Written between 1603 and 1606, King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s finest dramatic works. It explores a number of themes universal to the human condition, including love, ambition, betrayal, insanity, loyalty and, that most complex of themes, the relationship between a father and his children.
The following quotes offer wonderful examples of the rich and beautiful language used to convey the themes of the play.
Quotes from Lear
From the outset, King Lear demonstrates an instability of mind and a tempestuous nature. Throughout the play, this descends into full-blown insanity and a rage that demands vengeance.
“How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is/To have a thankless child!”(I.iv) Spoken by Lear just before leaving Albany’s (and Goneril’s) home, this has become one of the most famous lines of the play and was even used as the title of an episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series. The line comes after Goneril has requested that some of Lear’s train be dismissed from the house. She claims that they are turning her home into a ‘tavern’ and ‘brothel’, and asks that his hundred knights be diminished in number. In a fit of rage at this suggestion, (incidentally, Lear claims his knights’ behaviour is beyond reproach) he leaves her home with plans to reside with Regan.
“Nothing can come of nothing: speak again.”(I.i) Another quote that has become famous beyond the bounds of the play, Lear speaks this line in the very first scene. He has asked his three daughters to express their love for him, and in return they will receive a portion of the kingdom. Not wishing or willing to profess a hollow speech of love, Cordelia tells Lear that she ‘cannot heave [her] heart into her mouth.’ Lear implies that if she will not do as bid, she will not be bequeathed her share of the kingdom.
“But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter;/Or rather a disease that's in my flesh,/Which I must needs call mine: thou art a boil,/A plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle,/In my corrupted blood.”(II.iv) This wonderfully rich language is used by Lear to once again indicate his disgust with the ‘ingratitude’ of Goneril.
“A man may see how this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears: see how yond justice rails upon yon simple thief. Hark, in thine ear: change places; and, handy-dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?”(Iv.vi) Speaking to the recently blinded Gloucester, this scene, and this line in particular, suggests the ability to see more clearly when blind. For Gloucester, it is literal blindness. For King Lear, on the other hand, it is the ‘blindness’ of his madness, which brings clarity.
Quotes from Goneril, Regan and Cordelia
Lear’s three daughters are all eloquent and well-educated women. However, where Regan and Goneril use their intellect to manipulate, deceive and scheme, Cordelia has a rational, honest approach that means her words are few, but all are genuine.
“So young, my lord, and true.”(I.i) After refusing to embellish her feelings of love and devotion, Lear accuses Cordelia of being ‘untender’. Her response is a simple assertion that her declaration of love, although understated, is founded in truth, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, does not go down well with her father.
“Tis the infirmity of his age: yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself.”(I.i) In this line, Regan seems to imply that King Lear has always been slightly unhinged and his age is simply exacerbating the problem. Given the source, we cannot assume that this is true, but it’s an interesting notion to explore.
“O, sir, you are old;/Nature in you stands on the very verge/Of her confine: you should be rul'd and led/By some discretion, that discerns your state/Better than you yourself.”(II.iv) Here, Regan tells Lear that he should allow her and her sister to ‘rule’ him, implying that his age now prevents him from any kind of decision making. In the same scene, Regan reinforces this notion, when she says, “I pray you, father, being weak, seem so.”
“Idle old man,/That still would manage those authorities/That he hath given away! Now, by my life,/Old fools are babes again; and must be used/With cheques as flatteries, - when they are seen abused.”(I.iii) From Goneril’s most famous speech ,‘By day and night he wrongs me…’, which is a conversation between her and her servant, Oswald, comes this quote. She is enraged that Lear still holds onto his authority despite dividing his lands between the two eldest daughters and their husbands. Lear tells them in scene one that ‘…we [meaning the royal ’we’] still retain/The name, and all the additions to a king…’ Both daughters set about making the old king dependent upon them, (by insisting that his knights be reduced in number) thereby stripping him of his remaining power.
“Restoration hang/Thy medicine on my lips; and let this kiss/Repair those violent harms that my two sisters/Have in thy reverence made!”(IV.vii) Having returned from France and found her father, Cordelia demonstrates that she bears no ill feeling despite the vicious way in which Lear disowned her in act one. This line, above all others, shows her decency, goodness and dedication to a father who, arguably, wronged her.
There are, of course, many more useful and interesting quotations from King Lear. The ones mentioned above offer an insight into some of the characters and, principally, the relationship between Lear and his daughters.
Sources and Further Reading
- Maguire, L., Studying Shakespeare: A Guide to The Plays
- Mitchell, J., Mad Men and Medusas: Reclaiming Hysteria
- Shakespeare, W., King Lear
- Woodford, D., Understanding King Lear: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents
Samantha Markham - Samantha Markham is a professional freelance writer with a particular passion for literary and theatrical subjects.
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