King Lear Act 1 Quotes

‘I have so often blushed to acknowledge him’

Gloucester is saying this to Kent about Edmund. It establishes the mistakes that Gloucester has made in the past and also introduces key ideas about the relationship between the Earl and his illegitimate son.

‘we have divided in three our kingdom’ and ‘future strife may be prevented now’

Lear describes his intent to divide the kingdom and why. This is an ironic statement because the audience is already aware of Lear’s favouritism, thus making it proleptic of the future conflict in the play. Dividing his kingdom would have also been illegal in the Jacobean era, meaning Shakespeare’s audience would have realised the inevitability of conflict.

‘while we Unburdened crawl to our death’

Lear is saying this as justification for his division of the Kingdom. He relinquishes power in order to be free from his duties, but intends to still maintain his position and status. This does not make sense to anyone, including the audience. It also creates a sense of Lear’s physical vulnerability.

‘Which of you shall we say doth love us most’

Lear says this, and it is his main error of judgement in the play. He is confusing affairs of the state with his family and personal life, or the body politic and the body natural, which can only lead to disaster. He treats the love of his daughters as a commodity they can trade for land and power, creating the foreground of their inevitable exploitation of it. It also shows his need for validation and how this will reinforce his identity as king, and the irony that the only child who truly loves him refuses to conform to this suggests that the subsequent suffering and loss of identity is because of Lear’s decision. Thus, Lear is the agent of his own destruction.

‘Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty’

Goneril says this, and not only is it a lavish exaggeration but it is also ironic, as ‘eyesight’ heavily links to Lear’s tragic arc and his blindness.

‘Only she comes to short’

Regan says this after Goneril’s speech, foregrounding the conflict and dysfunctionality of the family. Also inevitable conflict between Albany and Cornwall.

‘Nothing’ ‘nothing will come of nothing’

Said by Cordelia, is the start of the major tragic arc (it could be argued that it has already begun) and emphasises how nothing is everything. It reflects how Regan and Goneril will get everything from Lear despite feeling nothing for him, and how later in the play Lear will have nothing. Also links to the idea of ‘feeling what wretches feel’, and how by having nothing Lear develops empathy and kindness.

‘Come not between the dragon and his wrath’

Lear says this, aggressive beast creates a sense of tragic rage typical in the protagonists

‘old man’, ‘majesty falls to folly’, ‘thy’

Kent says this, and is speaking truth to power. Shakespeare uses Kent to explore ideas of service and making people see where they are wrong.

‘See better Lear’

Kent- demonstrates Lear’s blinding pride and hubris, which links to the love test and his need for validation, which will ultimately destroy his identity.

‘her price has fallen’ ‘she is herself a dowry’

Lear- links to his mistake of treating his daughters and their love like commodities. There is a disparity between his attitude and that of another King who can see clearly.

‘I think our father will hence tonight’

Goneril- this part is in prose like the beginning, making it seem like there is something secret happening. It also creates dramatic irony, as the audience are aware of G+R’s plot and true attitudes towards Lear. Links to the tragic arc as we can now see the extent of the error of judgement.

‘He always loved our sister most’

We get the sense that Lear has always been playing favourites with his children, which we can see has creating conflict and tension between them. This proves to be a motive for their later actions, showing that Lear is the agent of his own destruction.

‘he hath ever but slenderly known himself’

Regan- links to Lear’s loss of identity and his descent into madness- ‘who is it that can tell me who I am?’

‘Nature, art my goddess’

Said by Edmund, as he does not believe in the gods and divine justice like Lear and Gloucester. Instead of an ordered and hierarchical world, he believes in a chaotic world where people take what they want for themselves. ‘Nature’ also reminds us of natural parent child relationships.

‘Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land’

Edmund- a 1606 audience would have realised he was a villain

‘Nothing, my lord’

Edmund- echoes Cordelia

‘I shall not need spectacles’

Gloucester- saying he will not need assistance to see when in actuality he is being blinded by Edmund and by tragic rage. Hugely ironic statement.

‘This villain of mine comes under my prediction- there’s son against father’

Gloucester- huge amounts of dramatic irony as the audience knows that Gloucester is being deceived by Edmund, and heightens the sense of his blindness.

‘as if we were villains on necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion’

Edmund- he is reinforcing to the audience his belief in chaos and a disordered world, and also acting as a vessel of the tragic arc- saying that all of this tragedy is resulting from the actions of Lear and Gloucester, which is mostly true, and is what the tragedy is all about.

‘go armed’

anticipating the conflict that will occur over the course of the play, and also deepens the sense of threat and deceit

‘Did my father strike my gentleman for chiding of his fool?’

Goneril- Lear is on edge and is defending his possessions. ‘My father’ shows a lack of respectful address, and also the family dynamic. ‘Chiding of his fool’ mirrors speaking truth to power and how, in terms of the tragic arc, Lear is a long way off of anagnorisis

‘Idle old man’, ‘Old fools are babes again’

Goneril- creates a sense of how vulnerable Lear is, physically and mentally. Also reminds us of Kent calling Lear an ‘old man’, and speaking truth to power, however there is a contrast between this and the context of Goneril, as she does not unconditionally love Lear. ‘Babes’ reminds the audience of the decision Lear made and how it was a mistake, emphasising the inevitable tragic course of action.

‘And let his knights have colder looks among you’

Goneril- knights represent Lear and his identity as king- Goneril wants to tear down this identity by forcing them to leave. The audience is beginning to see the sadism of Goneril and feel more pity for Lear.

‘I’ll write straight to my sister’

shows the loyalty between them but also the underlying conflict- Goneril is trying to push Lear onto Regan.

‘thy master whom thou loves shall find thee full of labours’

Kent- Lear managed to inspire such loyalty from a righteous man- serves as a reminder to the audience that Lear was once a good king, which is something we don’t get to see. Shakespeare uses the character of Kent to explore ideas of good service and bad service- Kent is an example of a good servant because he speaks truth to power and holds unconditional loyalty for his master. Parallels 1.1, 1.3 and 1.4 as G+R and Edmund are deceiving their parents for bad reasons, whereas Kent is deceiving Lear for a good reason.

‘As poor as the king’

Kent- Lear takes this as a joke, when it is still him speaking truth to power; Lear has given away all of his land and authority, and therefore has nothing, blindness.

‘So please you’

Oswald- he is utterly devoted to Goneril like Kent is to Lear, however is an example of a bad servant, as he does not speak truth to the higher power

‘my daughter’

Lear- he is delusional and still believes he has power even though he has given it all away. He still makes it all about him, very self-pitying and has a sense of possession.

‘the fool hath much pined away’

The Fool is explicitly linked with Cordelia, so we get the impression that he is a good character. They are also linked as they both speak truth to power.

‘for taking one’s part who’s out of favour’

Fool- suggesting Kent is a fool for following Lear as he has fallen out of power and authority- speaking truth to power

‘coxcomb’

A hat, and a symbol of being a Fool. He tells Lear to wear it, ergo making him a fool.

‘a bitter fool and a sweet one’

‘sweet’ fool refers to a professional one, and a ‘bitter’ fool refers to a fool who is going to make everyone suffer for giving away his land (Lear). Saying Lear is the agent of his own suffering, and uses rhyme to really send the message

‘thou bor’st thine ass on thy back o’er the dirt’, ‘the cart draws the horse’

Fool- reversal of the natural order, saying through the image of a person carrying their donkey over the mud instead of it being the other way round that by giving away his land he has created an unnatural order, where his daughters are above him in terms of authority.

‘coronet part between you’

echoes act 1 scene 1, doesn’t make sense as a coronet cannot be physically parted between two people, meaning that what Lear is suggesting is redundant.

‘That’s a shelled peascod’

peas, image of nothing and of emptiness. Idea that Lear has nothing now because he has given everything away, saying he is a fool and trying to force him to reach some kind of recognition.

‘Who is it who can tell me who I am?’ ‘Lear’s shadow’

Lear is already starting to lose his identity, which triggers his descent into madness. The Fool describes him as the shadow of his former self, perhaps signifying that giving away his power and authority cost him his identity and sanity.

‘Degenerate bastard’

Lear disowns Goneril, reminding us of act 1 scene 1 where Cordelia is disowned- shows Lear’s blindness to the value of family and unconditional love.

‘Into her womb convey sterility’

Lear is cursing Goneril with sterility in this incredibly misogynistic speech, as he sees it as her only value and worth. Is essentially commanding the gods he believes in, similar to Gloucester, not realising that the divine justice he seeks doesn’t exist in this bleak universe. By doing this he intends to end her dynasty, which he believes to be punishment enough, however ironically it means the end of his own dynasty. This demonstrates Lear’s tragic agency.

‘power to shake my manhood thus’

Lear- demonstrates his fragile masculinity and identity, something that is withering away. Through the context of this scene we can see that Shakespeare may be criticising the idea of traditional masculinity and how a contemporary audience views it.

‘I’ll resume the shape thou dost think I have cast off forever’

There is irony in this statement, creating the sense of tragic inevitability. It is too late for Lear to resume his position as King, and therefore reclaim his identity.

‘my daughter’

Lear- this indicates his feeling of possession over his children, something that is ironic as they now have all the power and authority and he has none

‘till I have delivered your letter’

There is a parallel between Oswald and Kent, as at the end of 1.4 Goneril gives a letter to Oswald and at the start of 1.5 Lear gives a letter to Kent. This foreshadows the physical conflict between Kent and Oswald, which is a proxy to the conflict between Lear and his daughters.

‘thy wit shall not go slipshod’

The Fool- your brains will not need slippers, saying that Lear is brainless to go and see Regan, idea of speaking truth to power and what makes a good servant.

‘she’s like this as a crab’s like an apple’

The Fool- wild apple, sour, saying the daughters are not as they seem

‘Not to give it away to his daughters and leave his horns without a case’

The Fool- saying Lear has given away everything he has and now has no power, leaving himself vulnerable

‘Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise’

The Fool- explicitly saying that Lear is unwise, however Lear does not largely recognise this. There is an idea that Lear has defied the natural stereotype and order of being wise, causing chaos.

‘I would not be mad’

Lear- repetition of this. First time we hear Lear talking about madness, and we get the sense of something slipping away- a fractured identity