King Lear Irony Quotes

KENT: Is not this your son, my lord?
GLOUCESTER: His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge. I have so often blushed to acknowledge him, that now I am brazed to ‘t.
KENT: I cannot conceive you.
GLOUCESTER: Sir, this young fellow’s mother could: whereupon she grew round-wombed, and had, indeed, sir, a son for her cradle ere she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell a fault?

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. The Earl of Gloucester jokes to the Duke of Kent about his illigitimate son Edmund, setting the scene for some family drama to come. Gloucester admits that Edmund has been an embarrassment to him and Kent says he doesn’t understand what he means. Gloucester responds with verbal irony, playing on the word "conceive," to explain how Edmund was born out of wedlock. He then cracks a rude joke about female genitals, mocking Edmund’s mother while ignoring Edmund’s presence. "Do you smell a fault?" he tells Kent. This is foreshadowing of how a resentful Edmund will embark on a plot against his father and half-brother.

Meantime we shall express our darker purpose. –
Give me the map there.
Know that we have divided
In three our kingdom, and ’tis our fast intent
To shake all cares and business from our age,
Conferring them on younger strengths, while we
Unburdened crawl toward death.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. King Lear calls his court together to formally divide his kingdom between his three daughters. The aging monarch expresses his desire to live his last years free of care and responsibilities that could be handled by a younger person. But instead of bringing peace and contentment, giving up his power and dividing his kingdom has the opposite result and is a decision that Lear will come to regret right up to his death. The passage is an ironic foreshadowing of the strife and deaths that will follow Learr’s rash decision. His words "our darker purpose" also reflect his blindness to the consequences of his actions. And his bleak image of life, "while we Unburdened crawl toward death," is the language of nihilism – the play is sometimes seen as nihilistic on account of all the betrayal, malice and moral nihilism shown by some of the characters.

Our son of Cornwall,
And you, our no less loving son of Albany,
We have this hour a constant will to publish
Our daughters’ several dowers, that future strife
May be prevented now.
The two great princes, France and Burgundy,
Great rivals in our youngest daughter’s love,
Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn,
And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters –
Since now we will divest us both of rule,
Interest of territory, cares of state –
Which of you shall we say doth love us most,
That we our largest bounty may extend
Where nature doth with merit challenge. Goneril,
Our eldest born, speak first.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. The proud and egotistical old King Lear devises a "love test" to decide how to divide his kingdom between his daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. He demands that they flatter him with a declaration of total love, and their share of the kingdom will be based on whoever professes to love him most. Lear’s plan is to prevent "future strife" that might result from him dying without an heir – he has no sons and three daughters, with Regan married to the Duke of Cornwall, Goneril to the Duke of Albany, and the King of France and Duke of Burgundy love rivals for youngest daughter Cordelia’s hand. There is a terrible irony in this because Lear’s foolish action results in tragic consequences and the very strife he wishes to avoid. Lear’s fatal flaw is his pride and that and its fellow traveler folly bring about his downfall, which is foreshadowed in this passage.

Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter,
Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty,
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare,
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour;
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.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Goneril is the first to respond to her Lear’s "who loves me most?" test. She falsely professes undying love for her father, using verbal irony to say that she loves him more than words can express. The gullible Lear shows mental and moral blindness when he fails to recognize Goneril’s over the top and insincere flattery as she tells him what he wants to hear. In the matter of his daughters’ love, he cannot tell the difference between the appearance and reality. So he goes on to award Goneril a generous share of his kingdom. The Earl of Gloucester’s later blinding is also forshadowed by Goneril’s declaration of her love being "dearer than eyesight," a phrase that underlines how terrible it would be to lose your eyesight.

I am made of that self mettle as my sister
And prize me at her worth. In my true heart
I find she names my very deed of love;
Only she comes too short, that I profess
Myself an enemy to all other joys
Which the most precious square of sense possesses,
And find I am alone felicitate
In your dear Highness’ love.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Regan, not to be outdone by Goneril’s exaggerated declaration of love for Lear, tries to "one up" her sister. A hypocritical Regan suggests that Goneril’s love "comes too short" compared to hers, and that the only thing that makes her truly happy is Lear’s love. This highlights the competition between the pair, a rivalry that will climax in destructive violence in the final act, so foreshadowing the murder-suicide to come. Regan talks of having the same "mettle" as her sister, her pun on the word "metal" conveying dramatic irony. For the sisters are very much alike and both have the hardness of metal. As with Goneril, Lear rewards Regan with a large share of his kingdom, unable to distinguish between her empty flattery and the truth. Both sisters are simply trying to gain as much of his power and wealth as possible but he doesn’t see.

