What shall Cordelia speak? Love, and be silent.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. In an aside Cordelia wonders how she will respond when Lear demands that she professes her love for him. She can only love and be silent, she says. She makes it clear that she loves her father but will not flatter him by voicing that love. It may be that she has a problem with expressing her feelings in words.