She that herself will sliver and disbranch
From her material sap perforce must wither
And come to deadly use.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 4, Scene 2. In Albany’s comment about Goneril cutting herself off from father, he uses a metaphor comparing her to a branch that tries to tear itself from the tree that sustains it. He says that she will wither and come to a deadly end. This is foreshadowing that Goneril will destroy herself and others – in the next act she commits suicide by stabbing herself, having poisoned her sister Regan.