Writing an essay for ‘King Lear‘, but not sure which quotes are important?
Look no further! We’ve gathered 50 of the most important quotes and categorised them across 3 themes from King Lear that will help you spark some great ideas.
Keep in mind that King Lear is a Shakespearean play — so, that means that you will be using techniques from plays such as soliloquies and dramatic irony to showcase your full understanding of the text.
To learn about top quotes from King Lear that you’ll want to remember, just scroll down!
Quotes about Family and Love from King Lear
Quotes about Madness and Power from King Lear
Fate Quotes from King Lear
Family and Love
#1: Sir, I love you more than word can yield the matter;
Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty;
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare;
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor;
As much as child e’er loved, or father found
A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable.
Beyond all manner of so much I love you
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, line 55–61
- Characters: Goneril
- Techniques: Accumulation, dichotomy of love and loss, figurative language
#2: Only she comes too short
I profess myself an enemy to all other joys.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 72-72
- Characters: Regan
- Techniques: Metaphor, Foreshadowing, Irony
#3: Let it be so. Thy truth then be thy dower.
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—
Here I disclaim all my paternal care,
Propinquity, and property of blood,
And as a stranger to my heart and me
Hold thee from this for ever.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 109-117
- Characters: King Lear
- Techniques: Allusion, Irony, Hyperbole, Foreshadowing
#4: Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me. I
Return those duties back as are right fit—
Obey you, love you and most honour you.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 96-99
- Character: Cordelia
- Techniques: Tripling, emotive language
#5: Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life,
And thou no breath at all?
- Scene: Act 5, scene 3, lines 370-371
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Rhetorical question, animal motif
Analysis:
The quote reflects Lear’s despair and anguish as he mourns the death of his beloved daughter, Cordelia.
The quote, “Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life, And thou no breath at all?” suggests that Lear is questioning the fundamental unfairness of life. He wonders why animals, which are often considered inferior to humans, are allowed to live while his daughter, who he loved dearly, has died. Lear’s despair is compounded by the fact that Cordelia died as a result of his own misguided decisions.
The quote highlights the tragic consequences of Lear’s actions, which have led to the death of his loved ones and the destruction of his kingdom. It also speaks to the universal human experience of grappling with the unfairness of life and the inevitability of death.
Overall, the quote is a poignant expression of Lear’s grief and serves to underscore the play’s themes of mortality, justice, and the fleeting nature of life.
#6: Cordelia: Unhappy that I am. I cannot have
My heart into my mouth. I have your majesty.
According to my bond; no more nor less.
Lear: Nothing can come from nothing.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 90-92
- Characters: Cordelia, King Lear
- Techniques: Paradox, hyperbole, foreshadowing
#7: Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy law
My services are bound. Wherefore should I
Stand in the plague of custom, and permit
The curiosity of nations to deprive me,
For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines
Lag of a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base?
…
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.
Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmund
As to the legitimate. Fine word—“legitimate”!
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
- Scene: Act 1, scene 2, lines 1-22
- Character: Edmund
- Techniques: Soliloquy, repetition, celestial imagery
#8: Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones:
Had I your tongues and eyes, I’d use them so
That heaven’s vault should crack. She’s gone forever!
I know when one is dead, and when one lives;
She’s dead as earth.
- Scene: Act 5, scene 3, lines 256-260
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Animal motif, figurative language
Analysis:
In this scene, Lear is mourning the death of his daughter Cordelia, who has been hanged in prison. The quote is a passionate outburst of grief and despair, as Lear laments the loss of his daughter.
The quote, “Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones: Had I your tongues and eyes, I’d use them so That heaven’s vault should crack. She’s gone forever! I know when one is dead, and when one lives; She’s dead as earth,” expresses Lear’s intense emotions of pain and sorrow. He commands those around him to join in his mourning, and he expresses his frustration that they cannot feel the same depth of emotion that he does.
Lear’s desire to use his own eyes and voice to express his grief is a powerful image, and his statement that “heaven’s vault should crack” suggests that his grief is so great that it could shake the very foundations of the universe. Lear’s words also convey a sense of resignation and acceptance, as he acknowledges that Cordelia is gone forever and that her death is as final as the earth itself.
Overall, this quote is a poignant expression of Lear’s grief and serves to underscore the play’s themes of mortality, family, and the fragility of human life. The intensity of Lear’s emotions also highlights the universal human experience of loss and the enduring power of love and family bonds.
#9: I have heard him oft maintain it
To be fit that, sons at perfect age and fathers
Declined, the father should be as ward to the son,
And the son manage the revenue.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 4, lines 67-70
- Character: Edmund
- Techniques: Dramatic irony, representation of identity, old age motif
#10: As much as child e’er loved, or father found,
A love that makes breath poor and speech unable,
Beyond all manner of so much I love you.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 59-61
- Character: Goneril
- Techniques: Flattery, dichotomy of love and loss, irony
#11: Nor are those empty-hearted, whose low sounds
Reverb no hollowness.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 172-173
- Character: Kent
- Techniques: Dramatic irony, speech
#12: Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend,
More hideous when thou show’st thee in a child
Than the sea-monster!
- Scene: Act 1, scene 4, lines 270-272
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Animal motif, accusation, foreshadowing
#13: I am a man
More sinned against than sinning.
- Scene: Act 3, scene 2, lines 59-60
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Irony, metaphor, representation of identity
Analysis:
Lear has been cast out by his own daughters and left to wander the countryside in a state of madness. He is reflecting on his life and the events that have led him to his current situation.
The quote, “I am a man more sinned against than sinning,” suggests that Lear sees himself as a victim of circumstance rather than the cause of his own downfall. He acknowledges that he has made mistakes in his life, but he feels that he has been treated unfairly by those around him, particularly his daughters. He is saying that he has been sinned against more than he has sinned himself.
The quote reflects the theme of justice and the idea of moral balance in the play. Lear’s statement highlights the idea that actions have consequences and that injustice can lead to a cycle of wrongdoing and retribution. It also emphasises the importance of personal responsibility and the idea that we must take responsibility for our own actions, even if we feel that we have been treated unfairly by others.
#14: When thou dost ask me blessing, I’ll kneel down
And ask of thee forgiveness.
- Scene: Act 5, scene 3, lines 10-11
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Dichotomy of love and loss, symbolism, representation of identity
#15: How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child!
- Scene: Act 1, scene 4, lines 82-83
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Animal motif, symbolism, foreshadowing
King Lear Quotes about Madness and Power
#16: Where the greater malady is fixed,
The lesser is scarce felt
The tempest in my mind
Doth from my sense take all feeling else,
Save what beast here: filial ingratitude
- Scene: Act 3, scene 4, line.8-14
- Characters: King Lear
- Techniques: speech, animal motif
#17: Rumble thy bellyful! Spit fire! Spout rain!
Now rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters.
- Scene: Act 3, scene 2, lines 14-15
- Characters: Lear
- Techniques: Nihilistic language, metaphor, vivid imagery
Analysis:
Lear has been cast out by his own daughters and left to wander the countryside in a state of madness. He is addressing a violent storm, which he sees as a reflection of the turmoil in his own life.
The quote, “Rumble thy bellyful! Spit fire! Spout rain! Now rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters,” suggests that Lear is equating the storm with his own daughters, whom he feels have betrayed him. By personifying the storm as his daughters, Lear is expressing his anger and frustration at their actions. He is also acknowledging the destructive power of the storm, which reflects the chaos and turmoil in his own life.
The quote highlights the theme of the natural world reflecting human emotions and actions in the play. Lear’s statement suggests that the storm is a manifestation of his own anger and despair, and that nature is reacting to the injustice that has been done to him. It also emphasises the idea that nature can be both nurturing and destructive, reflecting the complex and often contradictory nature of human emotions and actions.
#18: No, I’ll not weep.
I have full cause of weeping, but this heart
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws,
Or ere I’ll weep. O fool, I shall go mad!
- Scene: Act 2, scene 4, lines 273-281
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Monologue, representation of identity, figurative language
#19: As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods;
They kill us for their sport.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 1, lines 37-38
- Character: Gloucester
- Techniques: Animal motif, metaphor, paradox
#20: Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drench’d our steeples, drown’d the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head!
- Scene: Act 3, scene 2, lines 1-6
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Nature motif, onomatopoeia, accumulation
#21: Thou hast seen a farmer’s dog bark at a beggar?
And the creature run from the cur?
There thou mightst behold the great image of authority: a dog’s obeyed in office.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 6, lines 155-159
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Animal motif, symbolism, representation of identity
#22: Dear daughter, I confess that I am old;
Age is unnecessary.
- Scene: Act 2, scene 4, lines 173-174
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Old age motif, condescension
#23: These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness
Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends
Than twenty silly-ducking observants.
- Scene: Act 2, scene 2, lines 95-97
- Character: Cornwall
- Techniques: accusation, irony, symbolism
#24: Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst
Been wise.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 43-44
- Character: Fool
- Techniques: Didactic, irony, paradox
#25: Gloucester: O, let me kiss that hand!
