O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work
To match thy goodness? My life will be too short,
And every measure fail me.
O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work To match thy goodness? My life will be too short, And every measure fail me.
O thou good Kent, how shall I live and work To match thy goodness? My life will be too short, And every measure fail me.
O thou good Kent, how shall I live and w
To be acknowledg’d, madam, is o’erpaid.
All my reports go with the modest truth;
Nor more, nor clipp’d, but so.
To be acknowledg’d, madam, is o’erpaid. All my reports go with the modest truth; Nor more, nor clipp’d, but so.
To be acknowledg’d, madam, is o’erpaid. All my reports go with the modest truth; Nor more, nor clipp’d, but so.
To be acknowledg’d, madam, is o’erpaid.
Be better suited,
These weeds are memories of those worser hours:
I prithee put them off.
Be better suited, These weeds are memories of those worser hours: I prithee put them off.
Be better suited, These weeds are memories of those worser hours: I prithee put them off.
Be better suited, These weeds are memori
Pardon, dear madam;
Yet to be known shortens my made intent.
My boon I make it that you know me not
Till time and I think meet.
Pardon, dear madam; Yet to be known shortens my made intent. My boon I make it that you know me not Till time and I think meet.
Pardon, dear madam; Yet to be known shortens my made intent. My boon I make it that you know me not Till time and I think meet.
Pardon, dear madam; Yet to be known shor
Then be’t so, my good lord. [_To the Physician._] How does the King?
Then be’t so, my good lord. [_To the Physician._] How does the King?
Then be’t so, my good lord. [_To the Physician._] How does the King?
Then be’t so, my good lord. [_To the Phy
Madam, sleeps still.
Madam, sleeps still.
Madam, sleeps still.
Madam, sleeps still.
O you kind gods,
Cure this great breach in his abused nature!
The untun’d and jarring senses, O, wind up
Of this child-changed father.
O you kind gods, Cure this great breach in his abused nature! The untun’d and jarring senses, O, wind up Of this child-changed father.
O you kind gods, Cure this great breach in his abused nature! The untun’d and jarring senses, O, wind up Of this child-changed father.
O you kind gods, Cure this great breach
So please your majesty
That we may wake the King: he hath slept long.
So please your majesty That we may wake the King: he hath slept long.
So please your majesty That we may wake the King: he hath slept long.
So please your majesty That we may wake
Cordelia's 'No cause, no cause' is the most analyzed brief phrase in King Lear, and for good reason: it compresses an entire philosophical position about love and debt. The conventional structure of forgiveness involves acknowledgment of wrong, expression of regret, and an act of pardon that releases the debt. Lear offers the first two: he knows what he did ('your sisters have done me wrong: you have some cause'), and he has expressed regret throughout Act 4. Cordelia skips the pardon entirely. She does not say 'I forgive you' — which would confirm the existence of a debt and the significance of the release. She says there is no cause: the framework of debt and credit does not apply to her love. This is either sainthood or a kind of absolute love that has no human equivalent, or both. The scene does not sentimentalize it — the Doctor warns that Lear is still fragile, the war is still coming — but it insists on the reality of the moment.
Be govern’d by your knowledge, and proceed
I’ the sway of your own will. Is he array’d?
Be govern’d by your knowledge, and proceed I’ the sway of your own will. Is he array’d?
Be govern’d by your knowledge, and proceed I’ the sway of your own will. Is he array’d?
Be govern’d by your knowledge, and proce
Ay, madam. In the heaviness of sleep
We put fresh garments on him.
Be by, good madam, when we do awake him;
I doubt not of his temperance.
Ay, madam. In the heaviness of sleep We put fresh garments on him. Be by, good madam, when we do awake him; I doubt not of his temperance.
Ay, madam. In the heaviness of sleep We put fresh garments on him. Be by, good madam, when we do awake him; I doubt not of his temperance.
Ay, madam. In the heaviness of sleep We
Very well.
Very well.
Very well.
Very well.
Please you draw near. Louder the music there!
Please you draw near. Louder the music there!
Please you draw near. Louder the music there!
Please you draw near. Louder the music t
O my dear father! Restoration hang
Thy medicine on my lips; and let this kiss
Repair those violent harms that my two sisters
Have in thy reverence made!
O my dear father! Restoration hang Thy medicine on my lips; and let this kiss Repair those violent harms that my two sisters Have in thy reverence made!
O my dear father! Restoration hang Thy medicine on my lips; and let this kiss Repair those violent harms that my two sisters Have in thy reverence made!
O my dear father! Restoration hang Thy m
Kind and dear princess!
Kind and dear princess!
Kind and dear princess!
Kind and dear princess!
Had you not been their father, these white flakes
Did challenge pity of them. Was this a face
To be oppos’d against the warring winds?
To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder?
In the most terrible and nimble stroke
Of quick cross lightning? to watch, poor perdu!
