Vol. 08 · Shakespeare ·King Lear, Act V.iii ·Lear
"Never, never, never again."
Not quite the line.
How it's usually quoted
"Never, never, never again."
What Shakespeare actually wrote
"Never, never, never, never, never." Lear — King Lear, Act V.iii
Why it matters
Lear says "never" five times over Cordelia's corpse — one for each beat of iambic pentameter. Paraphrase reduces the repetition to three and adds "again," softening the finality.
More from the canon.
Browse the rest of the shelf, or try a cold reading.