King Lear - Shakespeare Stories Collection (Includes CD)

Author: (English) Shakespeare / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Cordelia promises that if these skilled doctors can heal the old king, she will give them all her gold and jewels. Soon, Lear recovers quickly and is able to reunite with his daughter. The joy of their reunion is deeply moving. The poor old king is overwhelmed with emotions upon seeing the child he once deeply loved; he is overjoyed. But then he reflects on how he had rashly abandoned her over a trivial matter, yet she still remains devoted to him, which fills him with shame. Overwhelmed by happiness and shame, and weakened by illness, Lear sometimes forgets where he is and cannot recognize the person gently kissing him or speaking kindly to him. Later, he says, "This woman must be Cordelia, my daughter. If I am mistaken, please do not laugh at me." Lear then kneels down, begging his child for forgiveness. The kind Cordelia also kneels beside him, praying for his recovery. She insists that he should not kneel, as she is simply fulfilling her duty as his child. She is his child, her true and loyal child, Cordelia! She kisses her father, saying she will use her kisses to soothe the wounds her sister has inflicted upon him. She also says that they should feel ashamed for driving their kind, white-haired father out into the cold. Cordelia vividly describes how even an enemy's dog, if it bit her, would seek warmth by curling up near her hearth on such a cold night. She tells her father that she has come all the way from France to help him. Her father pleads with her to forget the past and forgive him, admitting that he is old and senile and does not know what he is doing. He says she has every right not to love him, but her sister has no reason to be ungrateful. Cordelia replies that she, too, has no reason to love him. Let this loyal and loving child protect the old king. The other two daughters are cruel, and this terrible blow has driven the old king to madness. With sleep and treatment, Cordelia and the doctors finally manage to heal him. As for the two cruel daughters, these ungrateful villains, who are so heartless to their own father, could possibly be faithful to their husbands? They quickly grow impatient even with the pretense of being dutiful wives and openly declare their affairs. Coincidentally, the two sisters fall in love with the same person—Edmund. Edmund is the illegitimate son of the former Earl of Gloucester. He betrays and seizes the title that rightfully belongs to his legitimate brother Edgar, becoming earl through deceitful means. This villain, along with the deceitful Goneril and Regan, is nothing but a pack of snakes and rats.