text:
**THE OXFORD SHAKESPEARE**

_General Editor · Stanley Wells_
**THE OXFORD SHAKESPEARE**

# **_The History of King Lear_**

**EDITED BY STANLEY WELLS**

**ON THE BASIS OF A TEXT PREPARED BY GARY TAYLOR**

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Shakespeare, William, 1564–1616.
[King Lear]
The history of King Lear / edited by Stanley Wells on the basis of a text prepared by
Gary Taylor.
p. cm.—(The Oxford Shakespeare)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Lear, King (Legendary character)—Drama. I. Wells, Stanley W., 1930–
II. Taylor, Gary, 1953–III. Title.
PR2819.A2 W47 2000 822.3′3—dc21 00–034005

ISBN 0–19–818290–2

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Typeset by Jayvee, Trivandrum, India
Printed in Great Britain
on acid-free paper by
Biddles Ltd.,
Guildford and King's Lynn

## **PREFACE**

ANY Shakespeare editor must incur immense debts to generations of predecessors. In working on _King Lear_ I have been fortunate to be able to draw on a long and distinguished editorial and scholarly tradition extending back beyond Nicholas Rowe to Heminges and Condell or their assignees who worked on the First Folio, and to the anonymous but intelligent workmen who tried to make sense of the first Quarto in preparing copy for the reprint of 1619. Above all I have had the advantage and stimulus of being able to consult excellent recent, fully annotated editions by three good friends, the late Kenneth Muir, Jay Halio, and R. A. Foakes. I have done what I can to make my edition complement rather than rival theirs. My text is heavily indebted to that prepared, with my collaboration, by Gary Taylor for the Oxford Complete Works of 1986, but I have rethought a number of its readings.

A General Editor contributing to his own series is rather in the position of an actor who directs himself in a leading role. For the kind of direction that I should normally hope to provide to a member of my company I am especially indebted to Roger Warren, Robert Smallwood, John Jowett, and M. J. Kidnie, each of whom has offered helpful criticism of substantial stretches of my performance. Among other scholars who have been generous in sharing their expertise I should mention Jeremy Barlow, J. M. Binns, Anthony Burton, Paul Edmondson, Melvin Earles, Richard Knowles, Joan Lane, the late Peggy Munoz Simons, Steve Sohmer, Marvin Spevack, and Martin Wiggins. I have benefited greatly from the willing assistance of library staff at the Shakespeare Centre and the Shakespeare Institute, and am especially grateful to Sylvia Morris at the former and James Shaw at the latter. Kate Welch has compiled the index. Jessica Wells helped with a tedious piece of keyboarding, and Clemency Wells advised on a point of horsemanship.

In putting the edition through the press I have been fortunate once again to have Christine Buckley as a scrupulous copy editor. At Oxford University Press Frances Whistler has been an unfailing and immensely generous source of wise advice and practical help.

_Stanley Wells
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
Stratford-upon-Avon
July 2000_

## **CONTENTS**

List of Illustrations

Introduction

_What Shakespeare Wrote_

_When Shakespeare Wrote 'King Lear'_

_Where the Play Came From_

_Legend_

_'King Leir'_

_'Arcadia'_

_Other Influences_

_Shaping the Play_

_The Play's Language_

_Early Performance_

_'King Lear' as a Text for Readers_

_Performance Texts of 'King Lear'_

_Nahum Tate's Adaptation_

_Return to Shakespeare_

_Interpretation in Performance_

Textual Introduction and Editorial Procedures

_Abbreviations and References_

THE HISTORY OF KING LEAR

_The Ballad of King Lear_

_Offshoots of 'King Lear'_

_Alterations to Lineation_

Index

## LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. The title-page of the First Quarto (1608)

(By permission of the Huntington Library)

2. Imaginary portraits of Leir and Cordeile, from _The Genealogy of the Kings of England_ (?1560)

(Reproduced by courtesy of the Director and University Librarian, the John Rylands University Library of Manchester)

3. Imaginary portraits of Leir and Cordeilla from Holinshed, _The Chronicles of England_ (1577)

(By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library)

4. Jonathan Hyde as Edgar as Tom o'Bedlam in Adrian Noble's RSC production, 1982

(Shakespeare Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon: photograph by Joe Cocks)

5. Ian Talbot (who took over from Antony Sher) as the Fool in Adrian Noble's RSC production, 1982

(Shakespeare Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon: photograph by Joe Cocks)

6. David Bradley as Gloucester and Robert Stephens as Lear in Adrian Noble's RSC production, 1993

(Shakespeare Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon: photograph by John Bunting)

7. 'Bound upon a wheel of fire': from Giovanni Ferro, _Teatro d'imprese_ (Venice, 1623)

(By permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library)

8. George Romney, _King Lear in the Tempest Tearing off his Robes_ (detail)

(By permission of Kendal Town Council, Kendal, Cumbria)

9. John Runciman, _King Lear in the Storm_ (1767)

(National Gallery of Scotland)

10. Alexander Runciman, _King Lear on the Heath_ (1767)

(National Gallery of Scotland)

11. The reunion of Lear and Cordelia in the production by John Gielgud and Anthony Quayle, Stratford Memorial Theatre, 1950. Left to right: Andrew Cruickshank as Kent, Peggy Ashcroft as Cordelia, John Gielgud as Lear, Peter Norris as the Doctor, and Robert Hardy as a Knight

(Shakespeare Centre, Stratford-upon-Avon: McBean Collection)

12. A page (sig. D2 verso) from Q1, illustrating characteristic features of the text

(By permission of the Huntington Library)

## **INTRODUCTION**

ONCE upon a time, probably in 1605, a man called William Shakespeare, using a quill pen, wrote a play about the legendary British King Lear and his three daughters. How often he drafted and redrafted his script we do not know; the version that reached print in 1608, and which seems to have been his first completed manuscript of the play, contains some 25,000 words.

Shakespeare's penning of these words has had consequences that he cannot have foreseen. It has resulted in countless theatrical performances, many of them in languages that he cannot have known and in countries of which he can have had no inkling. It has enhanced—and occasionally diminished—the reputations of innumerable actors. It has stimulated other writers—playwrights, novelists, poets, essayists—to produce an enormous body of work. It has generated a multiplicity of works by artists in other media—visual art, music, opera, film and television. It has provoked, especially in the twentieth century, a vast body of scholarly and critical writing. And it produced a work which, at least since the Romantic period (with its admiration for the Sublime), has come to be regarded not only as its author's finest literary achievement, but also as one of the most profound and challenging examinations ever undertaken of what it means to be human, an examination conducted not discursively but in a text that requires actors to represent men and women in action that is often violent, in extremes of suffering, and in repose. In imaginative scope and in its power to generate intellectual and emotional response, _King Lear_ has been compared with the greatest masterpieces of art, literature, and music. Coleridge wrote of the storm scenes: 'O, what a world's convention of agonies is here!... surely such a scene was never conceived before or since. Take it but as a picture for the eye only, it is more terrific than any which a Michel Angelo, inspired by a Dante, could have conceived, and which none but a Michel Angelo could have executed.'

