Until now, the only time I have encountered King Lear is in the lyric of an older song by The Wombats called Lost in the Post. The song is a about a relationship that failed at least partly due to the narrator’s anxiety and depression. The lyric is “she wanted Mary Poppins and I took her to King Lear.” Initially, I did not particularly care for this song and I paid no attention to the deeper meanings in this lyrics. As I am beginning to understand King Lear better, is it easier to see the specific differences Murph, the Wombats’ front man and main songwriter, was drawing on in his song between Mary Poppins and King Lear. Mary Poppins is one of the happiest and easiest plays to watch. As a metaphor for the relationship, the girl was expecting a fun, easy relationship. King Lear is a tragedy wherein most of the characters die in the end and it is very hard to walk away from feeling happy and romantic, compared to Mary Poppins. Maybe the use of King Lear shows how the relationship was doomed from the start.
As for Act I itself, Shakespeare allows the most important characters to be introduced and starts the drama that will ultimately lead to the untimely ending for most of the characters. I want to put emphasis on Cordelia’s part in this play, specifically when King Lear turns to her so that she may express her love for him and try to obtain the largest portion of the kingdom. Cordelia says “Nothing” when asked (line 89). This is a carefully crafted response, since Cordelia wants to be honest rather than extravagant like her sisters. She says her love for her father is “more ponderous than my tongue” meaning she already does not believe she can describe her love for her father accurately. A few lines later, Cordelia criticizes her sisters for their praises to their father that cannot possibly be true since they have husbands. It is interesting how Cordelia adheres to her moral code and is consequently punished for it. In this first Act, Shakespeare establishes Cordelia as the most morally sound daughter, and you could even say she is more moral than her father who is inviting this false praise that is obviously not genuine. Many stories I am used to hearing are a parable in some way. Act I is very much not a parable. After Cordelia spoke, some part of me was expecting King Lear to understand her meaning and turn to Goneril and Regan to punish them rather than Cordelia. Of course, this is not what occurs, but this display of morals sets the tone for the remainder of the play. Perhaps if King Lear had realized the true meaning of Cordelia’s words from the very beginning, at least some of the tragedy and death could have been prevented.