King Lear Act 1 Scene 1 Line-by-Line Explanation

Enter Kent, Gloucester, and Edmund.

We begin the play with a conversation between Earl of Kent, a loyal nobleman, and Earl of Gloucester, along with Gloucester’s illegitimate son Edmund. Their presence before the king arrives helps establish context and foreshadow central issues.

KENT:

“I thought the King had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.”

Paraphrase: I thought the king preferred the Duke of Albany over the Duke of Cornwall.
Analysis: Kent speculates about the king’s favoritism, a subtle way to reveal the political uncertainty of the moment.
Language device:
- “Affected” – archaic use meaning “favored” or “liked.”
Themes:
- Power and Politics – opens with courtly speculation about the king’s judgment.
- Uncertainty – foreshadows the instability of Lear’s decision to divide his kingdom.

GLOUCESTER:

“It did always seem so to us, but now in the division of the kingdom, it appears not which of the dukes he values most, for equalities are so weighed that curiosity in neither can make choice of either’s moiety.”

Paraphrase: That used to seem true to us, but now, with the kingdom being divided, it’s not clear which duke Lear prefers. The division is so balanced that even the closest inspection couldn’t pick one share over the other.
Analysis: Gloucester reveals that Lear is dividing his kingdom equally, a radical and destabilizing act in a monarchy.
Language devices:
- Antithesis & balance – “equalities are so weighed” emphasizes Lear’s attempt to balance power.
- Personification – “curiosity… can make choice” gives human traits to abstraction.
Themes:
- Order and Disorder – division of a unified monarchy threatens natural and political order.
- Power – division of kingdom prefaces Lear’s loss of authority.

KENT:

“Is not this your son, my lord?”

Paraphrase: Isn’t this your son, my lord?
Analysis: Kent refers to Edmund, prompting the first of many discussions in the play about legitimacy and inheritance.
Themes:
- Family and Legitimacy – the question opens a conversation about parentage and social status.

GLOUCESTER:

“His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge. I have so often blushed to acknowledge him that now I am brazed to ’t.”

Paraphrase: I’ve paid for his upbringing. I used to be embarrassed to acknowledge him, but now I’m hardened to it.
Analysis: Gloucester speaks with coarse bluntness about Edmund being illegitimate, suggesting the tension between social honor and natural affection.
Language devices:
- Metaphor – “brazed” (hardened like brass) implies emotional callousness.
Themes:
- Legitimacy vs. Nature – Gloucester struggles between acknowledging and dismissing Edmund.
- Shame and Identity – shame over Edmund’s birth contrasts with his pride in raising him.

KENT:

“I cannot conceive you.”

Paraphrase: I don’t understand you.
Language device:
- Pun – “conceive” also means to become pregnant, playing on Gloucester’s reference to sexual conception.
Analysis: Shakespeare uses wordplay here, and Kent’s polite confusion contrasts Gloucester’s bawdy tone.
Themes:
- Language and Misunderstanding – the double meanings foreshadow confusion throughout the play.

GLOUCESTER:

“Sir, this young fellow’s mother could, whereupon she grew round-wombed and had indeed, sir, a son for her cradle ere she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell a fault?”

Paraphrase: His mother certainly could conceive, and she gave birth before getting married. Do you take offense?
Analysis: Gloucester jokes crudely about Edmund’s illegitimacy, using animalistic and mocking language.
Language devices:
- Euphemism – “round-wombed” for pregnancy.
- Metaphor – “smell a fault” compares sin to something stinking.
Themes:
- Sin and Shame – illegitimacy presented as both natural and disgraceful.
- Fate and Free Will – Edmund’s origin as “a fault” ties into his later rebellion.

KENT:

“I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of it being so proper.”

Paraphrase: I wouldn’t wish away the sin, since its result—Edmund—is so handsome.
Analysis: Kent gives a compliment to Edmund’s appearance, offering a more generous view of him than Gloucester’s mocking tone.
Language devices:
- Pun – “issue” refers both to result and to offspring.
- Irony – Kent’s kind words contrast the judgment Edmund will soon face.
Themes:
- Nature vs. Society – Edmund’s charm suggests natural qualities can outshine social norms.

GLOUCESTER:

“But I have a son, sir, by order of law, some year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in my account.”

Paraphrase: I have another son—legitimate and older—but I don’t love him more.
Analysis: Gloucester admits affection for Edmund despite his illegitimacy, hinting at internal contradiction and setting up future betrayal.
Themes:
- Favoritism and Family Conflict – echoes Lear’s dilemma.
- Hypocrisy – Gloucester claims not to favor based on status, but this will unravel later.

GLOUCESTER:

“Though this knave came something saucily to the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair, there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged.—Do you know this noble gentleman, Edmund?”

Paraphrase: Though this rascal arrived before he was invited (born before marriage), his mother was beautiful, and making him was pleasurable. So I must acknowledge him. Do you know this nobleman, Edmund?
Analysis: Gloucester’s casual, sexualized tone reinforces how illegitimacy is joked about, even as it deeply affects identity. The line shifts suddenly to formality in addressing Edmund.
Language devices:
- Irony – Gloucester’s jokes contrast the seriousness of Edmund’s future betrayal.
- Foreshadowing – Edmund’s later hatred is partly fueled by such mockery.
- Juxtaposition – bawdy humor beside formal recognition.
Themes:
- Legitimacy and Identity – Edmund is caught between mockery and acknowledgment.
- Parental Blindness – Gloucester doesn’t grasp the emotional damage he inflicts.

📌 EDMUND: No, my lord.

Explanation:
Edmund is replying to Gloucester, who just asked him if he knows Kent. His answer is simple: “No.”

Analysis:
Edmund is polite and formal. This brief moment subtly sets up his outsider status and his need to make himself known — a core part of his motivation later.

📌 GLOUCESTER: My lord of Kent. Remember him hereafter as my honorable friend.

Explanation:
Gloucester formally introduces Kent to Edmund and asks him to consider Kent an honorable ally.

Themes & Devices:

Theme: Loyalty – Gloucester trusts Kent deeply.
Foreshadowing – The theme of “honorable friends” contrasts with betrayals to come.

📌 EDMUND: My services to your Lordship.

Explanation:
Edmund politely offers his service and respect to Kent.

Language Device:

Polite formal diction – Establishes Edmund’s superficial decorum.

📌 KENT: I must love you and sue to know you better.

Explanation:
Kent is saying that he’s inclined to like Edmund and wishes to get to know him more.

Language Device:

Verb “sue” (archaic): to earnestly seek — sounds respectful and formal.

📌 EDMUND: Sir, I shall study deserving.

Explanation:
Edmund replies that he will work hard to earn that love/respect.

