King Lear

Communication...! So far King Lear has been full of characters who are very poor communicators and which has led to the very tangled and intriguing plot line in King Lear. First, to start the whole story off, Cordelia fails to communicate her love to her father effectively when the King is giving out the shares of his kingdom. She seems to be in some ways like Antigone, to proud to concede to others in order to work toward a compromise. Yes King Lear was just playing a sort of game to see how his daughters would react, but Cordelia doesn't play along, she comes back with a witty way of saying the truth and creating discord. If she had but communicated her love in different words, then she could be happily married enjoying a third of her fathers kingdom. Another instance of poor miscommunication can be seen in Edgar. Edgar learns from Edmund that his father is upset with him but he never communicates with his father to try to clarify his innocence. He simply takes Edmunds word for it and goes into hiding. It seems that Edgar could have avoided the whole problem if he had sent a letter or talked to Gloucester. Gloucester also conveys poor communication skills. He says whatever he wants whenever he feels like it, as apparent through his conversation with Kent at the beginning of the play concerning Edmund. The only one who seemingly has any sense and communicate efficiently is ironically the Fool. The Fool is the only one who seems to see the big picture and is able to talk some sense into Lear. He is not afraid to speak his mind and he says what he means, and based on the parts of the book I have read, it has kept him out of trouble as well. I definitely think that some of the other characters in King Lear would be alot better off if they followed the example of effective communication set by the Fool.