LEAR: Speak.
CORDELIA: Nothing, my lord.
LEAR: Nothing?
CORDELIA: Nothing.
LEAR: Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Lear asks Cordelia to articulate the depth of her love for him, so that in the division of the kingdom she can "draw a third more opulent than your sisters." But his favorite daughter has nothing to say, her pride and stubbornness won’t allow her play her father’s game like her sisters have done. The repetition of the word "nothing" in this passage and throughout the play reflects themes of disorder, chaos and disintegration in the tragedy of King Lear. English Shakespearean actor Corin Redgrave said in an article in The Guardian newspaper: "Cordelia’s little word ‘nothing’, from which, according to classical philosophy, there could be no consequences, sets in motion a chain of action and reaction that, like the butterfly’s wings in the chaos theory, leads to Armageddon." Lear does indeed warn Cordelia that she will gain no favors from him if she does not make flattering speeches of her love for him. Lear’s use of the language of nihilism, "nothing will come of nothing" is significant. It prepares us for a drama that opens with the absurdity of Lear’s rash and senseless actions and ends with hopelessness, despair and lack of redemption for some of its characters. Ironically Lear is one of these characters, who ends up with nothing in the end, foreshadowed here by his own words.

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. The barbarous Scythian,
Or he that makes his generation messes
To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom
Be as well neighboured, pitied, and relieved
As thou my sometime daughter.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Lear flies into a rage at Cordelia’s stubborn refusal to flatter him and play ball with his love test charade. Her truth will be her only inheritance, he tells her. He calls on the natural forces of the sun, moon and planets to assist in his disowning of Cordelia. Lear promises to treat her "as a stranger to my heart" (simile). He compares his daughter to a "barbarous Scythian" who eats their own children. When he says "Here I disclaim all my paternal care" the tragedy of the play starts to unfold, as Lear gives up his fatherly care and love for her. The first major betrayal in the play is Lear’s betrayal of his daughter Cordelia. This is a decision which will have far-reaching and serious consequences for Lear. And it is one he will later learn to regret when his two other daughters treat him exactly this way. They treat him with unkindness and show him no compassion, just as he does with Cordelia. It is ironic that the daughter who loves King Lear most and the one who respects him most to tell the truth is the one who is disinherited and banished from her own country. This betrayal and cruel abuse of power turns out to be Lear’s greatest folly. His astounding blindness to the true worth of Cordelia and her sisters is his most unforgiveable case of choosing appearances over reality.

With my two daughters’ dowers digest the third.
Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her.
I do invest you jointly with my power,
Preeminence, and all the large effects
That troop with majesty. Ourself, by monthly course,
With reservation of an hundred knights
By you to be sustained, shall our abode
Make with you by due turns. Only we still retain
The name, and all the additions to a king.
The sway, revenue, execution of the rest,
Belovèd sons, be yours, which to confirm,
This coronet part betwixt you.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. In this opening scene King Lear bestows his entire kingdom upon Regan and Goneril and their husbands, the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Albany. There is a tragic irony in Lear’s blind trust and love for these two daughters whom he abdicates his kingly role to. For they prove not to love him at all and they end up betraying him completely. Lear does wish to hold onto some power for himself, however, and will retain one hundred knights. As far as Cordelia is concerned, he says she can marry her "pride." This is also ironic as it is Lear’s pride that stops him from seeing the virtue of Cordelia’s plain honesty.

The jewels of our father, with wash’d eyes
Cordelia leaves you. I know you what you are,
And like a sister am most loath to call
Your faults as they are named.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Bidding farewell to her sisters Regana and Goneril, Cordelia refers to them as "The jewels of our father." Ordinarily this metaphor would be a flattering term, but here it is used ironically to express contempt. While Cordelia also says that as a sister she won’t name their faults, she makes clear that is well aware of their true intentions and game they are playing in kissing up to Lear.

Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. In singing this ditty full of life wisdom about showing good judgment and sense in dealing with others, the Fool is attempting to advise Lear. Lear’s power and stature are diminishing, having given up his kingdom to his two daughters and exposing himself to their self-interest and evil ways. The Fool, who ironically is more wise than foolish, tells Lear to be wary in the social world and not put all his cards out there on the table, speak wisely and less, and don’t give away so many of your possessions that he is left poor.

