UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE: King Lear

Robert A. Albano
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First Printing: February 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 5 ACT I.......................................................................... 15 ACT II ....................................................................... 63 ACT III ...................................................................... 85 ACT IV .................................................................... 109 ACT V....................................................................... 131 FINAL REMARKS ................................................... 147 COMMENTS FROM THE CRITICS .......................159 APPENDIX A.......................................................... 163 APPENDIX B .......................................................... 169 APPENDIX C ........................................................... 175

Books by Robert A. Albano Middle English Historiography Lectures on Early English Literature Lectures on British Neoclassic Literature Understanding Shakespeare's Tragedies Understanding the Poetry of William Wordsworth Understanding Shakespeare (series) 1. The Sonnets 2. Henry IV, Part I 3. Hamlet 4. Macbeth 5. Othello 6. Julius Caesar 7. Antony and Cleopatra 8. Much Ado about Nothing 9. A Midsummer Nights Dream 10. Twelfth Night 11. King Lear

NOTE: All act and scene divisions and lines numbers referred to in this text are consistent with those found in The Norton Shakespeare (Stephen Greenblatt, editor).

INTRODUCTION In the first scene of King Lear, the King warns the Earl of Kent to come not between the dragon and his wrath. King Lear is referring to himself as the dragon, and his wrath is both extensive and dangerous. Although it would be a gross oversimplification to state that the play of Lear is about wrath, that powerful emotion is the catalyst that sets all of the events in motion. Wrath is the source spring of the plot. During the Middle Ages wrath was viewed as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Each of these sins (pride, lust, gluttony, sloth, wrath, envy, and greed) is actually a strong and powerful emotional state that could cause an individual to lose control and commit one of the Mortal Sins (the breaking of any of the Ten Commandments): lust could lead to adultery, wrath could lead to murder, and so on. The Mortal Sins were called by that expression because, by breaking one of the commandments, a person risked losing his immortal soul: his soul could be damned to hell. The soul, in a manner of speaking, then, would be dead. The Deadly Sins were deadly in the sense that they were deadly dangerous and could compel a person to further action that would result in the death of the soul. Every play that William Shakespeare ever wrote concerns the emotional state of mankind. Macbeth revolves around ambition and pride, Othello concerns jealousy, and Hamlet involves melancholy and indecision. Man is an emotional creature; and his emotions are, more often than not, the source (or, at the very least, the stimulator) of many of his
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problems and anxieties. If man were a totally rational creature who always made his decisions based on what is reasonable and best, there would be very few conflicts in the world and there would not be any Shakespeare plays. Shakespeare realized that mans natural state is one of a constant struggle between reason and emotion. And the conflict of Reason vs. Emotion is one that appears in every Shakespeare play. During the Middle Ages the Catholic Church recognized that this conflict is a natural and ongoing condition of mankind, but the Church leaders believed that Reason was the more powerful of the two. They believed that all men and women were capable of controlling their emotions with the proper application of reason. Reason was a gift from God, they believed; and it provides all people with the ability to control their emotions and resist temptation. The religious view concerning Reason and Emotion continued to assert itself into Renaissance England, and the Church of England asserted the supremacy of Reason over Emotion as much as the Catholics did. Shakespeare did not agree with these church leaders. In situations where the temptations are not very great or when the emotions are not very intense, Shakespeare would have acknowledged that reason can then prevail. However, there come occasions in just about every persons life when the emotion is so intense when the emotion boils and bubbles over that the rational ability of that person disappears entirely. That person becomes, then, an individual of pure irrationality. That person then becomes crazy or mad.
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And Shakespeares heretical view regarding the supremacy of emotion over reason did not apply just to the weak or the poor or the foolish. Strong men, rich men, and wise men were also susceptible to the overwhelming power of their emotions. An aristocrat, just as easily as a commoner, could also become a victim to his emotions. In Renaissance tragedies, just like the Greek tragedies of the Classical Age, the central character, the protagonist, is a person of high estate. He is a king, a prince, a great lord, or a national hero of the people. The plot of a tragedy involves the fall of the protagonist. A tragedy does not necessarily need to end in the death of the protagonist, but the tragedy always must end with the fall of that central character. The fall is a fall from honor. It is a fall into disgrace. According to Renaissance thinking, only aristocrats held positions of honor and respect. Thus, only aristocrats could experience a fall. And, thus, Shakespeares tragic heroes are always aristocrats: Macbeth is a king of Scotland, Hamlet is a prince of Denmark, and Lear is a king of England. Yet even the kings and princes of Europe, even the most heroic and noblest and wisest men of a kingdom, could fall victim to a strong and powerful emotion. The protagonist may be involved in an external conflict against an enemy or competitor; however, his internal conflict, his struggle against his emotions, is what ultimately causes his fall. When it comes to a struggle against an extremely powerful emotion, the aristocrat is not any better off than the commoner. The aristocrat just as easily loses in a conflict against a strong emotion.
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This struggle against emotion is a universal quality that contributes to the success of Shakespeares plays. Although very few members of an audience and very few readers can fully relate to what it means to be the powerful political leader of a nation, every member of the audience and every reader can understand what it means to be in a struggle against their own emotions. The richness of Shakespeares plays is that they operate on two levels. In the case of King Lear, these levels are (1) politics and (2) family. In regards to the political level, Lear is King of England; and his decisions and policies in regards to the affairs of state affect the livelihood of thousands of people. The political level thus causes the plot to be momentous and critical. Thus, this level adds intensity and intrigue to the story. However, Lear is also a father; and he thus makes decisions and judgments based on his concern and love for his three daughters. The level of family causes the plot to be more personal and emotional. This level contributes to the feelings of sympathy and compassion that the audience will feel as the story unfolds. Most importantly, these two levels are firmly interconnected. They are so tightly wound, the one over the other, that it is impossible to separate them or analyze them individually. Although critics always praise Shakespeare for his wonderful characterization and for his beautiful poetic language, they often downplay or disregard his treatment of plot. Some critics underscore or even completely ignore Shakespeares contributions to plot because his stories are usually based on earlier sources. And such is true even with the play of King Lear. However, a more thorough
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and thoughtful critic will realize that Shakespeare was definitely no amateur when it came to plots. Shakespeare took his source materials and built upon them in a multitude of ways, adding level upon level of plot and meaning. Thus, the sources for Shakespeares plays provide only a point of departure for Shakespeares final product. Shakespeares finished plays transcend the source material in numerous and even marvelous ways. The source material is the cornerstone, but Shakespeares play is the magnificent palace that is built upon that cornerstone. One of the methods that Shakespeare uses to enhance and enrich the plot of King Lear is through the use of parallel structuring. The play involves a subplot concerning one of King Lears noblemen, the Earl of Gloucester. Like the King, the Earl takes part in affairs of state: not only is he one of the kings advisors, but he also has his own county to run. But also like the King, the Earl is also a father. He has two sons, the older son is named Edgar and his younger son is Edmund. Gloucester is involved in a conflict regarding his two sons (just as Lear is involved in a conflict regarding his three daughters); and thus Shakespeare creates a subplot that echoes the concerns and themes of the main plot. But Shakespeares overall structure is far more complex than just that. The characters of Gloucester, Edgar, and Edmund also become directly involved and intricately connected to the main plot as well. In fact, the main plot would not proceed without them. Thus, Shakespeare is interweaving not just two strands of story, but (at the very least) four strands: (1) the political level of the main plot, (2) the family level of
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the main plot, (3) the political level of the subplot, and (4) the family level of the subplot. None of these strands can be removed without seriously damaging the integrity of the overall story. Literary critics have coined the term dialogic to describe the intricate parallel structuring that appears in certain dramatic works like King Lear. The prefix dia means across, and the root logic means sense or meaning. Thus, the sense or meaning (or themes or motifs) of one scene carries across to another scene (and vice versa). Often, the second scene is usually shorter than the first since the main ideas or concepts have already been covered fully in the first scene. Another literary term that works in conjunction with the dialogic technique is semiotics. Simply stated, semiotics is the use of signs and symbols in a literary work. In King Lear Shakespeare uses various signs or symbols to connect two scenes that have a dialogic relationship. The sign or symbol can be an object or even just a word. For example, both Goneril (in the main plot) and Edmund (in the subplot) scheme to betray their respective fathers. The similarity in situation is emphasized by the semiotic use of letters. Both characters depend upon the use of letters in order to accomplish their goals. Often, the signs or symbols produce an effect on the audience that works at a subconscious level. The audience often does not register all of the signs on a conscious level because the scenes usually move rather quickly, but the audience will be aware of these semiotic devices and thus sense or feel the connection between the scenes.
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A comment also needs to be made in regard to the character of Edmund, the Earl of Gloucesters younger son. Edmund is a bastard, an illegitimate child. Often such children were considered to be inconsequential to their aristocratic fathers, and the fathers did nothing to help these children or their mothers (who were almost always commoners and who might even be prostitutes). Gloucester, however, is a good man who loves Edmund as much as he loves his legitimate child, Edgar. Therefore, Gloucester does his best to help Edmund in any way he can. However, during the Renaissance there existed an extremely strong prejudice against bastard children. In this time when Christian thought still dominated, adultery was considered a grievous fault. Adultery, after all, is a Mortal Sin: it is an act against the Ten Commandments. And the breaking of any of the commandments meant that a persons soul would be damned: his soul would end up in hell. Thus, the attitude of most people during the Renaissance was that bastards were the products of sin; and, as such, they were foul and corrupt they were sinful and evil themselves. No one could or should trust a bastard. Shakespeare was well aware of this prejudice, and he utilizes it in his play although he did not share this same prejudice himself. In King Lear Shakespeare both incorporates the prejudice of his times and shows a contradiction to it. Edmund is indeed a bastard in the sense that he is corrupt and evil and disloyal and untrustworthy. However, Shakespeare clearly reveals that his being an illegitimate child is not the source of these qualities. In the main plot two of Lears daughters, Goneril and
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Regan, are parallel figures to Edmund. However, Goneril and Regan are not only legitimate children, they are also among the highest aristocrats of the land: they are princesses. English prejudice of the Renaissance included the view that aristocrats were noble and honorable far beyond the capabilities of the commoners. Yet Goneril and Regan are anything but honorable. Rather, they are just as corrupt and evil and disloyal and untrustworthy as is Edmund. Thus, Shakespeare most clearly reveals that these detestable and negative attributes are not the result of ones birth. And. thus, Shakespeare subtly reveals the wrong-headed thinking that underlies the common prejudice against bastards in his time.

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DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE PLAY One of the problems facing scholars is that more than one version of King Lear exists. Shakespeare wrote the play sometime around 1605, but it first appeared in print in 1608. This first version is referred to as the First Quarto (also known as The History of King Lear). A quarto was a book printed on large sheets that would then be cut into four leaves; thus a single sheet would hold eight pages, four on each side. However, there are some problems with this first printing: the printers were inexperienced and made numerous errors. Moreover, they apparently ran out of type, and so they made changes on Shakespeares manuscript. On the other hand, the First Quarto contains approximately 300 lines of text that do not appear elsewhere in other editions. A different version of the play appeared in the First Folio edition of 1623 (this edition is also known as The Tragedy of King Lear). A folio was a higher quality edition of a book, and the First Folio was actually a collection of three dozen plays by Shakespeare that was published to honor the poet, who had died in 1616. Scholars generally agree that the Folio edition of King Lear contains changes that Shakespeare himself made a few years after he had first written the play. The Folio version does not contain the printing errors of the Quarto edition, but it does contain approximately 100 lines that do not appear in the Quarto. Shakespeare, then, apparently cut 300 lines from his original edition to speed up the pace and to make some slight changes in emphasis.
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Thus, two quite distinct but valid versions of the play exist. Since each of these two versions contains lines penned by Shakespeare that the other does not, editors from the eighteenth century created a third version of the play known as the Conflated Text. Originally, these early editors and scholars assumed that both the First Quarto and First Folio editions were missing lines from Shakespeares longer original (but no longer extant) manuscript. Scholars today no longer believe that to be true, but the conflated text is still useful for students of Shakespeare because it contains all of the lines that Shakespeare had created for his story. Thus, the conflated text provides a fuller understanding of Shakespeares development of characters and plot. Although the Folio edition may be a better choice for actors who intend to perform King Lear on the stage, the Conflated edition allows readers to see and, perhaps, to understand more of Shakespeares thought processes as he developed and fashioned this play. And since the purpose of this present volume is to shed light on understanding King Lear, quotes and summaries contained herein will follow that of the conflated text (the one that was edited by Barbara K. Lewalski and that appears in The Norton Shakespeare).

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ACT I Act I, Scene 1: The Whoreson Must Be Acknowledged The play begins at the court of King Lear. The King of England is quite old; and, knowing that his time on earth will soon come to end, he has made preparations for dividing his kingdom equally among his three daughters. Lear, then, has asked the aristocrats of his kingdom to come to his palace so that he can officially announce the division of the kingdom. Among those in attendance are the Earl of Gloucester and the Earl of Kent. Kent comments to Gloucester that he always thought that King Lear liked the Duke of Albany more than he liked the Duke of Cornwall. Albany is married to Goneril, Lears oldest daughter; and Cornwall is married to Regan, Lears middle daughter. The Earl of Kent is suggesting that he had expected Lear to announce that he would name Albany as his sole successor over all of England (or, at the very least, that Albany would have been given the best and largest portion of England to rule over). But Lear has decided to treat each of his three daughters (and their husbands) equally by giving them each an equal portion of the kingdom. Kents line also serves the function of foreshadowing. Although both Albany and Cornwall are Dukes and are married to the two eldest daughters of Lear, the two men are not alike. Lear had favored Albany over Cornwall in the past because, as later events will reveal, Albany is a better
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man than Cornwall. There is far more virtue in Albany than there is in Cornwall. Kent observes the young man standing next to Gloucester, and asks him if this man is his son. Gloucester admits that he has been responsible for upbringing and educating the man, and adds the following: I have so often blushed to acknowledge him, that now I am brazed to it. (8-10) Kent is stating that, in the past, he had been embarrassed to admit that the young man, named Edmund, was his son because Edmund is an illegitimate child (a bastard). But now Gloucester accepts Edmund as his son and openly admits it to everyone. A pun quickly follows. Kent, not understanding why Gloucester should be embarrassed, states, I cannot conceive you (11). The word conceive means both (1) to understand and (2) to become pregnant. Although Kents line implies the first definition, Gloucester humorously uses the word with the second meaning by asserting that Edmunds mother did conceive (she became pregnant). Gloucester then explains that Edmunds mother was not his wife. Gloucester is admitting to an act of adultery. Gloucester, who is in a good mood, adds another pun: this one being highly sexual in form. Gloucester asks Kent, Do you smell a fault? (1415). The word fault means (1) sin. Christian leaders viewed adultery as a grievous sin, a Mortal Sin, because the act of adultery was forbidden according
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to one the Ten Commandments. The word fault is also used to mean (2) a fracture or break (as in a geological fault in a rocky surface). During the Renaissance, the word then served as a double entendre to indicate female genitalia. Hence, Gloucester is subtly indicating that his sinful act involved sex. Renaissance audiences were always ready for jokes of a bawdy or sexual nature; and all of the leading playwrights, including Shakespeare, included such puns and word play into many of their plays. However, even this pun also is a subtle form of foreshadowing; for later, in the main plot, adultery also plays a role; and that adultery becomes a major fault for those involved. Gloucester also informs Kent that he has another child (named Edgar) who is a legitimate son (that is, Edgar is the son of Gloucesters wife). Edgar is also a year older than Edmund. In English tradition, aristocrats usually followed the rule of primogeniture. This meant that the eldest son inherited from his father everything: money, property, and title. The younger sons usually inherited nothing. However, Gloucester declares that Edmund is no dearer in my account than Edgar (19). Gloucester is asserting that he plans to treat Edgar and Edmund fairly and equally in terms of wealth and inheritance. Many British aristocrats would find this shocking and wrong because (1) Edmund is a younger son and, more importantly, (2) Edmund is a bastard. Other aristocrats would most strongly protest against this behavior by the Earl of Gloucester. Moreover, the general prejudice against bastards (that all bastards are immoral and corrupt and evil) would also cause other aristocrats to
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comment that Gloucester is being most foolish to treat Edmund so well. Similarities between the main plot and subplot are already becoming apparent in this play. Shakespeare is subtly laying the groundwork for the major themes of his tragedy. Both Gloucester and Lear have good intentions in wishing to treat their offspring fairly and equally. Both Gloucester and Lear have (and ignore) reasons for treating their children unequally:

And, as later events in the play will reveal, both Gloucester and Lear make huge mistakes in deciding to treat their offspring fairly.

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Act I, Scene 1: Lears Hidden Purpose King Lear now takes center stage and makes a speech on how he intends to divide his kingdom into three parts. He begins the speech with the following:
Meanwhile we shall express our darker purpose. (34)

The word we (as well as the word our) is referred to as the royal we: the king of England always refers to himself in the plural since he represents not just himself but all of England. The word darker here means hidden or secret. Lears plans for dividing the kingdom, though, are hardly a secret; for Gloucester had expressed earlier (lines 3-5) that he already has knowledge regarding the division of the kingdom. Lear is a very old king, over eighty years of age. And, perhaps, he has forgotten that he has already revealed his intentions to some of the members of the court. Lear informs the husbands of his two older daughters (the Duke of Albany and the Duke of Cornwall) that he wishes to divide his kingdom now so that future strife may be prevented (42-43). Despite his age, Lear is well aware of the conflict and bloodshed that often occurs after a king has died; and the old king loves his daughters so much that he desires that there will be no struggling and quarreling among them. However, Lear is making a colossal mistake. The king not only plans to divide his kingdom into three parts, but he also intends to hand over the three smaller kingdoms immediately so that he can retire early. The King of England is the king for all of his natural life. He is not supposed to retire.
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Even though Lear is quite old and even though he trusts his three daughters, he will become a king without a kingdom if he steps down from his position. He will be without power and without support. He will be helpless. King Lear is confusing his duty and love for his family with his duty and love for his kingdom. By placing his concern for his family over his concern for England, Lear is placing his kingdom at risk. Lear is paving the way for disaster. Because of the great responsibility of his position, Lear should first and foremost be a king: his duty as a father should and must be secondary. But Lear does not do this; and, as later events reveal, the old king will soon regret his actions. Lears youngest daughter, Cordelia, is not married; but both the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy are suitors for her hand (they both want to marry Cordelia). Thus, in his speech, Lear is addressing whichever one becomes Cordelias husband along with Cornwall and Albany. Lear wants both France and Burgundy to know that one of them will also become a king over one-third of England. King Lear then asks a question that is entirely unexpected by Gloucester and the other lords. Lear asks his three daughters the following:
Which of you shall we say doth love us most? (49)

Lear fully expects that all three of his daughters will respond by saying that they love him with all of their hearts and minds and souls. Lear feels this way about his daughters, and he has no doubts that they feel the same way about him. Lear, in his dotage (his
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declining years), is merely indulging in a whim. For him the affairs of his family are more important than affairs of state. The question, to him, is practically rhetorical: he feels he already knows the answer. However, he wants to make a grand show of the gifts (the three kingdoms) by presenting them as awards for his daughters love. He has already decided which daughter will get which land. The question, then, is merely a formality. At least, that is what Lear intends it to be. This type of question, though, is also a test. And such a test is a device used in a number of folktales (see Cap o Rushes and The Dirty Shepherdess in the appendices). In these folktales or fairy tales, a foolhardy king does not prize or value the honesty and integrity of his daughter and so disowns her. William Shakespeare was well aware that this device appeared in the common folktales of his day, and he could have altered his sources. Shakespeare could have presented the same concept in a more realistic and dramatic way. Shakespeare knew that nearly everyone in his audience would recognize the folktale quality of the line. However, the folktale question works well in the play despite its simplistic and familiar sources. The audience usually responds more to the daughters responses than to the question itself. But more importantly, the question directly likens King Lear to the unsophisticated and imprudent kings of the folktales. Anyone familiar with any of the tales will immediately understand that Lear is making a mistake. Shakespeare thus eliminates the need for excessive explanation or description regarding the kings question. Shakespeare gets right to the point
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rather than inserting additional scenes that would have made the already extensive tragedy longer and plodding. Moreover, Lear thus becomes a universal character the foolhardy father with which many members in his audience could relate and recognize (and perhaps even sympathize with). The folktale device is, thus, a wise shortcut that advances the story smoothly and without effort.

