King Lear Loyalty Quotes

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.
Why have my sisters husbands if they say
They love you all? Haply, when I shall wed,
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty.
Sure I shall never marry like my sisters,
To love my father all.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Cordelia speaks candidly here about her loyalty and bond to Lear. She says that Lear fathered, raised and loved her, and in return she will obey, love and honor him. But hopefully when she gets married, she will give half her love and duty to her husband. She questions how her married sisters can claim to love their father only when they have husbands to love. She is suggesting that Regan and Goneril are being disloyal to their husbands. Cordelia vows that she will never marry like them to "love my father all" and leave no love for her husband.

LEAR: The bow is bent and drawn. Make from the shaft.
KENT: Let it fall rather, though the fork invade
The region of my heart.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Using a bent bow and shaft as a metaphor to warn off Kent from challenging his decision to banish Cordelia, Lear tells the Earl that he is angry and ready to snap. Kent replies that Lear should let his anger fall on him even if its sharpness pierces his heart. Kent, as always, tries to be Lear’s honest and loyal adviser.

LEAR: Kent, on thy life, no more.
KENT: My life I never held but as a pawn
To wage against thy enemies; nor fear to lose it,
Thy safety being the motive.
LEAR: Out of my sight!

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Kent says that he has never valued his own life except as a pawn (metaphor) Lear could use against his enemies. He pledges that he would protect Lear with his life. But Kent’s protest at Lear’s disowning of Cordelia falls on deaf ears due to Lear’s obstinate pride and failure to see reality. Lear tells the honest and devoted Kent to shut up and get out of his sight. In yet another act of blind folly Lear banishes his most loyal servant and selfless advisor.

See better, Lear, and let me still remain
The true blank of thine eye.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. After told to get out of his sight by Lear for standing up for Cordelia and speaking the truth, Kent urges Lear to see better, since the King has been blinded by stubborness and pride. The loyal Kent also appeals to Lear to allow him to remain where he can look to him for honest advice. Kent’s metaphor of a "blank" – meaning the center of a target – asks us to imagine a weapon aimed at an eye, so this is foreshadowing of Gloucester’s blinding.

Five days we do allot thee for provision
To shield thee from disasters of the world,
And on the sixth to turn thy hated back
Upon our kingdom. If on the tenth day following
Thy banished trunk be found in our dominions,
The moment is thy death.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Lear shows great disloyalty to his devoted and loyal courtier Kent by banishing him from the kingdom under pain of death. The King is so blinded by his own pride that he cannot see Kent’s true qualities. Kent pays dearly for his outspoken protest, as Lear gives him five days to gather provisions to shield him from the "disasters of the world." But as he shuts the gates on Kent, Lear fails to see own homelessness coming, even though his words to Kent foreshadow it.

Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.
Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmund
As to th’ legitimate. Fine word, "legitimate."
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top th’ legitimate. I grow, I prosper.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 2. The Machiavellian Edmund has a lot in common with Lear’s villainous daughters Goneril and Regan – the capacity for duplicity! While the sisters fool Lear with deceptive expressions of love, Edmund forges a letter to trick his father the Earl of Gloucester and falsely accuse his innocent abrother Edgar. Edmund notes that his father loves him as much as his legitimate son, but he is unhappy that as a bastard he stands to inherit nothing. However, Edmund pledges that through his scheme to discredit his brother he will enjoy prosperity, triumph over the honest Edgar and take his inheritance. Edmund feels no loyalty to his family and believes he is entitled to the Gloucester wealth and title.

I beseech you, sir, pardon me. It is a letter from my brother, that I have not all o’er-read; and for so much as I have perused, I find it not fit for your o’er-looking.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 2. Edmund sets out to deceive Gloucester by pretending to hide a letter that he claims is from his brother Edgar. Gloucester’s curiosity is around, he takes the bait, and demands to see the letter. It is actually written by Edmund to incriminate Edgar. Edmund pretends to have conflicting loyalties his brother and father, when he puts on a show of first hiding the letter, then letting Gloucester discover it. But he is loyal to neither.

