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Quote 18 As much as child e’er loved, or father found, A love that makes breath poor and speech unable, Beyond all manner of so much I love you. (I.i) Meaning- King Lear opens with Lear’s demand that his daughters declare how much they love him: this line is Goneril’s response. If Lear’s demand makes us suspect that all is not well in the kingdom of Britain, Goneril’s reply confirms our suspicion. She claims that her love makes her “speech unable” in the middle of a long and complex speech. The audience (and Kent and Cordelia onstage) can see that Goneril’s declaration of love is insincere flattery. Lear’s inability to tell the difference between true feelings and flattery causes much of the play’s suffering, and King Lear continues to focus on the damage flattery can cause when a ruler is not wise enough to recognise it.