Cordelia

Play

King Lear

Summary

Cordelia is Lear's youngest and most beloved daughter, who refuses to compete in the love-contest that opens the play — she can only say she loves her father "according to my bond; no more, no less." Her honest plainness earns her banishment. She marries the King of France and returns with a French army to rescue her father. Their brief reunion at the end of the play is one of Shakespeare's most moving reconciliations. Edmund orders her execution; she is hanged in prison before he can rescind the order, and her death — with Lear howling over her body — provides the play's final devastating blow.

Notable Quotations

"I love your majesty / According to my bond; no more, no less." *(I.1)*

"I cannot heave / My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty / According to my bond; no more, no less." *(I.1)*

"We are not the first / Who with best meaning have incurred the worst." *(V.3)*

"No cause, no cause." *(IV.7 — to Lear's plea for forgiveness)*

Cross-references

• King Lear — the play
• Tragedies
• character_lear — her father whom she forgives and tries to save
• character_kent — her loyal defender from the start
• character_the_fool — linked by Lear's final "my poor fool"