King Lear: Let me wipe it first;
it smells of mortality.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 6, lines 147-148
- Characters: Gloucester, King Lear
- Techniques: Sight motif, old age motif, allegory
#26: Kent: My life I never held but as a pawn
To wage against thy enemies, nor fear to lose it,
Thy safety being motive.King Lear: Out of my sight!
Kent: See better, Lear, and let me still remain
The true blank of thine eye.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 158-163
- Characters: Kent, King Lear
- Techniques: Sight motif, allegory, foreshadowing
#27: Truth’s a dog must to kennel; he must be whipped out, when Lady the brach may stand by the fire and stink.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 4, line 66.
- Character: Fool
- Techniques: Metaphor, animal motif, symbolism
Analysis:
The Fool is speaking to Lear, who has just given away his kingdom to his daughters and is beginning to realize the extent of his mistake.
The quote, “Truth’s a dog must to kennel; he must be whipped out, when Lady the brach may stand by the fire and stink,” suggests that the Fool is commenting on the unfairness of the world, where those who speak the truth are often punished while those who are deceitful are rewarded. The Fool is comparing the truth to a dog that is sent to the kennel and whipped, while Lady, a female hunting dog or “brach,” is allowed to stand by the fire and do nothing, even though she stinks.
The line also implies that the Fool believes that the truth is often unpopular and difficult to accept, while lies and flattery are often preferred, even if they are ultimately harmful. The Fool is suggesting that Lear has been deceived by his daughters’ flattery, and that he needs to listen to those who speak the truth, even if it is difficult to hear.
#28: Proper deformity shows not in the fiend
So horrid as in woman.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 2, lines 68-69
- Character: Albany
- Techniques: Representation of identity, allegory
#29: So distribution should undo excess,
And each man have enough.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 1, lines 80-81
- Character: Gloucester
- Techniques: Dramatic irony, symbolism, irony
#30: Get thee glass eyes,
And like a scurvy politician seem
To see the things thou dost not.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 6, lines 159-161
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Sight motif, allusion, symbolism
Analysis:
In the scene, Lear has been driven to madness and has just realized the full extent of Goneril’s betrayal.
The quote, “Get thee glass eyes, And like a scurvy politician seem To see the things thou dost not,” is an insult directed at Goneril. Lear is telling her to get fake or “glass” eyes so that she can pretend to see things that she doesn’t actually see, just like a dishonest politician. In other words, Lear is accusing Goneril of being a liar and a manipulator who cannot be trusted to see the truth.
The insult also suggests that Goneril is trying to hide her true intentions and deceive Lear, much like a politician who tries to deceive the public to achieve their own goals. The use of the word “scurvy” further emphasises the negative connotation of Goneril’s actions, as “scurvy” is often associated with disease, dishonesty, and general untrustworthiness.
Overall, this quote highlights the theme of deception and betrayal in the play, and the danger of trusting those who are not truly loyal.
#31: Love’s not love
When it is mingled with regards that stand
Aloof from th’ entire point.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 245-247
- Character: France
- Techniques: Flattery, didactic, allusion
#32: O! let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven;
Keep me in temper;
I would not be mad!
- Scene: Act 1, scene 5, 39-41
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Repetition, sight motif, foreshadowing
Fate Quotes from King Lear
#33: Old Man: You cannot see your way.
Gloucester: I have no way, And therefore want no eyes.
I stumbled when I saw.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 1, lines 17-19
- Characters: Old Man, Gloucester
- Techniques: Paradox, visual imagery, sight motif
#34: That’s something yet: Edgar, nothing I am.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 3, line 21
- Characters: Edgar
- Techniques: Soliloquy, motif of nothing
#35: Pluck out his poor old eyes, nor thy fierce sister
In his anointed flesh stick boarish fangs.
- Scene: Act 3, scene 7, lines 63-64
- Character: Gloucester
- Techniques: Sight motif, hyperbole, animal motif, old age motif
#36: All friends shall taste
The wages of their virtue, and all foes
The cup of their deserving.
- Scene: Act 5, scene 3, lines 301-303
- Character: Albany
- Techniques: Didactic, foreshadowing
Analysis:
In this scene, Albany has taken charge and is working to restore order after the chaos that has ensued throughout the play.
The quote, “All friends shall taste the wages of their virtue, and all foes the cup of their deserving,” can be interpreted as a statement of justice. Albany is saying that everyone, whether they are friends or foes, will receive the consequences of their actions. Those who have been virtuous will receive their reward, while those who have been deserving of punishment will receive their due.
Overall, this quote reflects a belief in the idea of divine justice, where each person’s actions will ultimately lead to their just rewards or punishments. It also highlights the importance of taking responsibility for one’s actions and accepting the consequences that come with them.
