King Lear
Alexi *********
Ms. ********
ENG 4U
14 November 2013
The Untrustworthiness of Language in “King Lear” Language is an essential part of communication in relationships and manipulation of people and situations. Using language to manipulate someone is a deadly skill and drives the story King Lear. King Lear let his two eldest daughters deceive him. Goneril and Regan lied to their father for personal gain, while Cordelia, the youngest daughter, stumbled on her words of love that she did not know how to express. Gloucester let Edmund, his illegitimate son, make him believe that his good and true son Edgar is plotting against him. Goneril and Regan both lied and manipulated King Lear so they would receive the most land. Both the sisters laughed and mocked Lear for being senile and for willingly giving up his authority. Edmund lied and deceived his father out of fear that he would not inherit anything from his father. Cordelia and Edgar were the true victims in the play. Both of them were in the dark for most of the story, while everyone else plotted and worked against their families. Communication is a key aspect in maintaining a healthy relationship with someone. In King Lear, every character has a flawed concept of language and communication. The definition of language states that language is a method of communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way. King Lear and Gloucester are both deceived because of carefully structured language. King Lear was convinced that asking his daughters to profess their love for him using their words, would prevent conflict between them, but with his intention of avoiding conflict, he eventually created much more conflict than necessary. The first conflict associated with King Lear and his daughters was when he asked Cordelia to proclaim her love for him. This created conflict because Cordelia did not know how to use her words effectively to explain
Ms. ********
ENG 4U
14 November 2013
The Untrustworthiness of Language in “King Lear” Language is an essential part of communication in relationships and manipulation of people and situations. Using language to manipulate someone is a deadly skill and drives the story King Lear. King Lear let his two eldest daughters deceive him. Goneril and Regan lied to their father for personal gain, while Cordelia, the youngest daughter, stumbled on her words of love that she did not know how to express. Gloucester let Edmund, his illegitimate son, make him believe that his good and true son Edgar is plotting against him. Goneril and Regan both lied and manipulated King Lear so they would receive the most land. Both the sisters laughed and mocked Lear for being senile and for willingly giving up his authority. Edmund lied and deceived his father out of fear that he would not inherit anything from his father. Cordelia and Edgar were the true victims in the play. Both of them were in the dark for most of the story, while everyone else plotted and worked against their families. Communication is a key aspect in maintaining a healthy relationship with someone. In King Lear, every character has a flawed concept of language and communication. The definition of language states that language is a method of communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way. King Lear and Gloucester are both deceived because of carefully structured language. King Lear was convinced that asking his daughters to profess their love for him using their words, would prevent conflict between them, but with his intention of avoiding conflict, he eventually created much more conflict than necessary. The first conflict associated with King Lear and his daughters was when he asked Cordelia to proclaim her love for him. This created conflict because Cordelia did not know how to use her words effectively to explain
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