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Act I, Scene 1: The Three Daughters Respond When Lear asks his question about which daughter loves him most, he turns first to the oldest one for a response. Goneril answers that she loves him more than anything and everything else. She states that she loves him more than her own liberty and that she values his love to her own life. Her response, at the very least, is an enormous exaggeration; and nearly everyone listening would recognize it as such. As later events reveal, her response is actually a pack of lies. Goneril knows that her share of the kingdom depends upon her answer, and so she tells Lear exactly what he wants to hear. The king, however, because he is frail and trusting of his daughters, accepts her response as truth. Lear then points to the large map before him and outlines the portion of the kingdom that Goneril and her husband Albany will receive. The second daughter, Regan, is next to respond. As she was listening to Goneril speak, she was probably thinking about how she could make herself sound even more loving than her sister. Regan also quickly realizes that her response must please the old father. So, she also responds with an even bigger set of lies. Regan tells her father that she loves him even more than Goneril does and that her only joy and happiness in life comes from loving her father. Lear also accepts her lies as truth; and, as before, the old king points out a section of the map that will be given to Regan and her husband Cornwall. While Goneril and Regan are answering their father, the youngest daughter, Cordelia makes a
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couple of asides (lines that reveal her thoughts but are not heard by the other characters on stage: such lines are a common convention in drama so that audiences can know what a character is thinking). Cordelia, after hearing the fancy and flattering but untruthful comments made by her sisters, wonders about how she should respond to her fathers question. She loves her father greatly, but she also believes in virtue: and chief among the virtues is honesty. So, when her father asks her to respond to his question, she tells him that she has nothing to say (86). Cordelia firmly believes that she should be silent rather than speak an untruth. King Lear is shocked to hear this response. He fully expected Cordelia to express her love in even grander terms than did Goneril and Regan. But, because he had always held Cordelia in his highest esteem, he gives her a second chance to respond. Lear warns Cordelia that Nothing will come of nothing. (89) This line (which Shakespeare borrows from the clever maxims of Aristotle) indicates that if Cordelia says nothing, then she will receive nothing. She will not receive any portion of the kingdom. Cordelia realizes that she is forced to give an answer, yet she cannot find it within herself to be untruthful or to exaggerate in even the slightest degree. She tells her father that she loves him and honors him as is proper for any daughter to love and honor a good father. But then she makes a good point by asking the following question:
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Why have my sisters husbands, if they say They love you all? (98-99) The word all here means completely and fully and excluding all else. Cordelia is being both honest and logical. If Goneril and Regan love their father completely if they love him exclusively then that would mean that they have no love at all for their husbands. Cordelia honestly explains that when she marries, half of her duty and love would then go to her husband although she would continue to love and honor her father. King Lear, however, does not wish to hear logic. He does not want to hear reason. Love is an emotion, and in the old king that emotion overpowers his reason. As noted earlier, Shakespeare frequently incorporates the conflict of Reason vs. Emotion in his plays. His mind cannot accept the logic of Cordelias answer. Lears emotions are intense for his daughters, and he readily and illogically accepts Goneril and Regans statements as truth. He somehow truly believes that they love him beyond all else even though they have husbands. King Lear had, just a few seconds earlier, referred to his youngest daughter as his joy (line 81). The word suggests that in the past Cordelia, of the three daughters, had brought him the greatest happiness. In fact, Cordelias name even means heart (from the Latin cordis). Cordelia had always been the one who brought Lear the greatest warmth and love to his heart. But just as he had earlier forgotten the unworthiness of Cornwall and his preference for Albany, the confused old king quickly forgets
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Cordelias loving actions of the past. Lear had wanted to hear exaggerated and poetical words of love, not terse and prosaic words of truth. So, King Lear disowns Cordelia. The king swears by the sun and the moon that he no longer will be the father of Cordelia. In fact, Lear even refers to the moon as Hecate (at line 110). Hecate was the Greek and Roman goddess of the moon, but she was also the goddess of witchcraft. Lear is thus setting his words of his disowning Cordelia in the form of a curse. And he concludes that she is not any more welcome to enter his kingdom than a bloody savage (Scythian at line 116) or a cannibal who eats his own parents (generation means parents at line 117). King Lear is emotionally hurt by Cordelias response. He feels that she has eaten his heart out. Lear feels betrayed by her. Ironically, Lear is not betrayed by Cordelia in words or deeds; but he is betrayed in words by Goneril and Regan, and later he will be betrayed by the deeds of those two daughters.

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Act I, Scene 1: Honest Kent The Earl of Kent symbolizes Duty and Honor in this play. He is a good and honest man who recognizes that Cordelia is a good and honest daughter. So, when he hears Lear disowning his daughter, the good earl is shocked. He realizes that Lear is making a huge mistake, and he feels duty bound to interfere. Kent attempts to speak, but Lear sternly tells him to be quiet: Peace, Kent! Come not between the dragon and his wrath. I loved her most, and thought to set my rest On her kind nursery. (121-24) Lear is angry because he feels that he has been betrayed by the daughter whom he has always loved the most. The king refers to himself with the metaphor of the dragon because he is dangerous. He anger is beyond reason, and he warns Kent that no one should come in conflict with him. If someone does present a conflict, Lear, like a fiery monster, will destroy that person. The king is disappointed as well as angry, for he had hoped that Cordelia would take care of him (suggested by the word nursery) in his old age. In his anger, Lear rashly then informs Cornwall and Albany that they can split the land that was intended for Cordelia. Thus, Cornwall and Albany each become ruler over half of England. Lear then explains that he wishes to keep the title and respect belonging to a king and to keep only one
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hundred knights as his retainers or followers (line 133). Moreover, Lear adds that each month he will alternate his living conditions, spending one month with Cornwall, and then one month will Albany. Lear expects Albany and Cornwall to provide food and lodging for him and his one hundred retainers. Lear, however, is making a mistake of gigantic proportions. He wishes to keep the title and respect of being a king even though he no longer will be king. That simply just will not work. A kingdom can have only one king, and everyone else in the kingdom is subservient (or obedient) to that king. By giving up his position as king, Lear thus becomes a servant to Cornwall or Albany when he is in one of their kingdoms. Lear will soon learn that a man can only have the respect of a king if he is king himself. That is why traditionally a king in England remains a king until his death. As for Cordelia, Lear declares
Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her. (128)

Cordelia was simply being plain, direct, and honest when she answered her fathers question regarding her love for him. But Lear accuses her of being proud, arrogant, and self-centered. Since she will no longer receive a dowry (money and property presented to the groom by the brides father), Lear believes that no man will want to marry her. Thus, Cordelia can only marry her pride. Once again the Earl of Kent attempts to interfere and speak on behalf of Cordelia, and once again Lear threatens him this time with the metaphor of the bow and arrow (line 143). Lear is
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again threatening Kent with harm and even death if he interferes. But Kent places duty above his own life and, so, he speaks despite the kings threat. Kent accuses Lear of being mad (line 146). This line begins the theme of madness that runs throughout the entire play. Madness indicates irrational thought, a loss of all reason. And Lear certainly is acting irrationally. Kent, though, should have thought better than to try and argue with a mad man. But Kent believes he is duty-bound to speak:
Thinkst thou that duty shall have dread to speak, When power to flattery bows? To plainness honors bound, When majesty stoops to folly. (147-49)

The careful reader should note the words duty and honor in this passage. These lines rely on personification. Kent personifies Duty, and as Duty he is not afraid to speak. Lear represents Power, and Goneril and Regan represent Flattery. Lear is bowing down to Flattery by giving all of his kingly power and authority over to the husbands of Goneril and Regan. Cordelia, on the other hand, symbolizes Plainness (honesty and directness); and Kent also symbolizes Honor. As Honor, he feels bound to serve Honesty especially when his king (majesty) is stooping (bowing down) to the authority of Folly (stupidity and madness). Thus, Kent is declaring Lears actions regarding Cordelia and regarding his kingdom to be both foolish and mad. But Lear is mad and will not listen to the words of wisdom spoken by Kent. In fact, Lear even accuses Kent of having the same fault of which he had accused Cordelia: pride (line 170). But Kent,
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like Cordelia, is actually guilty of the same qualities that Cordelia possesses: plainness, honesty, duty, and honor. The mad king, though, punishes, rather than rewards, such qualities: Lear banishes Kent from England, and he tells Kent that if he returns to England, he will be immediately put to death. Shakespeare thus establishes another dialogic relationship (a parallel between two similar characters) early in this play. Both Kent and Cordelia are honest and direct, both feel duty and honor toward Lear, and both are accused of being proud by Lear. And, as will become evident by the end of the scene, both are banished from England. However, as the end of the play will reveal, both Kent and Cordelia remain loyal to Lear even though Lear had not dealt with them justly and fairly.

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Act I, Scene 1: France and Burgundy Another parallel set of characters appears in the form of the Duke of Burgundy and the King of France. Both are wealthy aristocrats and both are suitors to Cordelia. During the Middle Ages, political marriages among aristocrats were common. A lord would marry a lady in order to gain title and property and wealth or to establish a pledge of peace between two rival kingdoms. However, being disowned, Cordelia has neither property nor title to offer. And since the conditions have changed regarding his daughter, Lear still has enough presence of mind to warn Burgundy and France about marrying her. In keeping with the folktale manner of asking a test question, Lear first asks Burgundy what is the smallest dowry that he would agree to take in order for him to accept Cordelia in marriage (line 192). Burgundy, who had been off stage and does not know that Lear has disowned Cordelia, states that he would accept that which had been previously offered. But when Lear then informs him that Cordelia has been disowned and is now without wealth or title, Burgundy responds that he cannot then accept Cordelia in marriage. Lear had expected this response. Because the King of France is an even higher aristocrat and is equal in standing with the King of England, Lear tells France that he will not even insult him by asking the same question. Lear fully expects France to respond the same as did Burgundy. The King of France, though, is a character of contrast to Burgundy. France is more thoughtful and
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introspective. He wants to know the reasons why Cordelia has lost favor with her father. France sees Cordelia not just as an object to enhance his wealth or to further his political goals. France sees Cordelia as a person. He asks Lear what monstrous and unnatural act Cordelia committed in order to lose the affection of her father (lines 218-22). The King of France believes that no wise and rational man would ever disown his daughter unless she has committed some terrible deed that was directed directly against her own father. The plain-speaking honest Cordelia responds to Frances question. She explains that she lacks the glib and oily art to speak and purpose not (225-26). The word glib here means smooth and slippery. Cordelia is suggesting that people who tell lies (who speak to no well-intended purpose) speak as if their tongues are coated in oil. The false words just slip out or pour out easily. Thus, Cordelia is explaining that she is honest: she does not lie. Cordelia adds that she also lacks a still-soliciting eye (232). The word still means always, and soliciting means asking or begging. Goneril and Regan are always looking for ways to make themselves richer or more powerful, and they are always ready to lie to get what they want. Cordelia, on the other hand, is not only honest: she also is not greedy and self-serving. Although the irrational King Lear does not understand Cordelias response, the King of France does. He knows that honesty and a lack of greed are virtues, and he prizes such virtues above wealth. France then says to Burgundy

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Loves not love When it is mingled with regards that stands Aloof from the entire point. (239-41) Shakespeare many times in his poetry and plays has defined love. He does so here again. The word regards refers to external matters of an aristocratic marriage (dowry, wealth, property, title, social standing, political significance). Such regards or matters are quite separate and distinct from (stand aloof from) the reasons why one should feel love for another. France is asking Burgundy if he feels any love for Cordelia. He is asking if Burgundy loves the person or only the wealth and property that comes with her. But Burgundy cannot separate the two. He wanted wealth, and he wanted to be ruler over onethird of England. The King of France already has wealth and property and power. And he is not so greedy that he demands or seeks more. Thus, he still wants to marry Cordelia because of her virtues (253). He realizes that her virtues will make him richer spiritually, and such riches are far more important than material ones. France cannot believe his good luck:
Gods, gods! t is strange that from their coldst neglect My love should kindle to inflamed respect. (255-56)

The King of France is suggesting that the gods (or destiny) have neglected or abandoned Cordelia because she has lost her position of respect and has lost her fathers love. Shakespeare often reveals that fate or destiny can be most cruel, but sometimes that
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cruelty can also produce a positive result or consequence. If Cordelia had not been disowned by Lear, the King of France would never have realized how virtuous and how special Cordelia actually is. And if he had not known about her virtues, he might not have then married her. But seeing those virtues has intensified or inflamed his feelings or passion for her. The King of France realizes that he could easily marry into wealth, but marrying a woman of utmost virtue is rare and far more valuable to him. King Lear is indeed surprised by the King of Frances decision. However, mad Lear still believes that Cordelia deserves his wrath. And so he feels glad to be rid of her and informs France that he wishes never to see Cordelia again. Cordelia bids farewell to her older sisters and asks them to take good care of their father. Goneril and Regan, though, are haughty and contemptuous and tell Cordelia that she deserves being disowned by Lear. Cordelia then predicts the future:
Time shall unfold what pleated cunning hides: Who cover faults, at last shame them derides. (281-82)

Cordelia is asserting that eventually the lies and vices (faults) of Goneril and Regan will be revealed to Lear and everyone else even though now they hide those lies and vices cunningly and cleverly. The clever lies are like a pleated blanket. It is thick and hides the faults from sight. But soon that blanket will come down, and Shame (personified) will scorn and ridicule them. In other words, once Goneril and Regans true natures are revealed, they will be left with only shame and disgrace and dishonor.
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Act I, Scene 1: The Scheme of Goneril and Regan An observant reader will notice that at the end of the first scene, the lines of dialogue shift from poetry to prose (at line 284). Shakespeare always makes such shifts intentionally, with a very definite and specific purpose in mind. Poetry is refined language high, noble, and beautiful. Prose is common and frequently coarse. Often Shakespeare will use prose for his rustic clowns and servants and use poetry for his noble aristocrats. But in this scene the shift has a far different purpose. Goneril and Regan are aristocrats and had been speaking in poetic meter (iambic pentameter). But now their dialogue is in prose. The reason for this shift is that the two sisters are plotting or scheming against their father. Their intentions are not noble or honorable, so the language they use in this instance is neither refined nor beautiful. Goneril and Regan have good reason to be worried. Their father has just disowned his youngest daughter even though, as Goneril notes, he always loved our sister most (288-89). And Lear also banished the loyal Kent, who had always served the king faithfully. The older sisters worry that their aged father will also change his feelings toward them. They are worried that Lear will disown them and take away their inheritance as well. They have just become queens in the new split kingdom of England, and they do not wish to give that up. On the other hand, Goneril and Regan are selfish and dishonorable. They were glad that Cordelia was disowned because that makes their
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inheritances larger, and they speak disrespectfully about their father. Goneril adds that even when Lear was a younger man, he acted rashly and impetuously (line 293). Goneril wants to add more excuses for the appalling behavior that she will exhibit later in the play. Now that she has newly inherited property and title, she no longer has any use for her father. Thus, the two sisters plan to meet again, very soon, to determine what they shall do.

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Act I, Scene 2: Edmunds Soliloquy At the beginning of the second scene Edmund stands alone on the stage and presents a soliloquy. A soliloquy is a speech that reveals the innermost thoughts of the speaker. The monologue is not intended to represent realistic speech. Edmund begins with the following: Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy law My services are bound. (1-2) Shakespeare personifies nature as a metaphor to distinguish between two kinds of laws: the laws of nature and the laws of man (or society). Edmund is declaring that he would rather follow the laws of nature over the laws of man. The laws of man are not favorable toward Edmund. As a younger son, the social laws and rules indicate that he should inherit very little or nothing from his father upon his fathers death. Moreover, because he is a bastard an illegitimate child the laws of society are even more against him. The laws do not require any man to care for or support his illegitimate children. And, to contribute to the unfairness of the times, society brands all bastards as being unnatural and immoral and untrustworthy. Edmund thus questions and condemns the customs and laws of his unfair society. Unfortunately, the society of England at that time is governed by and ruled by first-born legitimate sons; and they certainly see no need to change that established social order. Thus, Edmund would rather follow his natural inclinations he would rather follow his human nature which impels him to
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criticize those rules and laws and to rebel against them. Shakespeare in all likelihood also probably intended that Edmunds dedication of himself to the goddess Nature be recognized as a pun on the word natural: (1) that word natural was sometimes used in the Renaissance to mean bastard. (2) In addition, the word natural was also used to indicate the filial affection and respect that was due to a father. Edmund, however, is quite unnatural because he does not love or respect his father. But then again, neither do Goneril and Regan. Edmund thus becomes a parallel figure to Goneril and Regan. All three of them act unnaturally: all three of them have no love for their fathers, and all three of them plot against their fathers. But here Shakespeare cleverly reveals that one does not have to be an illegitimate child to act unnaturally. The legitimate and supposedly honorable princesses will also behave disrespectfully and even cruelly to their father. Edmund complains that he is not that much younger than his brother only a matter of fourteen months (line 5). But he even more strongly complains that society calls all bastards base (line 6). The word base here means socially low to be at the bottom socially. Thus, society viewed bastards as being lower or worse than even servants or serfs. Edmund argues that his mind and body (shape) are just as good and well-made as any legitimate child (line 8). Edmund also asserts in what would be viewed as a fine comical line by the audience that illegitimate children are conceived with more zest and energy and enthusiasm than legitimate children are because a man who produces offspring with his
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wife does so on a dull, stale, tired bed (line 13). In other words, men grow tired of their wives and the act of sexual intercourse becomes a routine and tedious act rather than an act of pleasure. So, as Edmund concludes, the numerous children produced by a man and his wife are nothing but a tribe of fops (14). With the word fop, Edmund means a dull-spirited wimp or dunce. Edmund is thus actually declaring bastards to be superior to legitimate children. At the end of his soliloquy Edmund reveals his intention to discredit Edgar, the legitimate and older son of the Earl of Gloucester. To accomplish this plan, Edmund has written a letter, imitating the writing style of Edgar. Edmund hopes to trick or fool his father into believing that Edgar is plotting or scheming against him. If Edmunds scheme is successful (if his invention thrive), then Edgar will be disowned; and Edmund will inherit the title and all of the money and property belonging to the Earl of Gloucester.

