Cordelia In King Lear

King Lear is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous works and highly regarded as quite possibly his greatest play written if not one of the most tragic he's written. The original story that Shakespeare based his play off of is derived from the legend of Lair of Britain and is not nearly as tragic as the King Lear adaptation. The play depicts the main character King Lear and his decent into madness as he gives his kingdom away to his daughters. In comparison to her sisters, Cordelia, the youngest of Lear's three daughters comes off to readers as almost saint like due to her being one of the only characters in the play who is actually genuinely principled and centered. Cordelia appears in the play a total of four times out of the twenty-six scenes and throughout those scenes she speaks a total of only about a hundred lines. Despite this small role …show more content…
Cordelia's existence within the play alone, being virtuous and merciful, offers this sort of a balance to the evils that are at work throughout the story which is seen being represented by her sisters as well as their accomplices.
The character of Cordelia appears only in the beginning and at the end of the play. She is basically absent throughout the bulk of the action that takes place, and yet after finishing the book, you can’t help but feel that she has actually been an ever-present force the entire time; a sort of pervading influence has been radiated out from within her