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Quote 20 These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends Than twenty silly-ducking observants (II.ii) Meaning- Cornwall declares himself suspicious of Kent’s plain-talking style, pointing out that what seems to be plain speech can often be just as deceitful as flattery. King Lear is deeply concerned with flattery and the need for rulers to be able to recognise it. Cornwall’s argument suggests that spotting flattery is harder than it seems. Throughout King Lear, its characters cast doubt on the effectiveness of speech as a way of communicating. In this scene, Kent and Cornwall demonstrate that any attempt to communicate in a political setting is likely to be misinterpreted or to have the wrong effect.