The division of the kingdom (1.1.1-7)

ACT I

SCENE I. King Lear's palace.

Enter KENT, GLOUCESTER, and EDMUND

KENT

I thought the king had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.

GLOUCESTER

It did always seem so to us: but now, in the division of the kingdom, it appears not which of the dukes he values most; for equalities are so weighed, that curiosity in neither can make choice of either's moiety.

The play begins and we are introduced to 3 characters: some of Lear’s trusted lords Kent and Gloucester as well as Gloucester’s bastard son Edmund. Kent is first to speak, stating that he always thought that the king preferred Albany to Cornwall - who are the husbands of Lear’s eldest daughters: Goneril and Regan. The fact that the king seemingly prefers Albany also hints at his good nature (which is revealed later in the play) in comparison to Cornwall, who is as vile as his wife. Albany is located in the North whilst Cornwall is in the South, meaning that the mention of these two divides the country into halves and separation of a country often leads to civil war. This foreshadows the conflict between Goneril and Regan. Just like the country, their teamwork will inevitably be destroyed. The fact that only two names are mentioned foreshadows that one sister will receive no land from Lear: Cordelia. It is Gloucester who speaks next, and he states that the two have always thought that he favoured Albany. The adverb “always” is significant as it shows that not only have Gloucester and Kent been in Lear’s service but that they will continue to be so throughout the play. Gloucester’s use of the personal object pronoun “us” is also important as it aligns him with Kent. This means that despite Kent’s later banishment by Lear’s hand, he will remain by the King’s side with Gloucester. Cleverly, Shakespeare forms this sentence about division with numerous punctuation marks to reflect the theme of separation. We are next told by Gloucester that “It appears not which of the dukes he values most”. Even the most trusted lords cannot speak to his majesty’s mind and this shows that Lear is growing old, irrational and this shows his political rashness. It also effectively steeps the play in political uncertainty. Gloucester follows up by talking about the “equalities” of the two men and how these make it hard to decide between them. This is eerily similar to the situation between his two sons (whom he loves equally despite their difference in status) and his unsurety in this situation could be reflective of his blindness towards his children at the beginning of the play. We end with the noun “moiety” meaning each of 2 groups into which a people is split. This once again suggest civil war.