William Shakespeare excerpts from King Lear

William Shakespeare HOME Lear divides his kingdom between his two eldest daughters, because they express their love and devotion to him in exaggerated language. Lear banishes Cordelia, the third daughter who shows him her sincere feelings. When his advisor Kent attempts to tell Lear he is doing wrong, he too is banished. The two older sisters mock Lear and renege on their promise to support him, the king slips into madness, Cordelia and Kent are trying to help him.
William Shakespeare (excerpts) from King Lear Act 1 Scene 1 KENT, GLOUCESTER, and EDMUND enter. KENT I thought the king preferred the Duke of Albany to the Duke of Cornwall. GLOUCESTER We used to think so too. But the way he’s divided the kingdom recently, nobody can tell which of the dukes he favors more. He’s split the kingdom so evenly that it’s impossible to see any indication of favoritism. KENT (pointing to EDMUND) Isn’t this your son, my lord? GLOUCESTER Yes, I’ve been responsible for his upbringing. I’ve had to acknowledge that he’s my son so many times that now I can do it without embarrassment. KENT I can’t conceive of what you mean. GLOUCESTER You can’t conceive? Well, this guy’s mother could conceive him all to well. She grew a big belly and had a baby for her crib before she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell something naughty? KENT Well, I wouldn’t want to undo the naughtiness, since the boy turned out so well. GLOUCESTER But I have a legitimate son a few years older than this one, and I don’t love him any more than I love my bastard. Edmund may have snuck into the world a little before his time, but his mother was pretty, we had a fun time making him, and now I have to acknowledge the guy as my son.—Do you know this gentleman, Edmund? EDMUND No, I don’t, my lord. GLOUCESTER (to EDMUND) This is Lord Kent. Remember him as my friend and an honorable man. EDMUND Very pleased to meet you, my lord. KENT I look forward to getting to know you better. EDMUND I’ll try to make myself worth your knowledge. GLOUCESTER He’s been gone for nine years and he’s leaving again soon. Trumpets announce the arrival of King LEAR. The king is coming. A man bearing a crown enters, followed by KING LEAR, the Dukes of CORNWALL and ALBANY, then GONERIL, REGAN, CORDELIA, and attendants. LEAR Go escort the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester. GLOUCESTER Yes, my lord. GLOUCESTER exits. LEAR In the meantime I’ll get down to my real business.—Hand me that map over there.—I hereby announce that I’ve divided my kingdom into three parts, which I’m handing over to the younger generation so I can enjoy a little rest and peace of mind in my old age.—Cornwall and Albany, my loving sons-in-law, I now want to announce publicly what each of my daughters will inherit, to avoid hostilities after I die. The two great princes of France and Burgundy, vying for the hand of my youngest Cordelia, have been at my court a long time and will soon have their answers.—My daughters, since I’m about to give up my throne and the worries that go along with it, tell me which one of you loves me most, so that I can give my largest gift to the one who deserves it most.—Goneril, my oldest daughter, you speak first. GONERIL Sir, I love you more than words can say. I love you more than eyesight, space, and freedom, beyond wealth or anything of value. I love you as much as life itself, and as much as status, health, beauty, or honor. I love you as much as any child has ever loved her father, with a love too deep to be spoken of. I love you more than any answer to the question “How much?” CORDELIA (to herself) What will I say? I can only love and be silent. LEAR I give you all this land, from this line to that one—dense forests, fertile fields, rivers rich with fish, wide meadows. This land will belong to your and Albany’s children forever.—And now what does my second daughter Regan, the wife of Cornwall, have to say? Tell me. REGAN Sir, I’m made of the same stuff as my sister and consider myself just as good as she is. She’s described my feelings of love for you precisely, but her description falls a little short of the truth. I reject completely any joy except my love for you, and I find that only your majesty’s love makes me happy. CORDELIA (to herself) Poor me, what am I going to say now? But I’m not poor in love—my love is bigger than my words are. LEAR You and your heirs hereby receive this large third of our lovely kingdom, no smaller in area or value than what I gave Goneril.