Themes:

Ambition – This line subtly hints at Edmund’s desire to rise in status.
Deception – Edmund will “study” to appear deserving, even if he isn’t.

📌 GLOUCESTER: He hath been out nine years, and away he shall again.

Explanation:
Gloucester notes that Edmund has been away for nine years and will leave again soon.

Analysis:
Shows Edmund as someone who has been distant and disconnected — feeding his resentment and his desire to be seen and valued.

📌 (Sennet.) The King is coming.

Explanation:
A “sennet” is a ceremonial trumpet flourish, indicating a royal entrance.

Device:

Stage direction – Marks a shift in tone and setting; power dynamics are about to unfold.

📌 Enter King Lear, Cornwall, Albany, Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, and Attendants.

Explanation:
All major players in the royal family enter. This is a grand and important moment.

📌 LEAR: Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.

Explanation:
Lear commands Gloucester to go receive or entertain the French and Burgundian dukes, who are suitors for Cordelia.

Theme:

Marriage and power politics – Cordelia’s suitors are also potential allies.

📌 GLOUCESTER: I shall, my lord. [He exits.]

Explanation:
Gloucester obeys Lear’s order and exits the stage.

📌 LEAR: Meantime we shall express our darker purpose.—Give me the map there.

Explanation:
Lear announces he’s about to reveal a serious or secret plan (his “darker purpose”) and asks for a map of the kingdom.

Language Devices:

“Darker purpose” – not evil, but “weighty” or “serious.” Creates dramatic tension.
Imperative tone – asserting power and control.

📌 Know that we have divided / In three our kingdom…

Explanation:
Lear declares he has already decided to divide the kingdom into three parts.

Themes:

Power and division – This central act sparks the tragic events to come.
Order vs. chaos – Lear tries to organize his legacy but sows seeds of disorder.

📌 …and ’tis our fast intent / To shake all cares and business from our age, / Conferring them on younger strengths…

Explanation:
Lear wants to retire and hand over his duties to the younger generation.

Language Devices:

Alliteration (“shake…cares…conferring”) – adds rhythm and grandeur.
Metaphor – “shaking off” duties like shaking off a heavy cloak.

Themes:

Age and authority – Lear wants peace in his old age, but misjudges the consequences of letting go of power.

📌 …while we / Unburdened crawl toward death.

Explanation:
Lear sees this as his time to step back from responsibility and live out his final days in peace.

Language Devices:

Metaphor – “crawl toward death” is a somber image of old age and mortality.

Theme:

Mortality – Lear confronts his old age, but not with wisdom.

📌 Our son of Cornwall / And you, our no less loving son of Albany…

Explanation:
He addresses his sons-in-law, giving equal praise.

Theme:

Favoritism (or its absence) – Lear tries to appear fair, though his favoritism later toward Goneril and Regan becomes evident.

📌 We have this hour a constant will to publish / Our daughters’ several dowers…

Explanation:
Lear wants to officially declare how much land each daughter will receive as a dowry.

Language Device:

Formal diction – the grandeur of a royal pronouncement.

Theme:

Inheritance & succession – Lear’s desire to avoid “future strife” ironically causes chaos.

📌 That future strife / May be prevented now.

Explanation:
Lear hopes that by dividing the kingdom now, he can avoid conflict later.

Irony:
This division causes the very strife he hopes to avoid.

📌 The two great princes, France and Burgundy, / Great rivals in our youngest daughter’s love…

Explanation:
Lear notes that Cordelia has two prominent suitors.

Theme:

Marriage as diplomacy – Cordelia’s love is politically valuable.

📌 Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn / And here are to be answered.

Explanation:
France and Burgundy have stayed at court, wooing Cordelia, and now will receive their answer.

📌 Tell me, my daughters— / Since now we will divest us both of rule, / Interest of territory, cares of state—

Explanation:
Lear sets the stage for his infamous “love test.” He’s giving up all power and property.

Language Device:

Tricolon – “rule, interest of territory, cares of state” adds rhetorical flourish.

Theme:

Power and love – Lear tries to quantify love for power.

📌 Which of you shall we say doth love us most, / That we our largest bounty may extend / Where nature doth with merit challenge.

Explanation:
He says the daughter who loves him the most will get the largest portion of the kingdom.

Themes & Devices:

Conditional love – Lear links love to reward, corrupting the idea of genuine affection.
Tragic flaw (Hamartia) – His need for flattery clouds his judgment.

📌 Goneril, / Our eldest born, speak first.

Explanation:
He invites Goneril to begin the “contest.”

Analysis:
Giving her the first chance could indicate favoritism or merely following birth order. Either way, it’s the beginning of a deeply flawed decision-making process.

📌 GONERIL:

“Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter,”

Paraphrase: I love you more than words can express.
Language Device:
- Hyperbole – exaggerated to the point of being unrealistic.
- Alliteration – “word… wield” enhances the poetic effect.
Theme:
- Flattery vs. Truth – her love is performative, not heartfelt.
- Appearance vs. Reality – speaks of love beyond words, but uses many words.

“Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty,”

Paraphrase: More than I value my vision, freedom, or personal space.
Language Device:
- Triad/Tricolon – list of escalating values: sight → space → liberty.
- Allusion – liberty (freedom) hints at political themes.
Theme:
- Blindness – dramatic irony: Lear values sightless praise over vision (later becomes literally blind to truth).

“Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare,”

Paraphrase: More than anything valuable, whether common or rare.
Language Device:
- Alliteration – “rich or rare” is a poetic flourish.
- Hyperbole – over-the-top praise continues.
Theme:
- Greed and Value – love is framed in terms of wealth and scarcity.

“No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor;”

Paraphrase: I love you as much as I value life and everything that makes life good.
Device:
- Asyndeton – lack of “and” makes the list seem more overwhelming.
Theme:
- Honor and Virtue – but ironically, her words lack sincerity.

“As much as child e’er loved, or father found;”

Paraphrase: As much as any child ever loved a father or a father ever felt loved.
Device:
- Superlative comparison – creating a standard of ultimate love.
Theme:
- Family Duty vs. Emotion – falsely presents perfect filial love.

“A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable.”

Paraphrase: My love leaves me breathless and speechless.
Irony: She is clearly speaking a lot.
Device:
- Paradox – “speechless” while making a speech.
Theme:
- Words vs. Actions – her love is all words.

“Beyond all manner of so much I love you.”

Paraphrase: I love you more than can be measured.
Device:
- Circular logic – the phrase says little of substance.
Theme:
- Flattery – empty but pleasing to Lear’s ego.

📌 CORDELIA, aside:

“What shall Cordelia speak? Love, and be silent.”

Paraphrase: What should I say? I love him—but I’ll stay silent.
Analysis: Cordelia’s honesty contrasts with her sisters’ deceit.
Device:
- Paradox – loving through silence.
- Aside – audience hears her truth, not Lear.
Themes:
- Truth vs. Deception
- Integrity – Cordelia refuses to degrade love by exaggeration.