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Act I, Scene 2: Eclipses of the Sun and Moon Once again Shakespeare provides a shift from poetry to prose (beginning at line 23). Edmunds soliloquy is in poetry since it represents his thoughts and it does clearly protest the injustice of his age. Although Shakespeare would find nothing noble in Edmunds plan to cheat his brother and father, Shakespeare would agree with Edmund that the laws of society are unjust and unfair. The reader might also view the shift from poetry to prose as a semiotic device (a sign or symbol) to awaken the audience to the dialogic (or parallel) relationship between Edmund (and his brother and father) and Goneril and Regan (with their sister and father). Neither Edmund nor the two princesses have any reservations about taking the inheritance away from their siblings; and neither of them have any regrets about scheming against their fathers. The scene shifts to prose when the soliloquy is over. Gloucester, Edmunds father, appears; and Edmund begins to put his scheme into action. Edmund pretends to try to hide the letter which he had written himself, but he is putting on an act. He knows that his father sees what he is doing. Gloucester naturally becomes curious and asks Edmund about the letter. Edmund answers that the letter comes from Edgar but that the letter is not fit or appropriate for the father to read (line 38). This makes Gloucester even more curious, and he demands to see the letter. Edmunds pretends that he is reluctant to hand over the letter, but then he gives it to Gloucester.
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Gloucester reads the letter out loud, and in it Edgar (supposedly) complains about his father being a tyrant and keeping their fortunes (their inheritance) away from them even though they are mature adults and could use the money now. The letter also includes the following line:
If our father would sleep till I waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue for ever. (50-51)

The line suggests that Edgar would never wake up his father if he had his way. He would let his father sleep forever so that he and Edmund could enjoy his money and property themselves. Of course, the only kind of sleep that is forever is the sleep of death. The line is a subtle way of suggesting that Edgar is plotting to kill his father. Gloucester is rightfully shocked when he reads this, and he asks Edmund if Edgar had ever talked about this matter before. Edmund claims that once he heard Edgar stating a belief that grown sons should becomes the guardians over their aged fathers (lines 67-70). Such a remark, had Edgar actually said it, would be most disrespectful and dishonorable. Gloucester becomes enraged and demands to speak with Edgar at once. But Edmund knows that such a conversation could ruin his scheme. So Edmund tells his father that perhaps Edgar wrote the letter to test Edmunds own loyalty to his father. Edmund adds that he will have a talk with Edgar himself, and he suggests that Gloucester should listen in secretly that Gloucester should eavesdrop on the conversation to determine Edgars true intentions. Of course, Edmund is extremely
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clever and cunning. He knows that he can control the conversation so that Edgars line are taken out of context and are completely misunderstood by Gloucester. Such a use of eavesdropping and misunderstanding also appears in the tragedy of Othello. The protagonist Othello eavesdrop in on a conversation between the villain Iago and a man named Cassio. Iago manipulates the conversation to convince Othello that his wife is having an affair with Cassio. Shakespeare was well aware that hearing a part of a conversation or hearing a conversation out of context could lead to a gross misunderstanding that could have the most tragic consequences. Gloucester, still in shock over what he has just read, tries to make sense out of what he feels is madness. Gloucester attributes the mad or bizarre behavior of Edgar to fate or some other supernatural force:
These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us. Though the reason of nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects. (96-99)

The year before King Lear was first performed (in 1605), both lunar and solar eclipses occurred and were visible to the people living in London. Many people then were quite superstitious and believed in astrology. They believed that events such as eclipses were signs or omens that some great disaster or misfortune was occurring or would soon be occurring. Gloucester notes that some people simply explain the reason for eclipses with science (the reason of nature), but Gloucester does not accept
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such scientific explanations. He states that the effects or results of the eclipses are always negative some type of disaster or misfortune always seems to occur. The disaster that follows thus proves that eclipses are omens. Gloucester then exits the stage, perhaps still shaking his head in wonder and fear over all of the strange events that have recently occurred (Edgars letter, Lears anger, Cordelias disinheritance, and Kents banishment).

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Act I, Scene 2: Edmunds Second Soliloquy After Gloucester leaves the stage, Edmund makes some comments in yet another soliloquy about Gloucesters view of the world. Gloucester had just blamed the betrayal of Edmund on the stars (that is, on fate). Edmund, however, believes that blaming fate or destiny is just nonsense, and he sarcastically criticizes his father and all who blame the stars for their misfortunes. Shakespeare is touching upon a debate that has existed for centuries: destiny versus free will. In accordance with their religious teaching, Christians believe that God foresees all events and has a Divine Plan (Providence a mapped-out plan for the world). Thus, Christians, like many other religious groups, accept the idea that fate or destiny affects everyone. Yet, Christians are also taught that all people have the ability to choose good or evil. They have free choice: they can determine what they do and where they will end up. The big question, though, is this: how can a person have free will when God already knows what that persons fate will be even before that person is born? The two views are incompatible, and so philosophers have argued for centuries in an attempt to reach some definite conclusion about this conflict. Edmund is clearly on the side of free will. Like the Humanists of his day, Edmund believes that every man can determine his own future, that every man is responsible for his own actions and his own path in life. Humanism, which was the prevailing philosophy of Renaissance England, placed emphasis on the human mind and believed that the potential of man was nearly limitless. The Humanists did not
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believe that God placed limits or prohibitions on man to keep him in his place. So, Edmund declares that regardless of the month and day when he was born, I should have been that I am (120). And, thus, Edmund believes that he can affect his future and control his destiny by taking direct action. And that is why he is betraying his brother and father. Shakespeare, on the other hand, would not so readily agree with Edmund or the Humanists. Shakespeare was well aware that often events occur in a persons life which that person has absolutely no control over. Although Shakespeare does not directly attribute these momentous events to God, the playwright frequently uses the words fate, destiny, chance, and fortune. All of these words are synonymous for a force that is beyond the scope and power of mankind. Shakespeare, then, would question Edmunds declaration of free will. Would Edmund be so base and deceptive had he been born as the legitimate, first son of the Earl of Gloucester? Fate had caused Edmund to be born in position that society deems unfit and disreputable. On the other hand, fate is much kinder to men who are the first-born sons of aristocrats. All people, then, are affected by the circumstances of their births.

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Act I, Scene 2: Edgars Foolish Honesty Following Edmunds comments about fate is a conversation with Edgar. Edmund tells his older half-brother that the Earl (their father) is angry with Edgar and adds that Gloucester is so enraged that he may even harm Edgar. Edmund then claims that he will help his brother and try to find out why Gloucester is so intensely angry with him. Edmund thus cleverly and furtively convinces Edgar to stay away from their father until Edmund can clear up the conflict between them. Of course, Edmund will instead only rile and enrage Gloucester even more against the innocent Edgar. Edgar places his full trust in Edmund, and agrees to do as Edmund suggests. After Edgar leaves the stage, Edmund has a third brief soliloquy (lasting for only seven lines). Edmund laughs at the credulous and naive nature of his brother, and he refers to him as an individual too full of foolish honesty (165). The word honesty is a semiotic device that connects Edgar to both Cordelia and Kent. Like Cordelia, Edgar will lose his position and inheritance because of his honest nature. Edmund is still in the early stages of his scheme, but he thinks that he will succeed easily because he has the wit or intelligence to trick the foolishly honest natures of his father and brother.

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Act I, Scene 3: Tensions in the Castle of Albany Some time has passed since the first scene of the play. Lear is no longer king. He is now staying with his oldest daughter Goneril and her husband Albany. As he had requested, he will live with Goneril for one month, and then spend one month with Regan, and so alternate every month for the rest of his days. As Lear had also requested, staying with him are one hundred knights (his retinue) who serve only the former king (and not the Dukes). However, Goneril does not enjoy playing hostess to her father and his followers. They act as if every day is a holiday. They hunt and eat and drink, but do not help out in the castle in any way. They expect Gonerils servants to serve them as well. Oswald, Gonerils steward (or chief servant), complains to Goneril that after he had criticized Lears fool (who is part of Lears retinue), Lear became angry and hit Oswald. Goneril feels that her father is out of place for punishing her servant, and she complains that Lear no longer has authority for such actions: Idle old man, That still would manage those authorities That he hath given away! (16-18) Goneril is not entirely incorrect. Lear has given up his position as king, and so he no longer has authority to rule over the castle and the people within it. Lear still wants the authority and respect belonging to a king without having any of the responsibility of being king. Lear has made a foolish mistake, and Goneril
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is soon going to show him just how foolish that mistake really is. Goneril then gives orders to Oswald that he and all of the other servants of her castle should ignore Lear and his retinue. She is telling Oswald that the servants no longer have to listen to what Lear says or to follow any of his orders. In addition, Goneril plans to tell Regan about her course of action and suggest that Regan behaves the same way when Lear comes to visit her.

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Act I, Scene 4: A Definition of Tragedy The formal Earl of Kent, who had been banished by Lear, is a symbol of loyalty and honesty in this play. Even though Lear has ordered him to leave England, Kent still plans to serve the king. So, he disguises himself by cutting his hair, shaving his beard, and putting on the cloths of a commoner. At the beginning of the fourth scene, Kent presents a short soliloquy to state his intentions. A pun appears in the speech that modern audiences often fail to detect: I razed my likeness. (4) Literally, to raze means to tear down. In this context, it means (1) to change. Kent has changed his appearance. But the word also means (2) to apply a razor to ones face. Kent has also just shaved off his beard. Kent is not only honest, he is also intelligent. Shakespeare uses both diction and poetic meter (high language indicating his noble intentions) to convey this positive image of Kent. The language changes to prose when Kent directly asks Lear if he can be his servant. The shift indicates that Lear has fallen in authority and respect, and therefore the dignified language of poetry is unsuitable. A definition of tragedy entails the fall of the protagonist. The protagonist moves from a position of power, authority, respect, and honor to one of grave dishonor and loss of his position of respect. In most tragedies, the fall occurs toward the end of the play. King Lear is unusual because the fall of the
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protagonist occurs in Act I. The play is also unusual and highly ironic because the protagonist willingly allows himself to fall from his position of authority. William Shakespeare enjoyed experimenting with the conventions of drama, and he would obviously have been most delighted with the notion of a tragedy that breaks the most important and crucial convention of that genre. But more importantly, Shakespeare makes it work. King Lear remains one of the greatest tragedies ever written. After Lear agrees to keep Kent in his service, he encounters some difficulty with Oswald, Gonerils obnoxious servant. Oswald first ignores Lear when the former king calls him and then speaks bluntly and rudely to him. Lear becomes enraged and strikes the saucy servant (at line 72). Oswald then speaks angrily and even more rudely to the king, so Kent trips him and roughly pushes out of the room. Lear is beginning to realize what it means to be a king without a kingdom.

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Act I, Scene 4: The Motley Fool Shakespeare appreciated great comic banter and great comic characters, and the fools in his dramatic works often get many of the best lines in the plays. Touchstone in the comedy of As You Like It and especially Feste in Twelfth Night are two of Shakespeares greatest characters. The unnamed Fool in Lear deserves a place right alongside with them. The Fool in Lear provides not only comic relief to lighten the dark and serious moments of the play: the Fool also provides relevant social commentary. He criticizes the king to awaken him to the grave mistakes that he has made, and he enlightens the audience by provoking them into seeing Lears mistake from a variety of perspectives. When the Fool first appears on the stage, he takes off his fools cap and offers it to Kent (at line 81). He is implying that Kent should wear the hat of a fool because Kent has just done something very foolish. The fools cap is referred to as a coxcomb because the long pointed hats often had a ridged top that resembles the comb of a rooster (or cock).

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The Fool explains that Kent has just been hired to serve a lord who is out of favor (85). A man who serves a lord that has no possessions, no authority, and no respect. A man who serves lord who has nothing will only get nothing for his service. And a man who serves a fool is a fool himself. And Lears Fool quickly implies that Lear himself is a fool:
Would I had two coxcombs and two daughters! (90)

The Fool then explains his riddle:

If I gave them all my living, Id keep my coxcombs myself. (92)

The word would (at line 90) means I wish. More importantly, the coxcombs symbolize the crown. The word living in this context refers to property and wealth. Thus, the Fool is implying that although Lear could leave all of his wealth and property to his daughters, he should never give them his crowns (his authority). If Lear still had his authority, he would not then be at the mercy of his callous daughters. So, since Lear has given up his crown, the Fool offers him a new hat to take the place of it. The Fool offers Lear his coxcomb because Lear has indeed foolishly given away his authority. Although the Fool is jesting, Lear becomes somewhat incensed at being called a fool and warns the Fool that he could be whipped. The Fool responds with the following:

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Truths a dog must to kennel; he must be whipped out, When Lady the brach may stand by the fire and stink. (95-96)

The Fool is speaking metaphorically. He is stating that a good dog is forced out of the house and sent to a kennel or doghouse while a bad dog is allowed to stay indoors even though it smells bad (or acts offensively). On one level, the good dog refers to the Fool himself. He is just being truthful in informing Lear that the old king has been foolish. The word brach means bitch or female dog. This word, then, refers directly to Goneril (and Regan as well). They are allowed to stay indoors they are allowed to stay in positions of authority even though they are acting rudely and offensively. On a second level, then, the good or truthful dog also symbolizes the truthful and honest Cordelia. She has been sent to the kennel she has been banished because she truthfully told Lear about the extent of her love for him. The Fool continues to comment upon the foolishness of Lear giving up his kingdom for many lines. At one point he also uses the metaphor of an egg. The Fool asks Lear to give him an egg, and in return he will give Lear two crowns (suggesting two kingdoms at line 136). When Lear asks for an explanation, the Fool tells him that after he cracks the egg in half and eats up the inside, he can then give Lear the two halves of the eggshell (which are also referred to as crowns). Thus, the only crown that Lear can now possess is one that is worthless. And that makes Lear worth far less than any king should be.
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Perhaps the Fools most succinct comment about Lears foolish behavior comes next. The Fool tells Lear that when he gave away his kingdom, he carried thy ass on thy back oer the dirt (141). A man who carries a horse or donkey on his back and attempts to walk down a dirt path would indeed be most foolish. He is doing the opposite of what is natural. The Fool, then, is informing Lear that he has acted unnaturally. The Fool is telling Lear that he does not even understand his own fundamental nature. A note on medieval English legal theory regarding the king may prove useful here. According to such theory, the king of a land is different from other men because the king has two bodies in one: he is both Human and Divine. He is both a poor, bare, forkd animal and a body of holy or anointed flesh. During the Middle Ages, men viewed their king, then, as something more than just a natural being. He is both man-like and god-like. Lear, though, is in confusion over his dual identity. By giving up his position as king, he is in essence giving up half of himself. He is trying to separate his human body from his divine body even though the two parts are actually inseparable. Lears problems are a result of his own failure to understand the unique position of king. His fatal error (what Aristotle refers to as hamartia) or mistake is not just his failure to understand the true natures of his daughters but also his failure to understand himself. Just a few lines later, when he becomes involved in a conflict with Goneril, Lear asks Who is it that can tell me who I am? (205)
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Lear thus questions his own identity. The Fool answers the question: Lears shadow (206). And that answer is quite correct. The best and noblest and most spiritual part of Lear is gone, and what remains lacks substance.

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Act I, Scene 4: The Thankless Child Goneril complains to her father about the riotous behavior of his retinue (the hundred men who still serve him) and directly blames Lear for allowing their sportive barroom behavior to continue unchecked. Goneril then asserts that if Lear does not take action to control these men, then Goneril will be forced to take action, a discreet proceeding (188). Lear is shocked by these words of his own daughter. Goneril is both criticizing him and humiliating him. She is treating him as if he is an unruly and lowly lord who needs to be chastised or punished. Lear can understand neither how his own daughter can talk to him this way nor how he has lost his position of respect. His confusion leads to shock, and that, in turn, will lead to madness. Goneril is unmoved by Lears reaction and continues to criticize his followers, who, she claims, treats her castle like a tavern or brothel (220). She asserts, then, that her only recourse is to reduce the number of men in his retinue, to disquantity your train (224). And Goneril also adds that those men who remain in Lears service should be older men who know how to behave themselves. Lear, who realizes that Goneril now wants to make him a king without followers, believes that he still has one loyal daughter left to him Regan. And, so, he plans to leave Goneril and Albany and live with Cornwall and Regan. As he is leaving, Lear refers to Goneril as the personification of Ingratitude, whom he describes as being more hideous than a sea-monster (23638). He also refers to Goneril as a detested kite
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an abhorrent scavenger bird like a vulture (at line 239). The image suggests that Goneril is pecking away and chewing the dead remains of her father. Lear begins to realize the error he made in regards to Cordelia; he begins to realize that he allowed folly to take the place of judgment inside his head (lines 248-49). Judgment is another term for reason in the Renaissance. Lear recognizes that he acted foolishly and irrationally. He blames himself as much as (or even more than) he blames his daughter Goneril. Lear, as he walks past Albany, also curses his eldest daughter before he exits. A fathers curse on a child was considered to be magically (or supernaturally) potent in Biblical times and even to some extent in the Middle Ages. Such a curse would be especially potent when it came from a king. In his curse, Lear asserts that Goneril should be barren or sterile (never to bear children). Or, if Goneril does have a child, then that offspring should be a child of spleen (259). In the Middle Ages and Renaissance there was a belief that the spleen was the source of negative and horrible emotions. Lear is saying that he hopes Gonerils child is mean and malicious and spiteful and remains a torment to her for all of her life. Lear concludes his curse with the following famous (and often quoted) lines: How sharper than a serpents tooth it is To have a thankless child! (265-66) An ungrateful and mean-spirited child is more painful and more fatal than the worst of poisons. Lear then exits the stage.
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The Duke of Albany, Gonerils husband, was unaware of Gonerils words and actions regarding Lear, and he is more than a little surprised at Lears curse. Before Albany has a chance to discuss the matter, though, Lear returns. His anger and outrage are increased even more because he has just found out that Goneril has already dismissed half of his retinue (she has already ordered 50 of his 100 men to leave). Lear bemoans his situation again and utters the following:
Old fond eyes Beweep this cause again, Ill pluck ye out. (279-80)

The word fond means foolish. Lear, naturally, hopes that he never sees his oldest daughter again. This line also foreshadows the subplot with Gloucester, who is tortured and literally has his eyes plucked out (at the end of Act III). Shakespeare engages in some wordplay here and uses literal blindness as a metaphor for the blindness to the truth. Both Lear and Gloucester are blind to the truth regarding their own children. But Lear is still blinded, for he hurries to the castle of Regan and Cornwall with the hope that his second daughter will treat him kindly and will also get revenge against Goneril. However, Lear will soon find out that Regan is even worse than Goneril. After Lear has left, Goneril explains that she acted the way she did because she was fearful of the harm that could be caused by his one hundred unruly followers. Albany responds with the following:
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Well, you may fear too far. (306) Albany is subtle, but he clearly does not agree with the actions taken by his wife. Goneril, though, opposes her husbands judgment on this matter; and she intends to do even more. Goneril sends a letter to Regan informing her of what has happened in her castle and requesting that Regan follows suit (the letter is mentioned at lines 309 and 312). Although this letter is different in the particulars from the one Edmund writes, both Goneril (in the main plot) and Edmund (in the subplot) use letters to bring ruin and harm to their fathers. The use of the letter, then, becomes a sign, a semiotic device, to link the plot to the subplot. So, Goneril orders her sly servant Oswald to deliver this letter to Regan before Lear and his fifty followers should arrive in Cornwall. Albany predicts (foreshadows) the result:
How far your eyes may pierce I cannot tell: Striving to better, oft we mar whats well. (324-25)

Albany is wondering how far Goneril is looking into (or anticipating) the future. Albany is content with his present circumstances. He is suggesting that there is no need to reduce the number of Lears retinue or to complain of Lears stay with them. However, Goneril is greedy and ambitious; and so she will spoil (mar) their present good fortune and eventually lose everything.

