Fear of becoming like Lear

Prologue to Lear’s retirement announcement ...

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Cordelia: Marvellously he argued.

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Kent: Coached was he well by you.

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Cordelia: I tried, but at times he went far down the alleys of detail.

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Kent: Yet it did not quite sway the court.

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Cordelia: No, they listened not, then my sisters sniped at him, said it was common knowledge that he was not himself. I fear their power over him. And as I am his daughter, I also fear dark whispers in my mind as I grow old.

 

Voice-over

Benjamin West: Cordelia and Lear

Lear’s shadow emerges in many of us as we age. Confused by the modern, we place greater faith in the old ways. Telling our story, we argue louder. Irritably obsessing, our judgement falters. Suspecting villainy, we become blind to who our friends are, or who are our enemies.

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