The phrase “We will all laugh at golden butterflies” is from William Shakespeare’s play “King Lear.” The word “gilded butterflies” refers to arrogant courtiers in the quote.

During the last scene of the play, as he and his daughter Cordelia are being carried to prison, King Lear states this in a speech. During this speech, King Lear imagines that he and his daughter will live in a birdcage together in the future. In this delusion, people are aware of world events yet are entirely unaffected by them.