A. C. Bradley took up the theme, writing that when he thinks of the play as 'the fullest revelation of Shakespeare's power' he finds he is grouping it 'with works like the _Prometheus Vinctus_ [by Aeschylus] and the _Divine Comedy_ [by Dante], and even with the greatest symphonies of Beethoven and the statues [by Michelangelo] in the Medici Chapel' (p. 244).

Such praise of the text as a work of literature has not always been matched by equal admiration of its qualities as an actable drama. Charles Lamb, complaining that, in the theatres of his time, 'the Lear of Shakespeare cannot be acted', wrote 'The contemptible machinery by which they mimic the storm which he goes out in, is not more inadequate to represent the horrors of the real elements, than any actor can be to represent Lear: they might more easily propose to personate the Satan of Milton upon a stage, or one of Michael Angelo's terrible figures.' And even Bradley qualified his admiration by writing that though _Lear_ is 'Shakespeare's greatest achievement, it seems to me _not_ his best play'. For centuries, however, no one, including Bradley, had had the chance to see the play performed in anything like a full and unadapted text, or in conditions remotely approximating to those for which it was written. During the twentieth century, when many productions have played much fuller texts than in earlier times, and when the theatre has learnt to adapt itself to play texts of the past rather than adapting them to suit itself, complaints that the play is unactable have receded, and _King Lear_ has come to be seen as the height of its author's achievement as a dramatist as well as a poet: a poetic drama whose poetry can be fully apprehended only through performance. Performance has also humanized it, so that it seems equally great but less formidable than some earlier accounts might suggest, a colossus of a play still, but one that is shot through with irony and tenderness, a play that may arouse laughter as well as terror, tears as well as awe.

This volume offers an edited text of the play based on its first printing, explanatory notes printed below the text, and an introductory essay sketching the play's genesis, reception, and influence. It is necessary first to say something about what happened to the text after Shakespeare originally wrote it in order to explain how this edition differs from others. (A more technical discussion of the text is offered on pages 81–93.)

### _What Shakespeare Wrote_

The play was first printed in 1608, in a volume described as _The True Chronicle History of King Lear_ and known as the First Quarto, a technical term describing a book made up of a number of sheets of paper that have been folded twice, producing four leaves each. The text resembles others that are believed to have been printed from Shakespeare's original papers in that it represents a manuscript intended for performance but bearing no indications of revision, or even annotation, as a result of performance. This is the base text. All other versions of the play adapt this, more or less radically, and none of the play's progeny could have existed without it. It was reprinted with minor changes, all probably deriving from the printing house, in 1619. Like all editions of Shakespeare's plays printed in his lifetime, it is not divided into acts and scenes. This edition, like that printed in the Oxford Complete Works, numbers the scenes into which it falls naturally, but does not impose act divisions on the text.

Not long after Shakespeare first wrote the play, and before the script was printed, the company of players, the King's (formerly the Lord Chamberlain's) Men, in which he was an actor and shareholder, and for which he had already written at least twenty plays, put it into performance. They are likely to have done so first at their regular theatre, the Globe. No doubt they used stage business and sound effects, including music, beyond those indicated in the original manuscript, and they may well have made changes to the dialogue, too. The title-page of the Quarto (fig. 1) gives us the only precise date of an early performance, stating that 'His Majesty's servants playing usually at the Globe on the Bankside' acted the play before King James, not in a public theatre but in his palace at Whitehall. The year must have been 1606, since the Stationers' Register entry on 26 November 1607 states that the play had been given 'upon St Stephen's night'—26 December, now known as Boxing Day—'at Christmas last'. (The title-page of the 1608 Quarto allows for the passage of time by adjusting this to 'upon St Stephen's night in Christmas holidays'.) The performance took place in either the Great Chamber or the Hall.

1. The title-page of the First Quarto (1608).

Before long—probably in 1610—the same company put on performances also based on the script that Shakespeare had first written, but with many differences, which included the addition of around one hundred lines, omissions (including a whole scene) amounting to some three hundred lines, changes of words and of phrasing within speeches, shifts of speeches from one character to another, and alterations in the action.

Though we have no documentary record of these performances, it is virtually certain that they took place. A text incorporating the major changes was printed in 1623 in the collected edition known as the First Folio, seven years after Shakespeare died, and it is unlikely that anyone would have made these changes—apparently transcribed on to a copy of the second edition, published in 1619, of the text first printed in 1608—unless they had been intended for performance; similarly, those responsible for printing them in 1623 would have been unlikely to do so unless they had actually been performed. It is not absolutely certain that the person responsible for the changes was the play's original author, but they display the same level of literary and dramatic accomplishment, and as Shakespeare continued to write for the company of actors who had originally performed the play, it is reasonable to assume that he made the changes, even if in doing so he may well have responded to suggestions made by his colleagues. The First Folio text, then, represents the first known theatrical adaptation of the play, and the only one in which Shakespeare himself had a hand.

Throughout the seventeenth century, Shakespeare's play of _King Lear_ continued to be represented in print by two separate versions deriving from the texts of 1608 and 1623. The former was reprinted, more or less accurately, in 1655 as well as in 1619. The First Folio was reprinted with no major changes to its texts in 1632, 1663 (with a second issue in 1664 in which a number of plays supposedly by Shakespeare were added), and 1685. In 1709, however, the Folio was effectively rendered out of date on the publication of an edition of Shakespeare's plays prepared by the playwright Nicholas Rowe. Rowe based his text on the Fourth Folio, of 1685, but undertook a certain amount of textual editing designed to make the plays more intelligible to readers and to reflect theatre practice of his own time. Even more significantly, in 1723–5 the poet Alexander Pope published a new edition of the Complete Works (based largely on Rowe's revised edition of 1714) in which he added to the text of _King Lear_ derived from the Folio certain passages unique to the Quarto, and omitted a few lines found only in the Folio. In doing so he began a tradition of conflating the two early texts into one, a process that was effectively completed by Lewis Theobald in his collected edition of 1735, and which was followed by all editors until 1986.

The assumption behind this procedure was that the Quarto and Folio editions each represented imperfectly a single text which can be hypothetically reconstructed by collapsing the two variant versions into one, adding passages that occur in only one of them, and making a choice among the local variants in passages that are common to both. Most editors took the Folio as the basis for their editions, often believing that the Quarto was seriously corrupt. During the 1970s and early 1980s, however, a mass of bibliographical and other evidence was brought forward to support the theory that the Quarto and Folio texts, so far from representing a single lost play, are independent witnesses to two distinct Shakespearian versions, the earlier printed from his original manuscript before the play had been put into rehearsal, and the other from a text incorporating changes made for performance. In 1986, the Oxford Complete Works, responding to a growing body of scholarly opinion, printed two texts of the play, one based on the Quarto, the other on the Folio. Since then, new editions have appeared, some, such as the third Arden edition of 1997, continuing the conflationary process, others based on either the Quarto or the Folio.

