William Shakespeare's "King Lear" offers a treasure trove of timeless wisdom and piercing insight into the human condition. This article delves into the rich fabric of quotes woven into this classic tragedy. With each of the ten subtitles, we explore a particular aspect of life reflected in the words of the play's characters. From themes of power, madness, and the raw nature of truth to the essence of love, betrayal, and redemption, each quote encapsulates a piece of the human soul. So, prepare for a journey through Lear's tragic story, where each word serves as a bridge to understanding our own lives.
Power and Ambition Quotes
"Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow!"
"When power to flattery bows?"
"The weight of this sad time we must obey."
"Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow!"
"Does anyone here know me? This is not Lear."
"Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well."
"I am a man more sinned against than sinning."
"Love's not love when it is mingled with regards."
"When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools."
"Our basest beggars are in the poorest things superfluous."
"The art of our necessities is strange."
"Humanity must perforce prey on itself, like monsters of the deep."
Madness and Wisdom Quotes
"That way madness lies; let me shun that."
"Reason in madness!"
"The body’s delicate; the tempest in my mind."
"Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise."
"I will be the pattern of all patience; I will say nothing."
"Ay, every inch a king!"
"The younger rises when the old doth fall."
"We wear out our garments; their enemies will weep surprise."
"Foolish honesty is praiseworthy simplicity."
"This is the excellent foppery of the world."
"I have no way, and therefore want no eyes."
"The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices make instruments to plague us."
Betrayal and Loyalty Quotes
"A knave...a rascal...a base, proud knave!"
"Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend."
"O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven!"
"This is not altogether fool, my lord."
"Blow, winds... rage, blow!"
"Winter’s not gone yet, if the wind bloweth."
"Give me an egg and I’ll give thee two crowns."
"Nothing will come of nothing."
"Keep thy foot out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets."
"Poor naked wretches, whereso'er you are."
"The wheel is come full circle."
"The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long that it had its head bit off by its young."
Nature and Chaos Quotes
"I am tied to the stake, and I must stand the course."
"The green fields, to court, doth fall down in meadows."
"Nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear'st."
"The wild winds of the wilderness, cold and sharp."
"The gods wear a frail glass vessel."
"I will have such revenges on you both, hell is empty, and all the devils are here."
"Humanity preys on itself."
"He that is giddy thinks the world turns round."
"O, reason not the need!"
"Draw yourselves up, kingly citizens."
"Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! Spout, rain!"
"Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed here?"
Love and Fragility Quotes
"I love your majesty according to my bond."
"My duty, my filial claim and your command."
"Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide."
"My love’s return progresses in the discouraged gaze."
"Unaccommodated man is no more than such a poor creature"
"Into her womb convey sterility."
"Suspend thy purpose if thou didst intend to make this creature fruitful."
"No eyes in your head than that young keep gentleman hath."
"The caring soul lies less to be feared."
"My love will show itself more rich."
"Lends the immortality of an eternal praise."
"Grant peace and happiness to thy discordant frame."
Fate and Death Quotes
"Men must endure their going hence."
"The wheel is come full circle."
"The gods know whatever goes unseen."
"Life and death, mixed in eternal occupation."
"So distribution should undo excess."
"In every enterprise, the end is destined."
"The star shines on the odious fate of thy path."
"Jesters do oft prove prophets."
"For all, here tend the laughs smiled vainly."
"Shall see the prostrated one."
"Nature does hourly mock where she designs to die."
"The gods are watching, ambushing each one’s destiny."
Truth and Lies Quotes
"Dost thou know me, fellow?"
"The art of our necessary honesty."
"Though nature offers the truth, mind denies."
"Thou art a boil, a plague-sore."
"Thou, nature, art my goddess."
"The taunting truth, disguised."
"This old heart is cracked, it’s weak, my destiny’s empty care."
"From the simple call of truth, our fate retreats."
"The simpler truth resides in sarcasm."
"For truths to them are new ideas formed."
"I am bound upon a wheel of fire."
"No cause, no cause."
Justice and Corruption Quotes
"Through tattered clothes small vices do appear."
"When we know lacking wisdom causes harm"
"Knaves, thieves, and treasons, surrounded."
"I remember what wealth lies in the honesty lost."
"The personal offence sky is a mended way beyond repair."
"The tapestry of justice sewn with strife unspooled."
"Those who pay bear the brighter clothes."
"Our basil plants bear herbs bloomed to satirical use."
"In the deep abyss, the justice dwells, unwatched."
"Justice, this moral high stands left undone."
"Justice bless our noble realm"
"For chastised folly, justice is delayed."
Ambition and Folly Quotes
"Why 'tis only folly this nature’s fall"
"We lack true faces as blind ambitions arise."
"Our sometime sister, now our queen."
"Hast the honesty,test the ripened poison in our garden."
"The majestic folly of this pressing desire composes."
"What means do you ungrateful knave?"
"The wheel is so through folly’s robe intermixed."
"Rise, foolish fool, and where you cry below your predecessor's ingenuity."
"My passionate king, see the ambitions you’ve enrolled."
"Focus lies in scoundrels'"
"Through ambition's gaze, folly cuts deep into thy soul."
"The follies lay witless in their lure."
Hope and Redemption Quotes
"O reason, not the need! Our basest beggars are in the poorest things."
"The art of necessity strains within hope tenacity."
"Sorrow watches those pushed to redemption's fringe."
"When the new dawn brings, there sprout a higher courage."
"In past errors, hope lends grace."
"The light doth fall somewhere invincible."
"Be blushful of hope, never the worthwhile redemption"
"Ignorance strengthened in folly leads to light unwelcome."
"Steadfastly light never flees, it guides."
"For hope and doubt lend redemption’s rescue."
"Grant my desire worth the higher me."
"The pain shall end in redemption, mine own hope redeemed."
Final words
In journeying through "King Lear's" tapestry of quotes, we find that Shakespeare's deep understanding of humanity's distinct and overlapping paths comes alive. Each subtitle of this article has taken us through illusions of power, the coldness of betrayal, the passionate yet tender nature of love, the unavoidable dance with fate, the telling lines drawn between truth and lies, and the earnest grasp of redemption born through weariness. The quotes reflect life's myriad energies, shedding light on both timeless flaws and boundless virtues of humankind. Thus, this piece stands not just as a tribute to the Bard’s genius but as a mirror held up to nature—a nature that withstood centuries of change to speak ever clearly to our modern souls.
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