Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Bret is lame (discussion question)
Before his death, King Lear tells the people surrounding him to "look on her, look, her lips" (referring to his daughter) What is the significance of his dying words? Does this mean that he dies thinking that his daughter is alive? Is he still a blind, gullible old man? Or has he changed?
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On the surface, I think that by telling people to look at Cordelia's lips he was simply coming to terms with the fact that she was actually dead. Lips are a very "human" feature, and seeing them blue, cold and motionless would certainly be heart-wrentching. It is symbolic of the idea that her humanity no longer fills her human form.
ReplyDeleteOn a deeper level, I think it shows Lear's recognition of Cordelia's purity. I say this because it was those very lips that uttered the "unloving" words that made him banish her. However, by now doting on those very same lips, it shows that Lear appreciates her for her truthfulness and her love which is undeniably pure.
Her lips spoke the truth while she was alive. And now, in their stillness, they speak the truth once again: she is dead, and he missed his chance to appreciate her purity while he could.
I believe that Lear has changed from the old and rash man that he was. As he watched his beloved daughter Cordelia die before his eyes something changed. Lear was once blinded to the decisions that he made, never questioning what they will lead to in the future, and as a result he seemed to ignore the real problems that he invoked. One such problem was him banishing Cordelia. It was simply a rash and unplanned action that he hadn't taken into consideration, but now it was too late. Lear finally saw what he had done. As a result Lear is faced to live with the memory of him banishing the Daughter whom he loved so dearly. In the light of seeing Cordelia he seems to have changed from the old and mad king that he was; yet it came at a point where he has lost virtually everything.
ReplyDeleteAs Lear grasps onto his last bit of life he is forced to remember what his harsh actions has cost him; the life of his beloved daughter, his kingdom, Kent, and the many more instances of his insanity. He wishes that Cordelia could live, and perhaps he truly did believe that she was alive--but she wasn't. Lear is now forced to think about what he had done with the little amount of time that he had. He has to go into eternity with regret and sorrow on his mind as he sinks into the stillness that is death.
I feel that an important part of these words is the context that they are the last words of a man on his last breath. I feel like Lear is leaving this world in complete admiration of his daughter for her purity and truthfulness, symbolized by her lips that Emma earlier pointed out. Additionally I feel like Lear is saying that her spirit of honesty will live on. Through her purity the evil of her sisters and Edmund was vanquished. through her death she becomes a symbol of purity, one that can be looked up to for those of the living.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with the idea that this part in the text reveals a change for Lear within the play. At the beginning of the play it was extremely evident that Lear was "blind". As we spoke about in the discussion about blindness I brought up the idea that Lear was clearly blind as he banished the two people in the play who were being truthful. Both Cordelia and Kent were honest in their words as Goneril and Regan told lies, but Lear failed to see this. As the book progresses it is not until Goneril and Regan turn their back on Lear that he realizes his mistakes. After this occurs Cordelia reenters the plot and is almost like Lear's savior. One can argue that she not only saved Lear from his madness, but she literally rescued him from this terrible storm. These last few words he uttered about his daughter in my opinion express his gratitude that he has for her. I think that he no longer is blind and oblivious as he was at first and thus is why he now realizes that Cordelia really is honest at heart. Unfortunately it took Lear a long time to come to his senses but right before death he seems to confront them.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with everyone in saying that Lear is not blind in the end, but is drawing everyone's attention to the beauty of his daughter, even in death. I think that focusing on the lips helps to show how Lear has changed, because when the daughters are fighting for his love, Goneril claims that she loves him with "a love that makes breath poor, and speech unable" (1,i,66). Now, the role has been reversed, and Lear is the one proclaiming his love, and by focusing on the lips, he causes the audience to think of breathing and speech, since both involve the lips. So, this shows how he has changed because once he was fooled by talk of love more dear than breath, and now he feels that love for Cordelia. And, he feels the need to draw attention to her lack of breathing (look, her lips) because he truly realizes that she loved him more than breath - though she is dead and breathes no more, he still feels her love.
ReplyDelete