If but as well I other accents borrow
That can my speech diffuse, my good intent
May carry through itself to that full issue
For which I razed my likeness. Now, banished Kent,
If thou canst serve where thou dost stand condemned,
So may it come thy master, whom thou lov’st,
Shall find thee full of labours.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. Kent is no longer servant to his beloved Lear, as he’s been banished, so he comes up with the extraordinary idea of disguising himself as "Caius" so he can still serve his King. The ever loyal Kent still loves his master and believes that if he can disguise his voice as well as his appearance his plan will work perfectly.

LEAR: What art thou?
KENT: A very honest-hearted fellow, and as poor as the King.
LEAR: If thou be’st as poor for a subject as he is for a king, thou art poor enough. What wouldst thou?
KENT: Service.
LEAR: Who wouldst thou serve?
KENT: You.
LEAR: Dost thou know me, fellow?
KENT: No, sir, but you have that in your countenance which I would fain call master.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. After Lear banishes his devoted servant Kent, the Earl finds an inventive way to get back into employment in the service of Lear, when he disguises himself as "Caius."

That sir which serves and seeks for gain,
And follows but for form,
Will pack when it begins to rain
And leave thee in the storm.
But I will tarry; the Fool will stay,
And let the wise man fly.
The knave turns fool that runs away;
The Fool no knave, perdie.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 2, Scene 4. The Fool in this song uses a metaphor from nature, about rain and storm, to convey his loyalty to Lear. He is also foreshadowing the metaphorical storm to follow. He tells Kent that the person who serves for profit and puts on the appearance of loyalty will take off when it starts to rain and leave him in the storm. But the Fool will stay and let the wise man flee. The scoundrel who runs away is a fool, but this fool is no scoundrel, says the Fool.

Go to; say you nothing. There is division between the dukes, and a worse matter than that. I have received a letter this night; ’tis dangerous to be spoken; I have locked the letter in my closet. These injuries the King now bears will be revenged home; there’s part of a power already footed. We must incline to the king. I will look him, and privily relieve him. Go you and maintain talk with the Duke, that my charity be not of him perceived. If he ask for me. I am ill, and gone to bed. If I die for it, as no less is threatened me, the king my old master must be relieved.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 3, Scene 3. Gloucester, a loyal supporter of King Lear, plans to secretly help him. Aware of the strife between the Dukes of Cornwall and Albany, Gloucester has received a letter which promises revenge against those who have hurt the King. He also knows that a French force has landed in Dover to aid Lear. Unfortunately Gloucester confides all to his treacherous half-son Edmund, failing to see him for the schemer he is.

This courtesy forbid thee shall the Duke
Instantly know, and of that letter too.
This seems a fair deserving, and must draw me
That which my father loses – no less than all.
The younger rises when the old doth fall.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 3, Scene 3. The evil Edmund’s true colors really come out here when he decides to betray his father Gloucester for political gain, after learning that he is helping King Lear against the wishes of the Duke of Cornwall. A backstabber, opportunist and selfish individual, who is willing to do anything to achieve his goals, the only loyalty Edmund knows is to himself and his self-interest. He also places no value on family. The amoral destructiveness of Edmund in plotting his the downfall of his father, after having his brother Edgar falsely accused of a murder conspiracy, shows how much of a nihilistic character he is.

Prithee, go in thyself. Seek thine own ease.
This tempest will not give me leave to ponder
On things would hurt me more. But I’ll go in. –
In, boy; go first. – You houseless poverty –
Nay, get thee in. I’ll pray, and then I’ll sleep.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 3, Scene 4. When Kent suggests to Lear to take shelter in the hovel, Lear shows some compassion and consideration for others by his response. He tells Kent and the Fool to take shelter first, saying that he wishes to stay out in the storm to pray and then sleep. Lear’s courteous words to his loyal Fool "In, boy; go first," not only shows a more caring and faithful side, but marks a turning point in Lear’s attitude to the plight of others; the poor, the homeless and the marginalized.

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.

CORNWALL: See ‘t shalt thou never. – Fellows, hold the chair. –
Upon these eyes of thine I’ll set my foot.
GLOUCESTER: He that will think to live till he be old,
Give me some help!
[As Servants hold the chair, Cornwall forces out one of Gloucester’s eyes.]
O cruel! O you gods!
REGAN: One side will mock another. Th’ other too.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 3, Scene 7. In a particularly brutal scene Cornwall blinds Gloucester, whom he has branded a "traitor" – his betrayal being his support for and loyalty to King Lear. When Cornwall physically plucks out one of Gloucester’s eyes, Regan calls on him to pull the other one out too.

GONERIL: Now, where’s your master?
OSWALD: Madam, within, but never man so changed.
I told him of the army that was landed;
He smiled at it. I told him you were coming;
His answer was "The worse." Of Gloucester’s treachery
And of the loyal service of his son
When I informed him, then he called me "sot"
And told me I had turned the wrong side out.
What most he should dislike seems pleasant to him;
What like, offensive.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 2. When Goneril returns to her palace, Oswald tells her that Albany has changed. It appears that his eyes are now opened to Goneril’s villainy. Oswald says that Albany is happy the French army has landed, but not happy to know he is seeing Goneril again. When Oswald tells him of Gloucester’s "treachery" and Edmund’s "loyal service," Albany brands Goneril’s self-seeking steward a "sot" and "turned the wrong side out."

All blest secrets,
All you unpublished virtues of the earth,
Spring with my tears. Be aidant and remediate
In the good man’s distress. Seek, seek for him,
Lest his ungoverned rage dissolve the life
That wants the means to lead it.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 4. Cordelia calls on the power of nature with its healing herbs and plants to help heal Lear’s madness. She has come a long way from her last appearance in the first act, when she was disinherited and banished by her father. She is now Queen of France with a great army behind her. But as Lear’s one truly loyal and loving daughter, what she is most concerned about is her father’s health and restoring his sanity.

O dear father,
It is thy business that I go about.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 4, Scene 4. Following her banishment by King Lear, Cordelia returns to England at the head of an invading French army. But her words make it clear that she is not coming back to seek revenge or to conquer Britain, but rather to rescue Lear, whom she still loves and is loyal to despite his cruelty towards her. Cordelia’s saint-like qualities are also suggested by this passage, which echoes the words of Christ in Luke 2:49 – "I must go about my Father’s business."

LEAR: This is a dull sight. Are you not Kent?
KENT: The same,
Your servant Kent. Where is your servant Caius?
LEAR: He’s a good fellow, I can tell you that.
He’ll strike, and quickly too. He’s dead and rotten.
KENT: No, my good lord, I am the very man –
LEAR: I’ll see that straight.
KENT: That, from your first of difference and decay
Have followed your sad steps.
LEAR: You are welcome hither.
KENT: Nor no man else. All’s cheerless, dark, and deadly.
Your eldest daughters have fordone themselves,
And desperately are dead.
LEAR: Ay, so I think.
ALBANY: He knows not what he says, and vain it is
That we present us to him.
EDGAR: Very bootless.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 5, Scene 3. The ever loyal Kent who is disguised as the servant Caius finally reveals his true identity to Lear. But Lear who is slipping in and out of sanity hardly recognizes his most loyal subject. He doesn’t understand that Kent and Caius are the same person. Kent tells him that Regan and Goneril are dead, but Lear is not really taking it in. Albany’s comments sum up Lear’s deteriorating situation, that he doesn’t know what he is saying and it’s useless to try to explain it to him. Edgar confirms this. It’s a very poignant moment, because Kent has given so much in service and support to his master and in the end receives no appreciation or reward for it.

That’s but a trifle here. –
You lords and noble friends, know our intent:
What comfort to this great decay may come
Shall be applied. For us, we will resign,
During the life of this old Majesty,
To him our absolute power; you to your rights,
With boot and such addition as your Honours
Have more than merited.

– William Shakespeare

King Lear, Act 5, Scene 3. Albany’s speech is sparked by a messenger entering and announcing that Edmund is dead. Albany treats his death as if it is of no consequence – "a trifle." As sole remaining ruler in the kingdom after the battle between Cordelia’s army and the combined armies of Albany and Edmund, Albany is more concerned with restoring power to the rightful people. He shows his loyalty to King Lear by giving the monarch "absolute power" – even though moments earlier Albany observed the old King’s deteriorated mental state, "He knows not what he says, and vain it is That we present us to him." And he restores Edgar’s and Kent’s positions and titles to them, along with extra rewards that he says they have more than earned – "With boot, and such addition as your honours Have more than merited."
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