KENT: This is nothing, Fool.
FOOL: Then ’tis like the breath of an unfee’d lawyer. You gave me nothing for ‘t. – Can you make no use of nothing, nuncle?
LEAR: Why no, boy. Nothing can be made out of nothing.
FOOL: [to Kent] Prithee tell him, so much the rent of his land comes to.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. When Kent complains that one of the Fool’s rhymes means nothing, the quick witted Fool uses a simile to compare this to the speech of an unpaid lawyer. The Fool asks Lear can he make no use of nothing. Here he is questioning Lear’s life and his foolishness, as Lear has given away all he had to his daughters, so he is literally left with nothing. King Lear, echoing his words of dismissal to daughter Cordelia, says that nothing can be made of nothing. This produces the Fool’s sharp response, telling Kent to remind Lear that his income is nothing now that he has no land, as he won’t believe a fool. Ironically Lear is the great fool in this play and the Fool one of its wisest characters. The theme of nihilism is also explored in this passage with the repeated use use of the word "nothing."

LEAR: Dost thou call me fool, boy?
FOOL: All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. In an ironic reversal of what you might expect, the Fool shows that he is wiser than the King, who is the real fool. When Lear sharply asks if his jester is calling him a fool, the Fool gives a reply that cuts right through society’s values, in this case the King’s titles that have become meaningless since Lear gave them away. Ironically his only title Lear is left with now is that of "fool."

Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires,
Men so disordered, so debauched and bold,
That this our court, infected with their manners,
Shows like a riotous inn. Epicurism and lust
Makes it more like a tavern or a brothel
Than a graced palace.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. Goneril uses some colorful similes to complain about Lear’s knights and squires turning her home into something like an inn or a brothel. Her complaints about the faults in others will later appear very ironic in view of her own serious character flaws. Writing in The Guardian newspaper, Shakespearean actor Corin Redgrave said: "Lear, I decided, surrounds himself with a retinue of 100 knights in order to form a shield of masculinity around himself. Goneril instinctively recognises this. Both Goneril and Regan know that this protection must be torn away if they are to establish their ascendancy over their father."

This is some fellow
Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect
A saucy roughness and constrains the garb
Quite from his nature. He cannot flatter, he.
An honest mind and plain, he must speak truth!
An they will take it, so; if not, he’s plain.
These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness
Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends
Than twenty silly-ducking observants
That stretch their duties nicely.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 2, Scene 2. Cornwall calls into question Kent’s true nature and his real motivation behind the honest and plain speaking that he prides himself for. Accusing Kent of duplicity, he suggests that his bluntness is just a "garb" and strategy to conceal his real intentions. Kent is not able to flatter, says Cornwall, but his "garb" of honest speech hides more craftiness and dishonest purpose than is seen in twenty bootlicking servants who bow and flatter. Cornwall is not completely off the mark in calling Kent a deceiver. For the Earl of Kent is disguised here as the commoner Caius – Cornwall is not aware of this, but the audience is, making this a good example of dramatic irony.

GLOUCESTER: Alack, alack, Edmund, I like not this unnatural dealing. When I desired their leave that I might pity him, they took from me the use of mine own house, charged me on pain of perpetual displeasure neither to speak of him, entreat for him, or any way sustain him.
EDMUND: Most savage and unnatural.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 3, Scene 3. Goneril and Regan have taken charge of Gloucester’s castle and ordered him not to speak to Lear, appeal on his behalf, or care for him in any way. In this passage he complaints bitterly about the "unnatural" behavior of Lear’s daughters and Edmund quickly agrees. There is dramatic irony here, as the audience knows that Edmund cannot be trusted and is deceiving his father. Edmund is putting on a pretence of being outraged, while Gloucester is blind to his duplicity.

A servingman, proud in heart and mind, that curled my hair, wore gloves in my cap, served the lust of my mistress’ heart and did the act of darkness with her, swore as many oaths as I spake words and broke them in the sweet face of heaven; one that slept in the contriving of lust and waked to do it. Wine loved I deeply, dice dearly, and in woman out-paramoured the Turk. False of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand; hog in sloth, fox in stealth, wolf in greediness, dog in madness, lion in prey. 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. Still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind; says suum, mun, nonny. Dolphin my boy, boy, sessa! Let him trot by.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 3, Scene 4. Disguised as mad beggar Poor Tom, this is Edgar’s response to Lear’s question, "What hast thou been?" In a wildly fictitious account of his past life, Edgar speaks of committing catalogue of sins from pride to lust, greed, drinking excessively, oath-breaking, being false-hearted and untrustworthy. He also tells us that the "fiend" is after him, a reference to his scheming villain of a brother Edmund. Edgar’s mad speech is ironic, because in his real past life he was the exact opposite to how he portrays himself here – noble, honest and innocent (as described by brother Edmund in Act 1, Scene 2).