When choices such as these exist, it is the general policy of this series to base an edition on the text that lies closest to performance. So, for example, G. R. Hibbard's Oxford Shakespeare edition (1987) of _Hamlet_ , unlike most editions of the play, offers a text firmly based on the Folio, to the extent of omitting from the body of the text passages found only in the 1604 Quarto. Since the Folio text of _King Lear_ , too, brings us closer to performance than the Quarto, it might have seemed logical to present an edited text of that version, too. In fact, however, this edition is based on the Quarto. One reason for this departure from the series principle is quite simply that while editors have generally preferred the Folio text as a basis for their editions, and while many excellent annotated editions have been prepared in this way, the Quarto text has rarely been edited in its own right. The only two published editions offering Quarto-based texts with anything like the kind of annotation expected of a modern scholarly edition are those prepared by René Weis (published in 1993), whose commentary is principally given over to comparison with the Folio-based text, which he prints in parallel, and who does not offer collations, and Jay L. Halio (1994, in the New Cambridge 'Early Quartos' series), whose commentary is devoted principally to textual matters. Graham Holderness's edition, in the 'Shakespearean Originals: First Editions' series (1995), has only a slight commentary and no textual collations. I hope that this edition will seem complementary to other modern editions, offering insight into the text of Shakespeare's greatest play as he first conceived it.

Another, more pressing reason for choosing the Quarto is that it does not simply represent the play before it was acted, but must for several years have served as the basis for performances given before the text as preserved in the Folio was prepared, and that that revised text, prepared we believe several years after the play had been first composed, was so far removed from the Quarto as to constitute virtually a separate play. In a sense, admittedly, any change, however small, has this effect; but of all the Shakespeare plays surviving in two authoritative texts _King Lear_ is the one in which the differences are greatest.

Although this edition is based on the Quarto rather than the Folio, it necessarily incorporates a number of the Folio's alternative readings. The two texts are verbally identical at many points, but the Quarto is particularly badly printed. Even if the Folio did not exist, an editor's corrections would in many cases be identical with the Folio readings. At other points the Folio offers readings which are arguably superior to those of the Quarto without necessarily being the exact words that the Quarto printers misread in the manuscript from which they were setting. The aim here has been to preserve Quarto readings where they can be justified and, in emending where they cannot, to give no more weight to Folio alternatives than to other possibilities. The Folio is, after all, a derivative, adapted, and edited text.

Although many of the Folio's readings are the result of revision undertaken several years after initial composition, others are either certain or likely to be the result of decisions taken in the initial act of translating the Quarto text into performance. This is clearly true of, for example, the Folio's provision of music cues demanded by the Quarto but not present in it; but it is also perfectly possible that some of the cuts, additions, and variants in both dialogue and action that the Folio records were made when the play was first staged. This poses a nice philosophical problem. How is the editor to distinguish between, on the one hand, changes likely to have been made for performances deriving from the manuscript that lies behind the Quarto, and, on the other hand, changes made at the time of major revision?

The ultimate answer is that there is no way in which this can be done. An editor can only surmise, and the safest basis of surmise is theatrical need. As a result, this edition adopts Folio changes (and makes a few others) when they seem necessary, or highly desirable, to the theatrical realization of the Quarto text but rejects others which, even if they might be regarded as improvements to that text, might reasonably be thought to be changes made after initial performance.

In view of its concentration on the integrity of the Quarto text, this edition does not collate Folio variants, or reprint passages unique to the Folio, except when they are germane to the purpose of establishing the Quarto text. A Folio-based text prepared according to the principles of this edition is available in the Oxford Complete Works (1986, etc.), and the variants are collated in the _Textual Companion_ (1987).

The commentary to this edition follows the general principles of the series in offering discussion of textual problems and decisions, lexical and syntactical notes, explanation of classical and other allusions, and discussion of points of staging in terms of the theatres of Shakespeare's time. At the start of each scene it lists necessary properties (apart from costume except where this is especially significant). In allowing for the possibilities of variant interpretation of both language and staging it draws at times on the play's later critical and theatrical history, but makes no attempt to offer anything like comprehensive coverage of these matters. Since the Quarto has only just entered the editorial tradition, particular attention is paid to readings in Halio's and Weis's editions based on that text even when they are not accepted.

### _When Shakespeare wrote_ ' _King Lear_ '

The challenge of determining when Shakespeare wrote the manuscript that underlies the printed Quarto of 1608 is of interest and importance, especially to critics who wish to examine the play as a product and reflection of its time. It is complicated by a number of uncertainties. Before the Quarto was published it was entered in the register of the Stationers' Company—a standard prelude to publication—on 26 November 1607 as 'A booke called. Mr Will _ia_ m Shakespeare his historye of Kinge Lear as yt was played before the King _es_ maiestie at Whitehall vppon St Stephans knight at _Chr_ istmas Last by his maties servant _es_ playinge vsually at the globe on the banksyde'. There is no reason to doubt the claim made in the entry, and repeated in substance on the title-page of the printed book, that the play had been performed at Whitehall 'vppon St. Stephans knight at [Christmas] Last'—that is to say, on 26 December 1606. This is unlikely to have been the first performance, as plays were normally tried out in the public theatres before being offered at court. We have no more relevant evidence relating directly to performance. On this basis, the play was probably written several months, at least, before December 1606.

Working backwards from this in the effort to find a date before which the play could not have been completed, we can use the evidence of what Shakespeare read in composing it. Here the clearest guidance is provided by the publication in 1603 of both Samuel Harsnet's _Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures_ (entered on 16 March) and John Florio's translation of Montaigne's _Essais_ , both of which, it is generally agreed, influenced the play's language at a number of points. That takes us back to 1603 (always assuming, of course, that Shakespeare did not read these works in manuscript before then).

Another unquestionable source is the play published anonymously as _The True Chronicle History of King Leir and his three daughters, Gonorill, Ragan, and Cordella_ in 1605, having been entered in the Register on 8 May, and stated on its title-page to have been 'divers and sundry times lately acted'. This is presumably the play recorded in Philip Henslowe's papers, where it is not marked as new, as having been performed twice at the Rose by the combined Queen's and Sussex's Men in April 1594. There had apparently been a plan to publish it soon afterwards, since 'The moste famous Chronicle historye of Leire kinge of England and his Three Daughters' was entered in the Stationers' Register on 14 May 1594, but no copy survives, and the presumption is that the plan came to nothing. If, as some scholars, including R. A. Foakes (p. 90), argue, Shakespeare necessarily used the printed text, this would mean that he was writing no earlier than May 1605. It is certain that Shakespeare had a close knowledge of this text, but not at all certain that this knowledge was derived from reading it in print. It is possible, as Sir Walter Greg conjectured, that Shakespeare had access to a manuscript. He may have seen the play acted, perhaps more than once; and he may even, as Muir (p. xxix) acknowledged, have acquired familiarity with it by acting in it himself.

