King Lear Goneril Quotes

One way I like this very well,
But being widow and my Gloucester with her
May all the building in my fancy pluck
Upon my hateful life.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 2. Goneril says this in an aside after hearing about Cornwall’s death. On one hand she is glad that Cornwall is dead, but on the other she is worried because Regan is now a widow and Edmund ("my Gloucester") is with her and might choose her over Goneril. Goneril’s hopes of having Edmund to herself would then be shattered and she would have to continue this hateful life, she says. Both sisters are in love with Edmund and jealous of one another. Goneril’s use of the words "hateful life" and "pluck" – Gloucester’s eyes were plucked out by Goneril’s cruel husband Cornwall on her bidding – could be seen as Goneril foreshadowing her own downfall.

Faith, once or twice she heaved the name of "father"
Pantingly forth, as if it pressed her heart;
Cried "Sisters, sisters, shame of ladies, sisters!
Kent, father, sisters! What, i’ th’ storm, i’ th’ night?
Let pity not be believed!"

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 3. The Gentleman tells Kent of Cordelia’s deep upset over her father’s suffering and her distress at her sisters’ cruelty towards him. Cordelia reacts with disbelief at them letting Lear out in the night in the storm and brands them shameful. Cordelia clearly still loves Lear despite his cruel treatment of her.

A sovereign shame so elbows him – his own unkindness,
That stripped her from his benediction, turned her
To foreign casualties, gave her dear rights
To his dog-hearted daughters – these things sting
His mind so venomously that burning shame
Detains him from Cordelia.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 3. Kent speaks of Lear’s guilt and shame over his unkindness to Cordelia, disowning her and giving her rightful inheritance to her two cruel sisters Regan and Goneril. Kent uses an apt animal metaphor – "dog-hearted" – to describe the inhumanity of the two sisters. Lear is burning with so much shame that he refuses to see Cordelia in Dover, Kent says.

Was this a face
To be opposed against the jarring winds?
To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder,
In the most terrible and nimble stroke
Of quick cross-lightning? To watch, poor perdu,
With this thin helm?

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 7. Cordelia shows true and deep affection as she speaks these words of compassion over her sleeping father. She is shocked at the cruel treatment the elderly monarch had to endure at the hands of her two unkind sisters who left him outside in the violent storm. Goneril and Regan had ordered that their doors be shut and locked. Cordelia accuses them of leaving Lear to stand guard all night against the fierce winds, dreadful thunder and terrible lightning with only his thinning hair for a helmet.

To both these sisters have I sworn my love,
Each jealous of the other as the stung
Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take?
Both? One? Or neither? Neither can be enjoyed
If both remain alive.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 5, Scene 1. Edmund is put on the spot by Regan and Goneril who demand that he choose which one of them he loves. Edmund makes it clear that he has promised his love to both. Torn between two loves, he almost wishes that one of them dies so the choice will be made for him. A very apt simile is used to describe the sisters’ jealousy, each being suspicious of the other as if they both were poisonous snakes. This passage shows the callousness of Edmund who is only ever interested in pursuing his own self-interests. It also shows the foolishness of the sisters, who are competing for the love of someone who has sworn love to them but really cares nothing about them.

ALBANY: Shut your mouth, dame,
Or with this paper shall I stop it – Hold, sir:
[Gives the letter to Edmund] Thou worse than any name, read thine own evil.
[To Goneril] No tearing, lady: I perceive you know it.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 5, Scene 3. This passage by Albany comes after Edmund is wounded by Edgar and Goneril becomes hysterical. Albany shows his moral mettle and takes charge and is not the meek and mild-mannered man we met earlier in the play. Having arrested Edmund and his wife Goneril for treason, he tells Goneril to shut up and brandishes the letter that she wrote to Edmund plotting against Albany’s life. At this stage Albany is the last remaining figure of authority in Britain. He is also a highly moral person.

GENTLEMAN: O, she’s dead!
ALBANY: Who dead? Speak, man.
GENTLEMAN: Your lady, sir, your lady. And her sister
By her is poisoned. She confesses it.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 5, Scene 3. There is poetic justice as Goneril and Regan are destroyed by their jealous love for Edmund. Regan is poisoned by her jealous sister Goneril in order to prevent Regan’s marriage to Edmund. Goneril then commits suicide with a dagger. The cruel and scheming sisters are not brought to justice by the law or any figure or authority, but ironically they end up serving justice on themselves.
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