—Now, you, my youngest daughter, my joy, courted by the rich rulers of France and Burgundy, what can you tell me that will make me give you a bigger part of my kingdom than I gave your sisters? Speak. CORDELIA Nothing, my lord. Nothing? Nothing. Come on, “nothing” will get you nothing. Try again. I’m unlucky. I don’t have a talent for putting my heart’s feelings into words. I love you as a child should love her father, neither more nor less. What are you saying, Cordelia? Revise your statement, or you may damage your inheritance. My lord, you brought me up and loved me, and I’m giving back just as I should: I obey you, love you, and honor you. How can my sisters speak the truth when they say they love only you? Don’t they love their husbands too? Hopefully when I get married, I’ll give my husband half my love and half my sense of duty. I’m sure I’ll never get married in the way my sisters say they’re married, loving their father only. CORDELIA Yes, my lord. LEAR So young and so cruel? CORDELIA So young, my lord, and honest. LEAR Then that’s the way it’ll be. The truth will be all the inheritance you get. I swear by the sacred sun, by the mysterious moon, and by all the planets that rule our lives, that I disown you now as my daughter. As of now, there are no family ties between us, and I consider you a stranger to me. Foreign savages who eat their own children for dinner will be as close to my heart as you, ex-daughter of mine. [….] ACT 3 SCENE 2 The storm continues. LEAR and the FOOL enter. LEAR Blow, winds! Blow until your cheeks crack! Rage on, blow! Let tornadoes spew water until the steeples of our churches and the weathervanes are all drowned. Let quick sulfurous lightning, strong enough to split enormous trees, singe the white hair on my head. Let thunder flatten the spherical world, crack open all the molds from which nature forms human beings, and spill all the seeds from which ungrateful humans grow! FOOL Oh, uncle, it’s better to smile and flatter indoors where it’s dry than get soaked out here. Please, uncle, let’s go in and ask your daughters to forgive you. This storm has no pity for either wise men or fools. LEAR Let thunder rumble! Let lightning spit fire! Let the rain spray! The rain, the wind, the thunder and lightning are not my daughters. Nature, I don’t accuse your weather of unkindness. I never gave you a kingdom or raised you as my child, and you don’t owe me any obedience. So go ahead and have your terrifying fun. Here I am, your slave—a poor, sick, weak, hated old man. But I can still accuse you of kowtowing, taking my daughters' side against me, ancient as I am. Oh, it’s foul! FOOL Anyone who has a house to cover his head has a good head on his shoulders. The guy who finds a place to put his penis Before he has a house of his own Will wind up dirt poor and covered with lice With a crowd of slut daughters to add to the slut wife. The man who kicks away The person he should love Will bring himself pain And sleepless nights. For there never was a pretty woman who didn’t like to preen in the mirror. KENT enters in disguise. LEAR No, I’ll be patient. I won’t say a word. KENT Who’s there? FOOL A wise man and a fool. KENT (to LEAR) Ah, sir, you’re here? Even creatures of the night aren’t out tonight in this storm. The angry skies terrify the animals that usually prowl in the dark, making them stay in their caves. Never in my life have I heard such horrible blasts of thunder, such a roaring downpour, such groaning winds. It’s too trying and terrifying for humans to bear. LEAR Let the gods who stirred up this dreadful storm bring their enemies to light. Any wretched person who has committed secret crimes and escaped justice should tremble in fear now. Better hide now, you murderers, you perjurers, you incest-practicing people who pretend to be virtuous. Tremble and shake, villain, for secretly plotting against human lives. Let all your bottled-up crimes come flooding out at last, as you beg for mercy from the gods who summon these terrifying winds and thunderbolts. Other people have sinned against me more than I have sinned against them.