The claim that the old play had been recently performed may not be true: title-page evidence is often unreliable, and the fact that no company is named arouses suspicion. It is possible that publication occurred after Shakespeare's play had been acted, and that the publishers hoped, as Muir wrote, 'that it would be mistaken for Shakespeare's new play, or at least derive some reflected glory from it'.

This would mean that Shakespeare would have to have read it in manuscript or to have derived his knowledge of it either from seeing it performed long before, or from acting in it. Though these possibilities may seem unlikely, they cannot be ignored. Shakespeare clearly had an exceptional memory, and the nature of his indebtedness to this text suggests easy familiarity rather than close consultation. As W. W. Greg wrote, 'it would seem that as he wrote, ideas, phrases, cadences from the old play still floated in his memory below the level of conscious thought, and that now and again one or another helped to fashion the words that flowed from his pen' (p. 397).

There is reason to suggest that _King Leir_ lodged in Shakespeare's memory at a much earlier stage in his career than has been commonly supposed. Scholars have looked to it primarily in relation to _King Lear_. Though Geoffrey Bullough, in his collection of Shakespearian source materials, notes resemblances to other plays, especially _Richard III_ and _As You Like It_ , he does not follow this up with the deduction that, if these resemblances indicate indebtedness, Shakespeare must have known the old play before it reached print. And an examination of the text without concentrating on _Lear_ reveals resemblances to other plays, including _The Taming of the Shrew, Richard II, Much Ado About Nothing_ , and _Hamlet_ , not noted by Bullough. Some of these resemblances may be accidental (just as some of the resemblances to _King Lear_ would not individually demonstrate indebtedness), but collectively they suggest that Shakespeare knew the play virtually from the start of his writing career, and the natural conclusion is that he may well have acted in it when it was performed, in or before 1594, probably by the Queen's Men. This belief may be supported by resemblances between _King Lear_ and another play, _Selimus_ , also acted by the Queen's Men in the early 1590s. Long familiarity with _King Leir_ does not, however, preclude the possibility that Shakespeare wrote his play after _Leir_ had appeared in print, and that he consulted the text afresh at this point, so his indebtedness to it does not certainly help with the dating.

Other evidence is also contentious. At a number of points in the play, it has been suggested, Shakespeare alludes to dateable events. Gloucester's reference to 'These late eclipses in the sun and moon' (2.103) may allude to the eclipses, at least partially witnessed in England, of the moon in April and September and of the sun on 2 October 1605; Greg indeed could not 'see any escape from this conclusion', which Taylor, among others, also endorses ( _TC_ ). Muir, however, notes eclipses of both sun and moon in 1601 'that would still be remembered by the audience', and there was a partial eclipse of the moon in May 1603. In _Othello_ , too, written probably in late 1603 or early 1604, Shakespeare had already alluded to double eclipses:

Methinks it should be now a huge eclipse

Of sun and moon, and that th'affrighted globe

Should yawn at alteration.

(5.2.108–10)

Eclipses were a topic of much interest in the early years of the century; those of 1605 had been forecast in, for instance, John Harvey's _Discoursive Probleme Concerning Prophesies_ of 1588, and in 1604 Himbert de Billy, in _Certaine wonderful predictions_ , had written of 'many great eclipses' which would result in the 'spoil and ruin of the common society'. A sceptical view would allow the possibility that, while Shakespeare knew that he could rely on a reference to eclipses to produce a response in his audience, he did not expect them to connect such a reference with any particular event. As G. I. Duthie remarks, 'Why should it be supposed that if Shakespeare makes a character refer to "these late eclipses" he must needs have in mind eclipses that had actually occurred in the recent experience of himself and his audiences?' The eclipses cannot be regarded as watertight evidence for dating the play.

Gary Taylor has argued that Shakespeare was influenced by the play _Eastward Ho!_ , written by George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston early in 1605 and published in that year after it had been entered in the Stationers' Register on 4 September. If it is accepted that Shakespeare knew the play in performance this would imply composition of _Lear_ no earlier than April 1605. Taylor also argues that Shakespeare was influenced by George Wilkins's play _The Miseries of Enforced Marriage_ , based on a pamphlet describing a murder committed on 23 April 1605 which was entered for publication on 12 June of that year. The play can have been written no earlier than June 1605, and the presence in its text of numerous oaths strongly suggests composition before the passing of the 'Act to Restrain Abuses of Players', forbidding profanity, of May 1606. Since the play was performed, and probably written for, Shakespeare's company, he may well have read it soon after it was written, sometime between June 1605 and May 1606.

This combined evidence, then, suggests that Shakespeare wrote all or most of _King Lear_ in the later part of 1605, and the fact that it was not given at court during the Christmas season of that year seems to indicate that, though by then it may have been played at the Globe, it was not yet ready for the court. If it is accepted that there is a reference to the eclipse of the sun in October, the date of composition is pushed still further forward, though of course the passage in question, while it occurs early in the play, could date from a late stage of composition—Shakespeare did not necessarily start writing at the beginning and work steadily through to the end.

### _Where the Play Came From_

At the time Shakespeare started to write _King Lear_ he already had a large body of work to his credit, and this experience certainly affected the process of composition. To give only a few examples, in _Titus Andronicus_ he had already portrayed an elderly tyrant who goes mad; _The Comedy of Errors_ portrays a man who, finding himself denied by those nearest and dearest to him, fears he will go mad as a consequence; the _Henry VI_ plays are concerned with divisions in the kingdom; in the figure of Constance in _King John_ Shakespeare had shown an enfeebled but eloquent grieving parent; there are so many resemblances with _As You Like It_ that the comedy has been described as 'Anti-Lear'; _Twelfth Night_ has a common concern with the paradoxical relationship of wit and folly; and fathers outraged by their daughters' behaviour are stock figures in Shakespearian comedy and extend to Brabanzio in _Othello_. Links with earlier plays include structural and poetic devices, and even verbal repetitions (at, e.g., 9.75–8, 11.41–2 and 20.166). But Shakespeare never simply repeats himself, and the tragedies immediately preceding _Lear—Hamlet_ and _Othello_ —are very different in tone, structure, and effect.

King Lear is a pseudo-historical figure whose story had been told often before Shakespeare came to write his play. But this is not one of those plays—like, for example, _Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar_ , or _The Winter's Tale_ —for which we can point to a single piece of writing that Shakespeare must have had open on his desk as he wrote, a work which provided the overall outline of the play's narrative along with something, at least, of its dramatic structure. Still less is it a play in which a major source stimulated much of its language, as, conspicuously, Sir Thomas North's translation of Plutarch did for the Roman plays. Though Shakespeare certainly drew on many existing literary, dramatic, and historical writings in composing _King Lear_ —and also, no doubt, though less definably, on personal experience—it seems likely that these fed his imagination over many years rather than that he, as it were, sat down with the open-minded intention of basing a play on a particular, existing work and then looked around for material he might use to reshape and modify it to suit his purpose.

