Shakespeare with Kaya?

Hey, Kaya, you're joining me once again and helping me with my homework.
Oh... but it's not for biology again because I seriously suck doing that.
Oh, no, don't worry. I created Ariana for that. She's good at science and stuff. I need you to help me write an oral commentary for english. It's on King Lear, a play by William Shakespeare.
You've got to be kidding me. I read that for english this year. He's the dude that writes in riddles, isn't he?
Precisely. Now. We're focusing on Act 1 Scene 1.
Um, wait, I'm flipping through the book... found it!

Right. Here goes.

William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet, born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. King Lear is a tragedy that is said to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1606. At this point of the play, the audience is still being introduced to many of the characters, as this scene takes place right in the first act and scene of the play. The scene begins after Gloucestor, Kent and Edmund were introduced before and it was shown that Edmund is a so called "whoreson" because he's an illegitimate child and that Gloucestor does not acknowledge Edmund as his son.

The scene begins with King Lear expressing his intention through the royal plural:

"Meantime, we shall express our darker purpose."

The audience immediately knows that King Lear must be noble as the royal plural would not be used amongst commoners. He talks of dividing his kingdom amongst his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Shakespeare reveals that King Lear is aging, thus there's King Lear's intent to split his kingdom as he says himself in line 40:

"while we,
unburthen'd crawl toward death."

King Lear is shown to be naive, in retrospect, when he says

"that future strife
May be prevented now." in stanza 43. In which he believes that dividing up his kingdom, will bring about peace. This may also be a foreshadowing for the actual outcome of the division.

Both Goneril and Regan are shown to be married. Regan to Cornwall and Goneril to Albany. Unlike her sisters, Cordelia has not one, but two men who hope to win her hand, as King Lear says:
"The princes, France and
Burgundy,
Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love."

Here the age of the three daughters is also shown, Cordelia being the youngest and Goneril "Our eldest-born, speak first," is shown to be the oldest.

"Which of you shall we say doth love us most?
That we our largest bounty may extend
Where nature doth with merit challenge." (stanza 50)
In this stanza, King Lear challenges his three duaghters for the biggest share of land, saying that the one who can say that she loves him most will receive the biggest share of the kingdom.

Goneril, the eldest born, speaks first and showers King Lear with praise, such as "No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour;" and "Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter." Which appears an exaggeration.

Also,
"Dearer than eye-sight" foreshadows the importance that eyes ad in particular eyesight plays further on throughout the play.

In an aside, in which Cordelia addresses the audience, she says "What shall Corderlia speak? Love, and be silent." With this line, the audience is directly being spoken to as none of the other characters are able to hear that, and automatically Shakespeare is including the audience in the happenings. The audience is now aware that Cordelia does not plan on professing her love and decides that she would rather not say anything, but that she loves him all the same.

King Lear clearly enjoys the amount of attention he receives from Goneril as he rewards her with a good piece of land:
"Of all these bounds, even from this line to this,
With shadowy forests and with champains rich'd
With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads,
We make thee lady."

Regan, matches Goneril's praise by saying,
"I am made of that self mettle as my sister."
but then she adds:

"Only she comes to short."

Just like Goneril, Regan professes her love and affection for her father, declaring that she loves nothing more than him and all other joys fade in comparison,

"Myself an enemy to all other joys."

This scene is of importance because the audience is introduced to King Lear and his three daughters. The importance and also the uncanny naivity of King Lear is portrayed through the way he glories in the attention Goneril and Regan express. Also, Cordelia, immediately is introduced as someone different since she decides that instead of professing her love through words, she can do the same through silence.

I think I like Cordelia. She seems the only one reasonable enough. I mean, how can you love your father more than life? That doesn't even make sense whatsoever. He's so naive, not realising that they're just kissing his arse. Pathetic. I don't know how I like this play though. It's tragic, but bland. It's nothing compared to Macbeth.