The lowest and most dejected thing of fortune,
Stands still in esperance, lives not in fear:
The lamentable change is from the best;
The worst returns to laughter.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 4, Scene 1. Edgar is at his lowest point so far in the play. But he is not going to despair. He reasons that the lowliest and most dejected creatures live without fear of things getting worse and still have hope. The worst kind of change is when good fortune turns bad, he believes. But when you hit rock bottom, the only change can be to happier times. There’s a lot of motivational and self-help wisdom here from Edgar as Poor Tom. However, there is also a dark irony to his words. For just as Edgar begins to hope, his mutilated father makes an entrance.