King Lear - quotations

It is a play staged very early. King Lear is a brutal play, filled with human cruelty and awful, seemingly
meaningless disasters. We have a character that gradually goes mad and he himself witnesses the process.
The story of the play is very old. The earliest version dates from 1139 - Geoffrey of Monmouth (c.1100-
c.1154), Welsh chronicler. His Historia Regum Britanniae (c.1139; first printed in 1508), which purports
to give an account of the kings of Britain, is now thought to contain little historical fact; it was, however,
a major source for English literature, including stories of King Arthur and the plots of some of
Shakespeare's plays. We can find sources in:
- “The Mirror for Magistrates” (Rulers), 1599 is a collection of stories in which various men and
women recount their downfall in verse, most of them being characters from the English history. It
is an invaluable source of plots and characters.
- Holinshed (Raphael (died c.1580), English chronicler. Although the named compiler of The
Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (1577), Holinshed in fact wrote only the Historie of
England and had help with the remainder. In 1587 the work was revised and reissued, and this
edition was widely used by Shakespeare and other dramatists.); The True Chronicle History of
King Leir by an anonymous author.
- Spenser, Edmund (c.1552-99), English poet. He is best known for his allegorical romance the
Faerie Queene (1590; 1596), celebrating Queen Elizabeth I.
- Sir Philip Sidney (1554-86), English poet and soldier. Generally considered to represent the
apotheosis of the Elizabethan courtier, he was a leading poet and patron of poets, including
Edmund Spenser. His best-known work is Arcadia (published posthumously in 1590), a prose
romance including poems and pastoral eclogues in a wide variety of verse forms. An outline of
the story of Gloucester is one of the sources for Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Dr. Jonson claimed that King Lear has an unnatural ending. All of the sources have a happy ending. Why
should Cordelia die? Some critics sat that there isn’t poetic justice. Cordelia is an angel-like figure –
almost too good to be true. There are two parallel plots, equal importance should be given to both. There
is a conflict between parents and children, the issue of moralitude and misjudgement.
King Lear treats love as a commodity. According to him natural children posses better qualities because
they are conceived in the heat of passion and lust, rather than in a stale marital bed. We have a typical
Machiavel. He turns his disadvantage into his advantage. We should note Gloucester’s speech on true
eclipses and Edmund’s response. There is dramatic irony.
Dragon’s tail = a name given to the intersection of the orbit of the descending moon with the line of the
sun’s orbit (Chaucer’s wicked planet). Ursu Major = the Great Bear. In astrological terms the horoscope
is governed by Mars and Venus, producing a temperament not only daring and rapturous, but also
adulterous and lecherous.

Act 1 Scene 2 lines 1-20

Edmund delivers this soliloquy just before he tricks his father, Gloucester into believing that Gloucester’s
legitimate son, Edgar, is plotting against him. His words “I grow; I prosper” define his character
throughout the play. Deprived by his bastard birth of the respect and rank that he believes to be rightfully
his. Edmund sets about raising himself by his own efforts, forging personal prosperity through treachery
and betrayals. The repeated use of the epithet “legitimate” in reference to Edgar reveals Edmund’s
obsession with his brother’s enviable status as their father’s rightful heir. With its attack on the ‘plague of
custom”, this quotation embodies Edmund’s resentment of the social order of the world and his
accompanying craving for respect and power. He invokes “nature” because only in the unregulated,
anarchic scheme of the natural world can one of such low birth achieve his goals. He wants recognition
more than anything else, perhaps, it is suggested later, because of the familial love that has been denied to
him, and he sets about getting that recognition by any means necessary.