📌 LEAR, pointing to the map:

“Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, / With shadowy forests and with champains riched…”

Paraphrase: All this land—from here to here—with its rich plains and forests…
Device:
- Imagery – paints a picture of abundant, fertile land.
Theme:
- Power and Land – land is equated with love; a dangerous logic.

“With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads, / We make thee lady.”

Paraphrase: With flowing rivers and vast meadows, this land is yours.
Device:
- Natural imagery – emphasizes beauty and abundance.
Theme:
- Inheritance & Reward – love is exchanged for land.

“To thine and Albany’s issue / Be this perpetual.”

Paraphrase: The land will belong to you and Albany’s children forever.
Theme:
- Legacy and Lineage – Lear is concerned with generational rule.
- False Security – assumes peace will follow this reward.

“What says our second daughter, / Our dearest Regan, wife of Cornwall? Speak.”

Paraphrase: Now it’s your turn, Regan, my second daughter.
Analysis: Note Lear calls her “dearest,” even after giving Goneril a large share. Shows his fluctuating affection and preference.

📌 REGAN:

“I am made of that self mettle as my sister / And prize me at her worth.”

Paraphrase: I’m made of the same stuff as Goneril and consider myself just as worthy.
Device:
- Metaphor – “mettle” as both character and metal (strength).
Theme:
- Competition for Power – daughters compete for inheritance via flattery.

“In my true heart / I find she names my very deed of love;”

Paraphrase: In my heart, I feel that she’s already described the love I feel.
Irony: “True heart” masks falsehood—like Goneril, Regan flatters.

“Only she comes too short, that I profess / Myself an enemy to all other joys…”

Paraphrase: Except she doesn’t go far enough—I say I hate everything else that gives joy.
Device:
- Hyperbole – ridiculous exaggeration to outdo Goneril.
Theme:
- Excess and Absurdity – shows how dangerous and false such contests are.

“Which the most precious square of sense possesses,”

Paraphrase: All pleasures the five senses offer—none of them compare.
Device:
- Synecdoche – “square of sense” means all human pleasures.
Theme:
- Sensory Deprivation as Devotion – falsely dramatic devotion.

“And find I am alone felicitate / In your dear Highness’ love.”

Paraphrase: I find happiness only in your love.
Device:
- Elevated diction – “felicitate,” “dear Highness” lend grandeur.
Theme:
- Obedience and Devotion – an illusion to earn land.

📌 CORDELIA, aside:

“Then poor Cordelia! / And yet not so, since I am sure my love’s / More ponderous than my tongue.”

Paraphrase: Poor me! But not really, because I know my love is heavier than my words.
Device:
- Metaphor – “ponderous” contrasts weight of love with lightness of speech.
- Irony – silence holds more value than words here.
Themes:
- Authenticity vs. Performance
- Integrity and Truth – Cordelia remains true to herself.

📌 LEAR:

“To thee and thine hereditary ever / Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom,”

Paraphrase: To you and your descendants, this generous third of my kingdom will belong forever.
Theme:
- Inheritance – power and love are linked.
- Conditional Love – this gift is tied to performance, not actual affection.
Device:
- Legal-sounding language – “hereditary,” “remain” – sounds formal, contractual.

“No less in space, validity, and pleasure / Than that conferred on Goneril.”

Paraphrase: It’s just as large, legitimate, and enjoyable as what I gave Goneril.
Theme:
- Division of Power – Lear sees value as a matter of equality in land, not character.

“Now, our joy, / Although our last and least…”

Paraphrase: Now, my joy—even though you’re the youngest and least…
Analysis:
- “Last and least” is harsh—possibly unintentional foreshadowing of her fall from favor.
- Irony – she’s his favorite, yet he belittles her.

“To whose young love / The vines of France and milk of Burgundy / Strive to be interessed…”

Paraphrase: France and Burgundy both want your love in marriage.
Device:
- Poetic imagery – “vines” (France = wine), “milk” (Burgundy = nurture) suggest ideal suitors.
Theme:
- Marriage as Transaction – daughters’ worth is political.

“What can you say to draw / A third more opulent than your sisters’? Speak.”

Paraphrase: What can you say to deserve a richer third than your sisters?
Analysis:
- Lear expects verbal proof of love.
- Theme:
  - Appearance vs. Reality – equates love with speech.

📌 CORDELIA:

“Nothing, my lord.”

Analysis:
- A powerful act of resistance.
- Theme:
  - Integrity – Cordelia refuses to lie.
  - Silence as Strength – contrasts her sisters’ empty verbosity.

📌 LEAR:

“Nothing?”

His shock shows how deeply he confuses love with public expression.

📌 CORDELIA:

“Nothing.”

Repetition emphasizes her stand.
Theme:
- Minimalism vs. Extravagance – the less she says, the more weight it holds.

📌 LEAR:

“Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again.”

Allusion: This line has become a proverb.
Theme:
- Transactional Love – if you give nothing (in words), you get nothing (in land).
Irony: This philosophy leads to his downfall.

📌 CORDELIA:

“Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave / My heart into my mouth.”

Paraphrase: I’m unhappy, but I can’t force my feelings into words.
Device:
- Metaphor – “heave” suggests a painful effort.
Theme:
- Authenticity – true love resists performance.

“I love your Majesty / According to my bond, no more nor less.”

Paraphrase: I love you as a daughter should—no more, no less.
Theme:
- Duty vs. Devotion – Cordelia honors love as a responsibility, not a spectacle.
Language:
- Legal tone (“bond”) – shows principled love, not emotional manipulation.

📌 LEAR:

“How, how, Cordelia? Mend your speech a little, / Lest you may mar your fortunes.”

Paraphrase: Fix what you said, or you’ll ruin your future.
Theme:
- Patriarchal Power – his love is conditional, and so is her future.
Tone: Threatening — shows how power can corrupt judgment.

📌 CORDELIA:

“Good my lord, / You have begot me, bred me, loved me.”

Paraphrase: You gave me life, raised me, and loved me.
Theme:
- Reciprocity – she acknowledges her debt, but not with flattery.
Language:
- Triadic structure – “begot, bred, loved” emphasizes the full arc of parenting.

“I return those duties back as are right fit: / Obey you, love you, and most honor you.”

Paraphrase: I repay you properly—with obedience, love, and honor.
Theme:
- Filial Duty – her love is genuine and proportionate.

“Why have my sisters husbands, if they say / They love you all?”

Paraphrase: Why are they married if all their love goes to you?
Device:
- Rhetorical question – exposes the absurdity of the sisters’ claims.
Theme:
- Love Divided – Cordelia sees love as shareable, not total.

