Vol. 08 · Shakespeare ·King Lear, Act I.iv ·Lear
"How sharper than a serpent's tooth is a thankless child."
Not quite the line.
How it's usually quoted
"How sharper than a serpent's tooth is a thankless child."
What Shakespeare actually wrote
"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is / To have a thankless child!" Lear — King Lear, Act I.iv
Why it matters
The subject is the experience ("to have"), not the child. Paraphrase makes ingratitude an attribute of the child; Shakespeare makes it a wound felt by the parent.
More from the canon.
Browse the rest of the shelf, or try a cold reading.