Thoughts on Scene 1 in a nutshell.

Where to start with this one? After reading the first three scenes of King Lear, I’ve got some thoughts bouncing around in my head. Of course I want to start talking about where I left off reading, but I suppose I have to start from the beginning, eh?

After reading the first scene, I can tell you almost right away who my three favorite characters are. So who makes the cut? Why, Kent, Cordelia, and France of course. I’ve noticed that the few people’s blogs I’ve read say next to nothing about Kent, but they all rave about Lear and Cordelia. So Kent, here’s to you.
Is there anyone who doesn’t think that Kent is awesome? I have to love the way he speaks his mind and stands up to Lear. It shows that Kent truly cares for Lear and will do anything within his power to demonstrate this and protect his king. I mean sure, he’s not exactly the most respectful person, but you’ve got to give him credit. Right off the bat, you get the impression that he has some wisdom.
On the other hand, we have King Lear. To be blunt, I believe him to be quite ignorant and outrageously filled and consumed by his own pride. Everyone likes to hear of how people adore you and respect you, but come on. Really? You seriously need to get a life. “I’m going to divide my kingdom and give it all to my three daughters. They’ll have all the responsibilities and be able to run the kingdom all they’d like. But I’m going to keep the title of king.” Don’t you think that this is just the epitome of laziness?! I get the impression that he basically wants to retire and not do anything but he’s going to keep all of his servants and knights to do his bidding. Let’s all sit around on our butts and do nothing. Just leave it all to our adolescent offspring who don’t know the first thing about running a country. Not to mention that we’re going to let the most unworthy and downright evil daughters become two feuding dictators in the process! How irksome Shakespeare can be.
Now that I’m done with my little rant, let’s talk about Cordelia. Of course everyone is probably going to say that same things about her. But so far, I agree with all of you! In my opinion, she’s very wise for being the youngest daughter of three. This just proves the point that wisdom does not come with age. It more or less depends on the person. Cordelia seems to be very true to herself and to others. Plus she’s not materialistic. Down-to-earth people always seem to get on my good side. (:
Remember that I’m only talking about my three favorite characters from the first scene, but France has to be one of them. Unlike Burgundy who basically says, “I’m sorry you have to lose me as a husband because you lost the king as a father,” France one-ups this guy by a thousand. It seems like he can visualize beauty in anything. Somehow when Lear neglects Cordelia and “throws her away” so to speak, the gods make France love her dearly.
The more I think about it, the more perspectives I gather. Either he could be a really good guy, or he could be manipulating her when she’s at her lowest. Interesting to think about…

Ahhh, I have so much more I’d like to blog about but I’m about to miss the deadline of posting this! I guess I’ll finish my thoughts later tonight or tomorrow in a separate post, just because this one really only covered the first scene. Scene two pulls me into the story the most and I’d really like to share my thoughts on it! So for now, this is all you guys get! Goodnight!