Kent
Play
Summary
Kent is Lear's most devoted earl, banished in the opening scene for bluntly defending Cordelia and speaking truth to the king. He immediately returns in disguise as the servant "Caius" to continue serving Lear through every catastrophe, enduring the stocks, the storm, and the final ruin. His relentless fidelity — plain-spoken, unglamorous, absolute — makes him one of Shakespeare's great embodiments of loyal service.
Notable Quotations
"I'll tell thee thou dost evil." *(I.1)*
"I do profess to be no less than I seem; to serve him truly that will put me in trust; to love him that is honest; to converse with him that is wise and says little." *(I.4)*
"A good man's fortune may grow out at heels." *(II.2)*
"Is this the promised end?" *(V.3)*