Fathers that wear rags
Do make their children blind,
But fathers that bear bags
Shall see their children kind.
Fortune, that arrant whore,
Ne’er turns the key to th’ poor.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 2, Scene 4. When Lear arrives at Gloucester’s palace he is shocked to find Kent placed in stocks by Lear’s daughter Regan and Cornwall. The wise Fool attributes the humiliation of the King’s messenger to Lear’s reversal in fortune. Using rhyme and metaphor he satirizes Lear’s act of folly in giving away "bags" of money to daughters Regan and Goneril. When fathers are poor and "wear rags" their children are blind to their needs, the Fool says. But if their fathers are rich, then the children are nice to them. Fortune is a fickle whore who never opens her door to the poor, the Fool warns. Lear is now "poor" after giving away his kingdom to Regan and Goneril.