Gods, gods! ‘Tis strange that from their cold’st neglect
My love should kindle to enflamed respect. –
Thy dow’rless daughter, king, thrown to my chance,
Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. Every cloud has a silver lining. The King of France says that the gods in neglecting Cordelia so cruelly have fanned the flames of his love and respect for her. He declares that Lear’s dowerless daughter Cordelia is now queen of the French – making her a very powerful person in Europe.