Previous
Disintegration, Chaos, Nothingness
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in King Lear, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Originally, Lear wishes to free himself of the burdens of ruling his kingdom because he is aware of his old age and wishes to "crawl unburdened toward death" (1.1.42). As his choice of the verb "crawl" suggests, Lear has a sense that old age forces the individual to remember his or her animal aspect—that is, the fact that human beings, like animals, are subjected to the forces of physical nature and have physical needs.
Age as Goneril and Regan unkindly observe at various points, brings a kind of weakness with it. Regan mocks Lear: "O, sir, you are old […] You should be ruled and led/ By some discretion that discerns your state/ Better than you yourself" [2.4.165-9]. Yet, together with the father-child bond, the play also suggests at various points that age should command respect. The fact that Lear's daughters abuse him for being old makes their cruelty seem all the worse and also indicates that all they care about is power, without any thought for wisdom. Cornwall and Regan's brutality to Gloucester is similarly heightened by our awareness of his age—for instance, when Regan plucks Gloucester's white beard in 3.7.
Related Themes from Other Texts
Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme…
Old Age ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Old Age appears in each scene of King Lear. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
How often theme appears:
scene length:
Scene
Act 1, scene 1
1.1
Act 1, scene 2
1.2
Act 1, scene 3
1.3
Act 1, scene 4
1.4
Act 1, scene 5
1.5
Act 2, scene 1
2.1
Act 2, scene 2
2.2
Act 2, scene 3
2.3
Act 2, scene 4
2.4
Act 3, scene 1
3.1
Act 3, scene 2
3.2
Act 3, scene 3
3.3
Act 3, scene 4
3.4
Act 3, scene 5
3.5
Act 3, scene 6
3.6
Act 3, scene 7
3.7
Act 4, scene 1
4.1
Act 4, scene 2
4.2
Act 4, scene 3
4.3
Act 4, scene 4
4.4
Act 4, scene 5
4.5
Act 4, scene 6
4.6
Act 4, scene 7
4.7
Act 5, scene 1
5.1
Act 5, scene 2
5.2
Act 5, scene 3
5.3
Get the entire King Lear LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Old Age Quotes in King Lear
Below you will find the important quotes in King Lear related to the theme of Old Age.
Act 1, scene 1 Quotes
"Yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
As Scene One draws to a close, Regan and Goneril discuss their father’s dwindling mental capacities. Here, Regan comments that this is no new development, for Lear has historically lacked personal insight. This conversation predicts the way Regan and Goneril will deny their father’s authority and install themselves with increasing power over him. To do so, however, they must justify their actions not only to others but also to themselves. One of their main strategies to do so is to take aim at Lear’s old age—and to argue that he is unfit to rule or even make personal decisions. Here, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequa
Act 1, scene 3 Quotes
"Old fools are babes again."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
During Lear’s visit, Goneril becomes increasingly frustrated with her father. She complains about how elderly people regress to a stage of seeming infancy. This passage corroborates the selfish qualities of Goneril’s character. As with her earlier observations on Lear’s aging, these comments are highly uncharitable considering Lear’s generosity—and they explicitly conflict with the kind words Goneril offered at the onset of the tragedy. Shakespeare presents her character as deeply opportunistic, motivated only by self-advancement as opposed to genuine love. Her comment also clarifies the tragedy’s presentation of old age. Claiming that age makes men “babes again” defines a cyclical model Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debi
Act 1, scene 4 Quotes
"Thou hast pared thy wit o' both sides and left nothing in the middle."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
As Lear prepares to depart from Goneril’s palace, he is chastised by his Fool (the jester who attends to him, offering entertainment and often wisdom) for his irrational actions. The Fool claims that Lear has lost his mind. The Fool’s point is not direct, here, but rather conveyed through an odd image. That Lear has “pared thy wit o’ both sides” means that he has sliced or cut off his intelligence—so the Fool imagines “wit” as a physical object that can be cut. Symbolically, the “both sides” could represent Goneril and Regan, to whom Lear has apportioned each half of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut.
Act 2, scene 1 Quotes
"My old heart is cracked; it's cracked."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Edgar has now fled Gloucester’s castle, causing his father to become convinced that Edgar is indeed guilty. Gloucester bemoans the events and their effect on his emotions. That Gloucester draws attention to his “old heart” returns the text to the ever-present question of aging. He implies that the emotional pain is particularly damaging due to his age, for he has been abandoned by his son after having invested so deeply in their relationship. Having lost his heart, Gloucester begins to follow actions reminiscent of Lear’s: irrationally aiding his deceitful child and lashing out against the honest one. “Cracked” thus speaks Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusant
Act 2, scene 4 Quotes
"O sir, you are old.
Nature I you stands on the very verge
Of his confine."
Nature I you stands on the very verge
Of his confine."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Regan and Goneril argue with Lear about his behavior in their households. During the fight, Regan comments on his age and the way he approaches his mental and physical demise. Her accusation returns to the question of how insanity and elderliness interplay: Regan firmly contends that the decline of Lear’s mental capacities is responsible for his erratic behaviors. Here, she offers a somewhat new take on the issue when she brings in the ever-present image of “Nature.” Here, “Nature” signifies a wild realm beyond a human, rational range of understanding. That this force is “on the very verge of his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Re
Act 3, scene 6 Quotes
"All the power of his wits have given way to his impatience."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Kent reports to Gloucester on Lear’s continual descent into insanity. He unexpectedly blames that decline on Lear’s restlessness. This comment may catch the reader by surprise, considering that Lear’s behavior has been generally pegged to old age, anger, or illness. Kent, instead offers “his impatience” as the reason for Lear’s insanity, which seems to imply that Lear wishes to hasten some end. Perhaps Kent means an impatience for Lear’s daughters to serve him, which caused Lear to become increasingly frustrated to the point of insanity. Or perhaps “impatience” operates on a more metaphorical level—meaning an impatience for mental clarity or Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesc
Act 4, scene 6 Quotes
"Gloucester: Oh let me kiss that hand!
Lear: Let me wipe it first; it smells of mortality."
Lear: Let me wipe it first; it smells of mortality."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
After Gloucester has survived his fake-suicide, Lear enters the scene. Gloucester asks to greet him royally, but the mad Lear rejects the offer due to an irrational comment on his impending death. Shakespeare places in conversation here two figures who are crippled from proper communication: Gloucester and Lear have both been driven to different forms of disability, with the first being blind and the second being insane. Yet he cleverly inverts their roles in this moment of mis-recognition: this inversion comes through in the way that Gloucester is blind, yet he is able to recognize Lear and thus asks to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae.
Act 5, scene 3 Quotes
"No, no, no, no. Come, let's away to prison.
We two alone will sing like birds in the cage."
We two alone will sing like birds in the cage."
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Lear and Cordelia are sentenced to prison, Cordelia wonders if they could find a way out of their fate. Lear instead chooses to idealize their time in prison. To do so, he uses the provocative image of "birds in the cage." Lear romanticizes the experience of prison not as one that restricts freedom but as a way for him and Cordelia to be safe from external harm. They would be birds singing--performing enjoyable melodies instead of unhappily bemoaning their fate. Lear's earlier insistence that humans are no more special than wild beasts clarifies that he would see no particular Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusanti
