King Lear Quotes Act 1

King Lear Quotes Act 1

1. Cordelia: Nothing, my lord

   • Sets in motion a disastrous chain of events, lack of political nous

2. Lear: Nothing will come of nothing

   • Dramatic irony: the response of nothing will lead to the nothingness of the kingdom, foreshadows the unfortunate events

3. Gloucester: There was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged

   • Dismissive of Edmund, Coarse language and Exposes the patriarchal society

4. Regan: 'Tis the infirmity of his age: yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself.

   • Hints at Lear's hamartia - Lack of self-knowledge and self-reflection

5. Edmund: Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy law my services are bound.

   • Exemplifies Bovelle's thrice man who aims to rise within the Great Chain of Being without the help of fate and the gods
   • Machiavellian philosophy made clear, a Jacobean audience would find this confidence and ambition thrilling and attractive

6. Gloucester: Abhorred villain! Unnatural, detested, brutish villain!

   • Rash assumption of Edgar's guilt, inability to see better is an element of his hamartia which is parallel with Lear's

7. Gloucester: We have seen the best of our time: machinations, hollowness treachery, and all ruinous disorders, follow us disquietly to our graves.

   • "Machinations" and "Treachery" are references to the Machiavellian behaviours of Goneril and Regan in the love test, dramatic irony since he does not recognise this behaviour in Edmund

8. Fool: All thy other titles thou hast given away; that (fool) thou wast born with

   • Comments on the action similar to a greek chorus, refers to Lear having foolishly given away his power, status and wealth and be a fool in a Machiavellian sense

9. Lear: Doth any here know me? Who is it that can tell me who I am?

   • Fool: Lear's shadow.
   • Demonstrates the beginning of Lear's loss of identity and descent into madness, fails to recognise Goneril rather than pretending not to know her to be ironic

10. Lear: Into her womb convey sterility! Dry up her the organs of increase;

    • Violent reaction to Goneril, overwhelmingly male mode of speech is in contrast with Edmund's slick Machiavellian soliloquy, implied Lear's empty insults will get him nowhere unlike Edmund who will rise throughout.
    • Parallel to Gloucester who is also prone to bluster, rashness and extremes of language and judgement and are rulers of the past making way for the new, smarter, cooler and politically clever rulers.