“Haply, when I shall wed, / That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry / Half my love with him, half my care and duty.”

Paraphrase: When I marry, my husband will get half my love and duty.
Theme:
- Balanced Love – love is not exclusive or absolute.

“Sure I shall never marry like my sisters, / To love my father all.”

Paraphrase: I won’t marry and pretend to still give all my love to my father.
Device:
- Sarcasm – exposes her sisters’ flattery as false.
Theme:
- Truth vs. Pretending – she values honest relationships.

📌 LEAR:

“But goes thy heart with this?”

Paraphrase: Do you truly believe what you just said?
Tone: Wounded, confused – Lear wants her to recant.

📌 CORDELIA:

“Ay, my good lord.”

Short but firm confirmation. Integrity wins over fear.

📌 LEAR:

“So young and so untender?”

Paraphrase: You’re so young—how can you be so cold?
Theme:
- Misjudgment – Lear confuses honesty with cruelty.

📌 CORDELIA:

“So young, my lord, and true.”

Paraphrase: I’m young—but I’m truthful.
Device:
- Chiasmus – reverses Lear’s phrasing to correct him.
Theme:
- Youth & Wisdom – Cordelia is young but mature.
- Truth as Strength – she stands her ground.

📌 LEAR:

“Let it be so. Thy truth, then, be thy dower,”

Paraphrase: Fine. Let your truth be your only dowry.
Tone: Sarcastic, cutting — he strips her of land and marriage prospects.
Theme:
- Truth vs. Materialism – her honesty costs her inheritance.
- Irony – he punishes her for the very virtue he should prize.

“For by the sacred radiance of the sun,
The mysteries of Hecate and the night,
By all the operation of the orbs
From whom we do exist and cease to be,”

Paraphrase: I swear by the sun, by the dark goddess Hecate, and the movement of the stars that rule life and death…
Device:
- Invocation of cosmic forces – dramatic oath, almost mythic.
- Symbolism: Sun = reason; Hecate/night = madness; orbs = fate.
Theme:
- Divine Justice vs. Human Error – Lear tries to invoke cosmic truth while acting irrationally.

“Here I disclaim all my paternal care,
Propinquity, and property of blood,”

Paraphrase: I give up all rights as your father — no love, no kinship, no blood ties.
Device:
- Legal language – cold and absolute, like a formal disinheritance.
Theme:
- Rejection and Exile – he symbolically “un-daughters” her.

“And as a stranger to my heart and me
Hold thee from this forever.”

Paraphrase: From now on, you’re a stranger to me.
Tone: Cruel and impulsive.
Tragic irony: Lear pushes away the one person who truly loves him.

“The barbarous Scythian,
Or he that makes his generation messes
To gorge his appetite…”

Paraphrase: Even savages, or those who eat their own children, will be closer to me than you.
Device:
- Grotesque Imagery – exaggerates his rage into monstrous comparisons.
Theme:
- Madness and Extremes – foreshadows his descent into irrationality.

“As thou my sometime daughter.”

Paraphrase: More dear to me than you, who once were my daughter.

📌 KENT:

“Good my liege—”

Kent tries to intervene, sensing Lear’s error.

📌 LEAR:

“Peace, Kent. / Come not between the dragon and his wrath.”

Paraphrase: Be quiet. Don’t get in the way of my fury.
Device:
- Metaphor – Lear as a dragon: powerful, furious, destructive.
Theme:
- Power and Pride – Lear sees himself as fearsome and sovereign.
- Tragic Flaw – pride prevents him from hearing reason.

“I loved her most and thought to set my rest / On her kind nursery.”

Paraphrase: She was my favorite. I expected her to care for me in old age.
Theme:
- Love and Betrayal – Lear feels betrayed, but it’s his own misjudgment.
- Aging – Lear seeks comfort in his daughters as he declines.

“Hence and avoid my sight!”

Command: Get out of my sight!
Tone: Final and forceful.

“So be my grave my peace as here I give / Her father’s heart from her.”

Paraphrase: May the grave be my only peace, as I now give away my love for her.
Theme:
- Foreshadowing – he will find peace only in death.
- Melodrama – height of emotional recklessness.

“Call France. Who stirs? Call Burgundy.”

Abrupt shift – Lear moves on like Cordelia is already dead to him.
Political over personal – ready to hand her over like goods at auction.

“Cornwall and Albany, / With my two daughters’ dowers digest the third.”

Paraphrase: Cornwall and Albany, split her share of the kingdom between you.
Theme:
- Disorder – undermines the unity of the kingdom.
- Irony – divides land to daughters who flatter but deceive.

“Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her.”

Paraphrase: Let her honesty (which she calls modesty) marry her off.
Tone: Mocking – he mislabels her integrity as arrogance.

📌 LEAR (continuing):

“I do invest you jointly with my power, / Preeminence, and all the large effects / That troop with majesty.”

Paraphrase: I give you both (Goneril and Regan) full power and royal privilege.
Theme:
- Misplaced Trust – entrusts everything to the wrong people.

“Ourself by monthly course, / With reservation of an hundred knights / By you to be sustained, shall our abode / Make with you by due turn.”

Paraphrase: I’ll live with each of you alternately each month, bringing a hundred knights for you to host.
Theme:
- Old Age & Dependency – Lear wants to retire with dignity, but still clings to power.

“Only we shall retain / The name and all th’ addition to a king.”

Paraphrase: I’ll still be called king, even if I give up ruling.
Theme:
- Illusion of Power – Lear wants the title without responsibility.
- Foreshadowing – this symbolic kingship leads to humiliation.

“The sway, revenue, execution of the rest, / Belovèd sons, be yours…”

Paraphrase: The real power and money are yours now, my sons-in-law.
Theme:
- Abdication of Duty – Lear gives away his role without realizing the cost.

“This coronet part between you.”

Paraphrase: Split this crown between you.
Symbolism: The broken crown = a broken kingdom.

KENT

“Royal Lear, Whom I have ever honored as my king, Loved as my father, as my master followed, As my great patron thought on in my prayers—”

Meaning: Kent declares his deep loyalty to Lear—he respects him like a king, loves him like a father, obeys him like a servant, and reveres him like a patron or spiritual guide.
Language Device: Anaphora (“as my… as my…”) creates rhythm and emphasizes his multi-layered devotion.
Theme: Loyalty vs. Authority – Kent is loyal not to Lear’s current decisions, but to Lear as a person and king.

LEAR

“The bow is bent and drawn. Make from the shaft.”

Meaning: Lear warns Kent that his anger is like a drawn bow—he’s ready to strike. Kent should get out of the way before he releases his wrath.
Language Device: Metaphor – Lear compares his anger to a weapon.
Theme: Power and Rage – Lear rules with emotional impulse rather than wisdom.

