FOOL: [To Lear] Thou wast a pretty fellow when thou hadst no need to care for her frowning; now thou art an O without a figure: I am better than thou art now; I am a fool, thou art nothing.
[To GONERIL] Yes, forsooth, I will hold my tongue; so your face bids me, though you say nothing. Mum, mum, He that keeps nor crust nor crum, Weary of all, shall want some.
[Pointing to KING LEAR] That’s a shealed peascod.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. The Fool says that Lear is now "nothing" without his former power and crown, a zero, an empty peapod. Shakespeare explores the theme of nihilism here in the language used by the Fool in his social commentary. The word "nothing" is a symbol, conveying the idea of nothingness or emptiness.