There is reason to suspect that Shakespeare had been thinking about dramatizing the story of King Lear for many years before he started to write it. Its basic situation is curiously adumbrated in what may well be his first work for the stage, _The Two Gentlemen of Verona_. There, the Duke is planning to marry his daughter, Silvia, to the foolish Thurio; responding to Valentine's question 'Cannot your grace win her to fancy him?', he complains:

No, trust me. She is peevish, sullen, froward,

Proud, disobedient, stubborn, lacking duty,

Neither regarding that she is my child

Nor fearing me as if I were her father.

And may I say to thee, this pride of hers

Upon advice hath drawn my love from her,

And where I thought the remnant of mine age

Should have been cherished by her child-like duty,

I now am full resolved to take a wife,

And turn her out to who will take her in.

Then let her beauty be her wedding dower,

For me and my possessions she esteems not.

(3.1.68–79)

As the Duke 'thought the remnant of [his] age | Should have been cherished by her child-like duty', so Lear 'thought to set [his] rest | On [Cordelia's] kind nursery'; as the Duke is resolved to 'turn [Silvia] out to who will take her in', so Lear tells Cordelia that he will 'as a stranger to my heart and me | Hold thee from this for ever'; as the Duke says 'let her beauty be her wedding dower', so Lear will say 'Thy truth then be thy dower'; and like the Duke, Lear is to accuse his daughter of pride and to withdraw his love from her because of it. The tone of the Duke's words is comic because he is, unknowingly, addressing Silvia's successful suitor, but the situation he describes is, apart from his resolution to remarry, very much that of King Lear as he banishes Cordelia. As this passage looks forward to Shakespeare's play of _King Lear_ , so also it looks backwards—or at least sideways—to the anonymous play of _King Leir_ , because in that play too the King is planning to marry his youngest daughter to a man whom 'she ne'er could fancy' (l. 141).

The Lear story itself is a complex, inextricably entangled mixture of elements deriving from myth, legend, and history. Numerous oriental and European precursors and analogues have been identified; their main interest lies in the awareness they create that the story Shakespeare tells springs from deep roots in the human consciousness.

#### _Legend_.

As a pseudo-historical narrative attached to the name of Leir, legendary founder of the city of Leicester (whose name was supposed, erroneously, to derive from 'Lear'), the tale first appears in England during the twelfth century in _Historia regum Britanniae_ , written by the learned and imaginative monk Geoffrey of Monmouth, who purports to tell the story of British kings from the time of Brut, great-grandson of Aeneas and legendary founder of the British race. This work was not available in print in Shakespeare's time, but it was widely distributed in manuscript. Shakespeare may have read it, or have picked up details from it transmitted by other writers. A summary of the story told by Geoffrey of Monmouth will give an indication of the pre-Shakespearian version of the tale:

Leir, who had governed for sixty years, had three daughters, Gonorilla, Regan, and Cordeilla. Growing old, he planned to divide his kingdom among them, and to find them suitable husbands. To see who deserved the best part of the kingdom, he asked who loved him best. Gonorilla and Regan flattered him, but Cordeilla said 'Look how much you have, so much is your value, and so much I love you.' Lear disinherited her and married off her sisters, Gonorilla to the Duke of Cornwall, Regan to the Duke of Albania, or Albany, the northern part of Britain. Later Aganippus, King of the Franks, married the dowerless Cordeilla for love. Later still, his elder daughters' husbands usurped his power, allowing him and sixty soldiers to live with the Duke of Albania. After two years Gonorilla reduced his followers to thirty men, dismissing the rest. Leir went to live with his other daughter, but after a quarrel she reduced his train to five. So he went back to Gonorilla, who made him manage with just one follower. In high dudgeon, he departed for Gaul to try his fortunes with Cordeilla, while fearing a cold reception. But she, hearing of his condition, wept, and commanded that he should be attended by forty men and generously provided for. Aganippus raised an army to restore him to his kingdom; they succeeded, and three years later Lear died. (By this time he must have been very old indeed.) Cordeilla, widowed, buried her father at Leicester. Some years later her nephews rebelled against her, captured her, and put her in prison, where she committed suicide.

2. Imaginary portraits of Leir and Cordeile (Lear and Cordelia), from _The Genealogy of the Kings of England_ (?1560).

One way or another, this story as told by Geoffrey came to be widely disseminated and, inevitably, modified, appearing in a number of works that Shakespeare is likely or certain to have read either for pleasure or in the process of gleaning material for earlier plays. Though the historicity of Geoffrey's account was often questioned, Leir and his daughter and successor Cordeile (the name appears in variant forms) were regularly listed in genealogies of the English sovereigns, and imaginary portraits of them were printed. The images reproduced in fig. 2 are from a _Genealogy of the Kings of England_ printed around 1560. Their story is told in the early pages of Raphael Holinshed's chronicle _History of England_ , of 1577, which includes a different, beefier portrait of Cordelia (fig. 3). Shakespeare knew this work well and used it throughout his career. Republished in an enlarged version in 1587, it formed staple reading for his English history plays. Its account of Leir, though apparently derived through intermediaries, closely resembles Geoffrey's and had little specific influence on Shakespeare (Bullough, p. 274).

3. Imaginary portraits of Leir and Cordeilla from Holinshed, _The Chronicles of England_ , vol. 1 (1577).

The 1574 edition of the voluminous and frequently reprinted _Mirror for Magistrates_ includes a verse complaint written by John Higgins and supposedly spoken by Cordila (or Cordell). Again the story is basically the same, but here, as in a slightly later retelling in William Warner's verse chronicle _Albion's England_ , first published in 1584, the names of the elder sisters' husbands are reversed. An accretion which may have influenced Shakespeare (and which Higgins seems to have derived from Polydore Vergil's _Anglicae Historiae_ of 1534) is Cordila's statement (found first in the 1587 edition) that

. . . nature so doth bind and duty me compel

To love you, as I ought my father, well;

Yet shortly I may chance, if Fortune will,

To find in heart to bear another more good will.

So Cordelia will ask 'Why have my sisters husbands if they say | They love you all?' (1.90–1). Shakespeare is very likely to have read the version printed in 1590 in Book 2, Canto 10 of Edmund Spenser's epic poem _The Faerie Queene_ , in which, for the first time, the youngest daughter's name appears as Cordelia and she dies by hanging.

A complete catalogue of minor variations on the story would be of little critical value, nor would it necessarily demonstrate indebtedness since Shakespeare himself might have introduced changes independently of other writers. Of more interest is the relationship between _King Lear_ and its undoubted main source, the tragicomedy of _King Leir_ , if only because the two works, though clearly interrelated, are so radically different in effect.