KENT

“Let it fall rather, though the fork invade The region of my heart.”

Meaning: Kent would rather take the blow, even if it kills him, than allow Lear to act madly.
Language Device: Imagery (“the fork invade the region of my heart”) – evokes a vivid, sacrificial tone.
Theme: Devotion and Integrity – Kent values truth and Lear’s wellbeing over his own life.

“Be Kent unmannerly When Lear is mad.”

Meaning: If speaking rudely is required to stop a mad king, so be it.
Theme: Madness – Lear’s descent begins with his irrational decisions. Kent sees it clearly.

“What wouldst thou do, old man?”

Kent confronts Lear directly and bluntly.
Tone Shift: Kent goes from reverent to bold—showing how urgency overrides politeness.

“Think’st thou that duty shall have dread to speak When power to flattery bows?”

Meaning: Should duty stay silent while power listens only to lies?
Language Device: Contrast between duty and flattery.
Theme: Truth vs. Deception – Kent values honesty, even at risk.

“To plainness honor’s bound When majesty falls to folly.”

Meaning: When a king acts foolishly, honor demands plain (honest) speech.
Language Device: Alliteration and antithesis – “plainness” vs. “majesty,” “honor” vs. “folly.”

“Reserve thy state, And in thy best consideration check This hideous rashness.”

Meaning: Lear, act like a king and reconsider your rash decision.
Language Device: Diction – “hideous rashness” is emotionally loaded.
Theme: Rationality vs. Impulsiveness

“Answer my life my judgment, Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least,”

Meaning: Kent stakes his life on his belief that Cordelia is Lear’s most loving daughter.
Theme: Misjudgment and Blindness – Lear misreads who truly loves him.

“Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sounds Reverb no hollowness.”

Meaning: Just because Cordelia spoke humbly doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you deeply.
Language Device: Paradox/Wordplay – “low sounds” vs. “hollowness.” True emotion doesn’t need loud words.

LEAR

“Kent, on thy life, no more.”

Lear gives a final warning.
Tone: Harsh, commanding—impatient with being contradicted.

KENT

“My life I never held but as a pawn To wage against thine enemies, nor fear to lose it, Thy safety being motive.”

Meaning: Kent values Lear’s safety above his own life and always has.
Language Device: Metaphor – compares life to a chess pawn, ready for sacrifice.
Theme: Service and Self-Sacrifice

LEAR

“Out of my sight!”

Lear’s fury peaks; he wants to erase Kent from his view.
Theme: Blindness – Lear removes those who see the truth.

KENT

“See better, Lear, and let me still remain The true blank of thine eye.”

Meaning: Open your eyes to truth, and let me stay where I belong—as your guiding vision.
Language Device: Metaphor – Kent is the “blank” (target/center) of Lear’s eye, i.e., someone he should always look to.
Theme: Sight and Insight

LEAR

“Now, by Apollo—”

Lear swears by a god impulsively.

KENT

“Now, by Apollo, king, Thou swear’st thy gods in vain.”

Meaning: Kent mocks Lear’s oath—he’s lost divine favor.
Language Device: Mocking repetition – Kent uses Lear’s own line to call out his hypocrisy.

LEAR

“O vassal! Miscreant!”

Lear is enraged, name-calling Kent.

ALBANY / CORNWALL

“Dear sir, forbear.”

They try to calm the situation—highlighting how intense Lear’s temper is.

KENT

“Kill thy physician, and thy fee bestow Upon the foul disease.”

Meaning: You’re banishing the person trying to help you, and rewarding your destroyers.
Language Device: Metaphor – Kent is the doctor, flattery is the disease.
Theme: Justice vs. Injustice

“Revoke thy gift, Or whilst I can vent clamor from my throat, I’ll tell thee thou dost evil.”

Meaning: Take back the lands given to the false daughters—or I’ll keep calling you out.
Theme: Moral Courage

LEAR

“Hear me, recreant; on thine allegiance, hear me!”

Meaning: Listen, traitor! As my subject, you must obey.
Language Device: Irony – Kent is the loyal one.

“That thou hast sought to make us break our vows— Which we durst never yet—”

Meaning: Lear accuses Kent of tempting him to go back on his word, which he claims he’s never done before.

“To come betwixt our sentence and our power…”

Meaning: Kent tried to challenge Lear’s authority—Lear sees this as a betrayal.

“Take thy reward…”

Meaning: Lear “rewards” Kent with banishment.

“Five days we do allot thee…”

Lear gives Kent five days to prepare for exile.
Theme: Punishment and Tyranny

“If on the tenth day… Thy banished trunk be found… The moment is thy death.”

Meaning: If you return, you’ll be executed instantly.

“Away! By Jupiter, This shall not be revoked.”

Lear swears he won’t take it back.
Language Device: Dramatic Irony – audience knows Lear is making a massive mistake.

✦ KENT

“Fare thee well, king. Sith thus thou wilt appear,
Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.”

Meaning: Kent bids Lear goodbye, acknowledging that since Lear insists on acting irrationally, truth and freedom no longer belong in this court—exile is the only place left for honesty.
Language Devices:
- Antithesis: “Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here” creates a contrast between truth (freedom) and deception (banishment).
- Diction: “Sith” is an archaic word for “since.”
Themes:
- Loyalty vs. authority
- Truth and justice in exile
- Injustice of power

**”To Cordelia. The gods to their dear shelter take thee, maid,

That justly think’st and hast most rightly said.”**

Meaning: Kent wishes divine protection for Cordelia, praising her for her honest and righteous words.
Language Devices:
- Religious allusion: “The gods to their dear shelter” invokes divine justice.
- Adjective emphasis: “Justly” and “rightly” emphasize the moral correctness of Cordelia’s speech.
Themes:
- Divine justice
- Honor and virtue

**”To Goneril and Regan. And your large speeches may your deeds approve,

That good effects may spring from words of love.”**

Meaning: Kent sarcastically hopes that Goneril and Regan’s grand speeches of love are matched by sincere and loving actions.
Language Devices:
- Irony: He doubts their sincerity and implies they are hypocrites.
- Parallelism: “words of love” contrasted with “deeds approve.”
Themes:
- Appearance vs. reality
- False flattery

**”Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu.

He’ll shape his old course in a country new.”**

Meaning: Kent says goodbye to the royal family and plans to continue his loyal service in a different form (he later returns in disguise).
Language Devices:
- Metaphor: “Shape his old course” refers to continuing his mission loyally, though now in a new way.
Themes:
- Loyalty beyond banishment
- Disguise and identity

Shift to Scene with France and Burgundy

Flourish. Enter Gloucester with France, and Burgundy, and Attendants.

Stage direction: Signals the formal entrance of royalty, suggesting political significance.

✦ GLOUCESTER

“Here’s France and Burgundy, my noble lord.”

