her father is that she
has no love for him and it does not exist.  The same goes for her sister, Regan,
who is plotting against her father as well.  She says that she feels the same
way as her sister and expresses how Goneril has named her very deed of love.
Regan adds a little twist to this and professes that she loves Lear more than
her sisters and that Goneril's affection for her father "comes too short."
(I.i.71)  By uttering these words, Regan shows that her love is even less true
than that of her sister's.  She goes even farther to say:

        "...that I profess
         Myself an enemy to all other joys
         Which the most precious square of sense possesses,
         And find I am alone felicitate
         In your dear highness' love."
                                       I.i.71-75

This goes to show that she is more greedy than her sister and her words are also
falser.  She wants more than her sister and will do anything to attain her goal.
Her ambition to get what she wants is evident in the words that she speaks.  She
claims herself to be "an enemy to all other joys" but she is really the enemy to
her father.
     The next person King Lear calls to speak is his soft-spoken daughter,
Cordelia.  Lear does not have much respect for her because she does not flatter
him and put him on the pedestal that he feels that he should be put on.  This is
exactly what his other daughters do and he feels very strongly that Cordelia
should do the same.  Because of all the flattery that was given him by his other
two daughters, he gives them most of his possessions.  The first thing that
Cordelia says when the King asks her to speak is "nothing."  The king is enraged
by this remark and says that, "Nothing will come of nothing: speak again."
(I.i.89)  When Cordelia speaks again she says that she does love him but
according to their bond, no more no less.  The king is also angry by this remark
and tells her to "mend" her speech a little.  The king really means that he
wants to be flattered more and that she is not doing so by saying what she does.
In the speech that Cordelia gives beginning on line 95, she says:

        "                       Good my Lord,
         You have begot me, bred me, lov'd me:I
         Return those duties back as are right fit,
         Obey you, love you, and most honour you."
                                       I.i.94-97

This speech professes that she loves him for all that he has done for her
including raising her and the bond that they have to each other.  It is the bond
that keeps them together.  Throughout the entire play, the bond is the only
thing that helps Lear in the end.  Cordelia takes him in and does whatever she
can to ease his pain.  She does not do this out of sympathy but because of the
bond that they have as father and daughter. In line 106, Cordelia says, "So
young, my Lord, and true." (I.i.106)  She is saying that the love that she has
for the king is true and sincere.  She is the only one out of all of her sisters
that speaks the truth and shows that she really is sincere.  Because of her
sincerity and her wish not to flatter him like the rest of his daughters, Lear
proceeds to ridicule her and then takes away her dowry.  This is what she meant
when she utters the words "nothing."  She has nothing to say that will flatter
the king because she i...

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