#### ' _King Leir_ '.

_King Leir_ enjoyed modest success in its own time. The recorded performances of 1594 drew receipts of thirty-eight and twenty-six shillings respectively, indicating good houses, and unlike many plays of the period it reached print, but to later ages it has been of interest only in relation to Shakespeare. It is, so far as we know, the first version of the tale in dramatic form, and, partly for that reason, the longest thus far. The basic story is slightly modified, and the anonymous author (or authors) invents additional detail and pads it out with extraneous material. The play's ethos is explicitly and strongly Christian: a feature against which Shakespeare reacted vigorously. Plotting is leisurely and discursive, the style generally plain with occasional flights of rhetoric, the tone often deliberately, sometimes rather coarsely, comic, while occasionally rising to eloquence. Characterization is generally two-dimensional. _King Leir_ left Shakespeare plenty of scope for originality.

Its opening stretch of action, extending to over 740 lines of blank verse with occasional couplets and a little prose, expounds material that Shakespeare compresses, but also adds to, in his first scene. This Leir is grieving for his recently dead wife; weary of the world, he determines to resign the crown and divide his kingdom equally among his three daughters as a dowry. He tells his courtiers that Gonorill and Ragan are being successfully wooed by the Kings of Cornwall and Cambria, but that Cordella does not fancy any of her suitors. Leir decides to play a trick on her: he will ask his daughters which loves him best, and when, as he expects, Cordella claims it is she, will require her, as proof, to marry a husband of his choosing, the King of Ireland. Leir's faithful servant Perillus, a forerunner of Shakespeare's Kent, foresees disaster. The wicked Skalliger spills the beans to the elder sisters, who rejoice in the opportunity to thwart Cordella. In the scene of the love test, the elder sisters make grotesquely exaggerated protestations; Cordella (like Cordelia after her) comments in asides, then, when her turn comes, simply says

I cannot paint my duty forth in words.

I hope my deeds shall make report for me;

But look what love the child doth owe the father,

The same to you I bear, my gracious lord.

Lear renounces her and resolves to divide the kingdom between her sisters.

Only when this episode is complete do we meet the Gallian (French) king—the equivalent of Shakespeare's King of France—who, having heard of the beauty of Leir's daughters, plans to sail to Britain to win one of them, accompanied by his servant Mumford, both in the guise of pilgrims. Mumford's declaration that he is 'some kin to the Blunts, and, I think, the bluntest of all my kindred' (ll. 386–8) anticipates Shakespeare's characterization of Kent, who can 'deliver a plain message bluntly' (4.31). In Scene 5 we meet for the first time Cornwall and Cambria, who encounter each other as they ride post-haste to claim their brides. The episode is comically presented. In the following scene the elder sisters gloat over Cordella's misfortune 'Because she doth surpass us both in beauty'. Leir enters, soon followed by the suitors, who are greeted fulsomely by their future brides. Leir invites them to draw lots to determine which half of the kingdom each shall have, and declares that, having dispossessed himself, he will live with Gonorill. Perillus, Kent-wise, puts in a word for Cordella, but Leir quashes him in lines that anticipate Shakespeare's rebuke to Kent (1.145):

Urge this no more, an if thou love thy life.

I say she is no daughter that doth scorn

To tell her father how she loveth him.

Who ever speaketh hereof to me again

I will esteem him for my mortal foe.

(ll. 569–73)

In Scene 7 the Gallian King and Mumford, disguised, overhear Cordella lamenting her plight while accepting it as God's will. In an episode tinged with comedy, the King successfully woos her. This ends the play's first movement.

In a moralizing speech of choric narrative addressed to the audience, Perillus then tells how Gonorill has turned against her father, who, 'the mirror of all patience [a quality that Lear will wish within himself: 7.429, 9.37] | Puts up all wrongs, and never gives reply' (ll. 755–6). The statement that she 'sets her parasites on purpose oft | In scoffing wise to offer him disgrace' may have suggested Oswald's insolence (4. 74–87). But Perillus—like Kent—will remain loyal. Next, Gonorill complains to Skalliger of the 'quips and peremptory taunts' which, she claims, she suffers from her father. There are likenesses here to Lear's speech beginning 'O reason not the need', especially between Lear's

If only to go warm were gorgeous,

Why, nature needs not what thou, gorgeous, wearest

(7.426–7)

and Gonorill's

I cannot make me a new-fashioned gown

And set it forth with more than common cost

But his old doting doltish withered wit

Is sure to give a senseless check for it.

(782–5)

Shakespeare's Lear, indeed, is closer to Gonorill's slanderous caricature of her father than to Leir himself. When Skalliger advises her to halve Leir's allowance she says she has already done so, and will now deprive him of all so that he has to look elsewhere. Left alone, Skalliger hypocritically vilifies her while also admitting his own guilt. In the next scene Cornwall (somewhat anticipating his counterpart, Albany, in Shakespeare) defends Leir to his wife, who shows contempt for him. Leir prays for death, but Perillus, in an episode of some eloquence, seeks to console him, saying that he has two other daughters who will welcome him—and thus reminding him of his unkindness to Cordella. ('To think of my unkindness to Cordella', says Leir; 'I did her wrong', Lear will say: 5.23.) Leir agrees to try his luck with Ragan, whom we forthwith see alone, proclaiming that, rather than put up with the tribulations that Gonorill complains of, she would 'send him packing somewhere else to go'.

Cornwall expresses concern to Gonorill about Leir's absence; she seeks to mollify him, but, alone, wishes her father's death, saying she will pursue him with slanders to exonerate herself. In a lively episode anticipative of Shakespeare's Scene 19, but different in plot function, Gonorill intercepts a letter from her husband addressed to Leir that a messenger is taking to Ragan's house, and persuades the messenger not only to replace it with one addressed to her sister in which she vilifies her father, but also to agree to 'make him away' if Ragan thinks that 'convenient'. The familiarity between Gonorill and the messenger here anticipates Gonoril's relationship with Edmund as well as Oswald.

In soliloquy, Cordella piously expresses gratitude for her good fortune along with intense desire for her father's forgiveness. We see Leir and the loyal Perillus limping exhaustedly to Ragan's house; Leir declares himself 'but the shadow of myself' just as Lear—but at a different point in the action—will call himself 'Lear's shadow' (4.223). Ragan hypocritically 'dissemble[s] kindness' to his face but, left alone, declares that 'ere't be long his coming he shall curse' (1153). The messenger delivers Gonorill's letter and agrees 'to give a stab or two if need require' (1211). Ragan complains that her husband is in league with her father, whereas in _Lear_ Regan has Cornwall's full support. The virtuous Cordella continues to grieve for her father's plight, in spite of his unkindness, and her husband promises to send ambassadors to invite him to visit them; if he refuses, they will 'sail to Cornwall for to visit him' (1287). Ragan commissions the messenger to kill both Leir and Perillus.