William Shakespeare HOME

Lear divides his kingdom between his two eldest daughters, because they express their love and devotion to him in exaggerated language. Lear banishes Cordelia, the third daughter who shows him her sincere feelings. When his advisor Kent attempts to tell Lear he is doing wrong, he too is banished. The two older sisters mock Lear and renege on their promise to support him, the king slips into madness, Cordelia and Kent are trying to help him.

William Shakespeare

(excerpts)

from King Lear

Act 1 Scene 1 KENT, GLOUCESTER, and EDMUND enter.
KENT
I thought the king preferred the Duke of Albany to the Duke of Cornwall.
GLOUCESTER
We used to think so too. But the way he’s divided the kingdom recently, nobody can tell which of the dukes he favors more. He’s split the kingdom so evenly that it’s impossible to see any indication of favoritism.
KENT
(pointing to EDMUND) Isn’t this your son, my lord?
GLOUCESTER
Yes, I’ve been responsible for his upbringing. I’ve had to acknowledge that he’s my son so many times that now I can do it without embarrassment.
KENT
I can’t conceive of what you mean.
GLOUCESTER
You can’t conceive? Well, this guy’s mother could conceive him all to well. She grew a big belly and had a baby for her crib before she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell something naughty?
KENT
Well, I wouldn’t want to undo the naughtiness, since the boy turned out so well.
GLOUCESTER
But I have a legitimate son a few years older than this one, and I don’t love him any more than I love my bastard. Edmund may have snuck into the world a little before his time, but his mother was pretty, we had a fun time making him, and now I have to acknowledge the guy as my son.—Do you know this gentleman, Edmund?

EDMUND
No, I don’t, my lord.
GLOUCESTER
(to EDMUND) This is Lord Kent. Remember him as my friend and an honorable man.
EDMUND
Very pleased to meet you, my lord.
KENT
I look forward to getting to know you better.
EDMUND
I’ll try to make myself worth your knowledge.
GLOUCESTER
He’s been gone for nine years and he’s leaving again soon.
Trumpets announce the arrival of King LEAR.
The king is coming.
A man bearing a crown enters, followed by KING LEAR, the Dukes of CORNWALL and ALBANY, then GONERIL, REGAN, CORDELIA, and attendants.
LEAR
Go escort the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.
GLOUCESTER
Yes, my lord.
GLOUCESTER exits.
LEAR
In the meantime I’ll get down to my real business.—Hand me that map over there.—I hereby announce that I’ve divided my kingdom into three parts, which I’m handing over to the younger generation so I can enjoy a little rest and peace of mind in my old age.—Cornwall and Albany, my loving sons-in-law, I now want to announce publicly what each of my daughters will inherit, to avoid hostilities after I die. The two great princes of France and Burgundy, vying for the hand of my youngest Cordelia, have been at my court a long time and will soon have their answers.—My daughters, since I’m about to give up my throne and the worries that go along with it, tell me which one of you loves me most, so that I can give my largest gift to the one who deserves it most.—Goneril, my oldest daughter, you speak first.
GONERIL
Sir, I love you more than words can say. I love you more than eyesight, space, and freedom, beyond wealth or anything of value. I love you as much as life itself, and as much as status, health, beauty, or honor. I love you as much as any child has ever loved her father, with a love too deep to be spoken of. I love you more than any answer to the question “How much?”

CORDELIA
(to herself) What will I say? I can only love and be silent.

LEAR

I give you all this land, from this line to that one—dense forests, fertile fields, rivers rich with fish, wide meadows. This land will belong to your and Albany’s children forever.—And now what does my second daughter Regan, the wife of Cornwall, have to say? Tell me.

REGAN

Sir, I’m made of the same stuff as my sister and consider myself just as good as she is. She’s described my feelings of love for you precisely, but her description falls a little short of the truth. I reject completely any joy except my love for you, and I find that only your majesty’s love makes me happy.
CORDELIA
(to herself) Poor me, what am I going to say now? But I’m not poor in love—my love is bigger than my words are.
LEAR

You and your heirs hereby receive this large third of our lovely kingdom, no smaller in area or value than what I gave Goneril.—Now, you, my youngest daughter, my joy, courted by the rich rulers of France and Burgundy, what can you tell me that will make me give you a bigger part of my kingdom than I gave your sisters? Speak.