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Act I, Scene 5: The Symbolism of the Slippers In the brief last scene of the first act, Lear sends Kent on ahead to inform Regan of his coming. Lear then engages in some more comic banter with the Fool, and the Fool continues to comment on Lears foolish actions. The most complicated of the Fools jests is the following: If a mans brains were in his heels, weret not in danger of kibes? (6-7). Kibes are sores that develop on the feet when they are exposed to cold and dampness. After Lear agrees to this nonsense, the Fool then states the following:
Then I prithee be merry; thy wit shall never go slip-shod. (9)

The word prithee (a contraction of pray to thee) here means to suggest. The word slip-shod means wearing slippers (shod in slippers): slippers were recommended to people who developed kibes on their feet. The Fool literally suggests that Lear should be happy or merry because his wit or brains will never have to wear slippers because they are not in his feet or heels. But what the Fool actually intends is that Lears wit (or brains or head) will never receive warmth and dryness and comfort. The slippers thus symbolize Lears former house or palace. Lear is without a house and the comfort it affords. A few lines later the Fool also compares Lear to a snail without its shell (at line 23). The Fool realizes that Lear and his men will not be treated any better at Regans palace.
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At the end of Act I, Lear is feeling miserable and desperate. He still cannot believe how badly he has been treated, and he realizes that his emotional state is tearing him apart: O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven! (38) Lear wishes to remain sane; but both his body and his mind are greatly weakened.

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ACT II Act II, Scene 1: The Success of Edmunds Scheme The second act begins with the action taking place at the Earl of Gloucesters castle. Curan, a man who serves Gloucester, informs Edmund that the Duke of Cornwall and Regan are coming to visit. At this point, then, the main plot (involving Lear and his daughters) and the subplot (involving Gloucester and his sons) start to merge. Curan also informs Edmund that he has heard a rumor about a war that will soon erupt between Albany and Cornwall, and that is the reason why Cornwall is coming to visit Gloucester. Although this rumor is false, Edmund plans to use this information in his developing scheme to discredit Edgar and get Gloucester to disinherit him. The real reason for the visit by Cornwall and Regan is that they have heard about Lears plan to visit them: so, they wish to avoid the old king. Edmund then speaks with Edgar and subtly accuses him of conspiring against Cornwall and taking the side of Albany. The region of Cornwall is in southwest England, and the various dukes of Albany actually presided in Scotland. Thus, Shakespeare implies that the Duke of Cornwall has become ruler over southern Britain and that the Duke of Albany has become ruler over northern Britain. The area of Gloucester, then, would be under Cornwalls jurisdiction. Edmund thus tries to assert that Edgar is a traitor to Cornwall, who is his rightful ruler.
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Edgar, of course, is not a traitor and has no idea why Edmund (or their father Gloucester) would think that he is. When the Earl of Gloucester appears, Edmund tells him that they must pretend to fight so that their father will not accuse Edmund of being a traitor as well. They briefly exchange a few passes with their swords, and Edgar then runs off. The sly and cunning Edmund then wounds himself with his own sword and tells Gloucester that Edgar did this to him. Thus, Edmund gains the sympathy of his father; and Gloucester becomes even angrier with Edgar. Edmund adds fuel to Gloucesters fire by telling him that Edgar tried to persuade me to the murder of your lordship (45). The gullible Gloucester believes Edmund, and the Earl then declares that the traitorous Edgar should be burned at the stake (63). Treachery and rebellion were serious crimes and were punishable by death. Gloucester also declares that Edmund is no longer his son: I never got him (79). The word got here is short for begot (past tense of beget, to produce a child). Thus, the Earl of Gloucester disowns his honest and loyal son just as Lear had disowned his honest and loyal daughter.

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Act II, Scene 1: Cornwall and Regan Come to Gloucester Regan and her husband, the Duke of Cornwall, arrive at Gloucesters castle. They ask the Earl about the betrayal of his son and they tell Gloucester that they will assist him in capturing and executing Edgar. When Regan wonders whether Edgar was also one of the one hundred retainers who served Lear, Edmund also jumps on the chance to discredit Edgar even more and asserts that Edgar was indeed with Lear (at line 98). The Duke of Cornwall also commends Edmund for serving his father so loyally and promotes Edmund to be one of his own trusted retainers. Edmund humbly and gratefully replies, I shall serve you, sir, truly (117-18). However, in actuality, Edmund will continue to serve only himself.

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Act II, Scene 2: Kent vs. Oswald The Earl of Kent, still in his disguise as a commoner, comes to Gloucester to deliver Lears message to Regan (that Lear is coming to stay with her and Cornwall). There Kent encounters Oswald, who has come to Gloucester to deliver Gonerils own letter to Regan. Kent recognizes Oswald as the servant in Albany who acted rudely toward King Lear; and so Kent immediately confronts the offensive servant. Oswald, who took little notice of Lears followers, though, does not recognize Kent. Kent is still angry that any servant could be so uncivil and discourteous to a king, and he begins to give Oswald a thorough tongue-lashing (criticism and verbal abuse). When Oswald tells Kent that he cares not for him, Kent responds with the following: If I had thee in Lipsbury pinfold, I would make thee care for me (8-9). The word pinfold refers to an enclosure (or fenced-in area) used to keep animals secure. The word Lipsbury is an imaginary place name. Kent uses the two words to suggest that if he had his teeth securely fastened around Oswald (if he had him buried in his lips), then he would rip him to pieces. Kent feels that Oswald deserves the punishment of a traitor, and he is ready to give it to him. Kent then goes into a long and rather eloquent series of words and phrases to curse out Oswald. He begins by calling Oswald a knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats (13). The words broken meats refer to table scraps, the kind thrown to the dogs. Thus, Kent is suggesting that Oswald is a lowly dog who
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acts poorly and obnoxiously in return for rewards that are little better than garbage. Several lines later Kent calls Oswald a whoreson cullionly barber-monger (28). The word cullion comes from the medieval French word for testicle and was used derogatively in England to refer to a base or vile man. The last part of this phrase indicates that Oswald spends too much time at the hair-dressers shop. He is a prettified dandy who cares more about his appearance than he does about honor or courage. Oswald, then, is similar to Osric in Hamlet and to the arrogant popinjay messenger in Henry IV, Part 1 (described in Act I, Scene 3). All three of these characters represent a certain type of effeminate courtier that appeared in London during the Renaissance. Shakespeare probably knew at least one of these types of courtiers quite well, and his literary characters may be an indirect criticism of him (or them). Kents anger rises to a pitch, and he draws his sword to fight Oswald. Oswald, who is wearing a sword, is a coward who refuses to defend himself. Instead, he screams out for help. So, Kent physically beats him.

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Act II, Scene 2: Cornwalls Response The beating and screaming of Oswald becomes rather loud, and Cornwall and Regan (along with Gloucester and Edmund) come outside to break up the quarrel. Oswald becomes brave now that help has arrived, and he tells Cornwall that he spared the life of Kent even though Kent acted so rudely and violently (line 54). Kent becomes even angrier at the lie just told by Oswald and tries to beat him so more (but is held back by Cornwalls servants). Cornwall demands that Kent behave. Of course, Cornwall does not recognize Kent and does not know that he is an aristocrat. Kent tries to explain himself to Cornwall. Kent tells the Duke that Oswald is a rogue or rascal, and he also uses a simile to describe Gonerils servant: Like rats, oft-bite the holy cords a-twain Which are too intrinse tunloose. (66-67) Kent is saying that Oswald, like a rat that bites a rope into two parts, bites or severs the holy or sacred ties between humans (parent and child, husband and wife, master and servant, king and followers). Such holy cords or connections are too intricately tied or formed to untie or unloose easily. Oswald is a gnawing rat that uses his sharp teeth (his malicious methods) to violently separate parent and child (Lear and Goneril) or master and servant (Lear and Kent). Kent also adds that the slick Oswald uses flattery and lies to smooth or to justify the wild passions or emotions of
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his lord (or lady). Kent is suggesting that Oswald is not to be trusted. Cornwall, however, is far more offended by the angry and blunt Kent. The disguised earl offends Cornwall when he bluntly asserts that he has seen better faces than any of those standing in front of him at that moment (line 85). By the word better, Kent means more loyal and honest. The dishonest but shrewd Cornwall realizes that the honest and plain-speaking Kent could be dangerous to him (at lines 93-94). Just as it happened at the beginning of this play with Cordelia, speaking plainly and honestly will not help Kents cause in this scene. Oswald informs Cornwall about what had happened at the palace of Albany and Goneril. Kent comments that rascals such as Oswald make even great heroes like Ajax appear to be fools (lines 11516). Ajax was a great Greek hero who fought during the Trojan War and was praised for rescuing the body of Achilles. Kent is suggesting that if Oswald told the story about Ajax, the great hero would appear to be cowardly and dishonorable. Oswald, then, turns the truth inside out. Oswald lies. However, since Cornwall is already against Lear and his retainers, the Duke ignores Kents comment and disregards his defense for acting angrily and violently against Oswald. Cornwall then decides to punish Kent by having him put in the stocks (locked in a wooden framework that would be placed around the ankles and sometimes also around the wrists of a prisoner). Such a punishment would not only be uncomfortable but could also be physically tortuous. Kent argues that he is too old for such a punishment.
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He also argues that out of respect for the king, the kings messenger (namely Kent himself) should be treated better. But Lear is no longer king. As the Fool had warned Kent, the Earl is more of a fool himself for entering the service of a king without a kingdom. Cornwall orders that Kent should remain in the stocks for the entire morning, but the Dukes vile wife Regan changes the order so that Kent must remain in the stocks all day and all night. The Earl of Gloucester attempts to get Regan to change her mind, but neither she nor Cornwall will budge. They are both stubborn and cruel.

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Act II, Scene 2: Kents Soliloquy Kent is placed in the stocks, but he accepts his punishment good-naturedly. He tells Gloucester that he will relax and sleep the time away because he is tired. Kent also adds the following comment:
A good mans fortune may grow out at heels. (149)

At this line Kent probably points at his feet sticking out of the stocks and wiggles them. He seems to have a sense of humor about his unpleasant situation. The word fortune here, as elsewhere, refers to fate or destiny. Just as the heels of a pair of shoes can grow thin and worn and eventually erode away all together, so too can ones luck disappear. During the Middle Ages people believed that fate was usually unfair, and that all anyone could do is accept it without growing angry or resentful. Yet, Kent also has hope. After Gloucester leaves, Kent is alone on the stage. In a soliloquy (a speech representing his thoughts, not intended as actual speech spoken aloud), Kent states that Nothing almost sees miracles But misery. (157-58) Kents means that only misery (only people who are suffering and are miserable) can see miracles or can believe that miracles will come. Other people do not necessarily need miracles, but miserable people do. Despite his light and humorous comments to Gloucester, Kent is feeling miserable. But he also has the hope that a miracle may happen. He takes out
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a letter from Cordelia. In it Lears daughter, now the Queen of France, writes that she is aware of the losses or ills affecting England and promises to find remedies for them (162). The tired Earl of Kent then closes his eyes and bids Dame Fortune good night:
Fortune, good night; smile once more; turn thy wheel! (165)

Kent is hoping and praying that fate or destiny will soon set matters right and will be positive once again. Kent uses the traditional medieval image of Fortune as a goddess who clasps a giant wheel, which holds the destiny of all men. Those at the top of Fortunes wheel receive good fortune. However, the goddess can at any moment spin her wheel; and then those who once had good fortune find only misery and suffering in its place. Fortune is a capricious goddess who may favor a man one instant and then turn on him the next. Good fortune is just a matter of chance. Kent is hoping that Fortune, who has turned her wheel against both Lear and himself, will turn her wheel again. He hopes to be in Fortunes good favor once more. Shakespeare himself was a strong believer in the mysterious force of fate, and lines like this one often appear in his plays.

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Act II, Scene 3: Poor Tom The short third scene is comprised entirely of a soliloquy by Edgar. Since his father, the Earl of Gloucester, has declared Edgar to be a traitor and an outlaw, Edgar has decided to conceal his true identity (a parallel to the deception taken by Kent). Edgar disguises himself as an unfortunate mad beggar and calls himself Tom (20). Tom is just a conventional or generic name for any unknown madman. Edgar wears just a few dirty rags to cover his body and smears mud over his face and limbs. He thus becomes unrecognizable, and no one wants to approach him or bother with him because he does truly appear to be a madman. The disguise also relates to a theme on madness that is present throughout the play. Edgar pretends to be mad, Lear does become mad, and madness affects the entire kingdom. Edgar feels that he is perfectly safe in his disguise, for he declares that Bedlam beggars are rather common and that their treatment by the society at large serves as a precedent for how Edgar expects to be treated that is, he expects to be shunned and avoided. Bedlam refers to the Bethlem Royal Hospital of London, which was built back in the 13th century. The hospital became quite famous (or, rather, notorious) as a lunatic asylum for the treatment of mentally ill patients. Such patients became well known to the people of London; and the word Bedlam eventually became synonymous with chaos and madness. One of the words in the play which scholars have been unable to define clearly is Turlygod:
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Edgar calls himself, Poor Turlygod! Poor Tom! (20). The unusual word is clearly a reference to Edgars wretched condition. The first part of the word may be derived from the Old English teorian (to be tired) or possibly even the Old English teran (to tear). In Old English the word god developed later into the modern good, and as such could mean either considerable or even welfare. However, because of a lack of other references for this curious word, the precise meaning of Turlygod will never be definitely defined.

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Act II, Scene 4: More Man than Wit The fourth scene begins with the arrival of Lear, the Fool, and an unnamed gentleman at the castle of Gloucester. They find the Earl of Kent still sitting in the stocks, and Lear is shocked that anyone would treat one of his men in such a dishonorable and disrespectful manner. Kent tells Lear what had happened and how Oswald, a reeking messenger, had already delivered a letter from Goneril to Regan (at lines 29-31). The word reeking refers both to Oswalds sweating (because he had traveled fast) and to his offensive smell (symbolizing his offensive behavior). Kent admits that he acted unwisely when he attacked Oswald: having more man than wit about me (41). The word man refers to courage or bravery. But Kent realizes that if he had not been so proud and angry and obstinate, he would not then be sitting in the stocks. The Fool wisely comments on Kents situation with a little poem that almost sounds like a nursery rhyme: Fathers that wear rags Do make their children blind; But fathers that bear bags Shall see their children kind. Fortune that arrant whore, Neer turns the key to the poor. (46-51) The word bags refers to purses or bags of money. The Fool is grimly commenting that most children in society only care about their fathers wealth, but not about their fathers well-being. Dame Fortune,
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again being the personification of Fate or Destiny, is an untrustworthy whore or prostitute. Prostitutes only open their doors to men who have money, and Fate never seems to help or provide for the poor. After Lear exits, Kent asks the Fool why Lear has so few followers. The Fool responds that only a fool would ask such a question. The Fool also uses an obscure metaphor of the ant to explain the situation to Kent (at lines 63-64). The wise ant works or labors in the summer and fall to store up food for the winter. Lears retinue or followers also need to prepare for the winter, for Lear has fallen into his winter that is, Lear has fallen into cold and bleak times. Unfortunately, Lear has not foreseen the coming of this winter; and he is not prepared to provide for his followers or for himself. The Fool then recites another little poem in which he describes the selfish followers who have abandoned Lear as knaves as crafty and immoral scoundrels (lines 72-79). The Fool suggests that these knaves are the real fools. Lears Fool may be suggesting that knaves such as these will end up in an even worse condition. Then again, the Fool could just be speaking ironically for at least the knaves have not ended up in the stocks as Kent has done.

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Act II, Scene 4: Images of Revolt Lear returns on the stage with the Earl of Gloucester. Gloucester attempts to explain to Lear that Regan and Cornwall refuse to see Lear because they claim to be sick and weary after traveling all day. Lear realizes that his daughter and her husband are just making excuses and describes these weak excuses as images of revolt and flying off (83). That is, their words are signs of rebellion and desertion. Lear tells Gloucester to return to Cornwall and come back with a more suitable a more respectful answer. Gloucester is not keen to do this because he fears the temper, the fiery quality of the duke (86). Lear, calming down a bit, realizes that perhaps he has been acting rashly and angrily and believes that quite possibly the Duke of Cornwall could actually be ill (at line 99). Lear comments that men cannot help but neglect their office or duty when their health is ill, and he may be referring to himself as much as he is referring to Cornwall. Lear then desperately cries out Death on my state! (106) This phrase has a double meaning: (1) a king who is wretched will utter such lines as an oath implying that he wished he was never king or that he wished he never brought his kingdom to such a miserable state. Ironically, Lear is no longer king and his kingdom is already in a miserable state. However (2) Lear is also a man. As such, he is just hoping or praying for his
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own death, for an end to his miserable existence. That, though, will not occur until later in the play. Confused and uncertain, Lear changes his mind once again when he gazes at Kent sitting in the stocks. Lear still has enough presence of mind to realize that the actions and words of Regan and Gloucester can only point to one possibility: they are revolting, they are flying off. So, Lear tells Gloucester once again to bring Cornwall and Regan to him. After Gloucester exits, the Fool tells Lear a little nonsense story about misplaced kindness (at lines 116-19). In the silly story a female cook tries to be kind to eels that she is cooking by not killing them before she puts them in the oven. The eels, of course, try to get out, and the woman hits them with a stick and declares them to be ungrateful wantons or rogues for not appreciating her kindness. The womans brother tries to be kind to his horse by buttering his hay. However, a horse will not eat hay covered with butter. Lear, of course, has also misplaced his kindness by giving away his kingdom to Goneril and Regan. Lear is every bit as foolish as the woman cook and her brother.

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Act II, Scene 4: Sharp-Toothed Unkindness Cornwall and Regan finally arrive on stage and greet Lear. They also set Kent free from the stocks. Lear complains to Regan about the treatment about the sharp-toothed unkindness he had received from Goneril (lines 126-27). Regan, however, defends her older sister and claims that Goneril acted properly in dismissing Lears followers because they behaved in a riotous and ill-mannered fashion. Regan goes even further by stating that Lear should return to Goneril and admit that he had been wrong (at line 144). Lear is surprised and shocked by the words of the daughter that he thought would support him. He then comments on the inappropriate behavior of his daughters:
Do you but mark how this becomes the house. (146)

The word house refers to family, and the entire line is spoken ironically. Lear is suggesting that all of the words and actions of his daughters have been unbecoming and improper for a noble family, or any family. But Lear finally realizes that old people are not wanted and not needed in society: age is unnecessary (148). Lear then humbles himself by getting down on his knees and begging Regan to take care of him. Regan, however, is unmoved by Lears words and actions. She again tells Lear to return to Goneril. But Lear is firm in his resolve to stay away from Goneril, and he curses his eldest daughter once again
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(and once again suggesting the supernatural force of a Biblical curse of a father on a child). The unmoved Regan only comments that Lear will probably end up cursing her as well. Lear, though, tells her that he will never curse her because she is tender and kind. Lear is still fooled by Regan. He does not realize yet that she is every bit as harsh if not harsher than Goneril. Lears emotions become more embroiled when Oswald and, a moment later, Goneril appear. Lear prays to the heavens for comfort and relief and still wants to know who had put Kent in the stocks. Cornwall admits that he was responsible for punishing Kent, and Lear is nearly speechless.