Meaning: Gloucester presents the two suitors for Cordelia’s hand to King Lear.
Themes:
- Marriage as a political alliance

✦ LEAR

“My lord of Burgundy,
We first address toward you, who with this king
Hath rivaled for our daughter.”

Meaning: Lear speaks to Burgundy first, since both Burgundy and France are competing for Cordelia’s hand.
Themes:
- Power, property, and marriage

**”What in the least

Will you require in present dower with her,
Or cease your quest of love?”**

Meaning: Lear bluntly asks what dowry Burgundy requires, or if he will withdraw from seeking Cordelia.
Language Devices:
- Transactional language: Reduces marriage to a financial deal.
Themes:
- Patriarchy and property
- Conditional love

✦ BURGUNDY

“Most royal Majesty,
I crave no more than hath your Highness offered,
Nor will you tender less.”

Meaning: Burgundy only wants what Lear had originally promised; he’s unwilling to accept less.
Themes:
- Conditional relationships
- Political alliances

✦ LEAR

“Right noble Burgundy,
When she was dear to us, we did hold her so,
But now her price is fallen.”

Meaning: Lear says that since Cordelia has displeased him, she has lost value in his eyes.
Language Devices:
- Metaphor: “Her price is fallen” compares her to a commodity.
- Irony: Lear fails to see the moral worth of Cordelia.
Themes:
- Misjudgment of worth
- Disinheritance

**”Sir, there she stands.

If aught within that little seeming substance,
Or all of it, with our displeasure pieced
And nothing more, may fitly like your Grace,
She’s there, and she is yours.”**

Meaning: Lear offers Cordelia without a dowry or favor. If Burgundy can accept her in that condition, he may marry her.
Language Devices:
- Diminutive phrasing: “That little seeming substance” diminishes her value.
- Tone: Dismissive and harsh.
Themes:
- Dispossession
- Power and cruelty

✦ BURGUNDY

“I know no answer.”

Meaning: Burgundy is taken aback and unsure how to respond—he came for a political marriage, not a dishonored bride.
Themes:
- Political strategy vs. emotional morality

✦ LEAR

“Will you, with those infirmities she owes,
Unfriended, new-adopted to our hate,
Dowered with our curse and strangered with our
oath,
Take her or leave her?”

Meaning: Lear lists Cordelia’s “faults” (which he himself assigned), asking Burgundy to accept or reject her.
Language Devices:
- Asyndeton: The rapid listing heightens dramatic intensity.
- Anaphora: Repeated structure of “Unfriended… dowered… strangered” intensifies Lear’s cruelty.
Themes:
- Parental rejection
- Misuse of power
- Value based on favor, not virtue

✦ BURGUNDY

“Pardon me, royal sir,
Election makes not up in such conditions.”

Meaning: Burgundy respectfully declines; he cannot choose (or “elect”) to marry Cordelia under the current conditions (without dowry and favor).
Language Devices:
- Euphemism: “Election makes not up…” is a polite way to say “I won’t marry her now.”
Themes:
- Love vs. materialism
- Political alliances over personal relationships

✦ LEAR

“Then leave her, sir, for by the power that made me
I tell you all her wealth.”

Meaning: Lear insists Burgundy walk away, swearing by God (the power that made him) that Cordelia has no value beyond what’s already been stated.
Language Devices:
- Oath: “by the power that made me” emphasizes Lear’s dramatic assertion.
- Diction: “all her wealth” underscores Lear’s reductive view of Cordelia.
Themes:
- Parental rejection
- Misjudgment of worth

**”—For you, great king,

I would not from your love make such a stray
To match you where I hate.”**

Meaning: Lear tells France that, unlike Burgundy, he wouldn’t deceive him into marrying someone he (Lear) now detests.
Themes:
- Hatred where love once existed
- Lear’s flawed view of loyalty and honesty

**”Therefore beseech you

T’ avert your liking a more worthier way
Than on a wretch whom Nature is ashamed
Almost t’ acknowledge hers.”**

Meaning: Lear urges France to look elsewhere, not to marry a “wretch” like Cordelia, whom even Nature would disown.
Language Devices:
- Personification: Nature is portrayed as a mother rejecting her child.
- Hyperbole: “Almost t’ acknowledge hers” exaggerates Lear’s scorn.
Themes:
- Cruelty of parental judgment
- Natural order vs. human error

✦ FRANCE

“This is most strange,
That she whom even but now was your best object,
The argument of your praise, balm of your age,
The best, the dearest…”

Meaning: France is shocked that Lear suddenly disowns the daughter he used to praise as his favorite and comfort.
Language Devices:
- Metaphor: “balm of your age” suggests Cordelia was a healing presence in Lear’s old age.
- Anaphora: Repetition of “the” emphasizes Cordelia’s many virtues.
Themes:
- Instability of love
- Sudden shifts in loyalty

**”…should in this trice of time

Commit a thing so monstrous to dismantle
So many folds of favor.”**

Meaning: France finds it unbelievable that Cordelia could have done something so terrible to lose all Lear’s favor so quickly.
Language Devices:
- Alliteration: “folds of favor” evokes depth of previous love now discarded.
- Dramatic irony: The audience knows she hasn’t committed any monstrous deed.
Themes:
- Perception vs. reality
- The fragility of affection

**”Sure her offense

Must be of such unnatural degree
That monsters it…”**

Meaning: France assumes that whatever Cordelia did must be incredibly unnatural and monstrous—though he is skeptical.
Language Devices:
- Imagery: “monsters it” suggests something inhuman.
- Irony: He suspects Lear’s judgment is flawed.
Themes:
- Misunderstanding and injustice

**”…or your forevouched affection

Fall into taint; which to believe of her
Must be a faith that reason without miracle
Should never plant in me.”**

Meaning: France suggests it would take blind faith—not reason—to believe that Lear’s former love for Cordelia was misplaced.
Language Devices:
- Contrast: “reason without miracle” underscores the impossibility of believing Lear’s view.
Themes:
- Rationality vs. emotion
- Constancy of character

✦ CORDELIA (to Lear)

“I yet beseech your Majesty—
If for I want that glib and oily art
To speak and purpose not…”

Meaning: Cordelia begs Lear to understand that she doesn’t have the skill to flatter insincerely.
Language Devices:
- Metaphor: “glib and oily art” critiques fake eloquence.
Themes:
- Honesty vs. deceit
- Integrity

**”…since what I well intend

I’ll do ’t before I speak…”**

Meaning: Cordelia emphasizes that her actions speak louder than words—she lives by her intentions, not flattery.
Themes:
- Values and virtue
- Action over performance

**”…that you make known

It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness,
No unchaste action or dishonored step
That hath deprived me of your grace and favor…”**

Meaning: Cordelia asks Lear to clarify that she hasn’t done anything immoral to deserve his rejection.
Language Devices:
- Tricolon: “vicious blot, murder, or foulness” emphasizes innocence.
- Alliteration: “dishonored step” adds rhythm.
Themes:
- Injustice
- Reputation and virtue

**”…But even for want of that for which I am richer:

A still-soliciting eye and such a tongue
That I am glad I have not…”**

Meaning: She’s being punished for lacking flattery, which she views as a strength, not a flaw.
Language Devices:
- Irony: She loses love for being genuine.
- Metaphor: “still-soliciting eye” implies manipulative charm she chooses not to use.
Themes:
- Appearance vs. substance
- Dignity in truth

**”…though not to have it

Hath lost me in your liking.”**

Meaning: She knows that lacking that false charm has cost her Lear’s affection.
Themes:
- Paradox of honesty
- The pain of rejection

✦ LEAR

“Better thou
Hadst not been born than not t’ have pleased me better.”

