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Quote 6 How, nothing will come of nothing. (I.i) Meaning- When Cordelia tells Lear that she can say “nothing” about her love for her father, this line is Lear’s response. His words are a warning to Cordelia—she must comply with her father’s demand for a flattering speech or risk losing her inheritance—but the line reverberates throughout the play. Lear essentially repeats it when he tells the Fool that “nothing can be made out of nothing” (I.iv), while the word “nothing” and other negatives (never, none etc.) come up over and over again. These repetitions reflect King Lear’s obsession with absences and loss. Lear’s declaration in the opening scene that “nothing will come of nothing” prepares the audience for a play that begins with an impulsive, senseless act and ends with no meaning, no hope and no redemption for its characters.