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Act II, Scene 4: The Dwindling Retinue Regan once more tells Lear to return to Gonerils castle, but Lear refuses to stay with her since she dismissed half of his retinue. Lear still thinks that Regan will allow him to keep the full one hundred followers in her castle (lines 225-26). But Regan tells him that she is not able to provide for so many followers. Lear is astonished. And his astonishment becomes even greater when Regan argues that so many men under two different masters are difficult and even impossible to control. Then, as an even greater shock to Lear, Regan asserts that she will only allow Lear to stay with her if he limits his retinue to twenty-five followers. Feeling utterly defeated, Lear thinks that fifty followers at Gonerils castle is better than having only twenty-five at Regans (line 254). So, Lear tells Goneril that he will return to her. But then Goneril asks her father what need he has of even ten followers, or five for that matter. And Regan adds that he does not even need one follower. Both sisters, then, refuse to allow their father to have any followers. This scene microcosmically represents the fall of Lear. The number of his followers dwindles from 100 to 50, from 50 to 25, from 25 to 10, then 5, then one, and then finally none. His power and his position of respect have likewise dwindled and become nothing. And as his power decreases, his emotions and rage and madness increase. In a speech Lear argues that man needs more than the barest essentials in life. An animal, a beast, has the barest essentials; but man is nothing but a
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beast if he does not have more. Lear wants to retain his full retinue so that he feels like he is more than an animal. He metaphorically compares the situation to a lady and her clothing (beginning at line 262). If a lady were to wear only essential clothing, she would only need plain and simple undecorated clothing instead of fine silks and satins and furs decorated with gems and gold ornaments. Goneril and Regan, as princesses and wives of Dukes, would, of course, be wearing such fine clothing. Lear still wants to feel important and regal. Without his retinue, he becomes nothing. Both Goneril and Regan remain unmoved by Lears passionate request. So, Lears anger rises, and he vows revenge against his daughters (line 274). Lear is a broken man, and he wants to weep because of his wretched state. But he refuses to cry. He is still a man inside, and he still has a sense of honor within him. The emotions, though, wreak havoc with his mind. He tells his Fool O fool, I shall go mad! (281) Yet even this line has a secondary meaning. Lear is also talking to himself. He is the fool to whom he is referring. Lear has been madly foolish, and now he is going foolishly mad. After this line, the stage directions call for storm and tempest. The literal storm outside is symbolic of the storm going on in Lears own mind. Lears mind is now chaos. Lear is now mad. And, like a madman, he rushes out into the wilderness to face both storms without shelter or protection.
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Cornwall, Goneril, and Regan coldly watch as the old and weak Lear trudges off into the storm and wilderness. And they just as coldly comment that they will refuse to shelter Lear if he even tries to bring but one follower with him. Goneril and Regan have absolutely no concern at all about the welfare of their father. And Regan viciously remarks that Lear himself will be responsible for any injuries that he may receive while he is outside in the tempest. The second act ends with the cold daughters seeking the warmth and comfort of the castle while poor old Lear rushes out into the cold, bleak, and stormy countryside.

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ACT III Act III, Scene 1: Unbonneted He Runs The third act begins with a scene set outside in the country. The storm is still raging. The Earl of Kent is looking for Lear, but he instead finds the gentleman who was one of Lears followers. The gentleman informs Kent that Lear has rushed out madly into the storm. The gentleman also emphasizes the severity of the storm by explaining that even bears, lions, and wolves are seeking shelter. The reader should keep in mind that Renaissance audiences would be watching this play on a pleasant day in an open-air theater. The wild storm would be presented by musicians who could bang on large drums for thunder effects, but the dialogue and actions of the actors would also be necessary to make the idea of the storm convincing. The gentleman also uses a pun when he describes Lear as running through the storm unbonneted (14). The word literally meaning without a bonnet indicates that Lear is both (1) hatless and (2) crownless. The gentleman is implying that Lear is not wearing sufficient clothing to protect himself from the elements and that Lear no longer wields power or has anyone to serve him (or help him). Kent responds by asking if Lear, then, is completely alone. The gentleman responds with the following: None but the fool, who labors to out-jest His heart-struck injuries. (16-17)
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The pronoun his refers to Lear. Lear has been injured to the heart by the ingratitude and betrayal of his daughters; and the Fool, who is Lears only companion, labors or struggles to make jests to keep Lear in a positive frame of mind. However, the line suggests that the Fool is not being very successful in his efforts. Kent then informs the gentleman of some extremely important news: (1) a conflict has developed between Albany and Cornwall. (2) Servants in the courts of both Albany and Cornwall are actually spies for France and have been supplying France with information about the conflicts occurring in England. And (3) an army from France is on its way to England. Kent then instructs the gentleman to go to Dover (in the south of England) and inform Cordelia (who is Queen of France) about what has happened to her father. Kent also gives the gentleman his ring as assurance that he is an aristocrat of high estate. He tells the gentleman that Cordelia will recognize the ring and know then who has sent him. The scene ends with both Kent and the gentleman then searching for Lear.

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Act III, Scene 2: Cod-Piece Humor The second scene opens with Lear and the Fool out in the storm. Lear calls upon the powers of the storm to strike him down. He is mad now, but he is also correct in suggesting that the torments of the storm are far less harmful to him than are the torments of his daughters. The mad king is accepting his fate. The Fool, though, is still trying to out-jest the torments felt by Lear. He begins with a pun: He that has a house to puts head in has a good head-piece (24-25). The word head-piece means both hat and brain. A hat is, in a manner of speaking, a house for the head. But the line also implies that a man who has a house or shelter from the storm has a brain he is wise enough to protect himself from the elements. The Fool, then, is not-so-dryly commenting upon the lack of wisdom that both he and the king are exhibiting. The Fool then proceeds with an eight-line comic poem that also comments on the lack of wisdom in man. The first part of the poem involves a sexual reference that plays upon the word head-piece used in the previous line: The cod-piece that will house Before the head has any, The head and he shall louse; So beggars marry many. (26-29) During the Renaissance a cod-piece was a pouch-like piece of cloth that was attached to the pants and used to cover the male genitals. The costumes of jesters
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and fools often had such attachments, but for a time even the clothing of gentlemen including codpieces. Lears Fool is lewdly implying that a man who is more concerned with covering his penis before he covers his head (meaning before he seeks the basic necessities of shelter or protection) will end up poorly. There is also a pun with the word louse. Louse is the singular form of lice, and a man without a hat could end up with his hair infested with lice. But the word is pronounced similarly to the word lose, and a man without shelter is one who has lost out in life and ends up in poverty. In the last line the word many refers to lice: beggars end up married to (or attached to) many lice. The second part of the comic poem also suggests that man often foolishly gets his priorities wrong that man is more worried about or concerned with minor matters and neglects the major ones: The man that makes his toe What he his heart should make Shall of a corn cry woe And turn his sleep to wake. (30-33) A man should concern himself with his heart far more so than his toe, for a man can live without a toe but not without his heart. All men should get their priorities straight, and this especially applies to Lear. The poem is symbolic: Goneril and Regan are toes, but Cordelia is the heart. In fact, as noted earlier, Cordelias name even means heart (from the Latin cordis). Now Lear is crying about the woes of his toes of his two oldest daughters and literally has no place to sleep.
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The Fool concludes his humorous rhyme with a line in prose: For there was never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass (34-35). In other words, all beautiful women look at themselves in mirrors and practice making beautiful (or deceitful) faces. The Fool is implying that one should not be fooled by the practiced and often insincere appearances of women. Such advice, though, is too late for Lear: the King has already been fooled by Goneril and Regan. The Earl of Kent then comes onstage at this time and sees the others on the other side of the stage. Because the night is dark and stormy, Kent calls out and asks who is there. The Fool responds by telling Kent that they are grace and a cod-piece; thats a wise-man and a fool (38). The word grace is a respectful way of referring to a king, and the word cod-piece refers to a fool (the fools costume). The words of the fool, though, are ironic; for he has just declared Lear to be the fool in his comic poem.

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Act III, Scene 2: Crimes and Justice Kent approaches Lear and the Fool in the storm and comments about the severity of the weather (lines 40-47). Lear, still shouting at the skies in his maddened rage, views the storm from another perspective: Tremble, thou wretch, That hast within thee undivulged crimes, Unwhipped of justice. (49-51) Lear sees the storm as a symbol of justice. He is predicting that the storm is an omen of the justice that will soon come to England and will punish the wretches (the evil and despicable people) who have committed crimes and atrocities against the state and its king. He is, of course, referring specifically to Goneril and Regan and Cornwall. Such a line, though, should also include Edmund. Lears speech thus also serves as foreshadowing in the play. Kent convinces Lear to take shelter in a nearby hovel (a hut or shack). Lear, calming down for the moment, realizes that both he and his Fool are cold. So, Lear allows Kent to lead them toward the hovel. As they proceed, the Fool sings a song about misfortune coming every day (suggested by the line, the rain it raineth every day at line 75). This same song, incidentally, is sung by the fool Feste in Shakespeares comedy Twelfth Night. The Fool also makes a prophecy in poetry. The Fool predicts that England (the realm of Albion) shall come to great confusion and destruction when a number of odd events start to
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occur. For example, the Fool predicts that the destruction will come when every case in law is just (line 83). Lears Fool is thus commenting on the present state in England when there is a great deal of injustice occurring in the land. The Fool also suggests that the present time in England is one full of pickpockets, usurers, slanderers, and prostitutes. However, the Fool is also speaking ironically; for even though the pickpockets and usurers continue to flourish, England is already in great confusion and on the brink of war, on the path of its own possible destruction. The scene ends with the Fool then declaring the following: This prophecy Merlin shall make; for I live before his time. (93) Merlin was the name of the wizard who befriended and aided King Arthur, and the Fools prophecy is a parody of a medieval poem entitled Merlins Prophecy (see Appendix C). Although some editors interpret this line as suggesting that the story of Lear is set before the time of King Arthur, a more likely interpretation is that the Fool is speaking ironically or nonsensically. The Fool could be suggesting that events in England are happening in a backwards or topsy-turvy manner.

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Act III, Scene 3: A Fair Deserving In a brief scene the Earl of Gloucester speaks to his bastard son Edmund about Cornwall and Regan. Gloucester complains that the Duke and his wife have taken over his house for their own pleasure and have commanded him not to help Lear in any way. Edmund responds in a cool and unemotional manner, and Gloucester believes that his son does not understand the importance of what is happening. So Gloucester foolishly reveals too much information to Edmund. Gloucester tells his son that there is a conflict growing between the Duke of Albany and the Duke of Cornwall. And, more importantly, Gloucester reveals that he has received a letter concerning an army coming to take revenge against those who have injured Lear. Then Gloucester asks Edmund to go and play host to Cornwall and Regan while he (Gloucester) secretly goes out into the countryside to seek and help Lear. Gloucester is acting directly against Cornwalls orders, but Gloucester trusts Edmund to keep that secret to himself. As soon as Gloucester exits, Edmund delivers a brief soliloquy. Edmund intends to tell Cornwall everything that Gloucester had just told him. In return Edmund hopes to receive from Cornwall a fair deserving (20). That is, Edmund hopes to receive a large reward; and he believes this reward will be everything that his father loses: the property and title of Gloucester.

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Act III, Scene 4: Is Man No More Than This? Kent leads Lear and the Fool to the hovel that he had spoken of, and inside they find Edgar. Edgar is now disguised as the madman, poor Tom. The lines he speaks are mostly nonsense snatches of songs and tidbits of common expressions or popular rhymes. Dressed in nothing but a loin cloth and covered with dirt, Edgar is a raw, bare man, exposed to the elements. The mad Lear immediately sees something of himself in the pretending-to-be-mad Edgar. In fact, Lear even wonders if poor Tom was driven to his impoverished and extreme state by unkind daughters of his own (68). Witnessing the madness of his once great king, the Fool makes the following comment: This cold night will turn us all to fools and madmen. (75) The Fool of course realizes that he himself has been acting foolishly and even madly by following and serving a crownless king into a wild and savage countryside at night. The Fool is implying that there is not much difference between being foolish and being mad. Despite the discomfort of his situation, the king turns his difficult situation into a topic of philosophical discourse. Lear wonders about the nature of man: Is man no more than this? (95-96)

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Lear is pondering the purpose and meaning of existence. He is wondering if man is essentially any different from the other animals that walk the earth. Reason is the one quality that separates man from beast, yet a madman is without reason. Lear contrasts poor Tom to Kent, the Fool, and himself. The three of them are sophisticated (98). Lear is suggesting that they are civilized, or at least wear the trappings (the clothing) of civilization. Lear may even be suggesting that the three of them have reason. But then Lear comments about poor Tom: Thou art the thing itself; unaccommodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art. (98-100) The word unaccommodated means both naked and uncivilized. The word forked in this instance simply means having two legs. Lear is, in his mad way, perhaps questioning the importance or the significance or the value of reason and civilization. He may be wondering whether such aspects of man really contribute to his superiority. In any event, the mad and former king sees something of value or high regard in poor Tom; for Lear begins to rip off his own clothes so that he can be exactly like the wretched inhabitant of the hovel.

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Act III, Scene 4: Poor Tom the Philosopher When the Earl of Gloucester enters the hovel, Edgar (still disguised as poor Tom and completely unrecognized by his father), refers to him as Flibbertigibbet (106). This is the name of a devil in folklore, and Edgar describes this fiend as a night devil who brings all manner of ills to mankind: cataracts (web and pin), squinted eyes, and harelips. The night devil also ruins wheat with mildew and causes other problems as well. Edgar may be subtly referring to his father as the cause of his own ills and discomfort, but more likely he is broadly referring to the ills suffered by all mankind. Fate is often cruel and harmful to man without any apparent reason. Lacking any scientific explanation, people in earlier times often ascribed these problems as coming from some evil or malicious supernatural force, from some devil. The problems that Edgar suggests here are listed as a startling contrast to the problems of the aristocrats, who haggle over power and money and property. Edgar ends his short but mad discourse on folklore devils with a rhyme about St. Withold (beginning at line 110). The saint travels the countryside and encounters a group of nine devils led by another folklore devil referred to as night-mare (which does not necessarily imply that this female devil is in the shape of a horse). To this devil St. Withold says aroint thee, witch (116). The saint is telling Night-Mare to go away and leave the inhabitants alone. This seemingly crazy rhyme seems to imply that only someone gifted with holy or supernatural powers can drive away the multitude of
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demons and devils that beset mankind. However, the common folk can find no remedy to relieve them from their wretched condition. In a following passage Edgar contrasts his present condition (being naked and resorting to eating nothing better than frogs and mice) to the condition of aristocrats: the wealthy nobleman has three suits to his back, six shirts to his body, horse to ride, and weapon to wear yet still finds reason to whip or punish those commoners who wear rags and have nothing (lines 123-26). Shakespeare was well aware of the differences between the classes and the unjust laws in which those who had much mistreated those who had little or nothing. And so the playwright subtly infused his plays with many comments about the ills of the lower classes. The gentle Gloucester, worried about his former kings health, asks Lear to join him to a more comfortable lodging. But the mad king replies with First let me talk with this philosopher. What is the cause of thunder? (142-43) The philosopher he is referring to is Edgar. The mad king understands the truth and sense behind poor Toms mad discourse and wishes to hear more. The second line could be understood just on a literal level. However, the word thunder can also be a metaphor for all of the noise and craziness and confusion that Lear is experiencing. Kent and Gloucester then comment on Lears madness, and Gloucester admits that he also is almost mad (154). Gloucester thinks about his son
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Edgar. Although Gloucester still believes that Edgar had wanted to kill him, he cannot forget how much he had loved and still loves his son. In terms of plot, the reader should note that Edgar hears Gloucesters declaration. However Edgar still cannot reveal himself to his father since his father still thinks that Edgar is guilty of attempting patricide.

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Act III, Scene 5: Conniving Edmund A brief dialogue between Edmund and Cornwall is the topic of the fifth scene. Edmund has already told Cornwall (1) that Gloucester has gone out to help Lear against Cornwalls orders and (2) that Gloucester has committed treason against England by conspiring with the forces that are coming from France. Edmund also gives Cornwall the letter that Gloucester had entrusted him with. Cornwall is grateful for the intelligence, and he names Edmund as the new Earl of Gloucester (line 14). Edmund pledges to serve Cornwall loyally, and in return Cornwall promises Edmund further rewards: thou shalt find a dearer father in my love (20-21). Cornwall promises to take the place of the father that Edmund has lost and be a kinder and more generous father to him in his place.

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Act III, Scene 6: The Mad Courtroom Scene Gloucester has managed to convince Lear to come into an old barn-like structure near his palace. Kent, the Fool, and Edgar have also come as well. Gloucester attempts to make the place as comfortable as he can. While they are sitting there, Lear, whose madness has increased, decides to hold a trial in which Goneril and Regan are the defendants. Lear appoints the Fool and Mad Tom as judges, and Lear himself becomes the prosecutor. The entire scene thus becomes a parody of the justice system. Foolishness and madness play an integral part of the trial from beginning to end, and thus the results can only end up being foolish and mad. In Gonerils place, Lear points to an old wooden stool. The stool, being unable to speak, cannot then deny the accusation that Lear makes against it (at line 46). Lear then uses an animal in the barn to supply the place of Regan. In one movie version of the play, a chicken was used (but an ugly pig or dog or cat would work just as well). In a quite humorous line, Lear then declares that Regans warped looks proclaim what store her heart is made on (48-49). He is suggesting that the ugliness in her face indicates the ugliness or evil that is in her heart. The chicken, however, is not pleased with the criticism and runs off at that moment. The action of the play would then call for Lear (perhaps aided by the Fool and Edgar) madly chasing the chicken around the stage. This is light-hearted and broad physical humor. This is slapstick. Of course, the scene is intended to make the audience laugh.
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However, the chaos that appears on stage is also symbolic of the not-so-funny chaos that often appears in the real courtrooms of early England.

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Act III, Scene 6: Edgars Soliloquy on Misery At the end of the sixth scene, Gloucester comes in and informs Kent that Lears life is in danger. Gloucester adds that Kent should take Lear to Dover, where Lear will receive help and protection (from the force that is coming from France and the Englishmen who oppose the rule of Cornwall and Albany). Lear has fallen asleep at this point, so Kent and the Fool carry him off-stage. Everyone exits except for Edgar, who delivers a soliloquy. There is an old expression that misery loves company. This adage suggests that people who feel miserable want other people to feel miserable as well. Shakespeare, however, explains the psychology that underlies this feeling. Edgar declares that
Who alone suffers suffers most i the mind. (97)

In other words, a person who is suffering all by himself will have increased suffering because he will constantly dwell upon his miserable state and complain about his condition. The sufferer is unable to think about anything else. But when Edgar sees King Lear his better or superior suffering just as much as himself, Edgars mind no longer dwells upon his own wretched state. Thus, although his wretched bodily condition is not made any more comfortable, his mind is relieved. His pain and misery now become light or bearable in his mind. The complex and intricate ties between subplot and plot are also further developed by this soliloquy. Not only is Edgar (a character of the
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subplot) commenting upon and interacting with Lear (of the main plot), but Edgar also draws a parallel between himself and Lear. Earlier Edgar was posited as a parallel figure (1) to Cordelia in the sense that both characters were betrayed by their siblings and unfairly judged by their fathers. Edgar is also a parallel figure (2) to Kent because both men are banished by their superiors yet both men take disguises in order to better serve those masters. And now Edgar becomes a parallel figure (3) to Lear. Edgar comments on this connection when, in describing the pain and misery he feels, he adds the following:
When that which makes me bend makes the king bow; He childed as I fathered! (102-03)

Edgar is referring to misery. Misery is a heavy burden that causes both men to bend over or bow down. And in both cases the source of that misery is a family member: Lears two daughters and Edgars father. Of course, in context with the other parallels of the play, Lear and Edgar are not the only miserable ones. Gloucester, Cordelia, and Kent are also equally miserable.

