The Certainty of Nothing in King Lear

          In the first scene of King Lear, the King decides how much of his land to give to each of his daughters.  When his youngest, Cordelia, though held higher in his favour than her two sisters, responds with nothing, he is rightly confused.  However, his response to her is handled quite differently between the 1608 Quarto and the 1623 Folio.  The quarto version shows more confusion and uncertainty when the King responds “How! / Nothing can come of nothing” (I.i.78-79), as opposed to in the Folio, where he states simply “Nothing will come of nothing” (I.i.89).  Though the meanings of the two are very close, there is an important difference in the use of the word can versus will.  Can, though it is likely meant as a certainty in this context, illustrates more of a possibility than something that is bound to happen, depending on the emphasis when the line is spoken. By using the verb “will”, Lear has more control over the situation.  Ultimately, he is the one who decides what nothing will come to, and it is only a possibility, while in the first version it is stated as more of a fact of nature. 

          This is especially emphasized later in the play, when King Lear and his Fool discuss nothing.  It is a major theme throughout, as King Lear gives up his power, what defines him, and as his entourage is slowly diminished to nothing.  The decision between the two lines depends very much on the interpretation of Lear’s treatment of the concept of nothing, and how it affects him throughout the play.

          If we view Cordelia’s honesty with Lear as the first crack in his power, the Quarto version would be a better choice.  Nothing is the first thing Lear loses control of.  It also depends on whether the King’s decision to eliminate Cordelia from his favour, and thus the middle ground, was inevitable.  Later in the act, in scene four, the Quarto is more thorough about the effects of Lear giving up his land, as told through the Fool, who claims it was an unwise move, further emphasizing the nothing Lear now has.  At this point, has Lear not quite given up his power, but there’s no question that he’s already losing at it, and he has decided that he is going to give equal shares to Goneril and Regan, though he doesn’t yet know how much. 

          Lear’s certainty in the Folio of the effect of nothing, however, casts an interesting light on his later conversation with the Fool in both versions.  After Kent insists that the Fool’s riddling advice is nothing, Lear states with certainty “Nothing can be made out of nothing” (I.iv.129-130).  In the Quarto version, though the verb remains the same (can), it marks a change in certainty, since no change in emphasis can change what the line means.  He has, perhaps, at this point cemented his feelings in order to keep firm on his stance against Cordelia.

         Since his stance on nothing plays a large part in his fate in the play, choosing between these two lines is very difficult.  However, in a contemporary version of the play, I would choose the Folio version of the line because, though it dooms Lear more certainly to his fate from the start, he has at least remained firm on that account, his command of his own opinions intact, through the first act.