CORDELIA
Nothing, my lord.

Nothing?

Nothing.

Come on, “nothing” will get you nothing. Try again.

I’m unlucky. I don’t have a talent for putting my heart’s feelings into words. I love you as a child should love her father, neither more nor less.

What are you saying, Cordelia? Revise your statement, or you may damage your inheritance.

My lord, you brought me up and loved me, and I’m giving back just as I should: I obey you, love you, and honor you. How can my sisters speak the truth when they say they love only you? Don’t they love their husbands too? Hopefully when I get married, I’ll give my husband half my love and half my sense of duty. I’m sure I’ll never get married in the way my sisters say they’re married, loving their father only.
CORDELIA
Yes, my lord.
LEAR
So young and so cruel?
CORDELIA
So young, my lord, and honest.
LEAR
Then that’s the way it’ll be. The truth will be all the inheritance you get. I swear by the sacred sun, by the mysterious moon, and by all the planets that rule our lives, that I disown you now as my daughter. As of now, there are no family ties between us, and I consider you a stranger to me. Foreign savages who eat their own children for dinner will be as close to my heart as you, ex-daughter of mine.

[….]

ACT 3 SCENE 2
The storm continues. LEAR and the FOOL enter.
LEAR
Blow, winds! Blow until your cheeks crack! Rage on, blow! Let tornadoes spew water until the steeples of our churches and the weathervanes are all drowned. Let quick sulfurous lightning, strong enough to split enormous trees, singe the white hair on my head. Let thunder flatten the spherical world, crack open all the molds from which nature forms human beings, and spill all the seeds from which ungrateful humans grow!
FOOL
Oh, uncle, it’s better to smile and flatter indoors where it’s dry than get soaked out here. Please, uncle, let’s go in and ask your daughters to forgive you. This storm has no pity for either wise men or fools.
LEAR
Let thunder rumble! Let lightning spit fire! Let the rain spray! The rain, the wind, the thunder and lightning are not my daughters. Nature, I don’t accuse your weather of unkindness. I never gave you a kingdom or raised you as my child, and you don’t owe me any obedience. So go ahead and have your terrifying fun. Here I am, your slave—a poor, sick, weak, hated old man. But I can still accuse you of kowtowing, taking my daughters' side against me, ancient as I am. Oh, it’s foul!
FOOL
Anyone who has a house to cover his head has a good head on his shoulders.
The guy who finds a place to put his penis
Before he has a house of his own
Will wind up dirt poor and covered with lice
With a crowd of slut daughters to add to the slut wife.
The man who kicks away
The person he should love
Will bring himself pain
And sleepless nights.
For there never was a pretty woman who didn’t like to preen in the mirror.

KENT enters in disguise.
LEAR
No, I’ll be patient. I won’t say a word.
KENT
Who’s there?
FOOL
A wise man and a fool.
KENT
(to LEAR) Ah, sir, you’re here? Even creatures of the night aren’t out tonight in this storm. The angry skies terrify the animals that usually prowl in the dark, making them stay in their caves. Never in my life have I heard such horrible blasts of thunder, such a roaring downpour, such groaning winds. It’s too trying and terrifying for humans to bear.
LEAR
Let the gods who stirred up this dreadful storm bring their enemies to light. Any wretched person who has committed secret crimes and escaped justice should tremble in fear now. Better hide now, you murderers, you perjurers, you incest-practicing people who pretend to be virtuous. Tremble and shake, villain, for secretly plotting against human lives. Let all your bottled-up crimes come flooding out at last, as you beg for mercy from the gods who summon these terrifying winds and thunderbolts. Other people have sinned against me more than I have sinned against them.