a more useful line of inquiry.
First there is the fact that Cordelia's speeches are asides, thus presumably expressions of subtext or of what she is truly feeling and not meant for other ears. Undoubtedly, she is certain of the fact of her love for Lear, but when she refers to her love as quantitatively "more," she is not comparing the richness of her love to that of her sisters but to the richness of her ability to express it adequately. Rather than fail in the manner of expression of filial piety, she hangs back with an appeal to reason--to her great emotional cost. Equally significant about Cordelia's first two lines is what they convey about her own state of mind, tense and apprehensive. That makes sense especially for the reason that they directly follow speeches by Goneril and Regan respectively. Cordelia may be a little flustered by Lear's demand for love, but that is not nearly so clear as the fact that Goneril and Regan shamelessly exploit the opportunity to make a show of abject humility that they do not remotely feel. Cordelia happens t
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