Act 1 Scene 2 line 109

Here Edmund makes fun of Gloucester’s superstition. He makes his father a fool indirectly. Everybody in
this world blames the stars and justifies his own deeds.
Compounded = very vulgar word meaning ‘having sexual intercourse’
This speech relates to the one of Richard. There is a clear parallel between Edmund and Richard. Here
Edmund reveals his character, that he is evil, villain, has no respect for his father. He is very down to
earth and would stop at nothing in order to achieve his aims. He accepts the fact that he is an illegitimate
son and does not let that interfere his life and his aims. His character is revealed as villainous and at the
same time everything he says – makes sense. People do really believe the stars and blame them for their
destiny. He is a villain and a very intelligent character, as well. Shakespeare creates such kind of villains.
The Fool also plays a very important role here and it is one of the best fools Shakespeare had created. He
sings very good songs, sometimes giving an advice through them. In one of the songs (Act 1 Scene 4 line
130) he refers to Lear as the second fool. In the plays we have domestic fools and fools entertaining the
kings and royalty. They are allowed to say anything and nobody would mind. The fool also plays the role
of the chorus from the ancient Greek tragedy, it provides a correlative view. The line that pops up every
now and then is “Who am I; Who I am”

Edmund enters and delivers a soliloquy expressing his dissatisfaction with society’s attitude toward
bastards. He bitterly resents his legitimate half-brother, Edgar, who stands to inherit their father’s estate.
He resolves to do away with Edgar and seize the privileges that society has denied him.
Edmund begins his campaign to discredit Edgar by forging a letter in which Edgar appears to plot the
death of their father, Gloucester. Edmund makes a show of hiding this letter from his father and so,
naturally, Gloucester demands to read it. Edmund answers his father with careful lies, so that Gloucester
ends up thinking that his legitimate son, Edgar, has been scheming to kill him in order to hasten his
inheritance of Gloucester’s wealth and lands. Later, when Edmund talks to Edgar, he tells him that
Gloucester is very angry with him and that Edgar should avoid him as much as possible and carry a sword
with him at all times. Thus, Edmund carefully arranges circumstances so that Gloucester will be certain
that Edgar is trying to murder him.

Act 1 Scene 4 around line 205

Lear’s daughter Goneril talks about the knights who do not behave properly and she asks him to reduce
their number. He still doesn’t know his daughter. Lear is upset and offended by his daughter saying that
his men are riots because they represent him. He wants to preserve them. Sending them away means he
will lose his authority as this is his only emblem.
The next speech is one of the most important speeches – line 244.
He is calling for nature, curses his daughters and calls nature to make his daughter childless or if she does
have a child, to make it ill-natured so as to torment her so much that she would regret ever having a child,
the same as he regretted for having her. He calls for nature to make her cry so much, so that the tears
would make channels on her face. He wants nature to make the child ungrateful to her and to return all
her love with contempt. Here Lear is so disappointed in his daughters that he curses them outrageously.
We have to follow the curve of Lear’s emotional development. What provokes this speech does not
correspond to the weight of the curse. It can be justified by his evil character, he has given up the
attributes of royalty and goes on acting like a King. Lear realises what it really means – taking away the
only power that means so much to him. The rest of the characters are probably taken aback by this
speech, but they do not see the deep structure of what he says. He sees through Goneril’s intentions. This
is the beginning of their plotting against him. His character could be seen as a mosaic, his character is the
most complex one in the play, comprised of several layers. Cordelia strikes at one of the layers, she
insults him publicly, she humiliates him by saying she has nothing to say. Goneril strikes another layer –
his royal power, but he is still blind in another segment. “Yet have I left a daughter”.
This play, more than any other is about ethics and morality. We cannot say Cordelia is to blame because
she speaks the truth. Lear becomes more and more upset. His curse and his anger continue.
Act 1 Scene 4 line 318
Here Lear talks about his eyes, he is crying and says “I’ll pluck my eyes out” a premonition of what will
happen to Gloucester. To temper = to soften. She is as hard as clay and she will pluck his eyes out
together with the tears. He still trusts Regan, he is blind. Animal imagery plays very important role in the
poetry in this play. Lear says his other daughter will scratch Goneril’s face with her nails. Goneril accuses
Albany of being too gentle and sounds like Lady Macbeth, their characters are similar. Lear expects
gratitude from his daughters. We can also track down Lear’s own being aware of his madness. When Lear
wants to see his daughters they say they’re too tired, they only send a message.

