Lear misinterprets Cordelia's speech as to mean she loves him out of obligation, mistaking her sincerity and honesty for coldness.
Why do you think King Lear was unhappy about Cordelia's reply? Ans: King Lear was unhappy about Cordelia's reply because his two elder daughters had expressed great love for him, the elder saying that he was dearer than her own life and the middle daughter saying that she was happiest when she was with her father.
Lear sees Cordelia's reply as rejection; in turn, he disowns Cordelia, saying that she will now be "a stranger to my heart and me" (I. 1.114). King Lear then divides his kingdom between Goneril and Regan, giving each an equal share.
Internal Conflict with King Lear
His pride is damaged when Cordelia refuses to compliment Lear like her sisters, causing this inner conflict to manifest itself in anger towards Cordelia, seen in his cruel actions towards her.
At the beginning of the play we see how King Lear disowns his only genuine and kind-hearted daughter, Cordelia, because of her refusal to kiss up to him when he asks to be flattered.
Cordelia declares that she has "nothing” to say to her father in order to deserve her inheritance. She also explains that she only loves Lear "according to [her] bond; nor more nor less." Lear is disappointed because Cordelia has always been his favorite daughter.
9–11). This blissful vision, however, is countered by the terrible despair that Lear evokes at Cordelia's death: “Thou'lt come no more, / Never, never, never, never, never.” (5.3. 306–307). Yet, despite his grief, Lear expires in a flash of utterly misguided hope, thinking that Cordelia is coming back to life.
Lear, who has been sleeping, is brought in to Cordelia. He only partially recognizes her. He says that he knows now that he is senile and not in his right mind, and he assumes that Cordelia hates him and wants to kill him, just as her sisters do. Cordelia tells him that she forgives him for banishing her.
Soon may I hear and see him. In Act 4 Scene 7 When Lear is finally reunited with Cordelia he redeems himself by fully apologizing for his actions towards her and his subsequent death is therefore even more tragic. Cordelia's death finally hastens the demise of her father first to madness then death.
Unlike her father and sisters, Cordelia is able to differentiate love from property. Feeling outraged and humiliated that Cordelia will not publicly lavish love on him, Lear banishes Cordelia from the kingdom and disinherits her. The Earl of Kent objects to her treatment, and is subsequently banished as well.
Lear has defined Cordelia as his daughter, and if she is not his daughter she is nothing. Cordelia's ordeal is compressed into the first scene, after which she disappears for a long time as though Lear has truly annihilated her.
Because of her honesty, Lear disinherits her and she leaves the kingdom to live with her new husband. Cordelia is punished by this act because she sincerely loves her father. She says, "I am sure, my love's More ponderous than my tongue" (1.1. 76-77).
His last words are: “Look on her, look, her lips, / Look there, look there!” (V. iii.). In his dying moments, Lear still has not accepted that Cordelia is dead.
Why did Cordelia give him a different answer? Ans: Cordelia gave him a different answer because she genuinely loved her father unlike her sisters.
He realizes his decision to banish Cordelia was contrary to his very nature (and implicitly, his love for Cordelia), and blames his head for letting foolishness in at the same time judgment went out. Finally, Lear calls upon the gods to make Goneril barren as punishment for the way she treated him.
Answer and Explanation: Cordelia represents goodness and loyalty in King Lear. She is honest, pure, and brave. At the beginning of the play, she refuses to unduly praise her father even though she knows that doing so would be politically advantageous for her.
Lear curses Goneril
He curses her never to have a child or if she does, that it make her life a misery so that she understands how it feels to have an ungrateful child.
Cordelia and the French army save Lear, but the army is defeated. Edmund imprisons Cordelia and Lear. Edgar then mortally wounds Edmund in a trial by combat. Dying, Edmund confesses that he has ordered the deaths of Cordelia and Lear.
Goneril and Regan's betrayal of Lear raises them to power in Britain, where Edmund, who has betrayed both Edgar and Gloucester, joins them.
The situational irony at this moment highlights the ignorance of King Lear and is amplified when Cordelia ends up being the only one to stay loyal to him. The two eldest daughters whom he had praised for their flattery actually ended up betraying him, as a result of his blindness towards their false motives.
Why does Cordelia refuse to flatter Lear as her sisters have done? She finds them insincere and does not want to stoop to their level of hypocrisy.
In William Shakespeare's King Lear, king Lear's hamartia (tragic flaw) is his arrogance and excessive pride. King Lear's tragic flaw of arrogance is what causes him to lose his daughter Cordelia (the one who truly loves him). Because of Lear's pride, he disowns Cordelia and loses his most faithful servant, Kent.
Cordelia sacrificed herself so that Mallory could rise as Supreme, going back in time and killing Michael before he could come into his own as the ender of days. But unbeknownst to the witches, another Antichrist was born to take his place—to Timothy and Emily, the lovers seen in Outpost 3.
Burgundy rejects Cordelia when he discovers that she will bring him no dowry or inheritance. Burgundy, who cannot love Cordelia without her wealth, is guilty of selfish motivations.
The moral of King Lear is the idea that a person's actions speak louder than words alone. It is very easy to say one thing and do another. It is far more difficult, yet carries far more weight, when a person backs up what they say with what they do. Lear has three daughters, one of whom loves him very much.