It is always a good idea with questions like these to
consider what would be lost if the play started at Act I scene 2. Think of how crucial
the test of love is that Lear gives to his daughters at the beginning of the play, and
the way that it sets the scene for what is to come. The love test of course invites only
flattery rather than sincerity, and the response that Goneril and Regan give Lear
certainly help to introduce one of the key themes, which is appearance vs. reality,
because Cordelia is confused about how to flatter her father, placing her firmly in the
camp of reality compared to the appearance of her sisters' devotion. She decides to
"Love, and be silent," and thus gives the response "Nothing, my lord." Lear's inability
to discern between appearance and reality is what causes him to treat his favoured
daughter so harshly. Yet it is crucial for this very bleak play that we remember the
catalyst for this tragedy is the real love of Cordelia and Lear's ironic blindness to
the depths of her emotion.
While the opening scene of this
play makes uncomfortable watching, it is therefore very important in setting the bleak
and unyielding tone of this play, and is key in the way it introduces several themes
that dominate the play throughout.
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