Summary: Act 1, scene 4

Disguised as a simple peasant, Kent appears in Goneril’s castle, calling himself Caius. He puts himself in
Lear’s way, and after an exchange of words in which Caius emphasizes his plain-spokenness and honesty,
Lear accepts him into service. Lear’s servants and knights notice that Goneril’s servants no longer obey
their commands. When Lear asks Oswald where Goneril is, Oswald rudely leaves the room without
replying. Oswald soon returns, but his disrespectful replies to Lear’s questions induce Lear to strike him.
Kent steps in to aid Lear and trips Oswald. The Fool arrives and, in a series of puns and double entendres,
tells Lear that he has made a great mistake in handing over his power to Goneril and Regan. After a long
delay, Goneril herself arrives to speak with Lear. She tells him that his servants and knights have been so
disorderly that he will have to send some of them away whether he likes it or not. Lear is shocked at
Goneril’s treasonous betrayal. Nonetheless, Goneril remains adamant in her demand that Lear send away
half of his one hundred knights. An enraged Lear repents ever handing his power over to Goneril. He
curses his daughter, calling on Nature to make her childless. Surprised by his own tears, he calls for his
horses. He declares that he will stay with Regan, whom he believes will be a true daughter and give him
the respect that he deserves. When Lear has gone, Goneril argues with her husband, Albany, who is upset
with the harsh way she has treated Lear. She says that she has written a letter to her sister Regan, who is
likewise determined not to house Lear’s hundred knights.

Act 2 Scene 4 line 148

He cannot ask forgiveness from his daughter. he is very sarcastic here. He imagines how it would look
like if he goes back to his daughter. He goes on cursing – may she go blind and grow ugly. He gives a
whole list of things good children should do. Regan is such a child, as opposed to Goneril. He says she is
different from her sisters, she would never shut her door on him and she would show obedience, she
would be courteous to him. He somehow senses she would be cruel the same as her sisters and tests her
minimizing the potential danger that he senses. He says he hopes she would not hurt him. He says to her
not to forget that he gave her a half of the kingdom. It is like a blackmail – you will not do me any bad
because I have given you a half of my kingdom. This is a material aspect.

Act 2 Scene 4 line 220

He is addressing Goneril, in a way he is saying farewell to her. He is no longer violent and he does that to
spare himself, he wants to protect himself from going mad. He says she is like a disease eventhough she is
flesh and blood. He says he will not punish her, Regan will make it up to him, but he is totally wrong,
totally blind. He says she can do as she pleases, he can be patient because he still counts on Regan. There
is a change in his mind, we have different Lears. Then the game begins between Goneril and Regan and
he says that because he has given them all they should give him an equal amount of love. The line “What
need one…” said by Regan provokes a very powerful speech by Lear.

Act 2 Scene 4 line 267

“O reason not the need …” – ne mi davajte prichini za toa shto mi treba?
Even beggars have more than he does. Without certain commodities his life would be as cheap as beast’s.
Clothing was invented just to keep us warm. He refers to Regan – “Look at you, you wear luxurious
clothes to look beautiful”. Her dress id so lavish, it’s more than she needs. “true need” = patience.
He curses both his daughters now and curses gods for their ungratefulness. He wants to be touched with
noble anger, believes that his anger will be justified. He sees it as noble virtue. He talks about the
propriety of revenge. Justice should be done. He is not specific. If we look at the syntax we can see
fragments. He is still sane here. He can do nothing to them, these are only empty words. He is very good
at words, but that is the only power he has. He misjudges the only true and obedient child. He is on the
verge of tears, of a breakdown.