His daughters seek his death. Ah, that good Kent!
He said it would be thus, poor banished man.
Thou sayest the King grows mad; I’ll tell thee, friend,
I am almost mad myself.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 3, Scene 4. Gloucester has come to warn that Lear’s daughters Regan and Goneril are plotting against their father’s life and saying that he is growing mad. This is something that "good Kent" said would happen, says Gloucester, not recognizing Kent in his peasant disguise of Caius. There is dramatic irony here as the audience knows Caius is Kent. Amid the current political upheaven, Gloucester remains loyal to Lear and risks his own life in aiding him.
says this to Kent. Gloucester compares his woes to those of Lear.

Out, vile jelly!

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 3, Scene 7. There is a thin line between civilization and savagery especially where people in power are concerned. That line is well and truly crossed here by the sadistic Duke of Cornwall. In this horrific torture scene Cornwall forces out Gloucester’s second eye, making him completely blind. To call Gloucester "vile" as he is doing this is highly ironic on the part of Cornwall, in view of his own despicable and wicked actions. The fuller quote here with stage direction is: "Lest it see more, prevent it. Out, vile jelly! [Forcing out Gloucester’s other eye.] Where is thy lustre now?" It is one of the most chilling lines in the whole of the Shakespeare canon of 39 dramatic works.

The lowest and most dejected thing of fortune,
Stands still in esperance, lives not in fear:
The lamentable change is from the best;
The worst returns to laughter.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 1. Edgar is at his lowest point so far in the play. But he is not going to despair. He reasons that the lowliest and most dejected creatures live without fear of things getting worse and still have hope. The worst kind of change is when good fortune turns bad, he believes. But when you hit rock bottom, the only change can be to happier times. There’s a lot of motivational and self-help wisdom here from Edgar as Poor Tom. However, there is also a dark irony to his words. For just as Edgar begins to hope, his mutilated father makes an entrance.

I have no way and therefore want no eyes.
I stumbled when I saw. Full oft ’tis seen,
Our means secure us and our mere defects
Prove our commodities. O dear son Edgar,
The food of thy abused father’s wrath!
Might I but live to see thee in my touch,
I’d say I had eyes again!

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 1. This reply by Gloucester to the Old Man who expressed concern that he will not be able to see his way is a beautiful piece of irony. Before Gloucester lost his eyes he was blind to the true nature of his children, trusting the scheming and treacherous Edmund over the honest and trustworthy Edgar. Now physically blind, he can see how wrong he was and has become more self-aware. Often having something makes us spoiled, and being deprived of it turns out to be advantageous, he says. The loss of his eyes is a metaphor for his mental blindness. There is a sad irony about Gloucester’s next words as he praises Edgar to Poor Tom (Edgar disguised) and repents for the "wrath" that he showed towards him.

How fearful
And dizzy ’tis to cast one’s eyes so low!
The crows and choughs that wing the midway air
Show scarce so gross as beetles; half way down
Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade!
Methinks he seems no bigger than his head:
The fishermen that walk upon the beach
Appear like mice, and yond tall anchoring bark
Diminished to her cock, her cock a buoy
Almost too small for sight. The murmuring surge
That on th’ unnumbered idle pebble chafes
Cannot be heard so high. I’ll look no more
Lest my brain turn and the deficient sight
Topple down headlong.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 6. Edgar pretends to the blind Gloucester that they are hiking up the cliffs of Dover, when they’re actually walking over flat ground. He goes to great pains to convey to his father that the fake cliff is the real thing. He uses words like "fearful" and "dizzy," tells him that the crows and choughs flying below look smaller than beatles, and describes the fishermen walking on the beach below appearing as tiny as mice. Edgar refers to many things in nature in his account of the imaginary cliff. He completes the word picture with descriptions of a tall ship at anchor and the crashing of waves against the rocks too far away to hear. There is much irony in the passage with Edgar’s repeated references to sight – "cast one’s eyes so low," "too small for sight" and "deficient sight." It makes for a rather comical scene, performed on a flat stage. But it’s one in which Edgar is able to use his suffering father’s blindness to convince him that he has jumped off an enormous cliff to commit suicide and is saved by a miracle, thus finding redemption.
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