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Hafsah
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
at the moment i have given a task to write an essay as if were cordelia in the play. How do iu come about doing thus when Cordelia does not have that big a part in the splay? Help!

singerofdreams
05-28-2005, 08:38 PM
Hafsah,
What may help you best in writing your paper is to imagine that you are Cordelia. She may have no large part in the play but she has a large part in her father's life and heart. She bears great love for Lear and if you were her, how would you have proceeded? Would you have done the same or differently and why? If differently, what would you have done?
Put yourself in her place and write what comes.

Andy
11-27-2005, 03:38 PM
It's been said that to understand Cordelia is to understand the entire play. When you write an essay as if you are Cordelia, think about what she brings to the play, psychologically. She symbolizes innocence in a world of evil, the consequence of truth in a world of lies and flattery. Her honesty is her undoing. You should probably discuss uncompromised integrity (in that, Cordelia refused to flatter). In particular, there is one line that may inspire you more than any other. Within the play, nearing the end actually, Cordelia says 'We are not the first, who with best intentions, have incurred the worst'. To me, this could be a direct reflection to Act 1 Scene 1 - The flattering daughters. For Cordelia did in fact mean well with 'Love, and be silent'. But where did it get her? Banished, hated, and ignored. Focus on good intentions not being enough in a world full of people who seek empty flattery and pseudo-love to fulfill them.