Summary: Act 2, scene 4

Lear, accompanied by the Fool and a knight, arrives at Gloucester’s castle. Lear spies Kent in the stocks
and is shocked that anyone would treat one of his servants so badly. When Kent tells him that Regan and
Cornwall put him there, Lear cannot believe it and demands to speak with them. Regan and Cornwall
refuse to speak with Lear, however, excusing themselves on the grounds that they are sick and weary
from traveling. Lear insists. He has difficulty controlling his emotions, but he finally acknowledges to
himself that sickness can make people behave strangely. When Regan and Cornwall eventually appear,
Lear starts to tell Regan about Goneril’s “sharp-toothed unkindness” toward him (2.4.128). Regan
suggests that Goneril may have been justified in her actions, that Lear is growing old and unreasonable,
and that he should return to Goneril and beg her forgiveness.
Lear asks Regan to shelter him, but she refuses. He complains more strenuously about Goneril and falls to
cursing her. Much to Lear’s dismay, Goneril herself arrives at Gloucester’s castle. Regan, who had known
from Goneril’s letters that she was coming, takes her sister’s hand and allies herself with Goneril against
their father. They both tell Lear that he is getting old and weak and that he must give up half of his men if
he wants to stay with either of his daughters. Lear, confused, says that he and his hundred men will stay
with Regan. Regan, however, responds that she will allow him only twenty-five men. Lear turns back to
Goneril, saying that he will be willing to come down to fifty men if he can stay with her. But Goneril is
no longer willing to allow him even that many. A moment later, things get even worse for Lear: both
Goneril and Regan refuse to allow him any servants. Outraged, Lear curses his daughters and heads
outside, where a wild storm is brewing. Gloucester begs Goneril and Regan to bring Lear back inside, but
the daughters prove unyielding and state that it is best to let him do as he will. They order that the doors
be shut and locked, leaving their father outside in the threatening storm.

Act 3 Scene 2 lines 1-23

Lear wanders around the storm, cursing the weather and challenging it to do its worst against him. He
seems slightly irrational, his thoughts wander from idea to idea, but always return to fixate on his two
cruel daughters. The Fool, who accompanies him, urges him to humble himself before his daughters and
seek shelter indoors, but Lear ignores him.
The political chaos is mirrored in the natural world. We find Lear and his courtiers plodding against a
deserted heath with winds howling around them and rain drenching them. Lear, like the other characters,
is unused to such harsh conditions and he soon finds himself symbolically stripped bare. He has already
discovered that his cruel daughters can victimize him; now he learns that a King caught in a storm is as
much subject to the power of nature as any man. Lear is trying to face the power of nature, an attempt that
seems to indicate both his despair and his increasingly confused sense of reality. Lear’s attempt to speak
to the storm suggest that he has lost touch with the natural world and his relation to it, or, at least, that he
has lost touch with the ordinary human understanding of nature. Lear asks whether nature and the gods
are actually good, and, if so, how life can treated him so badly. The storm marks one of the first
apocalyptic imagery that is so important in King Lear and that will become increasingly dominant as the
play progresses. The chaos reflects the disorder in Lear’s increasingly crazed mind, and the apocalyptic
language represents the projection of Lear’s rage and despair onto the outside world. The chaos in nature
also reflects the very real political chaos that has engulfed Britain in absence of Lear’s authority.
Act 3 Scene 4 lines 86-101
Lear asked the disguised Edgar what he used to be before he went mad and became a beggar. Edgar
replies that he once was a wealthy courtier who spent his days having sex with many women and drinking
wine. Lear’s obsessive contemplation of his own humanity and of his place in relation to nature and to the
gods is heightened still further after he meets Edgar who is clad only in rugs. Lear’s wandering mind
turns to his own fine clothing and he says, addressing Edgar’s largely uncovered body “Is man no more
than this? Consider him well”. As a King in fact as well as in name with servants and subjects and
seemingly loyal daughters Lear could be confident of his place in the universe, indeed, the Universe
seemed to revolve around him. Now, as his humility grows, he becomes conscious of his real relationship
to nature. He is frightened to see himself as little more than a ‘bare, forked animal’ stripped of everything
that made him secure and powerful. The destruction of Lear’s pride leads him to question the social order
that clothes kings in rich garments and beggars in rags. He realizes that each person, underneath his or her
clothing, is naked and therefore weak. Only the flimsy surface of garments marks the difference between
King and a beggar.

Summary: Act 3, scene 2

Meanwhile, Lear wanders around in the storm, cursing the weather and challenging it to do its worst
against him. He seems slightly irrational, his thoughts wandering from idea to idea but always returning
to fixate on his two cruel daughters. The Fool, who accompanies him, urges him to humble himself before
his daughters and seek shelter indoors, but Lear ignores him. Kent finds the two of them and urges them
to take shelter inside a nearby hovel. Lear finally agrees and follows Kent toward the hovel. The Fool
makes a strange and confusing prophecy.