Meaning: Lear cruelly tells Cordelia it would’ve been better if she had never been born than to have disappointed him.
Language Devices:
- Hyperbole: Expresses Lear’s extreme anger.
- Irony: He later realizes she was the only daughter who truly loved him.
Themes:
- Parental cruelty
- Conditional love
- Tragic blindness

✦ FRANCE

“Is it but this—a tardiness in nature
Which often leaves the history unspoke
That it intends to do?”

Meaning: France wonders if Cordelia is being punished simply for not speaking flatteringly right away—a natural hesitation many virtuous people have.
Language Devices:
- Rhetorical question: Challenges Lear’s decision.
- Metaphor: “tardiness in nature” implies natural reserve or honesty.
Themes:
- True character vs. outward expression
- Value of inner virtue

**”My lord of Burgundy,

What say you to the lady?”**

France shifts focus to Burgundy, prompting him to respond plainly.

**”Love’s not love

When it is mingled with regards that stands
Aloof from th’ entire point.”**

Meaning: True love isn’t real when it’s mixed with selfish motives (like dowries or status).
Language Devices:
- Philosophical reflection: Similar to Sonnet 116’s definition of love.
- Metaphor: “aloof from th’ entire point” – stepping away from true devotion.
Themes:
- True love vs. transactional love
- Integrity in relationships

**”Will you have her?

She is herself a dowry.”**

Meaning: France declares that Cordelia’s worth lies in her character, not in material wealth.
Themes:
- Feminine virtue
- Value beyond money

✦ BURGUNDY

“Royal king,
Give but that portion which yourself proposed,
And here I take Cordelia by the hand,
Duchess of Burgundy.”

Meaning: Burgundy still wants Cordelia—but only with a dowry.
Themes:
- Superficial loyalty
- Self-interest in marriage

✦ LEAR

“Nothing. I have sworn. I am firm.”

Meaning: Lear refuses to change his decision.
Language Devices:
- Tone: Harsh, resolute.
Themes:
- Stubbornness and pride
- Familial breakdown

✦ BURGUNDY

“I am sorry, then, you have so lost a father
That you must lose a husband.”

Meaning: Burgundy rejects her, pretending sympathy but still blaming her for her loss.
Themes:
- Conditional relationships
- Gendered expectations

✦ CORDELIA

“Peace be with Burgundy.
Since that respect and fortunes are his love,
I shall not be his wife.”

Meaning: Cordelia calmly dismisses Burgundy, saying she wouldn’t want a husband who values status and wealth over love.
Language Devices:
- Poise: Her dignity contrasts sharply with Lear and Burgundy’s materialism.
Themes:
- Strength in virtue
- Feminine empowerment

✦ FRANCE

“Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being poor;
Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despised…”

Meaning: France praises Cordelia’s paradoxical greatness—she is rich in character though poor in fortune, cherished by the wise though rejected by the foolish.
Language Devices:
- Paradox: Shows the irony of her situation.
- Epithets: “Fairest,” “most choice”—affectionate and noble praise.
Themes:
- Inner worth vs. external loss
- The power of perception

**”Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon,

Be it lawful I take up what’s cast away.”**

Meaning: France gratefully accepts Cordelia, comparing her to treasure thrown away unjustly.
Language Devices:
- Imagery: “Seize upon” and “cast away” evoke found treasure.
Themes:
- Redemption
- Honor in love

**”Gods, gods! ’Tis strange that from their cold’st neglect

My love should kindle to enflamed respect.”**

Meaning: France marvels that Lear’s rejection only makes Cordelia more appealing to him.
Language Devices:
- Metaphor: Love “kindles” from coldness—fire imagery.
- Irony: Rejection reveals her true value.
Themes:
- Justice through irony
- Truth revealed in adversity

**”Thy dowerless daughter, king, thrown to my chance,

Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France.”**

Meaning: France elevates Cordelia, saying she will be queen despite being disinherited.
Language Devices:
- Contrast: “Dowerless” vs. “queen” stresses France’s virtue.
- Alliteration: “Fair France” — poetic closure.
Themes:
- Vindication
- True love transcending status

**”Not all the dukes of wat’rish Burgundy

Can buy this unprized precious maid of me.”**

Meaning: France says no one, not even rich dukes, can compare to what he now values—Cordelia.
Language Devices:
- Oxymoron: “Unprized precious” shows how others’ rejection makes her more valuable to him.
- Alliteration: “Wat’rish Burgundy” dismisses Burgundy as lacking substance.
Themes:
- Wealth vs. true value
- Integrity in love

**”Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind.

Thou losest here a better where to find.”**

Meaning: France encourages Cordelia to move on—she’s lost her family, but gained something better.
Themes:
- Hope after loss
- Rebirth through love

LEAR

“Thou hast her, France. Let her be thine, for we / Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see / That face of hers again.”

Explanation: Lear tells the King of France he can have Cordelia; Lear disowns her completely and declares he’ll never see her again.
Analysis: This is Lear’s final and brutal rejection. He sees her lack of flattery as betrayal.
Literary Devices:
- Hyperbole: “Never see that face of hers again” dramatizes the severing of the father-daughter bond.
- Irony: The audience knows Cordelia is honest and loving—unlike her sisters.
Themes:
- Authority and blindness
- Family and betrayal
- Misjudgment and pride

“To Cordelia. Therefore begone / Without our grace, our love, our benison.—”

Explanation: Lear tells Cordelia to leave without his blessing.
Analysis: Lear equates flattery with love and cannot accept honesty.
Literary Devices:
- Tricolon: “our grace, our love, our benison” emphasizes what Cordelia is being denied.
- Alliteration: “Begone… benison” highlights the harshness of rejection.
Themes:
- Parent-child relationships
- The misuse of power

“Come, noble Burgundy.”

Explanation: Lear turns to Burgundy, now uninterested in Cordelia without a dowry.
Themes:
- Marriage and political alliances
- Value based on wealth/status

FRANCE: “Bid farewell to your sisters.”