Meanwhile the Gallian ambassador arrives at the court of Cornwall and Gonorill, expecting to find Leir there, and is hypocritically welcomed. In a complex scene, Leir and Perillus persuade the messenger not to kill them, Leir comes to recognize the truth about his three daughters, and the loyal Perillus urges him to go to France to seek succour from Cordella. Two claps of thunder heard during this scene may have given Shakespeare a cue for the storms during which his Lear, too, learns hard truths. Penniless, Leir and Perillus make their way to France where they encounter Cordella and her husband, disguised, on their way to England. At the climax of this scene Cordella reveals herself to Leir; the episode in which they are reconciled, absurd though it is in its excessive patterning, unquestionably influenced Shakespeare in its image of the father kneeling to his daughter for forgiveness, though not in verbal expression:

LEIR

O, no men's children are unkind but mine.

CORDELLA

Condemn not all, because of others' crime.

But look, dear father, look, behold and see,

Thy loving daughter speaketh unto thee. _She kneels_

LEIR

O, stand thou up, it is my part to kneel,

And ask forgiveness for my former faults. _He kneels_

CORDELLA

O, if you wish I should enjoy my breath,

Dear father, rise, or I receive my death. _He riseth_

LEIR

Then I will rise to satisfy your mind,

But kneel again, till pardon be resigned. _He kneels_

CORDELLA

I pardon you—the word beseems not me,

But I do say so for to ease your knee.

In the closing stretch of action, the French King invades England with his army. Again there are occasional pre-echoes of Shakespeare; Perillus's rebuke of Gonoril _l_ as a 'fiend in likeness of a human creature' (l. 2582), for instance, anticipates Albany's 'See thyself, devil. | Proper deformity shows not in the fiend | So horrid as in woman' (16.58–60); but the play ends in victory for the French King's party, with Leir 'again possessed of [his] right' (l. 2632) and conscious of the true value of each of his daughters.

Clearly, Shakespeare picked up hints from _King Leir_ for his treatment of plot and dialogue. The old play's black-and-white characterization had its effect, too: of all his plays, _King Lear_ is the one in which the characters can most easily be considered in terms of moral absolutes. This may be thought of as one aspect of a common debt to the morality tradition and to developing conventions of character portrayal. The Earl of Kent, for example, with his mixture of comic bluster and devoted loyalty, has a lineage that can be traced back to the clever trickster and faithful servant of Roman comedy, and John Reibetanz remarks that at times Edgar and Edmund 'appear like back to back pictures of Vice and Virtue in an emblem book'. Edmund, in his direct address to the audience and his self-conscious amorality, has antecedents in the Vice of medieval drama, and also in the stage machiavel and in earlier stage bastards, including those in Shakespeare's own _King John_ and _Much Ado About Nothing_ ; the Quarto's prefixes, and some of its directions, call him simply 'bastard'.

The contrast between the brothers has often been emphasized in performance, particularly because it is important, and difficult, to establish an identity for Edgar before he adopts disguise. So, in Adrian Noble's production of 1993, Simon Russell Beale's Edgar was initially 'a naïve bookish scholar, reading in the midst of the court hubbub', an interpretation that made all the more terrifying his transformation when he was 'so traumatised by the blinding of his father that he repeatedly sought to revenge it, blinding Oswald with his staff as he killed him and trying to gouge Edmund's eyes with his thumbs at the end of their savage duel'. Similarly in Richard Eyre's 1997 production, Paul Rhys was seen 'before the play began making observations through smoked glass of an eclipse of the moon . . . and carefully making notes in his earnest, scholarly way'.

The women characters too, as Marianne L. Novy notes, owe 'something to the traditional tendency in Western literature to split the image of woman into devil and angel, Eve and Mary. Goneril and Regan are much less psychologically complex than most Shakespearean characters of comparable importance.'

Shakespeare drew on many other direct as well as traditional sources, too, and his transmutation of his inherited material is so radical that his play creates a far greater impression of originality than of derivativeness.

#### ' _Arcadia_ '.

Conspicuously, Shakespeare chose to weave alongside and into the story of Lear and his three daughters the parallel narrative of the Earl of Gloucester and his two sons, Edgar and Edmund. He found the seeds for this in a work of far higher literary and intellectual quality than _King Leir_ , Sir Philip Sidney's romance _Arcadia_ , written mainly in prose but interspersed with many poems, first printed posthumously in 1590.

This was one of the great books of the time. In reading it, Shakespeare must have been struck by the relation between the Lear story and the episodes in _Arcadia_ telling of a Paphlagonian king deposed and blinded by a wicked, illegitimate son but cherished by the natural son whom, under the influence of the bastard, he has cast off with orders—not obeyed—that he be killed. Shakespeare is indebted to _Arcadia_ for plot motifs and atmospheric effects rather than for language. The king comes into the story in Book 2, Chapter 10, during an 'extreme and foul' winter storm; the princes who witness his plight are 'compelled by the hail that the pride of the wind blew into their faces to seek some shrouding place within a certain hollow rock'—a passage that seems to lie behind Shakespeare's storm and its sheltering hovel (though the transformation, at a different part of the plot, of 'the hail that the pride of the wind blew into their faces' into Albany's contemptuous 'O Gonoril, | You are not worth the dust which the rude wind | Blows in your face' (16.29–31) is typical of Shakespeare's eclectic opportunism). From there the princes see the king and his virtuous son 'both poorly arrayed, extremely weather-beaten, the old man blind, the young man leading him', as Edgar leads the blind Gloucester. Like Gloucester, the miserable and penitent king asks his son to leave him after guiding him 'to the top of [this] rock, thence to cast himself headlong to death', and like Edgar, the son circumvents his father's plan to destroy himself. The bastard's attempts to kill his brother have an imprecise counterpart in Shakespeare's tournament between Edmund and Edgar. In Sidney it is not until after the virtuous son has been crowned that his father dies; grieving over 'his own fault' but rejoicing in 'his son's virtue', he weeps tears 'both of joy and sorrow' and, 'his heart broken with unkindness and affliction, stretched so far beyond his limits with . . . excess of comfort as it was able no longer to keep safe his royal spirits', dies, as Gloucester dies '' Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief' (24.195).

In filling out this tale to make it more suitable for his purposes, Shakespeare drew on another episode in _Arcadia_ , from Book 2, Chapter 15, in which the hypocritical machinations of a wicked stepmother to trick her husband into thinking that her stepson seeks his death resemble Edmund's plot against Edgar.