Act 4 Scene 6 lines 110-131

Lear, wandering across the plan, stumbles upon Edgar and Gloucester. Crowned with flowers he is clearly
mad. He babbles to Edgar and Gloucester, speaking both irrationally and with a strange perceptiveness.
He recognises Gloucester, alluding to Gloucester’s sin and shame, his adultery. Lear pardons Gloucester
for his crime, but his thoughts then follow a chain of associations from adultery to copulation to
womankind, culminating in a tirade against women and sexuality in general.

Summary: Act 4, scene 6

Still disguised, Edgar leads Gloucester toward Dover. Edgar pretends to take Gloucester to the cliff,
telling him that they are going up steep ground and that they can hear the sea. Finally, he tells Gloucester
that they are at the top of the cliff and that looking down from the great height gives him vertigo. He
waits quietly nearby as Gloucester prays to the gods to forgive him. Gloucester can no longer bear his
suffering and intends to commit suicide. He falls to the ground, fainting. Edgar wakes Gloucester up. He
no longer pretends to be Poor Tom but now acts like an ordinary gentleman, although he still doesn’t tell
Gloucester that he is his son. Edgar says that he saw him fall all the way from the cliffs of Dover and that
it is a miracle that he is still alive. Clearly, Edgar states, the gods do not want Gloucester to die just yet.
Edgar also informs Gloucester that he saw the creature who had been with him at the top of the cliff and
that this creature was not a human being but a devil. Gloucester accepts Edgar’s explanation that the gods
have preserved him and resolves to endure his sufferings patiently. Lear, wandering across the plain,
stumbles upon Edgar and Gloucester. Crowned with wild flowers, he is clearly mad. He babbles to Edgar
and Gloucester, speaking both irrationally and with a strange perceptiveness. He recognizes Gloucester,
alluding to Gloucester’s sin and source of shame—his adultery. Lear pardons Gloucester for this crime,
but his thoughts then follow a chain of associations from adultery to copulation to womankind,
culminating in a tirade against women and sexuality in general. Lear’s disgust carries him to the point of
incoherence, as he deserts iambic pentameter (the verse form in which his speeches are written) and spits
out the words “Fie, fie, fie! pah! pah!” (4.6.126). Cordelia’s people enter seeking King Lear. Relieved to
find him at last, they try to take him into custody to bring him to Cordelia. When Lear runs away,
Cordelia’s men follow him. Oswald comes across Edgar and Gloucester on the plain. He does not
recognize Edgar, but he plans to kill Gloucester and collect the reward from Regan. Edgar adopts yet
another persona, imitating the dialect of a peasant from the west of England. He defends Gloucester and
kills Oswald with a cudgel. As he dies, Oswald entrusts Edgar with his letters. Gloucester is disappointed
not to have been killed. Edgar reads with interest the letter that Oswald carries to Edmund. In the letter,
Goneril urges Edmund to kill Albany if he gets the opportunity, so that Edmund and Goneril can be
together. Edgar is outraged; he decides to keep the letter and show it to Albany when the time is right.
Meanwhile, he buries Oswald nearby and leads Gloucester off to temporary safety.

Act 5 Scene 1 lines 55-69

From Edmund’s speech we learned that he has promised himself to both sisters. We don’t know whether
he is lying to Regan when he states that he has not slept with Goneril. Nor can we deduce from his speech
which of the sisters he prefers, or, in fact, whether he really loves either of them. What is clear is that he
created a problem for himself by professing love for both.
Summary: Act 5, scene 1
In the British camp near Dover, Regan asks Edmund if he loves Goneril and if he has found his way into
her bed. Edmund responds in the negative to both questions. Regan expresses jealousy of her sister and
beseeches Edmund not to be familiar with her. Abruptly, Goneril and Albany enter with their troops.
Albany states that he has heard that the invading French army has been joined by Lear and unnamed
others who may have legitimate grievances against the present government. Despite his sympathy toward
Lear and these other dissidents, Albany declares that he intends to fight alongside Edmund, Regan, and
Goneril to repel the foreign invasion. Goneril and Regan jealously spar over Edmund, neither willing to
leave the other alone with him. The three exit together. Just as Albany begins to leave, Edgar, now
disguised as an ordinary peasant, catches up to him. He gives Albany the letter that he took from
Oswald’s body—the letter in which Goneril’s involvement with Edmund is revealed and in which Goneril
asks Edmund to kill Albany. Edgar tells Albany to read the letter and says that if Albany wins the
upcoming battle, he can sound a trumpet and Edgar will provide a champion to defend the claims made in
the letter. Edgar vanishes and Edmund returns. Edmund tells Albany that the battle is almost upon them,
and Albany leaves. Alone, Edmund addresses the audience, stating that he has sworn his love to both
Regan and Goneril. He debates what he should do, reflecting that choosing either one would anger the
other. He decides to put off the decision until after the battle, observing that if Albany survives it, Goneril
can take care of killing him herself. He asserts menacingly that if the British win the battle and he
captures Lear and Cordelia, he will show them no mercy.

