Important Quotes Explained for King Lear

King Lear Act 1, Scene 1
Thou hast her, France: let her be thine; for we
Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see
That face of hers again. Therefore be gone
Without our grace, our love, our benison.
Come, noble Burgundy.

King Lear is speaking to the King of France. Lear is talking about Cordelia, his daughter who has just explained to him her love of him, but unlike that of her sisters, she did not lie just to impress him. Cordelia is the only honest daughter, but after doing the right thing she is rejected from her family. Her father, King Lear, disowns her and divides his land between her evil sisters, Regan and Goneril, and their husbands. Through the first scene of the tragedy, Cordelia is banished by her family.







Fool/Lear Act 1, Scene 5
Fool
Canst tell how an oyster makes his shell?
Lear
No
Fool
Nor I neither. But I can tell why a snail has a house.
Lear
Why?
Fool
Why, to put ’s head in—not to give it away to his daughters and leave his horns without a case.

In this short passage, the fool is making fun out of Lear’s thoughtless choice to give his land away to his daughters. He asks the King if he knows why snails have a house, answering immediately that the keep their shell on top of them so they always have a place. Unlike Lear, snails keep their shell for their own protection. This quote is a perfect example of the fool’s personality. The fool is constantly making sure that one knows the stupidity of their ideas.






Gloucester Act 3, Scene 7
Because I would not see thy cruel nails
Pluck out his poor old eyes; nor thy fierce sister
In his anointed flesh stick boarish fangs.
The sea, with such a storm as his bare head
In hell-black night endured, would have buoy'd up,
And quench'd the stelled fires:
Yet, poor old heart, he holp the heavens to rain.
If wolves had at thy gate howl'd that stern time,
Thou shouldst have said 'Good porter, turn the key,'
All cruels else subscribed: but I shall see
The winged vengeance overtake such children.

Gloucester is speaking to Regan and Cornwall. Accidentally, Gloucester gives the idea of plucking out the eyes of someone, which in turn leads to Gloucester getting his eyes plucked out. Gloucester, an innocent man torn between his two sons is blind before the real act of blindness is struck upon him. Gloucester is a confused man whose “sight” is not the only thing missing. When an enemy plucks out his eyes, it is then when he can “see” the truth of his life, and is aided by his truly loving son, Edgar.






King Lear Act 5, Scene 3
Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia,
The gods themselves throw incense. Have I caught thee?
He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven
And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes.

King Lear is speaking to Cordelia while Edmund is ordering his guards to take them away to eventually kill them. Because Edmund’s army is fighting Cordelia’s, he wants them dead. This quote shows King Lear’s appreciation for his daughter, Cordelia, for all the she has done for hi,. He says that no one can “part” them, unless they are a god.








King Lear Act 5, Scene 3
And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,
And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never!
Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.
Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,
Look there, look there!
Dies


King Lear is yelling at the men about the life being taken from his daughter, Cordelia, and the Fool. King Lear is so broken over the tragedy that he dies too. This is an important scene because it is when the some of the only “good” characters die. Although Regan and Goneril the “evil” characters have perished too, it is important to tie the tragedy together by have only a few characters remain. The tragedy of these three characters dying ends the play.