The theme of nothing is developed in the early
scenes of the great play King Lear,
when Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia are asked by King Lear to express their love
for him. Goneril and Regan express their love for their father by basically
saying how they love him more than anything on earth. Goneril even says she
loves him more than eyesight, space, and liberty. Regan professes her love
greatly for her father as well. Goneril and Regan’s responses did not surprise
me, but what really surprised me was Cordelia’s response. Cordelia simply
responded by saying “nothing” when it came to expressing her love for her
father. When I first read this is I was extremely shocked, I thought how could
Cordelia not express her love for her father? But, the more and more I thought
about this, I realized love is not only expressed through words but through
actions. Someone could simply say “I love you” but the actions that go along
with those words are deeper and more sincere.
The idea
of nothing brought about and raised many questions for me. For example, does Cordelia
truly love her father? Also, can love only be expressed through actions, or
only through words, or through both actions and words? I believe love can be
expressed through both actions and words but it all depends on one’s personal
opinion. With this being said, does is truly matter how one expresses love and
how important is Cordelia’s response of nothing when it came to expressing her
love for her father?
I completely agree with you. Is it possible to only express your love through words, or are actions more important? As you said hearing both Goneril and Regan confess their love for their father was not surprising, but Cordelia’s answer of nothing is. Cordelia cannot verbalize the love she has for her father. She feels that her love can only be expressed through actions. The constant referral to sight and eyes can be tied into Cordelia’s theory that love can only be expressed through action. One needs to see the love acted out throughout other people.
ReplyDeleteKing Lear’s dramatic reaction to this Cordelia’s answer was ridiculous. He knows that Cordelia loves him, and she is indeed his favorite. The King does not realize that love can come out of nothing. Take new parents as example. The love for the child is relatively nothing, until the child is born. Parents have no idea how strong the love is for a child until they have one. Strong feelings for others originally started at nothing, or feelings cannot be developed. Love needs to be earned, and love needs to grow through action. King Lear should realize that Cordelia expressed her love the right way.
I believe that words mean nothing, unless they are backed up by an action. The physical relationship between two people is more concrete than meaningless words. The phrase “I love you” means nothing unless you act upon it. Showing that you care for a person is more important than saying it. Cordelia is right in saying nothing. Love can only be showed through action.
I agree as well. I also believe that love is more expressed through actions rather than words. In the case of this play I feel that nothingness expresses more action than anything at all. It is the actions of a person that truly leaves a mark and makes the reader think of what is actually taking place. Rather than doing what was expected of her, Cordelia’s actions of doing nothing at all is, in my opinion, the most effective way of making the reader think on whether her love for her father is truly sincere or not. However, I feel that words also have an effective way of proving feelings. What if Cordelia does not truly love her father Lear? What if her love for her father is just not strong enough to be expressed in words and as a result, she did not bother to say anything to prove her love?
ReplyDeleteI feel that the Shakespeare however, also uses the theme of nothingness as a disguise to a serious situation. Actions are very significant when expressing your feelings. For example, when two boys get into a fight it is more common that you will see them physically fighting each other rather than doing nothing at all to express their emotions. When the fool is speaking to King Lear he states, “Can u make no use of nothing nuncle?” King Lear responds saying, “Why no, boy, nothing can be made of nothing.” King Lear is however terribly wrong. He may think what the fool is doing or saying is absolutely nothing important, but, the fool is completely mocking Lear and his naïve attitude. Is doing nothing important? Yes, but I firmly believe that actions also hold a mutual amount of significance.