What wouldst thou do, old man?Think’st thou that duty shall have dread to speakWhen power to flattery bows? To plainness honor’s bound | He confronts king lear at serious personal risk”Oh what would thou do old man….”Kent’s courage to speak up and confront LearPhrases it in a way saying he is honor bound to speak like that, it’s his duty to advise him as a trusted friend and advisor. Tell him he is making the wrong choiceHis compelling argument falls on deaf ears, shows the importance of loyalty and dutyKent gets banished after this |
A credulous father, and a brother noble—Whose nature is so far from doing harmsThat he suspects none, on whose foolish honestyMy practices ride easy. I see the business.Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit.All with me’s meet that I can fashion fit. | Edgar is so gullible he swallows whatever Edmund tells himWants to take advantage of the decency of other peopleEdmund has just finished snaring edgar in his trapHasn’t quite put his plan into motionSetting edgar upOpportunity to further himself |
Does any here know me? Why, this is not Lear.Doth Lear walk thus? Speak thus? Where are his eyes?Either his notion weakens, or his discerningsAre lethargied. Ha, sleeping or waking?Sure, ’tis not so.Who is it that can tell me who I am? | Lear has started to lose control of himselfLost control of his daughters, country (gave it up) and his own mind overnight |
I will send far and near, that all the kingdom May have the due note of him.—And of my land,Loyal and natural boy, I’ll work the meansTo make thee capable. | Gloucester has been talking to edmund and edmund has been saying edgar is plotting against his life, and how he left the country etc”And of my land, loyal and natural boy i’ll work the ……” Speaking to EdmundCalls him a loyal and natural boyHe is not a natural boy, illegitimate |
No, Regan, thou shalt never have my curse.Thy tender-hafted nature shall not giveThee o’er to harshness. Her eyes are fierce, but thineDo comfort and not burn. ‘Tis not in theeTo grudge my pleasures, to cut off my train,To bandy hasty words, to scant my sizes,And in conclusion to oppose the boltAgainst my coming in. | Goneril asked him to give up half his knightsLear is madHe goes to Regan and complains to herShe’s noncommittal She says he’s going to turn on her the way he turned on GonerilQuote is him saying no he won’t |
Hear me, my lord.What need you five and twenty, ten, or fiveTo follow in a house where twice so manyHave a command to tend you? | Goneril and Regan trying to convince Lear he doesn’t need any knights100? Why any at all |
Come on, my boy. How dost, my boy? Art cold?I am cold myself. Where is this straw, my fellow?The art of our necessities is strangeThat can make vile things precious. Come, your hovel.Poor fool and knave, I have one part in my heartThat’s sorry yet for thee. | Lear is in the storm running around like a madmanHe’s been cast out by ReganToo stubborn to apologize to Regan and GonerilKent has come back to serve Lear (remarkable loyalty)Lear eventually starts to think of someone other than himselfAsks if the boy is coldFor a king to ask how someone else is is something a monarch is not expected to do”Me too” – shows sympathy and reaches out emotionallyShows he is not higher than him for the first timeRecognizes he is losing his mind |
Let not the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of silks betray thy poor heart to woman. Keep thy foot out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, thy pen from lenders’ books, and defy the foul fiend. | Gloucester is having his eyes outPain pain painFirst servant (like Kent) says it is wrong, it is his duty to tell him it is wrongGets stabbedGloucester’s reaction to the mortal wound |
I’ll never care what wickedness I do,If this man come to good. | 2nd servant”I’ll never care what wickedness I do if this man come to good” (‘ll never be happy if this man succeeds and has good things happen to him, i’ll be so upset I won’t care what happens to me in my life)Servants should never question their mastersThis servant has clearly had enoughFor a servant to actually step forward and say that Cornwalls actions are as bad as they are is badTalking about CornwallConfident inputReveals depth of Cornwall’s evil |
Gloucester, I liveTo thank thee for the love thou showed’st the king,And to revenge thine eyes.—Come hither, friend.Tell me what more thou know’st. | Albany is shifting loyalty from his wife to the other side |
Oh, the difference of man and man!To thee a woman’s services are due.My fool usurps my body. | Goneril and Regan are fighting over EdmundSaying this quote to Oswald (courier)Edmund is more convenient to marry her than GonerilCornwall just died so she’s free, Albany (goneril’s husband) still alive |
I do remember now. Henceforth I’ll bearAffliction till it do cry out itself,”Enough, enough,” and die. That thing you speak of,I took it for a man. Often ‘twould say,”The fiend, the fiend!” He led me to that place. | After Gloucester has attempted suicide after jumping off the cliffsEdgar tricks Gloucester into thinking he really had jumped off the cliffEdgar says he has been preservedHe says he will accept/bear/carry affliction till it just disappears or dies our itselfHe will accept bad stuff until it goes, before he doesHe’s gonna hang in there, newfound determination |
To both these sisters have I sworn my love,Each jealous of the other as the stungAre of the adder. Which of them shall I take?Both? One? Or neither? Neither can be enjoyedIf both remain alive. | Edmund debating on who to take (Goneril and Regan)True unattractiveness and evil revealedHe swore true love to two people |
No, no, no, no! Come, let’s away to prison.We two alone will sing like birds i’ th’ cage.When thou dost ask me blessing, I’ll kneel downAnd ask of thee forgiveness. So we’ll live,And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laughAt gilded butterflies, and hear poor roguesTalk of court news, and we’ll talk with them too—Who loses and who wins, who’s in, who’s out—And take upon ‘s the mystery of thingsAs if we were God’s spies. | Lear is banished to prisonInconceivable that he would ask for forgiveness beforeTalking to cordeliaLear is happy for like the first time in the playProbably because he finally recognized Cordelia is the trusting loving individualRelief at finding love and trust |
That’s as we list to grace him.Methinks our pleasure might have been demandedEre you had spoke so far. He led our powers,Bore the commission of my place and person—The which immediacy may well stand upAnd call itself your brother. | Tension Albany saying he won’t recognize Edmund as a brother in lawRegan says to brother in law “well it’s up to me, it’s not your call”Refusing to face realities of situation |
King Lear quotes
July 30, 2019