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Act III, Scene 7: Cruel Nails and Boarish Fangs At the beginning of the seventh scene, Cornwall advises Goneril to hurry home to her husband and advise him that the army from France has arrived and that he must hurriedly prepare for war. Cornwall also advises Edmund to go with Goneril because the Duke intends to torture Gloucester, and such a sight would not be fitting or appropriate for Edmund to witness. Cornwall also learns that King Lear is being conducted to Dover by a small group of knights who remain loyal to their old king. After Goneril and Edmund exit, the angry Cornwall plots on how he will get his revenge against the traitor Gloucester. Cornwall notes that he must still preserve the form of justice (25). That is, he knows that he must make it seem as though Gloucester was judged and convicted in a fair trial. However, Gloucester also adds that his position as ruler will allow him to do a courtesy to our wrath (26). In other words, he will allow his wrath or anger to decide the verdict of the case. It will not be a fair trial. Once again, Shakespeare is commenting upon the inadequacies of the justice system. Three soldiers then conduct Gloucester to Cornwall. Although Gloucester is an old man and is unable to resist the strength of Cornwall and his servants, Cornwall still orders his men to tie Gloucester down on a chair. Both Cornwall and Regan then ask him questions in this mockery of an interrogation. When Gloucester denies being a traitor, the angry Regan plucks or pulls on his beard. Gloucester cries out against this treatment and
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reminds the Duke and his wife that he is their host. The relationship between host and guest was a sacred one in medieval times and was supposed to be a relationship of respect and fairness. However, neither Regan nor her husband are capable of respect or calm at this point. When Regan asks Gloucester why Lear was sent to Dover, the old but honorable earl cannot help but respond with anger of his own:
Because I would not see thy cruel nails Pluck out his poor eyes; nor thy fierce sister In his anointed flesh stick boarish fangs. (57-59)

Gloucesters lines indicate that both sisters are behaving like wild and cruel and savage animals toward their father. Although Gloucester is speaking on a metaphorical level, he will soon find out that his lines are also true on a literal level. Gloucester ends his response to Regans question by stating that he shall see the winged vengeance overtake such children (66-67). He again is speaking metaphorically to suggest that soon Regan and Goneril will receive just punishment for their cruel actions. Cornwall, though, takes the word see literally. He angrily tells Gloucester that he will never see any such event occur. Cornwall then topples over the chair that Gloucester is tied to and steps hard with the heel of his boot on one of Gloucesters eyes. The eye is crushed and blood splatters onto the ground. Even back in Renaissance and earlier times, actors would use hidden packets of some red substance to simulate blood. Such bloody and horrifying spectacles were a
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standard part of Roman tragedy. Shakespeare, however, presented such scenes on a far more limited basis and only when absolutely necessary to the plot. The audience needed to see just how cruel and savage Cornwall and the sisters have become.

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Act III, Scene 7: The Limits of Loyalty Regan urges her husband to crush Gloucesters other eye when one of the soldiers (designated as First Servant) requests them to stop. The First Servant symbolizes the limits of loyalty. Although this soldier had always been loyal to Cornwall and his wife, he feels that he cannot remain loyal in the face of such cruelty and such unfair treatment of the old Earl of Gloucester. Shakespeare is suggesting that no man should remain loyal to a master who acts in a dishonorable or evil way. Goodness and honor take precedence over loyalty in such cases. The still angry Cornwall then engages in a sword fight with the First Servant. Cornwall is badly hurt, but then Regan rushes at the servant with a sword and stabs him in the back. The First Servant then dies. The merciless Cornwall, although seriously hurt, does not stop in his torture of the old earl. He crushes out Gloucesters other eye so that the earl will never be able to see again. Thus, Gloucester, who had been metaphorically blind to the truth, now becomes literally blind as well. Shakespeare cleverly connects the themes of madness and blindness in his plot and subplot. The mad king had also been blind to the truth, and the blind earl also experiences a degree of madness (I am almost mad myself: Act III, Scene 5, line 154). Madness has no room for truth. Regan commands the other two servants, who have been watching in shock and horror, to throw
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Gloucester out of the gates so that he can blindly find his way to Dover. After Cornwall and Regan leave, the two servants comment on the cruelty of their masters. They can hardly believe that Cornwall and Regan were capable of such wicked and despicable acts. One of the servants then states that he will find mad Tom (not knowing that Tom is actually Edgar) to lead Gloucester to safety, and the other servant adds that he will fetch some egg whites as an ointment for Gloucesters eyes and some bandages (flax) to stop the bleeding. Even the two other servants realize that, for the sake of humanity, they must disobey their masters.

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ACT IV Act IV, Scene 1: When Madmen Lead the Blind The first scene of Act IV begins with a short soliloquy by Edgar, who is out in the open countryside. Edgar is being philosophical about his situation, and he sees some advantages to being poor. A poor man may be despised by others, but a rich man is both despised and flattered. People despise the wealthy man because he is wealthy, but they flatter him nonetheless because they are trying to get some of his money for themselves. A second advantage to being poor is that the poor man always has hope (esperance at line 4) that his situation will improve, but the wealthy man always lives in fear of losing his position of wealth or power. And hope is certainly a far more comforting emotion than is fear. Edgar concludes that wealthy men of power, when fate brings them a change, can only look forward to the worst that is, they can only look forward to a reversal of fortune and a loss of wealth or power or both. But the poor man at the bottom of fortunes ladder, when he receives a reversal of destiny, will come to laughter (6). He will then laugh at his joy and at his good luck or fortune. Meanwhile, also out in the countryside, an old servant is leading blind Gloucester away from his home. When Edgar sees his father in such a wretched state, he then comments with a different sort of philosophy:

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World, world, O world! But that thy strange mutations makes us hate thee, Life would not yield to age. (10-12)

Edgar is asserting that people (life) would not want to grow old and die if the world was not constantly bringing forth negative changes (mutations) in their circumstances. But suffering in life causes most people to hate living and hate the world. Gloucester and the old man do not at first see or hear Edgar. Gloucester tries to persuade his old servant to leave him because Gloucester fears that the old man might be punished for helping him. The loyal old servant, though, is reluctant to leave his blind master. Gloucester also laments having mistreated his son Edgar and admits that his actions were a result of his wrath (23). Gloucester declares that his only last wish is to touch (because he cannot see) Edgar once again. When Gloucester does hear Edgar, the old man informs him that they have encountered the poor beggar-man. Gloucester, remembering poor Tom and his wretched condition, also philosophically comments on the state of man. Gloucester, using a double-metaphor, compares the gods relationship with mankind to the relationship of careless boys with flies. Just as careless boys unthinkingly swat, hurt, and kill flies, so too do the gods (or fate) carelessly and unthinkingly swat, hurt, and kill men. Edgar, feeling great sorrow, reluctantly continues to play his role as madman or fool (line 39). Gloucester asks Edgar to be his guide to Dover
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and instructs his old servant to hurry off and bring Tom some suitable clothes. Gloucester also delivers a famous line regarding his situation:
Tis the times plague, when madmen lead the blind. (47)

In other words, the time or era has really reached a bad or low point when madness or foolishness leads blind or foolish followers. This line, of course, applies not just to Gloucester and Edgar. Cornwall, Goneril, and Regan are also madly leading their followers, most of whom are blind to the cruelty and evil of these leaders. Gloucester hands over his purse or money bag to Edgar and comments that his misery should bring happiness to the poor beggar. Gloucester then makes a general comment about life (social criticism) and the distribution of wealth (beginning at line 67). Shakespeare, through the character of Gloucester, suggests that every man who has an excess of wealth and who indulges his every whim, should be relieved of that wealth so that every man should have enough (71). Shakespeare is criticizing a society where one group of people have so much food that they waste it or throw it away while right outside their very doors there are people starving in the streets. Gloucester asks poor Tom to lead him to the cliffs of Dover. Gloucester intends to end his life by jumping off of the cliff. Edgar agrees to lead him, but the good son has no intention of letting his father commit suicide.
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Act IV, Scene 2: Horrid Deformity The second scene takes place at Albanys castle. Oswald informs Goneril, who has just returned, that her husband is a changed man. Neither Oswald nor Goneril understand why the harsh treatment of Lear and Gloucester bothers Albany. However Albany is an honorable man, and he places that honor above his personal ambitions and any quest for power. But Goneril just sees her husband as a coward. Goneril tells Edmund, who had accompanied her to northern England, that he should hurry back to Cornwall and inform him to get his army ready. Meanwhile Goneril intends to lead Albanys own army herself. She explains to Edmund that she must exchange places with her husband: she will take the mans role in commanding the army while her husband gets to command nothing more than the distaff (17). The word distaff actually has two meanings: (1) it is an object that holds unspun wool or flax from which threads are taken to be used in sewing. And, thus, the word also (2) becomes symbolic of a womans role and her work in the household. Goneril also gives Edmund a token of her affection (like a brooch or a scarf) and kisses him. She would much rather be married to Edmund, who is more like herself in regards to her evil disposition, than to her own husband. After Edmund exits, Goneril speaks in an aside: My fool usurps my body (28). She is referring to her husband and the notion that the husband controls the wife. The word
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fool actually has a double meaning: (1) that Albany is a fool or an idiot and (2) that Goneril would gladly turn Albany into a cuckold by her having an affair with Edmund. A cuckold was often referred to as a fool. Albany then enters and scolds Goneril in exceptionally strong terms. Albany sees Goneril as a most degenerate, unnatural, and immoral monster. Among other comments, Albany tells Goneril that She that herself will sliver and disbranch From her material sap, perforce must wither And come to deadly use. (35-37) Albany is using the metaphor of the tree. If someone cuts off a branch from a tree, that branch will dry, wither, and rot. Symbolically Goneril is the branch, and Lear and Lears family is the tree (as in family tree). Albany suggests that Goneril is withered and rotten inside; and he predicts (foreshadowing) that she will end up destroyed just as a dry branch is destroyed (by being burnt up as firewood). The angry Goneril criticizes her husband as a moralizing fool and as a coward for not getting ready to defend England against the invading army from France. Albany becomes more irritated by Gonerils wild words and tells her the following: Proper deformity shows not in the fiend So horrid as in woman. (61-62) Deformity or ugliness of features and of behavior is expected from fiends or devils, Albany suggests. But
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when such ugly and dreadful behavior appears in a woman, the sight is even more dreadful and horrifying and offensive. The quarrel between Goneril and Albany ends when a messenger appears. The messenger informs them that Cornwall has died from the wound that he had received from the First Servant and that Gloucester had been blinded by Cornwall. Albany is shocked by the news but sees the death of Cornwall as morally right and as symbolic of divine justice. For Goneril, the news is both positive and negative. The news is positive because Cornwall was one of two kings in England. With Cornwall dead, Albany becomes the sole king of England. However, the news is also negative because, now that Cornwall is dead, Regan is free to marry someone else; and Goneril fears that Regan will marry Edmund. The messenger also informs Albany that Edmund had betrayed his own father. Albany is now aware that Edmund is not to be trusted, and he vows to get revenge for Gloucester against his traitorous son.

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Act IV, Scene 3: The Stars Govern Us The third brief scene primarily moves the plot forward. Kent (still in disguise) arrives in Dover and speaks to a gentleman about what has happened there recently. The gentleman informs Kent that the King of France had to return home on urgent business; but his trusted Marshall is in command of the French army, which has remained in Dover. Cordelia, now Queen of France, is also in Dover. The gentleman explains how grief and sadness nearly devastated Cordelia when she heard the news about how her two sisters have treated their father. Through the dialogue of the gentleman, Shakespeare once again emphasizes the conflict between Reason and Emotion: It seemed she was a queen Over her passion, who, most rebel-like, Sought to be king oer her. (12-14) As noted earlier, this conflict is one that appears in nearly every Shakespeare play. The Church taught that God gave all people the gift of Reason. Metaphorically, Reason is the king over the Emotions. All people can control their emotions (according to the Church); and if they control their emotions, they can avoid sin. If Reason is the king, then the Emotions are the kings subjects or servants. When the emotions overpower reason, then metaphorically one can say that the emotions are rebelling against their king. Shakespeare (as well as other Renaissance poets, like Philip Sidney) however believed there were occasions when an emotion
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became so strong that no amount of reason could control it. In this passage Shakespeare displays the strength of Cordelias character. Although Cordelias emotions (signified by the word passion) are intense and powerful and are attempting to rebel against her Reason (or herself), Cordelia (and her Reason) remain Queen over those passions. She controls herself she controls her emotions and does not allow them to overcome or defeat her. However, Cordelia does feel intense sorrow in regards to her father and sheds many tears as a result. Yet, despite her tears, Cordelia remains a strong queen. Through the dialogue of Kent, Shakespeare also comments on the role of fate: It is the stars, The stars above us, govern our conditions; Else one self mate and make could not beget Such different issues. (31-34) The reference to the stars is, of course, a reference to astrology and the belief that a persons destiny is set or established from the time of his birth. The words mate and make refer to spouses (in this case specifically to Lear and his wife) and the word issues refers to children (specifically referring to Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia). Kent is pondering how the children of Lear can be so different how Cordelia can be so warm and kind and generous while her sisters are so cold and cruel and selfish. No one knows the reason why this is so. It is a mystery, and such mysteries were often explained as being the
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product of a mysterious, supernatural force, such as fate or God. Through the gentleman Kent also learns (1) that Lear, who is also now in Dover, refuses to see Cordelia because he feels such intense shame over how he had treated her and (2) that the forces of Albany and Cornwall are now marching toward Dover. A battle will soon occur.

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Act IV, Scene 4: My Fathers Business In the extremely brief fifth scene, Cordelia relates that she has heard news about her father. Lear has gone completely mad and is running wildly through the countryside. Cordelia is naturally quite worried about him and sends her soldiers to search for her father and bring him to her. A doctor assures Cordelia that rest and some simple medicinal herbs will restore Lear and relieve his anguish. When a messenger informs Cordelia about the approaching armies of Cornwall and Albany, the French queen responds with the following: O dear father, It is thy business that I go about. (24-25) The line is an allusion to the New Testament. Jesus Christ, in the Gospel of St. Luke, explained that he was on a mission from God: I must go about my fathers business (Luke 2:49). Cordelia, being most virtuous and Christ-like, explains that her actions are not the result of ambition or any other selfish reason. Rather, she is acting out of love (line 29). Her love for her father and her wish to see that he is treated properly and respectfully have impelled her to come to France with an army and oppose her unkind sisters.

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Act IV, Scene 5: Jealousy Oswald, Gonerils servant, speaks with Regan at the castle of Gloucester. Oswald informs Regan that Albany and his army are already on the way toward Dover, but Oswald also tells her that he must deliver a letter from Goneril to Edmund. Regan explains that Edmund has left on urgent matters regarding the upcoming battle. Regan also notes that it was a mistake to let the Earl of Gloucester live. His blindness will cause people to sympathize with him and take sides against Regan and the forces of Cornwall. Regan fears that many English people will join the forces of France that have come to attack England. When Oswald states that he must hurry after Edmund and deliver his letter, the curious Regan wonders what could be in Gonerils letter and why Oswald is insistent on delivering it personally. The jealous Regan asks Oswald to unseal the letter and let her read it. Oswald refuses, and so Regan tells him that she already knows that Goneril is attracted to Edmund. However, Regan also adds that she has already made an arrangement with Edmund regarding marriage and that the married Goneril is acting foolishly in her attempts to pursue him. As Oswald starts to leave, Regan also informs him that he will receive a reward if he kills that blind traitor, the Earl of Gloucester.

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Act IV, Scene 6: The White Cliffs of Dover Edgar, as Gloucester had asked, leads his father to the cliffs of Dover. Gloucester intends to kill himself by jumping off of an extremely high cliff onto the rocks below. Edgar pretends to lead his father to such a cliff because he plans to trick his father into seeing reason. Gloucester is so full of self-anger and regret and remorse that Edgar realizes that words alone may not convince his father to accept his present circumstances. The reader should note that Edgar no longer speaks as mad Tom. However, because of Gloucesters emotional state, he believes that Edgar is still the poor beggar that he had seen before. Edgar tells his father that they have arrived on top of a high cliff (which is not true). He positions Gloucester in a spot and tells him that he is just one foot away from the edge and that the fisherman far below are so small that they look like mice. Gloucesters final words before his jump include a blessing on Edgar even though Gloucester is not even certain that Edgar is still alive. Gloucester then jumps. Although he just falls directly onto the ground next to him, Gloucester faints because he is so overcome with anguish and the pain from his torture. Even though Gloucester did not have a large fall, Edgar worries that he may still be dead: And yet I know not how conceit may rob The treasury of life, when life itself Yields to the theft. (42-44)
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The word conceit (similar to the modern word concept) indicates imagination or the power of the mind. The second part of this quote implies that life willingly gives itself up (yields) or specifically that Gloucester willingly gives up his life to the concept or idea that steals it. Shakespeare uses personification for Conceit, which is a thief. The playwright is implying, though, that the power of the mind is so great that it can even will oneself to death. Gloucester, however, is not dead. He has simply fainted. When he revives, Edgar, now pretending to be a fisherman, tells Gloucester that he saw him fall hundreds of feet to the ground below. But, instead of being cracked and broken like an egg that has fallen on the floor, Gloucester is completely unhurt. Edgar tells him that a miracle had saved him. At first Gloucester feels frustrated that his suicide attempt had failed. He felt that death was his only recourse to stop any further violent emotions. Gloucester wanted his misery (through his own death) to beguile the tyrants rage, and frustrate his proud will (63-64). The word beguile here means to cheat. Gloucester (who is a tyrant when he is overcome by his emotions) believes that the only way to stop his wrath (or rage) and pride is by taking his own life. Both wrath and pride are among the Seven Deadly Sins, and these sins were actually powerful negative emotions that caused people to act in immoral and sinful ways. Gloucester, then, sees himself as a terrible sinner who deserves death. Edgar, though, still pretending to be a stranger, tells Gloucester that earlier, when he looked up at the top of the cliff, he saw Gloucester standing next to a monstrous fiend or devil and not next to a
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poor beggar. Edgar tells Gloucester that the gods had saved him from this fiend. Gloucester believes this tale and henceforth pledges to bear or tolerate his afflictions and torments and no longer seek to take his own life.

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Act IV, Scene 6: Fantastically Dressed with Wild Flowers The dialogue between Edgar and Gloucester is interrupted by the arrival of Lear. The old king is running madly through the countryside. His clothes are disheveled and messy and he is wearing wild flowers in his hair and elsewhere on his body. Edgar is shocked at seeing Lear in such a pitiful state. Just as the fool in the previous acts had spoken bits of truth and reason in his foolish quips and rhymes, Lear speaks bits of truth and reason during his mad and wild discourse. He realizes that Goneril and Regan had lied to him before they received their shares of the kingdom, and he has come to realize his own weaknesses: I am not agueproof (102-03). Lear also speaks a line that marks the intricate connection between plot and subplot: Gloucesters bastard son Was kinder to his father than my daughters Got tween the lawful sheets. (112-14) Lear of course does not know about Edmunds betrayal to his father, but this line does suggest that legitimate children can be cruel and vicious and that illegitimate children (bastards) can be kind and generous. For Lear, though, the point is that he wished he had never had these legitimate daughters. He compares his daughters to centaurs (line 121). The centaur was a creature, half-man and half-horse, that was usually noted for his violent nature. Goneril and Regan are half-women and half fiends, as Lear
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suggests. They may look like women, but they are fiends underneath. Lear also speaks about justice. He notes that what passes for justice is often a sham or fraud: See how yond justice rails upon yon simple thief. (147-48) The usurer hangs the cozener. (157) In the first of these lines, Lear comments that simple thieves who steal a small object like a loaf of bread will often receive severe and extreme punishments. In the second quote, a cozener is a cheater or minor thief. He is like the simple thief in the first quote. A usurer or moneylender is someone who loans out money at extravagant and excessive rates of interest (usury). Despite his often illegal banking methods, a usurer made great sums of money and could use that money to buy himself a position as a judge. A usurer as a judge might then sentence a simple thief to death even though the usurer/judge himself is guilty of far worse crimes. Through these lines, Shakespeare once again provides social criticism and speaks against the injustice of the legal system in England. But Lear is also metaphorically implying that life itself is unfair and does not make sense. Life is not just. During the Renaissance fate was often personified as Dame Fortune, a cruel and malicious deity who parceled out good fortune and bad fortune on a whim, with no reason to her methods. Lear is a victim of fate, which is neither fair nor just. A gentleman and other servants arrive to bring Lear to Cordelia. Lear misunderstands the
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noble intentions of these men, and he runs off into the distance with the servants chasing after him.

