The double plot serves an important function, emphasizing natural law as an essential facet of both plots. Shakespeare then uses the two plots to point to how essential an acknowledgment of natural law is in a moral society. In both plots, the absence of natural law is destructive, and ultimately even those who are good cannot act to save Cordelia or the other good characters from the ravages of evil and tyranny.
Shakespeare's use of doubling appears throughout King Lear. For example, Kent's true loyalty to the king is paralleled by Oswald's corrupt loyalty to Goneril. Lear also has two sons-in-law. Regan's husband is the cruel Cornwall, whose only interest is in furthering his own ambitions. He has no real interest in the well-being of the kingdom, and sacrificing Lear is an acceptable price to pay to gain the power he desires. Cornwall's parallel is Goneril's husband, Albany, who has no personal ambitions or thoughts of personal glory. Albany's goal is to preserve the kingdom and save Lear's life.
Still another set of doubles is France and Burgundy, whose response to Cordelia's loss of dowry differs in drastic ways. Where Burgundy has no use for a Cordelia who lacks money, land, and rank, France is willing to take Cordelia, even if she has no material possessions. Thus, France who sees Cordelia as representing the greatest riches that her father possesses, is a contrasting double for the self-serving Burgundy.
Shakespeare wrote most of this play in verse, using iambic pentameter, which sometimes intimidates the playwright's audiences. Iambic pentameter is a literary term that defines the play's meter and the stresses placed on each syllable. In iambic pentameter, each complete line contains ten syllables, with each pair of syllables containing both an accented syllable and an unaccented syllable. Many Renaissance poets used iambic pentameter because the alternating stresses create a rhythm that contributes to the beauty of the play's language. Shakespeare also includes prose passages in his plays, with prose lines being spoken by characters of lower social rank. In King Lear, Edgar speaks prose when he is disguised as Tom; when he reemerges as Edgar, he resumes speaking in verse.
A Shakespearean glossary can help in understanding the language, but the biggest assist comes with practice. Reading and listening to Shakespeare's words becomes easier with repeated exposure. Reading aloud also helps in becoming familiar with Early Modern English. Over time, the unfamiliar language and the rhetorical devices that Shakespeare employs in writing his texts will cease to be strange, and the language will assume the beauty that was always hidden within it.