Act 5 Scene 3 lines 8-19

Edmund leads in Lear and Cordelia as his prisoners. Cordelia expects to confront Regan and Goneril, but
Lear refuses to do so. He describes a vividly imagined fantasy, in which he and Cordelia live alone
together like birds in a cage, hearing about the outside world but observed by no one. This Lear’s address
to Cordelia is strangely joyful. He creates an intimate world that knows only love. Edmund leads in Lear
and Cordelia as his prisoners. Cordelia expects to confront Regan and Goneril, but Lear vehemently
refuses to do so. He describes a vividly imagined fantasy, in which he and Cordelia live alone together
like birds in a cage, hearing about the outside world but observed by no one. Edmund sends them away,
giving the captain who guards them a note with instructions as to what to do with them. He doesn’t make
the note’s contents clear to the audience, but he speaks ominously. The captain agrees to follow
Edmund’s orders. Albany enters accompanied by Goneril and Regan. He praises Edmund for his brave
fighting on the British side and orders that he produce Lear and Cordelia. Edmund lies to Albany,
claiming that he sent Lear and Cordelia far away because he feared that they would excite the sympathy
of the British forces and create a mutiny. Albany rebukes him for putting himself above his place, but
Regan breaks in to declare that she plans to make Edmund her husband. Goneril tells Regan that Edmund
will not marry her, but Regan, who is unexpectedly beginning to feel sick, claims Edmund as her husband
and lord. Albany intervenes, arresting Edmund on a charge of treason. Albany challenges Edmund to
defend himself against the charge in a trial by combat, and he sounds the trumpet to summon his
champion. While Regan, who is growing ill, is helped to Albany’s tent, Edgar appears in full armor to
accuse Edmund of treason and face him in single combat. Edgar defeats Edmund, and Albany cries out to
Edgar to leave Edmund alive for questioning. Goneril tries to help the wounded Edmund, but Albany
brings out the treacherous letter to show that he knows of her conspiracy against him. Goneril rushes off
in desperation. Edgar takes off his helmet and reveals his identity. He reconciles with Albany and tells the
company how he disguised himself as a mad beggar and led Gloucester through the countryside. He adds
that he revealed himself to his father only as he was preparing to fight Edmund and that Gloucester, torn
between joy and grief, died. A gentleman rushes in carrying a bloody knife. He announces that Goneril
has committed suicide. Moreover, she fatally poisoned Regan before she died. The two bodies are carried
in and laid out. Kent enters and asks where Lear is. Albany recalls with horror that Lear and Cordelia are
still imprisoned and demands from Edmund their whereabouts. Edmund repents his crimes and
determines to do good before his death. He tells the others that he had ordered that Cordelia be hanged
and sends a messenger to try to intervene. Lear enters, carrying the dead Cordelia in his arms: the
messenger arrived too late. Slipping in and out of sanity, Lear grieves over Cordelia’s body. Kent speaks
to Lear, but Lear barely recognizes him. A messenger enters and reveals that Edmund has also died. Lear
asks Edgar to loosen Cordelia’s button; then, just as Lear thinks that he sees her beginning to breathe
again, he dies. Albany gives Edgar and Kent their power and titles back, inviting them to rule with him.
Kent, feeling himself near death, refuses, but Edgar seems to accept. The few remaining survivors exit
sadly as a funeral march plays.