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Act IV, Scene 6: The Death of Oily Oswald Edgar is just about to lead Gloucester to a place of safety and comfort when Oswald appears. Oswald is on his way to deliver Gonerils letter to Edmund when he sees Gloucester. Regan had earlier told Oswald that she would reward him well if he should kill Gloucester, and so the servant rejoices in his good luck at finding the blinded earl. Oswald does not think that Edgar will be of any trouble or hindrance to him. Edgar, after all, is not dressed as a gentleman and does not carry any weapon. Edgar, speaking in the regional dialect of the poor folk of that part of England, blocks Oswald from approaching Gloucester. Oswald threatens Edgar and draws out his sword. Edgar knocks the sword away and fights with Oswald. Eventually Edgar is able to defeat and kill Gonerils unctuous servant. With his dying breath, Oswald asks Edgar to deliver the letter that he is carrying to Edmund. Oswald then dies. Edgar takes the letter and reads it. In it Goneril not only writes about her intention to marry Edmund, but she also suggests to Edmund that when he finds time and opportunity, he is to murder Albany. Goneril tells Edmund that she will not be able to reward him properly as long as Albany remains alive. Edgar is shocked to read that Goneril would allow her desires (suggested by the word will at line 266) to move her to such underhanded and despicable acts of betrayal against her own husband. However,
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Edgar plans to inform Albany of this betrayal and to show him the letter as proof.

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Act IV, Scene 7: The Child-Changed Father In the French camp at Dover, Cordelia thanks the Earl of Kent for the service that he has shown her father. When she asks Kent to dress as befitting his aristocratic position, Kent tells her that he wishes to stay in disguise for a while longer. He feels he can be of greater service to Lear and Cordelia if his identity is not yet revealed. Cordelia asks the doctor how her father is doing. He responds that the old king is still asleep. Cordelia then prays for his full recovery: The untuned and jarring senses, O, wind up Of this child-changd father. (16-17) Cordelia plays on the metaphor of an untuned lute (a stringed musical instrument similar to a guitar). Lear has been like this instrument, out of tune he has been discordant (confused and unsmooth). However, if one tunes the lute by winding up the keys (turning the pegs), then the lute will sound pleasant and melodious. Cordelia is, of course, hoping for Lear to be sensible and calm to be in tune with life. Two servants carry in Lear, who is sleeping on a chair. They bring him to Cordelia. Lear is now dressed in clean and fresh garments and is looking much better. Cordelia feels pity for her old father and wonders how her sisters could have mistreated him in such an abusive manner. Lear awakens and is confused about where he is and how he got there. He admits that he has acted foolishly. He also makes a reference to his age: fourscore and upward (62). A score is twenty; thus
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Lear is well over eighty years of age. Lear recognizes Cordelia, but he cannot believe his eyes. He knows that Cordelia is now Queen of France, and he wonders if he had been brought to France while he had been asleep. Lear is also aware that he had treated Cordelia unkindly and unfairly, and he tells her that she has good reason to hate him. But Cordelia has nothing but kindness and love for the old man, and she takes him back to his room so that he can rest some more. Everyone leaves the room but Kent and a gentleman. The gentleman informs Kent that the Duke of Cornwall is dead and that now Edmund is leading Cornwalls army to Dover. He adds that he expects the battle between England and France to be extremely violent and bloody. After the gentleman exits, Kent comments (an aside) that his life and fortune (destiny) will depend entirely upon the outcome of the battle.

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ACT V Act V, Scene 1: Sister vs. Sister The final act begins with Edmund speaking to Regan at their military camp near Dover. Edmund is concerned that the Duke of Albany may change his mind regarding his participation in the battle against France. After Edmund sends one of his men to Albany to ensure that Albany will come, Regan speaks to Edmund about a more personal matter. Regan is more worried about losing Edmund than she is about losing the battle. So, she bluntly asks Edmund about his relationship with Goneril. Regan even asks Edmund if he has been to the forfended placed (11). The word forfended means forbidden. Regan is directly asking whether or not Edmund has been having an affair with Goneril. Such a relationship was forbidden by the Church because it would be an act of adultery. Edmund assures Regan that he has no intention of being familiar with Goneril. Just then Goneril, the Duke of Albany, and his troops arrive. Like Regan, Goneril is more concerned about Edmund than about the upcoming battle. And like Regan, Goneril is jealous of her sister (lines 19-20). Albany tells Regan and Edmund, Where I could not be honest, I never yet was valiant (23-24). The word honest here actually means honorable. The Duke of Albany is declaring that he can only be valiant (heroic) and brave in situations of honor. He was not valiant in regards to the mistreatment of Lear and Gloucester because he felt that such actions were
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dishonorable. However, the situation with France is another story. France is an invading country, and the Duke of Albany is bound by honor to defend England. Even though France is providing help to Lear bolds the king (26) Albany cannot allow a foreign invader to dictate or force policies upon England. Albany realizes that Lear and the Englishmen who have joined the army of France have just cause or reason to do so. So, Albany is bothered that he must fight against Lear and other men of his own country. However, the Duke as one of the two chief leaders of England must protect the sovereignty and integrity of England. Albany then asks Regan and Edmund to join him in a tent so that they can discuss the preparations for war. Edmund tells Albany that he will join them shortly because he has some other matter that he must take care of first. As Regan leaves with Albany, she insists that Goneril come with them. Regan is afraid to leave Goneril alone with Edmund. She is afraid that Goneril will seduce Edmund.

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Act V, Scene 1: Brother vs. Brother Before Albany has a chance to leave, Edgar comes up to him. Edgar is still in disguise. He hands the Duke of Albany a letter the one written by Goneril that Edgar had taken from Oswald and asks the Duke to read it before he fights in the battle. Edgar also asserts that, despite his appearance, he will bring forth a champion (suggesting a nobleman) who will testify that the contents of the letter are true. Again this is a subtle reference (and social criticism) that whereas a nobleman might consider the word of a commoner to be suspect or false, that nobleman would consider the word of an aristocrat to be honorable and true. Edgar tells Albany that he will come to Albany again after the battle to verify the contents of the letter. Edgar then leaves before Albany has a chance to read the letter. After Edgar exits, Edmund appears. He had been consulting with some of his officers regarding the size and strength of the enemy forces. He tells Albany that they must act quickly, and Albany hurries off. Edmund, now alone on the stage, reveals his own thoughts in a soliloquy. Edmund admits that he is playing one sister against the other and that he has sworn his love to both of them. However, Edmund does not really care about either sister much. To him they are just political stepping stones they are a means by which he can rise to a higher position of power in the land. Edmund realizes that he needs the Duke of Albany to help him in the battle against France. However, after the battle is over, he also realizes that Goneril may try to get rid of her husband
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(by killing him but making his death look like an accident). And such a death would serve Edmunds purposes well, for Edmund is afraid that Albany will officially pardon Lear and Cordelia (and, by extension, Gloucester) after the battle is over. A pardon would mean that they are excused from any wrongdoing against England and would be set free (not imprisoned). Of course, such a pardon would destroy Edmunds hope for power. So, Edmund also plans to kill Lear and Cordelia (and perhaps Gloucester) before they receive any such pardon.

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Act V, Scene 2: Ripeness is All Near the battlefield at Dover, Edgar is with his father. Edgar is still in disguise and still has not revealed his true identity yet to Gloucester although he calls Gloucester father because that was also a term of respect of any elderly man. Edgar tells his father the bad news that France has lost the battle against England and that Lear and Cordelia have been taken prisoner. Gloucester himself feels defeated and wants to die, but Edgar urges him to stay alive. The time is not yet right (or ripe) for him to die.

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Act V, Scene 3: False Fortunes Frown Edmund and some soldiers are leading their prisoners, Lear and Cordelia, to a place of confinement. Cordelia feels depressed by their misfortune (false Fortunes frown), but the old king accepts their predicament cheerfully. He tells Cordelia that they will live, and pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh at gilded butterflies (11-13). The golden butterfly directly refers to a trinket, an item of jewelry, but here symbolizes unimportant and trivial matters. Although Lear is not happy about the outcome of the battle, he is happy to be with Cordelia. He is happy to know at last that her love for him is genuine. As the soldiers lead Lear and Cordelia away, Edmund hands his captain a letter. The letter (as revealed later in the scene) instructs the captain to execute Lear and Cordelia. Edmund promises the captain noble fortunes (wealth and high rank) if he does as the letter instructs. The captain promises that he will follow those instructions.

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Act V, Scene 3: A Subject of War Albany, along with Goneril and Regan, appears before Edmund. Albany asks Edmund to bring forth the prisoners, Lear and Cordelia. Edmund explains (another cunning lie) that he put Lear and Cordelia in a prison some distance away because he was afraid that many people in England would feel sympathy for them and those people might then turn against Albany and Edmund. Edmund promises that he will bring Lear and Cordelia to Albany tomorrow or on some later day. Of course, then it will be too late; for Edmunds captain will have slain the two prisoners before that time. Albany (who has read the letter given to him by Edgar) responds to Edmund coldly: I hold you but a subject of this war, Not as a brother. (61-62). In other words, Albany is telling Edmund that he is merely one of the soldiers who must serve under him. Edmund is not his equal. Therefore, Edmund has no right to make any decisions regarding the prisoners. Regan is surprised by Albanys response, and she defends Edmund. She tells Albany that since Edmund was the leader of the forces from Cornwall, he has every right to be considered an equal, a brother, to Albany. Regan is implying that she will soon be making Edmund her consort (her husband). The jealous Goneril interrupts Regan at this point (line 67) and asserts that Edmund does not need Regans approval or honors to be considered worthy
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and equal to Albany. She claims that he is worthy enough because of his own merits. The two sisters argue further, but then suddenly Regan announces she is not well (74). Although she does not know it yet, Regan has been poisoned by Goneril. So, Regan quickly announces that she will take Edmund as her husband, as her lord and master (79). But before she makes the proclamation official, Albany bids her to wait. He then declares that Edmund is to be arrested for capital treason (84). Further, Albany accuses Goneril as being Edmunds partner in his crime. Albany then in a tone of bitterness tells Regan that she cannot marry Edmund because he already has a contract of marriage with Goneril. Speaking ironically, Albany adds that if Regan wants to marry anyone, she should be making her request to him (he is now no longer married since Goneril has pledged herself to Edmund). Goneril denies the accusation, but Albany ignores her.

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Act V, Scene 3: Let the Trumpet Sound Albany calls for the trumpet to be sounded to summon Edgar. The Duke informs Edmund that a challenger (Edgar) is being summoned to testify against Edmund. But Albany adds that if the challenger does not appear, Albany himself will challenge Edmund. Albany then throws down his glove before Edmund. The action of throwing down the glove signified a formal challenge to a duel or fight. Edmund accepts the challenge and throws down his own glove to signify his acceptance. As Albany and Edmund discuss the challenge, Regan becomes sicker. The poison that Goneril had given her is killing her. Edgar arrives dressed in armor and with a helmet and visor over his head so that his face cannot be seen. He refuses to give his name, but he tells Edmund that he is a nobleman. Edgar then accuses Edmund of being a traitor against his father, his brother, and the Duke of Albany (referred to as prince in line 134). Edmund declares that according to proper etiquette, Edgar should announce his name. But Edmund says that he will accept the challenge anyway and that he denies the accusations that Edgar has made. Edmund knows that he will look cowardly and guilty if he refuses to accept the challenge. Edgar and Edmund fight, and Edmund is mortally wounded. However, he does not die immediately. Goneril complains that Edmund was tricked into fighting, but her husband tells her to be quiet or he else will choke her with her own letter (the one
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she had written to Edmund). When Goneril sees that Albany has the letter, she knows that she can no longer deny the truth. So, Goneril quickly exits.

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Act V, Scene 3: The Gods Are Just Seeing that he also can no longer deny the truth, Edmund admits to being a traitor. He then asks his challenger to reveal himself. Edgar removes his helmet and reveals his identity (lines 167-69). Edgar also asserts that The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to plague us. The dark and vicious place where thee he got Cost him his eyes. (169-72) The word vices is used in a general sense initially, but Edgar is specifically referring to the vice of lust. The Earl of Gloucester (he) engaged in an act of lust, and the result of that act was the bastard child Edmund (thee). The dark and vicious place could refer to the bedroom of Edmunds mother or even to her vagina. Edgar is declaring that his father was justly punished for his sin. Edgar does not seem to be speaking for Shakespeare himself. The playwright, time and again, often complains about the unfairness or injustice of fortune or fate. The use of the word gods becomes another way of expressing the idea of fate. And since so much unfairness and injustice occurs to Lear, Edgar, Cordelia, Kent, Gloucester, and others in the play, Shakespeare does not really appear to believe that the gods are just or that fate is equitable. Edgar then explains to Albany how he had been in disguise as mad Tom and had helped his father. Edgar adds that when he finally did reveal his
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true identity to Gloucester, the two extremes of passion joy because of Edgar and grief because of Edmund caused his heart to burst (lines 196-97). Gloucester died. Edgar also explains to Albany that he also met up with Kent and that the noble earl had been in disguise and supporting and helping King Lear.

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Act V, Scene 3: Too Late Edgar is interrupted by a gentleman who enters carrying a bloody knife. The messenger explains that Goneril, before committing suicide, confessed that she had poisoned Regan. The gentleman also relates that Regan is now dead as well. Edmund realizes that he has lived his life foolishly and maliciously. He hopes to do one act of goodness before his death, so he tells the Duke about the letter ordering the execution of Cordelia. But Edmund is too late. Edgar goes off to find the captain and stop him from killing Cordelia. But when Edgar returns, he is with Lear, who comes in carrying the dead body of Cordelia. The distraught old king grieves desperately, but he is no longer mad. Lear explains that he killed the man who had hanged Cordelia. Kent, who appeared some minutes earlier (at line 228), grieves with Lear and reveals his identity to the old king. As Kent and Lear stare at each other, Kent asserts If fortune brag of two she loved and hated, One of them we behold. (279-80) They are beholding each other, and Kent is declaring that in earlier times they experienced good fortune (the love of Fortune), but in more recent times their experiences were negative (her hate). Fortune or Fate is thus once again described as an entity or force
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that acts on a whim and is inconstant in her favors. Man cannot trust Fortune.

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Act V, Scene 3: This Great Decay Another captain arrives and announces that Edmund has died. But, as Albany relates, that is but a trifle here (294). Edmunds death does not matter to him, and his passing deserves no notice. The Duke of Albany hopes to do some good despite all of the sadness surrounding him. He relinquishes his power and authority to King Lear, and announces that Lear will remain the sole and absolute monarch of England until his death. Albany also restores the rights and privileges and titles to the Earl of Kent and to Edgar (who becomes Earl of Gloucester). Lear is too overcome by the death of Cordelia, however, to attend to Albanys words. Holding Cordelia in his arms, the old king dies. The play then ends with Albany, Kent, and Edgar overcome with grief.

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FINAL REMARKS SOURCES OF THE PLAY Like nearly all of his plays, Shakespeares plot is not entirely original. The playwright utilized at least half a dozen different sources in the creation of King Lear:
1. Geoffrey of Monmouth: Historiae Regum Brittaniae (c. 1136) Monmouth, in turn, drew upon Celtic mythology. 2. Raphael Holinshed: Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande (1577) 3. Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queen, Book II, chapter x (c. 1589) 4. John Higgins: A Mirror for Magistrates (1574) 5. unknown playwright: The True Chronicle History of King Leir and his three daughters, Gonerill, Ragan, and Cordella (c. 1594) This play has a happy ending, following earlier sources. 6. Sir Philip Sidney: The Countess of Pembrokes Arcadia (1581, 1st version) Sidneys work provides elements of the Gloucester subplot.

But despite the use of sources, Shakespeares play is both new and unique. One of Shakespeares major and most important contributions to the story is
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the invention of Lears madness. Shakespeare thus took an intriguing story that has Celtic mythology for its roots and expanded upon it significantly. Madness, as well as its connection and relationship to foolish behavior and to blindness to truth, becomes a central theme of the play. It is this psychological dimension that adds depth and intrigue to the story and elevates the characters of Lear and others far beyond their roots as stock characters. The intricacy of the plot also distinguishes the play not only from other Renaissance tragedies, but even from other Shakespeare plays as well. Shakespeare certainly paid extremely careful attention to the development of plot in this work. The use of multiple parallels of character and situation unite and link a subplot involving Gloucester and his sons to the main plot of Lear and his daughters in such a manner that no scene is extraneous and no line is wasted. Every word advances the story to its inevitable tragic end. Differences between Shakespeares play and the 1594 play also reveal how the playwright borrowed from but moved far beyond the sources of his drama. The earlier play adds little to the sources that came before it. Although both Shakespeares Lear and the 1594 play are derived from the same sources, they are two entirely different works of literature. Where Shakespeares play is a masterpiece of tragedy, the 1594 play is a simplistic moral tale.

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PLOT As suggested above, the plot of King Lear is extremely complex and highly developed. Lear is initially involved in conflicts with Cordelia and Kent, but the real physical conflicts are those that involve Lear against Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Adding to the conflict and intrigue are (1) the subplot involving Gloucester and his sons and the parallels to the main plot and (2) Lears own inner conflict (the man vs. himself conflict). Finally, overlapping all of these conflicts is the conflict of Lear vs. Fate. Shakespeare clearly reveals that fate exhibits a definite influence over mankind in a way that does not seem fair or just or reasonable. There is no moral lesson to be learned. There is no happy outcome. Also contributing to the complexity and interest of the play are the numerous minor conflicts that affect other characters: Albanys conflict with Goneril and with the actions of Regan and Cornwall, Kents conflict with Lear and with his own sense of duty, Edmunds conflict with the unfairness of life and the social prejudices of his native country, and Edgars conflicts with a father who is blinded by the truth and with a brother whose cunning Edgar himself is blind to. And there are other conflicts as well. And all of these minor conflicts are connected to and rely upon the actions and development of the main conflicts. The climax, the highest point of tension, occurs in the last scene when Edmund admits to his plan to execute Lear and Cordelia. Audiences seeing the play for the first time will experience the tension and suspense of wondering whether Edgar will get to
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Lear and Cordelia in time to save them from their death warrants. The resolution, the point where the main conflicts come to an end, also appears in the final scene of the play with the death of Cordelia and, especially, with the death of Lear. Only through death does one end a conflict with fate.