Explanation: France urges Cordelia to say goodbye.
Themes:
- Family divisions

CORDELIA: “The jewels of our father, with washed eyes / Cordelia leaves you.”

Explanation: Cordelia says she now sees clearly (“washed eyes”) and is leaving.
Analysis: Her clarity contrasts with Lear’s blindness.
Literary Devices:
- Metaphor: “Jewels” for sisters is sarcastic or ironic.
- Symbolism: “Washed eyes” suggests enlightenment or clarity.
Themes:
- Truth vs. deception
- Disillusionment

“I know you what you are, / And like a sister am most loath to call / Your faults as they are named.”

Explanation: She knows who her sisters really are but is reluctant to expose them.
Themes:
- Sincerity and virtue vs. hypocrisy
Tone: Calm, restrained, dignified

“Love well our father. / To your professèd bosoms I commit him;”

Explanation: Cordelia asks her sisters to take good care of Lear.
Irony: She entrusts Lear to those who only pretend to love him.
Themes:
- Duty and love
- False loyalty

“But yet, alas, stood I within his grace, / I would prefer him to a better place.”

Explanation: If she still had Lear’s favor, she’d make sure he’s better cared for.
Themes:
- Power and helplessness
- Regret

“So farewell to you both.”

Explanation: She takes her leave, calmly and gracefully.
Theme:
- Dignity in adversity

REGAN: “Prescribe not us our duty.”

Explanation: Regan rejects Cordelia’s suggestion, defending her freedom to act.
Tone: Defensive, dismissive
Themes:
- Defiance
- Sibling rivalry

GONERIL: “Let your study / Be to content your lord, who hath received you / At Fortune’s alms.”

Explanation: Goneril mocks Cordelia, telling her to focus on pleasing her husband, France, who accepted her despite her disgrace.
Language Devices:
- Metaphor: “Fortune’s alms” suggests Cordelia is now a beggar, unworthy.
- Sarcasm
Themes:
- Pride and scorn
- Marriage as transaction

“You have obedience scanted / And well are worth the want that you have wanted.”

Explanation: Goneril says Cordelia deserves to lose what she has, for lacking obedience.
Literary Devices:
- Pun/Wordplay: “Want that you have wanted” plays on loss and lack.
Theme:
- Power and punishment

CORDELIA: “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides, / Who covers faults at last with shame derides.”

Explanation: Truth will eventually come out, and those who hide faults will face shame.
Literary Devices:
- Foreshadowing
- Personification: “Time shall unfold…”
Themes:
- Truth vs. deception
- Justice

“Well may you prosper.”

Explanation: A sincere if ironic farewell.
Tone: Graceful, composed

FRANCE: “Come, my fair Cordelia.”

Explanation: France accepts Cordelia, standing in contrast to her father.
Theme:
- Acceptance and true love

GONERIL: “Sister, it is not little I have to say of what / most nearly appertains to us both.”

Explanation: Goneril begins a private conversation with Regan about their father’s condition and their shared concerns.
Themes:
- Plotting and ambition
- Family betrayal

REGAN: “That’s most certain, and with you; next month with us.”

Explanation: Regan confirms Lear’s plan to stay with Goneril and then with her.
Themes:
- Duty vs. convenience

GONERIL: “You see how full of changes his age is; the / observation we have made of it hath not been / little.”

Explanation: Goneril notes Lear’s unpredictable behavior due to old age.
Theme:
- Aging and loss of authority

“He always loved our sister most, and with / what poor judgment he hath now cast her off / appears too grossly.”

Explanation: She acknowledges Lear’s favoritism toward Cordelia and the foolishness of his rejection.
Tone: Condescending
Themes:
- Favoritism
- Parental error

REGAN: “’Tis the infirmity of his age. Yet he hath ever / but slenderly known himself.”

Explanation: She blames Lear’s behavior on aging and says he never really knew himself.
Theme:
- Self-awareness
- Decline of reason

GONERIL: “The best and soundest of his time hath been / but rash.”

Explanation: Even at his best, Lear was impulsive.
Themes:
- Flawed leadership
- Fallibility

“Then must we look from his age to / receive not alone the imperfections of long-engraffed / condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness / that infirm and choleric years bring with / them.”

Explanation: Goneril says old age brings not just lifelong flaws, but new ones like irritability.
Language Devices:
- Metaphor: “long-engraffed condition” suggests deeply rooted flaws
Theme:
- Aging and degeneration

REGAN: “Such unconstant starts are we like to have / from him as this of Kent’s banishment.”

Explanation: Regan anticipates more erratic decisions from Lear, as shown in Kent’s banishment.
Themes:
- Instability
- Loyalty punished

GONERIL: “There is further compliment of leave-taking / between France and him. Pray you, let us sit / together.”

Explanation: Goneril wants to plan together while Lear says his goodbyes.
Theme:
- Collusion

“If our father carry authority with such / disposition as he bears, this last surrender of his will / but offend us.”

Explanation: Goneril worries that Lear retaining power while being emotionally unstable is a threat.
Themes:
- Power struggle
- Family conflict

REGAN: “We shall further think of it.”

Explanation: Regan is cautious but open to planning against Lear.
Tone: Calculating

GONERIL: “We must do something, and i’ th’ heat.”

Explanation: She insists they act swiftly while Lear is vulnerable.
Theme:
- Ambition
- Betrayal

Posts

SAT Grammar Practice

December 17, 2025
SAT Vocabulary Practice

December 15, 2025
Language Devices in Holes by Louis Sachar

December 13, 2025
Stanley Yelnats – Character Analysis – Holes by Louis Sachar

December 13, 2025
Holes by Louis Sachar Themes

December 13, 2025
Holes by Louis Sachar Summary

December 13, 2025

Tags:

“nothing will come of nothing” explanation, betrayal themes in literature, blindness motif in King Lear, Cordelia’s “nothing” speech, Cordelia’s integrity analysis, dramatic irony in King Lear, Elizabethan inheritance laws, father-daughter conflict in literature, France’s proposal analysis, Goneril and Regan’s deceit, Kent’s loyalty theme, King Lear Act 1 Scene 1 analysis, kingdom division symbolism, Lear’s hubris examples, Lear’s love test meaning, Lear’s rage monologue, loyalty vs power themes, natural order in Shakespeare, performative love in literature, power vs love themes, Renaissance politics in drama, rhetorical flattery techniques, Shakespeare tragic flaws, Shakespearean banishment scenes, Shakespearean court scenes, Shakespearean fools, Shakespearean patriarchs, storm foreshadowing in Act 1, tragic inevitability in Shakespeare, tragic opening scenes

Date:

April 10, 2025

Up next:

Before: