The barbarous Scythian (1.1.117-123)

KING LEAR

The barbarous Scythian, Or he that makes his generation messes To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom Be as well neighbour'd, pitied, and relieved, As thou my sometime daughter.

KENT

Good my liege,--

After disclaiming all of his fatherly duties, Lear berates her. After Goneril and Regan’s speeches, they both receive flattery from Lear in return. Therefore - since Lear is insulting Cordelia - this must be how he felt when she said “nothing”: he felt insulted. Hr compares Cordelia with a “barbarous Scythian” - which is slightly accurate because she will go to France, not to mention - if we take foreign to mean strange and different - then it is an accurate comparison. However, Scythians were considered the lowest of the low; they were often slaves, and they epitomised Barbarism. When looking at Scythians like this, it is clear that Cordelia doesn’t fit the mold: she is morally the highest character n the play (though Kent could contest this); she is clearly not a slave since the most domineering person in her life (Lear) cannot control her speech, or thoughts, or even actions. For Elizabethan readers, Scythian may be accurate because they lacked strict gender roles, and there were plenty of female Scythian warriors called Amazons. Modern readers would have a much more positive view of Scythian equality, but the Elizabethan audience would likely condemn the three sisters for being assertive in their roles. Interestingly, “barbarous Scythian” is closely reminiscent of the Bible's “barbarian, Scythian” in Colossians 3.11. Shakespeare seems to avoid obvious biblical references in favour of smaller, more subtle, nuanced connections. In fact, in this speech, Lear makes reference to Greek and Roman gods in more obvious ways. Perhaps this is to isolate Lear from God. Lear opposes divine views in many ways so it makes sense for him to make reference to other Gods. What’s more interesting is Lear’s use of “barbarous” to consolidate the “Scythian” image, whereas - in this section of the Bible - differences are juxtaposed, making “barbarian” and “Scythian” different in the eyes of God. This is a subtle way of distancing Lear from god further. Moreover, by using these words to confirm the other - Lear manages to more closely compare Cordelia with Christ, as the only couple of words/phrases that match in the Bible’s juxtaposition are:”but Christ is all,” and “and is in all.”. The next image is horrifying and completely uncharacteristic of Cordelia: “makes his generation messes/To gorge his appetite” or eats his children. This shows off Lear as not only a terrible judge of character but someone who massively overreacts as well. Besides, Lear is the one who wishes to rely on his children, not Cordelia, and yet these “Scythians” will be “neighbour’d, pitied, and relieved” the same way as Cordelia will: not at all. Kent then tries to speak out against Lear’s decision but, as shown by the hyphen, is quickly interrupted. This is our very first glimpse of Kent as an utterly good person, as before we were only exposed to him and Gloucester musing over facts. This opposition shows that he is a good judge of character and a person who upholds justice, regardless of whose injustice he must oppose.