King Lear Journal 1

In King Lear, Lear asks that his three daughters each profess their love to him before he gives them their inherited land and power. The first daughter to speak, Goneril, uses a language of flattery to profess her love for Lear. She includes flowery words and is in general overly dramatic and exaggerated. She compares her love for her father to many things, such as "grace, health, beauty, honor" (line 64) as well as "eyesight, space, liberty" (line 62), saying that she values her father's love over everything she has mentioned. Her overly exaggerated profession of love shows her selfishness as well as desperation. She only speaks with such flattery in hopes that she will receive the best piece of land her father is offering, and apparently does not think that a truly honest answer will earn it for her.
Regan is the second sister to speak, and like Goneril, she also uses language filled with flattery. She also takes the approach of trying to appear better than her sister. At one point, she says: "I find she names my very deed of love; / Only she comes too short" (lines 78-79). Her attempt to one-up Goneril shows not only her competitive nature, but her similar desire to win her father's good graces and recieve the best land. In a clearly overlydramatic last statement, Regan even goes so far as to declare herself "an enemy to all other joys" (line 80) besides her father's love. Again, this ingenuine statement highlights her desperation and selfish desires.
Cordelia is the last of the three sisters to speak. Unlike her sisters, she uses few words to profess her love for her father - however, what she says appears to actually be genuine. She does not take the approach of overexaggerated flattery, because she knows that whatever she says will not be able to compete with her sisters' over the top proclamations. Instead, she gives her father an honest answer by saying that she cannot give her father all of her love, because when she marries, her husband will receive half of her love too. "Haply, when I shall wed, / That lord whose hand must take my plight shall / carry / Half my love with him" (lines 110-113). This earnest statement shows that Cordelia is more honest than her sisters. They likely love their husbands as much as or more than their father, therefore their claims that they only love their father are simply empty compliments. Cordelia is honest and genuine, because she is willing to express her true feelings, unlike her sisters. In addition, Cordelia's declaration highlights her bravery - her opinion is sure to be rejected, and she will likely be punished for insulting her father the king, but she speaks her mind anyway.