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CHARACTER Although this play relies heavily upon the development and movement of the plot, the characterization should not be overlooked. King Lear is an intriguing character because of the psychological dimension that Shakespeare gives him. Shakespeare often centralizes his tragedies on a dominant and powerful emotion that overwhelms his protagonist: Macbeth is defeated by his own ambition, and Hamlet succumbs to his melancholy and indecision. With Lear the emotion is anger. No one is able to prevent a highly-charged emotional state from overpowering his reason. Lears great age makes plausible the possibility of this particular emotion becoming dominant. Moreover, the subsequent descent into madness enhances the character as well as contributing to the idea of establishing the strong connection among emotion, irrational thought, foolish behavior, and loss of sanity. Even the mind of a strong and wise king can be fragile and vulnerable to emotion. Other characters in the play also transcend their mythological roots as stock characters. Although Goneril and Regan and Edmund are quite bad or evil and although Cordelia and Edgar are their good and moral counterparts, Shakespeare adds depth to all of them. Goneril and Regans desire and quest for power and authority becomes supplanted by lust and jealousy. There is a definite dynamic quality to their characters. The intricate relationship between the two sisters and Edmund also contributes to their characterization. Audiences are subtly forced to compare and contrast these characters and to note the
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parallels that exist among them. Edmunds final attempt to do some good in the last scene parallels, somewhat, Gonerils confession (made offstage). The characters are not totally evil, for they regret their evil actions. But that regret comes too late. Important in the performance of these parts is that actors need to make their characters both attractive and alluring on the one hand and repulsive and dreadful on the other. The parts should not be performed as if the characters had just stepped from the pages of a fairly tale. Edmunds social criticism regarding the treatment of illegitimate children is also an important part of his character to establish some degree of audience sympathy with him.

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STYLE: DIALOGICS As suggested earlier, Shakespeare relies upon parallels of character and situation to enhance both his characterization and plot. The use of such parallels in literature is referred to as dialogics. The meaning or sense of one scene carries across and develops that of a second scene. The second scene, in turn, contributes to the meaning and depth of the first scene. Audiences will easily see most of these parallels, but often the comparisons and contrast operate on a subconscious level. The audience may not at first perceive the similarity, but the comparison registers on their minds as the story unfolds. The charts below diagram some of the dialogic relationships. The first chart compares Edmund and Goneril. Goneril (as well as Regan), though legitimate, shares the evil of the bastard Edmund. (Shakespeare did not subscribe to popular notion that one is evil simply because one is a bastard.) The quick cutting of parallel scenes also affects the audiences understanding and evaluation of the characters. Note that points 8 and 9 below also reveal the intertwining of the main plot (Lear & daughters) and the subplot (Gloucester & sons). In addition, there is also an intertwining of characterization.

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Edmund & Goneril

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Edgar and Cordelia

Other Dialogic Relationships 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Gloucester and Lear (anger) Lear and Fool Lear and Edgar (madness) Kent and Oswald (loyalty) Kent and Edgar (both misjudged, take disguises, fight Oswald) 6. Kent and First Servant 7. Cornwall and Albany 8. France and Burgundy

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THEMES Some of Shakespeares ideas and concepts in the play are kingship/leadership madness anger blindness father-child relationships bastards destiny/fate loyalty to parents loyalty to king virtue deception justice evil/wickedness

Poetic Justice, or the lack of it, may also be a key theme in the play. There is poetic justice with the deaths of Cornwall, Regan, Goneril, and Edmund. However, the play certainly includes more acts of injustice than justice, notably (1) the blinding of Gloucester; (2) the madness of Lear; (3) the banishments of Lear, Cordelia, and Kent; and (4) the deaths of Cordelia, Gloucester, Lear, and the First Servant. Perversions of Justice are emphasized in two scenes: (1) the mad courtroom scene (Act III, iv), and (2) the interrogation and torture scene (Act III, vii). The lack of justice or perversion of justice theme is also connected to the theme regarding fate and to apocalyptic chaos (as suggested in Gloucesters dialogue regarding recent eclipses in Act I, Scene 2, lines 96-108).

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STYLE: SYMBOLISM As noted earlier, Shakespeare also relies upon a notion that derives from early English Legal Theory. According to this theory, the King is different from other men. He has two bodies: Human and Divine (anointed flesh vs. poor, bare, forkd animal). Lear is in confusion regarding his dual nature, and he tries to separate his human body from his divine body when he relinquishes his position as king. Lear is unaware of his own unique identity. Although Christians would adapt this theory and apply it to all mankind (suggested by the terms of body and soul), the idea regarding the unique nature of kings goes back to ancient times. The ancient Greeks also viewed their kings as being superior beings, and many of these ancient kings would trace back their genealogical roots to Zeus or one of the other powerful Olympian gods. Some critics view the play as having Biblical symbolism. King Lear has been posited as a Job figure, and another reading posits the entire play as a symbolic rendering of the Apocalypse (also suggested by Gloucester lines in Act I, Scene 2). Such views, though, are not necessarily shared by all critics.

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COMMENTS FROM THE CRITICS Harold Bloom: Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human When I teach King Lear, I have to begin by reminding my students that Lear, however unlovable in the first two acts, is very much loved by Cordelia, the Fool, Albany, Kent, Gloucester, and Edgar. (page 479) The plays great villain, the superb and uncanny Edmund, is ice-cold, indifferent to Lear as he is even to his own father Gloucester, his half brother Edgar, and his lovers Goneril and Regan. It is part of Shakespeares genius not to have Edmund and Lear address even a single word to each other in the entire play, because they are apocalyptic antitheses: the king is all feeling, and Edmund is bare of all effect. (page 479) One function of Lears Fool is precisely that of Hamlets Horatio: to mediate, for the audience, a personage otherwise beyond our knowing. The Fool bewilderingly vanishes, another Shakespeare ellipsis that challenges the audience to reflect upon the meanings of this strangest of characters. (page 494)

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Joseph Rosenblum: A Readers Guide to Shakespeare It is however a mark of Shakespeares uncompromising view of reality that there is no simple application of poetic justice to reward the good and punish the wicked. The good die too. That Lear should die is perhaps no surprise. The suffering that he has endured in his confrontation with the primal elements does not allow an optimistic return to normal life and prosperity. He has looked into the eye of nature and there is nothing left for him but to die. (page 182) Stephen Greenblatt: The Norton Shakespeare You have, King James told his eldest son a few years before Shakespeare wrote King Lear, a double obligation to love God: first because He made you a man, and second because He made you a little God to sit on his throne, and rule over other men. The idea of sovereignty was closely linked to fantasies of divine omnipotence. (page 2307)

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Frank Kermode: The Riverside Shakespeare There are, indeed, as John Holloway suggests, remarkable parallels between King Lear and Job. In Job, Satan, with divine permission, tempts Job to curse God. Job becomes the very type of affliction, and Lear is conscious of this when he undertakes to be the pattern of all patience. The terrors of God set themselves in array against him. (page 1253) For another book of the Bible was in Shakespeares mind: Revelation, and especially its account of the last days before final judgment. (page 1253) Through all this apocalyptic turmoil runs the word nothing, first spoken in the opening dialogue between Lear and Cordelia. God made the world out of nothing (Lear agrees with Aristotle that nothing can come of nothing, but Christian philosophy knew that God created the world ex nihilo) and to nothing it seems to be returning. (page 1253)

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APPENDIX A Cap o' Rushes (England)

Well, there was once a very rich gentleman, and he'd three darters [daughters]. And he thought to see how fond they was of him. So he says to the first, "How much do you love me, my dear?" "Why," says she, "as I love my life." "That's good," says he. So he says to the second, "How much do you love me, my dear?" "Why," says she, "better nor all the world." "That's good," says he. So he says to the third, "How much do you love me, my dear?" "Why," she says, "I love you as fresh meat loves salt," says she. Well, he were that angry. "You don't love me at all," says he, "and in my house you stay no more." So he drove her out there and then, and shut the door in her face. Well, she went away, on and on, till she came to a fen. And there she gathered a lot of rushes, and made them into a cloak kind o', with a hood to cover her from head to foot, and to hide her fine clothes. And then she went on and on till she came to a great house. "Do you want a maid?" says she. "No, we don't," says they. "I hain't nowhere to go," says she, "and I'd ask no wages, and do any sort o' work," says she. "Well," says they, "if you like to wash the pots and scrape the saucepans, you may stay," says they. So she stayed there, and washed the pots and scraped the saucepans, and did all the dirty work. And because she gave no name, they called her Cap o' Rushes. Well, one day there was to be a great dance a little way off, and the servants was let go and look at the grand
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people. Cap o' Rushes said she was too tired to go, so she stayed at home. But when they was gone, she offed with her cap o' rushes, and cleaned herself, and went to the dance. And no one there was so finely dressed as her. Well, who should be there but her master's son, and what should he do but fall in love with her, the minute he set eyes on her. He wouldn't dance with anyone else. But before the dance were done, Cap o' Rushes she stepped off, and away she went home. And when the other maids was back, she was framin' [pretending] to be asleep with her cap o' rushes on. Well, next morning, they says to her, "You did miss a sight, Cap o' Rushes!" "What was that?" says she. "Why the beautifullest lady you ever see, dressed right gay and ga'. The young master, he never took his eyes off of her." "Well, I should ha' liked to have seen her," says Cap o' Rushes. "Well, there's to be another dance this evening, and perhaps she'll be there." But come the evening, Cap o' Rushes said she was too tired to go with them. Howsumdever, when they was gone, she offed with her cap o' rushes, and cleaned herself, and away she went to the dance. The master's son had been reckoning on seeing her, and he danced with no one else, and never took his eyes off of her. But before the dance was over, she slipped off, and home she went, and when the maids came back, she framed to be asleep with her cap o' rushes on. Next day they says to her again, "Well, Cap o' Rushes, you should ha' been there to see the lady. There she was again, gay an' ga', and the young master he never took his eyes off of her." Well there," says she, "I should ha' liked to ha' seen her."
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"Well," says they, "there's a dance again this evening, and you must go with us, for she's sure to be there." Well, come the evening, Cap o' Rushes said she was too tired to go, and do what they would, she stayed at home. But when they was gone, she offed with her cap o' rushes, and cleaned herself, and away she went to the dance. The master's son was rarely glad when he saw her. He danced with none but her, and never took his eyes off her. When she wouldn't tell him her name, nor where she came from, he gave her a ring, and told her if he didn't see her again he should die. Well, afore the dance was over, off she slipped, and home she went, and when the maids came home she was framing to be asleep with her cap o' rushes on. Well, next day they says to her, "There, Cap o' Rushes, you didn't come last night, and now you won't see the lady, for there's no more dances." Well, I should ha' rarely liked to ha' seen her," says she. The master's son he tried every way to find out where the lady was gone, but go where he might, and ask whom he might, he never heard nothing about her. And he got worse and worse for the love of her till he had to keep his bed. "Make some gruel for the young master," they says to the cook. "He's dying for love of the lady." The cook she set about making it, when Cap o' Rushes came in. "What are you a' doin' on?" says she. "I'm going to make some gruel for the young master," says the cook, "for he's dying for love of the lady." "Let me make it," says Cap o' Rushes. Well, the cook wouldn't at first, but at last she said "yes," and Cap o' Rushes made the gruel. And when she had made it, she slipped the ring into it on the sly, before the cook took it upstairs. The young man, he drank it, and saw the ring at the bottom.
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"Send for the cook," says he. So up she comes. "Who made this here gruel?" says he. "I did," says the cook, for she were frightened, and he looked at her. "No, you didn't," says he. "Say who did it, and you shan't be harmed." "Well, then, 'twas Cap o' Rushes," says she. So Cap o' Rushes came. "Did you make the gruel?" says he." "Yes, I did," says she. "Where did you get this ring?" says she. "From him as gave it me," says she. "Who are you then?" says the young man. "I'll show you," says she. And she offed with her cap o' rushes, and there she was in her beautiful clothes. Well, the master's son he got well very soon, and they was to be married in a little time. It was to be a very grand wedding, and everyone was asked, far and near. And Cap o' Rushes' father was asked. But she never told nobody who she was. But afore the wedding she went to the cook, and say she, "I want you to dress every dish without a mite o' salt." "That will be rarely nasty," says the cook. "That don't signify," says she. "Very well," says the cook. Well, the wedding day came, and they was married. And after they was married, all the company sat down to their vittles. When they began to eat the meat, that was so tasteless they couldn't eat it. But Cap o' Rushes father, he tried first one dish and then another, and then he burst out crying. "What's the matter?" said the master's son to him. "Oh!" says he, "I had a daughter. And I asked her how much she loved me. And she said, 'As much as fresh meat loves salt.' And I turned her from my door, for I thought she didn't love me. And now I see she loved me best of all. And she may be dead for aught I know."
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"No, father, here she is," says Cap o' Rushes. And she goes up to him and puts her arms round him. And so they were happy ever after.

D. L. Ashliman edition from http://www.pitt.edu/ Source: Eveline Camilla Gurdon, County Folk-Lore, printed extracts no. 2: Suffolk (Ipswich: Published for the Folk-Lore Society by D. Nutt, 1893), pp. 40-43. Gurdon's source: A. W. T., "Suffolk Notes and Queries," Ipswich Journal, 1877, (told by an old servant to the writer when a child).

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APPENDIX B The Dirty Shepherdess (France)

Once upon a time there lived a king who had two daughters, and he loved them with all his heart. When they grew up, he was suddenly seized with a wish to know if they, on their part, truly loved him, and he made up his mind that he would give his kingdom to whichever best proved her devotion. So he called the elder princess and said to her, "How much do you love me?" "As the apple of my eye!" answered she. "Ah!" exclaimed the king, kissing her tenderly as he spoke, "you are indeed a good daughter." Then he sent for the younger, and asked her how much she loved him. "I look upon you, my father," she answered, "as I look upon salt in my food." But the king did not like her words, and ordered her to quit the court, and never again to appear before him. The poor princess went sadly up to her room and began to cry, but when she was reminded of her father's commands, she dried her eyes, and made a bundle of her jewels and her best dresses and hurriedly left the castle where she was born. She walked straight along the road in front of her, without knowing very well where she was going or what was to become of her, for she had never been shown how to work, and all she had learnt consisted of a few household rules, and receipts of dishes which her mother had taught her long ago. And as she was afraid that no housewife would want to engage a girl with such a pretty face, she determined to make herself as ugly as she could. She therefore took off the dress that she was wearing and put on some horrible old rags belonging to a beggar, all torn and covered with mud. After that she smeared mud
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all over her hands and face, and shook her hair into a great tangle. Having thus changed her-appearance, she went about offering herself as a goose-girl or shepherdess. But the farmers' wives would have nothing to say to such a dirty maiden, and sent her away with a morsel of bread for charity's sake. After walking for a great many days without being able to find any work, she came to a large farm where they were in want of a shepherdess, and engaged her gladly. One day when she was keeping her sheep in a lonely tract of land, she suddenly felt a wish to dress herself in her robes of splendor. She washed herself carefully in the stream, and as she always carried her bundle with her, it was easy to shake off her rags, and transform herself in a few moments into a great lady. The king's son, who had lost his way out hunting, perceived this lovely damsel a long way off, and wished to look at her closer. But as soon as the girl saw what he was at, she fled into the wood as swiftly as a bird. The prince ran after her, but as he was running he caught his foot in the root of a tree and fell, and when he got up again, she was nowhere to be seen. When she was quite safe, she put on her rags again, and smeared over her face and hands. However the young prince, who was both hot and thirsty, found his way to the farm, to ask for a drink of cider, and he inquired the name of the beautiful lady that kept the sheep. At this everyone began to laugh, for they said that the shepherdess was one of the ugliest and dirtiest creatures under the sun. The prince thought some witchcraft must be at work, and he hastened away before the return of the shepherdess, who became that evening the butt of everybody's jests. But the king's son thought often of the lovely maiden whom he had only seen for a moment, though she seemed to him much more fascinating than any lady of the court. At last he dreamed of nothing else, and grew thinner day by day till his parents inquired what was the matter,
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promising to do all they could to make him as happy as he once was. He dared not tell them the truth, lest they should laugh at him, so he only said that he should like some bread baked by the kitchen girl in the distant farm. Although the wish appeared rather odd, they hastened to fulfill it, and the farmer was told the request of the king's son. The maiden showed no surprise at receiving such an order, but merely asked for some flour, salt, and water, and also that she might be left alone in a little room adjoining the oven, where the kneading-trough stood. Before beginning her work she washed herself carefully, and even put on her rings; but, while she was baking, one of her rings slid into the dough. When she had finished she dirtied herself again, and let lumps of the dough stick to her fingers, so that she became as ugly as before. The loaf, which was a very little one, was brought to the king's son, who ate it with pleasure. But in cutting it he found the ring of the princess, and declared to his parents that he would marry the girl whom that ring fitted. So the king made a proclamation through his whole kingdom, and ladies came from afar to lay claim to the honor. But the ring was so tiny that even those who had the smallest hands could only get it on their little fingers. In a short time all the maidens of the kingdom, including the peasant girls, had tried on the ring, and the king was just about to announce that their efforts had been in vain, when the prince observed that he had not yet seen the shepherdess. They sent to fetch her, and she arrived covered with rags, but with her hands cleaner than usual, so that she could easily slip on the ring. The king's son declared that he would fulfill his promise, and when his parents mildly remarked that the girl was only a keeper of sheep, and a very ugly one too, the maiden boldly said that she was born a princess, and that, if they would only give her some water and leave her alone in a room for a few minutes, she
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would show that she could look as well as anyone in fine clothes. They did what she asked, and when she entered in a magnificent dress, she looked so beautiful that all saw she must be a princess in disguise. The king's son recognized the charming damsel of whom he had once caught a glimpse, and, flinging himself at her feet, asked if she would marry him. The princess then told her story, and said that it would be necessary to send an ambassador to her father to ask his consent and to invite him to the wedding. The princess's father, who had never ceased to repent his harshness towards his daughter, had sought her through the land, but as no one could tell him anything of her, he supposed her dead. Therefore it was with great joy he heard that she was living and that a king's son asked her in marriage, and he quitted his kingdom with his elder daughter so as to be present at the ceremony. By the orders of the bride, they only served her father at the wedding breakfast bread without salt, and meat without seasoning. Seeing him make faces, and eat very little, his daughter, who sat beside him, inquired if his dinner was not to his taste. "No," he replied, "the dishes are carefully cooked and sent up, but they are all so dreadfully tasteless." "Did not I tell you, my father, that salt was the best thing in life? And yet, when I compared you to salt, to show how much I loved you, you thought slightingly of me and you chased me from your presence." The king embraced his daughter, and allowed that he had been wrong to misinterpret her words. Then, for the rest of the wedding feast they gave him bread made with salt, and dishes with seasoning, and he said they were the very best he had ever eaten.

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D. L. Ashliman translation from http://www.pitt.edu/ Source: Andrew Lang, The Green Fairy Book (London: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1892), pp. 180-85. Lang's source: Paul Sbillot, "La pouilleuse," Littrature orale de la Haute-Bretagne (Paris: Maisonneuve et Cie., 1881), pp. 45-52. Sbillot's source: "Told in 1878 by Aim Pierre, from Liffr, farm worker, aged 19 years." (page 52)

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APPENDIX C THE PROPHECY OF MERLIN (BODLEY MS)

"Merlin's Prophesy," a poem falsely attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer in George Puttenham's famous book called The Arte of English Poesie, 1589

The Prophecy of Merlin (Bodley MS)

Edited by James M. Dean Originally Published in Medieval English Political Writings Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, 1996 (Oxford University, Bodleian Library MS 6943 fol. 78r)

Prophecia Merlini doctoris perfecti Whane lordis wol leefe theire olde lawes, And preestis beon varyinge in theire sawes, And leccherie is holden solace, And oppressyon for truwe purchace; And whan the moon is on David stall, And the kynge passe Arthures hall, Than is the lande of Albyoun Nexst to his confusyoun.

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Fool: This is a brave night to cool a courtesan. I'll speak a prophecy ere I go: When priests are more in word than matter; When brewers mar their malt with water; When nobles are their tailors' tutors, No heretics burn'd, but wenches' suitors; When every case in law is right, No squire in debt nor no poor knight; When slanders do not live in tongues, Nor cutpurses come not to throngs; When usurers tell their gold i' th' field, And bawds and whores do churches build: Then shall the realm of Albion Come to great confusion.

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