With this thin helm? Mine enemy’s dog,
Though he had bit me, should have stood that night
Against my fire; and wast thou fain, poor father,
To hovel thee with swine and rogues forlorn
In short and musty straw? Alack, alack!
’Tis wonder that thy life and wits at once
Had not concluded all. He wakes; speak to him.
Had you not been their father, these white flakes Did challenge pity of them. Was this a face To be oppos’d against the warring winds? To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder? In the most terrible and nimble stroke Of quick cross lightning? to watch, poor perdu! With this thin helm? Mine enem
Had you not been their father, these white flakes Did challenge pity of them. Was this a face To be oppos’d against the warring winds? To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder? In the most terrible and nimble stroke Of quick cross lightning? to watch, poor perdu! With this thin helm? Mine enem
Had you not been their father, these whi
Madam, do you; ’tis fittest.
Madam, do you; ’tis fittest.
Madam, do you; ’tis fittest.
Madam, do you; ’tis fittest.
How does my royal lord? How fares your majesty?
How does my royal lord? How fares your majesty?
How does my royal lord? How fares your majesty?
How does my royal lord? How fares your m
You do me wrong to take me out o’ the grave.
Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound
Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears
Do scald like molten lead.
You do me wrong to take me out o’ the grave. Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears Do scald like molten lead.
You do me wrong to take me out o’ the grave. Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears Do scald like molten lead.
You do me wrong to take me out o’ the gr
Sir, do you know me?
Sir, do you know me?
Sir, do you know me?
Sir, do you know me?
You are a spirit, I know: when did you die?
You are a spirit, I know: when did you die?
You are a spirit, I know: when did you die?
You are a spirit, I know: when did you d
The Doctor appears briefly but significantly in Acts 4-4 and 4-7. In an era without psychiatry, he is the play's closest approximation of a therapeutic figure: he prescribes sleep, he manages the awakening scene, he warns against overwhelming Lear with the full truth of what happened. His advice — 'trouble him no more till further settling' — acknowledges that recovery is fragile, that the reunion cannot simply repair everything. Shakespeare's handling of Lear's madness is unusually precise: it has a cause (grief, exposure, despair), a treatment (sleep, gentle music, familiar faces), and a trajectory (improvement with risk of relapse). The Doctor's caution keeps the scene from being the simple resolution it might otherwise appear to be. Lear is better, not healed. The battle is still to come.
Still, still, far wide!
Still, still, far wide!
Still, still, far wide!
Still, still, far wide!
He’s scarce awake: let him alone awhile.
He’s scarce awake: let him alone awhile.
He’s scarce awake: let him alone awhile.
He’s scarce awake: let him alone awhile.
Where have I been? Where am I? Fair daylight?
I am mightily abus’d. I should e’en die with pity,
To see another thus. I know not what to say.
I will not swear these are my hands: let’s see;
I feel this pin prick. Would I were assur’d
Of my condition!
Where have I been? Where am I? Fair daylight? I am mightily abus’d. I should e’en die with pity, To see another thus. I know not what to say. I will not swear these are my hands: let’s see; I feel this pin prick. Would I were assur’d Of my condition!
Where have I been? Where am I? Fair daylight? I am mightily abus’d. I should e’en die with pity, To see another thus. I know not what to say. I will not swear these are my hands: let’s see; I feel this pin prick. Would I were assur’d Of my condition!
Where have I been? Where am I? Fair dayl
O, look upon me, sir,
And hold your hands in benediction o’er me.
No, sir, you must not kneel.
O, look upon me, sir, And hold your hands in benediction o’er me. No, sir, you must not kneel.
O, look upon me, sir, And hold your hands in benediction o’er me. No, sir, you must not kneel.
O, look upon me, sir, And hold your hand
Pray, do not mock me:
I am a very foolish fond old man,
Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less;
And to deal plainly,
I fear I am not in my perfect mind.
Methinks I should know you, and know this man;
Yet I am doubtful: for I am mainly ignorant
What place this is; and all the skill I have
Remembers not these garments; nor I know not
Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me;
For, as I am a man, I think this lady
To be my child Cordelia.
Pray, do not mock me: I am a very foolish fond old man, Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less; And to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind. Methinks I should know you, and know this man; Yet I am doubtful: for I am mainly ignorant What place this is; and all the skill I have Re
Pray, do not mock me: I am a very foolish fond old man, Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less; And to deal plainly, I fear I am not in my perfect mind. Methinks I should know you, and know this man; Yet I am doubtful: for I am mainly ignorant What place this is; and all the skill I have Re
Pray, do not mock me: I am a very foolis
And so I am. I am.
And so I am. I am.
And so I am. I am.
And so I am. I am.
Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray weep not:
If you have poison for me, I will drink it.
I know you do not love me; for your sisters
Have, as I do remember, done me wrong.
You have some cause, they have not.
Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray weep not: If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me; for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me wrong. You have some cause, they have not.
Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray weep not: If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love me; for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me wrong. You have some cause, they have not.
Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray we
No cause, no cause.
No cause, no cause.
No cause, no cause.
No cause, no cause.
Am I in France?
Am I in France?
Am I in France?
Am I in France?
In your own kingdom, sir.
In your own kingdom, sir.
In your own kingdom, sir.
In your own kingdom, sir.
Do not abuse me.
Do not abuse me.
Do not abuse me.
Do not abuse me.
Be comforted, good madam, the great rage,
You see, is kill’d in him: and yet it is danger
To make him even o’er the time he has lost.
Desire him to go in; trouble him no more
Till further settling.
Be comforted, good madam, the great rage, You see, is kill’d in him: and yet it is danger To make him even o’er the time he has lost. Desire him to go in; trouble him no more Till further settling.
Be comforted, good madam, the great rage, You see, is kill’d in him: and yet it is danger To make him even o’er the time he has lost. Desire him to go in; trouble him no more Till further settling.
Be comforted, good madam, the great rage
After the visual and verbal extravagance of the storm scenes, the mad trial, the blinding, the cliff scene, and the mad speeches of 4-6, scene 4-7 is almost entirely bare. Two people, a tent, music. The language is stripped: 'And so I am, I am.' 'No cause, no cause.' 'I am old and foolish.' The simplicity is the point. The play has used enormously elaborate theatrical and poetic means to strip everything away, and what is left at the bottom is this: a father, a daughter, short sentences, real tears. The structural contrast is as deliberate as anything in the play. Shakespeare has earned the plainness.
Will’t please your highness walk?
Will’t please your highness walk?
Will’t please your highness walk?
Will’t please your highness walk?
You must bear with me:
Pray you now, forget and forgive: I am old and foolish.
You must bear with me: Pray you now, forget and forgive: I am old and foolish.
You must bear with me: Pray you now, forget and forgive: I am old and foolish.
You must bear with me: Pray you now, for
Holds it true, sir, that the Duke of Cornwall was so slain?
Holds it true, sir, that the Duke of Cornwall was so slain?
Holds it true, sir, that the Duke of Cornwall was so slain?
Holds it true, sir, that the Duke of Cor
Most certain, sir.
Most certain, sir.
Most certain, sir.
Most certain, sir.
Who is conductor of his people?
Who is conductor of his people?
Who is conductor of his people?
Who is conductor of his people?
As ’tis said, the bastard son of Gloucester.
As ’tis said, the bastard son of Gloucester.
As ’tis said, the bastard son of Gloucester.
As ’tis said, the bastard son of Glouces
They say Edgar, his banished son, is with the Earl of Kent
in Germany.
They say Edgar, his banished son, is with the Earl of Kent in Germany.
They say Edgar, his banished son, is with the Earl of Kent in Germany.
They say Edgar, his banished son, is wit
Report is changeable. ’Tis time to look about; the powers of
the kingdom approach apace.
Report is changeable. ’Tis time to look about; the powers of the kingdom approach apace.
Report is changeable. ’Tis time to look about; the powers of the kingdom approach apace.
Report is changeable. ’Tis time to look
The arbitrement is like to be bloody.
Fare you well, sir.
The arbitrement is like to be bloody. Fare you well, sir.
The arbitrement is like to be bloody. Fare you well, sir.
The arbitrement is like to be bloody. Fa
My point and period will be throughly wrought,
Or well or ill, as this day’s battle’s fought.
My point and period will be throughly wrought, Or well or ill, as this day’s battle’s fought.
My point and period will be throughly wrought, Or well or ill, as this day’s battle’s fought.
My point and period will be throughly wr
The Reckoning
One of the most devastating scenes of forgiveness in all of literature. Lear has been cleaned, clothed, sedated, and brought to himself. He wakes into music, into a face he cannot quite believe is real. His first instinct is that he must have died: 'You do me wrong to take me out o' the grave.' Then the gradual recognition — 'Do not laugh at me; / For, as I am a man, I think this lady / To be my child Cordelia.' And she confirms it: 'And so I am, I am.' Then his acknowledgment: 'I know you do not love me; for your sisters have, as I do remember, done me wrong: you have some cause, they have not.' And her response — the most devastating three words in the play: 'No cause, no cause.' She does not assign cause. She does not account for or excuse or forgive. She simply removes cause from the ledger entirely. The scene is the play's counter-argument to everything that has happened. Against the cosmic indifference of 'flies to wanton boys,' against the blinding, against the storm — this: a father and a daughter, awake together in a tent, the words as simple as anything in English.
If this happened today…
Someone wakes up in a hospital room after being found in terrible condition. They don't know where they are. They see a face they thought they'd never see again — a child they treated badly, who they assumed would never come. They say: 'I know you have every reason to hate me.' And the person says, simply: 'No.' Not 'I forgive you.' Not 'it's fine.' Just: no. No cause. The ledger isn't the right instrument.