In the first scene of William Shakespeare's King Lear, the old king summons his three daughters to tell them he is to retire and wants to distribute his power among them. Before doing so, however, he wants some clear declaration some reassurance of their love and devotion.

Two of his daughters, Goneril and Regan, are quick to give him what he wants. Goneril declares: Sire, I love you more than words can wield the matter, dearer than eyesight, space and liberty, beyond what can be valued, rich or rare.

Cordelia, the third daughter and her father's favorite, is not so accommodating to her father's quest for a verbal assurance of love. She has nothing to say since, in her view, her relationship to her father, the king, already is obvious. I love your majesty according to my bond: no more, no less. Beyond that she could provide no flattering reassurance.

Furious at not getting the answer he wanted from his favorite child, Lear disowns Cordelia and divides his kingdom between the two daughters who gave him the easy, yet superficial, answer he sought.

Goneril and Regan, however, soon turn on their father, robbing him of his dignity. He goes mad, sick at heart over their deceit.

In the end it is Cordelia who returns to her father in his madness to live out the bond between them. Cordelia: the daughter who could make no false promises about her love and its constancy for the future, but who lived it most truly.