Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave / My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty / According to my bond; no more nor less.
-- Cordelia

Importance: Cordelia says these famous lines when her father is demanding that his daughters express how much they love him in order to receive land. Cordelia, who actually loves her father most, does not wish to cheapen her affections with petty flattery, so she honors her love for him by speaking about it plainly.

Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, / And my invention thrive, Edmund the base / Shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper. / Now, gods, stand up for bastards!
-- Edmund

Importance: This is the end of Edmund’s soliloquy to the audience in the moments before he puts his treacherous plan of betrayal into action. In this speech, Edmund expresses his desire not only to gain power from his father, but also to seek recognition in...