King Lear 4.2 Quotes

‘my lord’

Goneril— referring to Edmund. She refers to him affectionately, almost like he is her husband, suggesting to the audience that she has committed adultery.

‘our mild husband’

Goneril— referring to Albany, shows that their marriage has broken down. This places Albany on the side of Lear et al, as he opposes Goneril.

‘I told him of the army that was landed; He smiled at it’

Oswald— this reinforces the audience’s support for Albany and the sense that he is a good character. Albany’s perception of things is entirely different from Oswald, R + G’s

‘A fool usurps my bed’

Goneril— possessive, tells us a lot about her attitude and the power dynamic in the relationship between her and Albany.

‘O Goneril, You are not worth the dust which the rude wind blows in your face’

Albany— saying how little he values Goneril, and that she has reached the limit of moral boundary

‘Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile’

Albany— he is saying she is vile, which reinforces the idea that she is a tragic villain

‘Could my good brother suffer you to do it’

Albany— he still thinks that Cornwall is a good person, creating dramatic irony as the audience has just seen him blind Gloucester.

‘If that the heavens do not their visible spirits send quickly down to tame these vile offences’

Albany— he still believes in divine justice, and that Regan and Goneril will be punished (even though Gloucester has just lost faith in it)

‘Milk-livered man’

Goneril— feminine, weak, pure— she is basically calling him a coward.

‘Where’s thy drum? France spreads his banners in our noiseless land’

Goneril— saying Albany is weak and a coward, and is not preparing his troops for war

‘Thou changed and self-covered thing’

Albany—he is saying that Goneril has made herself evil, again linking to the idea of her and Regan as villains and of Cordelia as innocent and good. At this point any pity the audience has felt for Goneril has disappeared.

‘the Duke of Cornwall’s dead’

Messenger— they have a dramatic entrance and ironically focus on Cornwall rather than the blinding of Gloucester.

‘But, being a widow, and my Gloucester with her’

Goneril— she is worried about Edmund and Regan being together, which starts to show the divide growing between the sisters