Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia,
The gods themselves throw incense. Have I caught thee?
He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven,
And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes;
The good-years shall devour them, flesh and fell,
Ere they shall make us weep: we’ll see ’em starve first.
Come.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 5, Scene 3. From their prison cell after being captured by Edmund, Lear sees the goodness of Cordelia and recognizes his love for her even in the midst of the evil around them. In a bid to cheer Cordelia up, Lear makes an ironic promise to her. Lear says that anyone who wants to separate them will have to use fire to smoke them out like foxes. Since a fox hunt usually ends with the fox being killed by the hunter, this foreshadows the death of Cordelia, who will soon be hung in prison, and also of Lear who essentially dies of a broken heart.