#37: His flawed heart—
…
Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief,
Burst smilingly
- Scene: Act 5, scene 3, lines 195-198
- Character: Edgar
- Techniques: Paradox, dichotomy, symbolism
#38: King Lear: Who is it that can tell me who I am?
The Fool: Lear’s shadow
- Scene: Act 1, scene 4, lines 230-231
- Characters: King Lear, The Fool
- Techniques: Representation of identity, bleak tone
#39: You owe me no subscription. Why then let fall
Your horrible pleasure. Here I stand your slave,
A poor, infirm, weak and despised old man.
- Scene: Act 3, scene 2, lines 18-20
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Representation of identity, metaphor, allusion, old age motif
#40: I am a very foolish, fond old man,
Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less;
And to deal plainly,
I fear I am not in my perfect mind.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 7, lines 59-62
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Meiosis, irony, humour, representation of identity, old age motif
#41: I will die bravely, like a smug bridegroom. What!
I will be jovial: come, come; I am a king,
My masters, know you that.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 6, 198-200
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Irony, representation of identity, humour
#42: You should be ruled and led
By some discretion that discerns your state
Better than you yourself.
- Scene: Act 2, scene 2, lines 337-339
- Character: Regan
- Techniques: Sight motif, pedagogy of mortification, old age motif
#43: When we are born, we cry that we are come
To this great stage of fools.
- Scene: Act 4, scene 6, 171-172
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Representation of identity, symbolism, allegory
Analysis:
The quote “When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools” can be interpreted as a commentary on the human condition, where people are born into a world that can be seen as foolish, chaotic and full of folly.
The line suggests that life is like a stage play, where humans are the actors playing out their roles. The idea of crying at birth suggests that people are aware of the foolishness of the world and the futility of human endeavours from a very early age. The metaphor of the “great stage of fools” suggests that life is a performance, where everyone is a player and the world is the stage.
In context of the play, the line can also be interpreted as a reflection of King Lear’s own disillusionment and sense of despair. Throughout the play, Lear realises that the world is not as he thought it was and that his own choices have led him to tragedy. The line suggests that he feels that everyone is foolish and that he himself is no exception.
#44: The prince of darkness is a gentleman!
- Scene: Act 3, scene 4
- Character: Edgar
- Techniques: Symbolism, allusion, metaphor
#45: The weight of this sad time we must obey,
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young
Shall never see so much, nor live so long.
- Scene: Act 5, scene 3, lines 324-327
- Character: Edgar
- Techniques: Allegory, didactic, old age motif
#46: Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides.
Who cover faults, at last shame them derides.
- Scene: Act 1, scene 1, lines 289-290
- Character: Cordelia
- Techniques: Foreshadowing, symbolism, allegory
Analysis:
The quote “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides. Who cover faults, at last shame them derides” can be interpreted as a warning against deceitful behaviour and the eventual exposure of one’s true character.
Cordelia’s words suggest that people may try to hide their flaws or deceive others through cunning, but eventually, time will reveal the truth. The phrase “plighted cunning” refers to cunning or deceit that is hidden or disguised, but is ultimately revealed over time.
The second half of the quote suggests that those who try to conceal their faults and deceive others will eventually be shamed and ridiculed. The word “deride” means to mock or ridicule, so the quote implies that those who cover up their flaws will eventually be publicly exposed and criticised.
Overall, Cordelia’s quote can be seen as a warning against deceitful behaviour and the importance of being truthful and honest in one’s dealings with others. It suggests that ultimately, one’s true character will be revealed and that it is better to be open and honest from the start, rather than trying to hide one’s flaws through cunning or deceit.
#47: O, reason not the need! our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous.
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man’s life’s as cheap as beast’s.
- Scene: Act 2, scene 4, lines 259-262
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Foreshadowing, paradox, animal motif
#48: Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither.
Ripeness is all.
- Scene: Act 5, scene ii, lines 9-11
- Character: Edgar
- Techniques: Old age motif, didactic, allusion
#49: The art of our necessities is strange
That can make vile things precious.
- Scene: Act 3, scene 3, lines 70-71
- Character: King Lear
- Techniques: Irony, paradox, symbolism
#50: When we our betters see bearing our woes,
We scarcely think our miseries our foes.
- Scene: Act 3, scene 6, lines 111-112
- Character: Edgar
- Techniques: Sight motif, rhyme, allusion
On the hunt for quotes from other texts?
If you’ve found our quotes from King Lear useful, you should check out our list of quotes for the following texts:
- All the Light We Cannot See
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- Lord of the Flies
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- Past the Shallows
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- Rear Window
We’ve also got articles specifically on plays by Shakespeare which you can check out below:
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- The Tempest
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- Much Ado About Nothing
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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