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Essay / Analysis of the character of Cordielia in Shakespeare's King Lear
An example of these speech patterns is: “I obey you, I love you and honor you most” (1.1.98). She remains silent on stage as her father cedes all the land to her sisters, Kent stands against the king's error, and his suitors enter. After her father disowned her and insulted her towards her suitors, she finally said to her father: "If I want this flippant, oily art, to speak and have no intention", meaning that she lacks words to describe her love (1.1.243). She then goes on to say: "But even for lack of that for which I am richer: an eye always demanding and a tongue such that I am happy not to have it, even if not having it has lost me at your taste” (1.1.243). She sincerely believes that this lack of words makes her honorable, even if it causes her to lose her father's love. Her philosophy is that it is more important to say little and mean what you say than to be ostentatious. In Shakespeare's plays, the direct and concise people are usually the ones who possess the wisdom and truth that most of the characters cannot understand.