#### _Other Influences_.

_King Leir_ and _Arcadia_ , then, gave Shakespeare important plot material, and as he drew it together and shaped it into tragic form, his imagination was fed also by other writings not specifically concerned with the Lear story. Florio's translation of essays by Montaigne and Samuel Harsnet's _Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures_ , both published in 1603, were mentioned in connection with the play's date of composition. The links with Montaigne are demonstrated partly by correspondences of rare words, or at least of words that Shakespeare had not previously used, such as 'auricular', 'compeer', 'derogate', and 'handy-dandy'; individually such correspondences could easily be coincidental, but cumulatively they are difficult to dismiss. More potentially fruitful, but even harder to demonstrate beyond question, are resemblances of thought, but the very title of one of Montaigne's essays, 'Of the Affections of Fathers to their Children', is enough to indicate a shared interest. Leo Salingar, who has written a subtle and learned essay on the links between Montaigne and _King Lear_ , considers that 'the coincidence of verbal echoes and variations on identical moral themes is so strong between the essay and the first two acts in _King Lear_ as to imply that Shakespeare was not merely recalling the essay here and there while he was penning the play but that he had been considering it in detail about the same time as he was planning the scenes of exposition and had altered his narrative source-material accordingly'. But Shakespeare interrogated what he read: though Montaigne's scepticism may well have influenced, for instance, Edmund's cast of mind as expressed in Scene 2, its expression from the mouth of so villainous a character is enough to indicate that Shakespeare did not adopt an unquestioning attitude to the work.

Harsnet's _Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures_ attacks the attempts by Jesuit missionaries to win converts by persuading gullible servingmaids and young men that they were possessed by devils, sometimes physically abusing them in the process, and then conducting pretended exorcisms on them, and reprints the testimonies of some of the victims. A major contribution to a controversial debate of intense topical interest at the time of its publication, it is vividly written in an idiosyncratic, linguistically innovative style which affected the vocabulary of Shakespeare's play even more decisively than Montaigne. The names of the devils invoked by Edgar when, as Mad Tom, he simulates possession, clearly derive from the _Declaration_ ; indeed, when he declares 'Five fiends have been in Poor Tom at once, as of lust Obidicut, Hobbididence prince of dumbness, Mahu of stealing, Modo of murder, Flibbertigibbet of mocking and mowing, who since possesses chambermaids and waiting-women' (15.56–60) he is not merely picking up names from Harsnet, but, in the final phrase, alluding obliquely to the book itself. Lear's use of the term 'hysterica passio' is only one of numerous links with Harsnet, whose language is also reflected in, especially, the imagery of the storm scenes. Harsnet writes satirically, sometimes cruelly, of the sufferings, mental and physical, of under-privileged people; his portrayal of an unfortunate young woman 'sitting bound in a chair' while she was tortured resembles the binding of Gloucester to a chair to have his eyes put out. More generally, the profound response to human suffering which pervades Shakespeare's play may represent his sensitive reaction to Harsnet's more adversarially detached attitude to the horrors he writes about. It is because Edgar adopts the persona of one of the least privileged members of society, a mad beggar, that Harsnet surfaces most clearly in his language, but Edgar is only the central figure in a network of men—Lear and Gloucester, Kent and even the Fool—displaced from a position of privilege and forced to contemplate the privations of homeless outcasts, who in the process learn to understand and to feel compassion for society's victims.

Like Florio's Montaigne, then, the _Declaration_ seems to have exerted a pervasive as well as a local influence; indeed, its editor argues that 'Shakespeare read Harsnet before he wrote _Lear_ , and the reading so affected his conception of the central themes, scenes, and characters of the play that it may have been the determining influence upon his decision to write the play at all' (Brownlow, p. 118). This hypothesis adds weight to the belief that _King Lear_ grew slowly in Shakespeare's mind, and, for all the literariness of its origins, is finally the product of deep personal meditation.

Many other written sources for the language of _King Lear_ have been certainly or conjecturally identified, and some of them are referred to in the notes to this edition. The Bible exerted a strong influence, even though Shakespeare has been at pains to locate his action in a non-Christian, pagan society; indeed, both the Book of Job and the parable of the Prodigal Son have been regarded as deep sources of the play. The dialogue draws exceptionally heavily also on the proverbial, folk language of the time: R. W. Dent, in his index to Shakespeare's proverbial language, has more citations to _King Lear_ than to any other play except _Romeo and Juliet_.

Visual influences, too, have been detected, such as the paintings of the Day of Judgement commonly found in churches of the time—though the one in the Guild Chapel in Stratford-upon-Avon may have been defaced in Shakespeare's boyhood by his father on the orders of the Town Council as a remnant of popish superstition. And there may have been a catalysing external influence in the case of Sir Brian Annesley, a rich old man with three daughters. When he made his will, in 1600, the two elder were married; he bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his youngest, to whom he had taken the precaution of giving the same name as Leir's—Cordell. He became senile in 1603, when his eldest daughter, Grace, and her husband Sir John Wildgoose tried to show that he had been mad when he made his will, as a way of laying hands on his estate. Cordell protected him and inherited most of his wealth. News of the case seems likely to have spread among the circles in which Shakespeare moved; an executor of Annesley's will was Sir William Harvey, third husband of the Dowager Countess of Southampton, mother of the Earl to whom Shakespeare had dedicated his narrative poems.

What brought all these and many other elements together in the crucible of Shakespeare's imagination can only be conjectured. He must have been motivated partly by sheer professionalism: the need to provide his company with a steady supply of plays. But there must also have been a profound creative urge that impelled him to write so intellectually ambitious and passionately expressed a play, one that makes fewer concessions to the need to entertain, in any easy sense of the word, than anything he wrote before or after.

### _Shaping the Play_

Professionalism shaped the parameters within which he worked. He knew that his play would be presented primarily in a particular theatre, the Globe, with clearly defined resources: a theatre whose open stage encouraged an emblematic, even symbolical mode of representation. He does nothing to stretch these resources: the play needs an upper level for Scene 6, but otherwise could be played entirely on the main stage. Nor does it call for exceptional properties: a throne, a few chairs, a pair of stocks, torches, weapons, a map, regalia including a coronet, purses, and rather a lot of letters are all that the play requires. Musical and other sound effects, though important, are nothing extraordinary: hunting horns are called for at 3.10; the flourishes and sennets for ceremonial entrances and exits, and the 'alarms' of 23.0 and 23.4, would have been played on brass and drums; drums might well also have helped to mimic thunder. The sound of a distant drum is called for at 20.276, two on-stage trumpeters are needed for the combat between Edmund and Edgar in the final scene, and the 'soft music' (21.0) of the reunion scene probably sounded from bowed and plucked stringed instruments, and from recorders.

Shakespeare knew that the play needed to be capable of being acted in locations other than the Globe: at court (as it was in 1606), and on tour. He knew the size of the company and both the capabilities and the limitations of the actors who constituted it, he knew that women's parts would be played by young male actors, and he knew—up to a point—what he could expect of his audience. He had inherited, and himself helped to develop, conventions of playwriting which he could adopt and adapt as he thought fit. Meditating on the Lear story as it already existed, he made decisions that would recast it from prose chronicle, verse complaint, poetic narrative, and theatrical tragicomedy into high, philosophical tragedy, decisions in which artistic aims were controlled and stimulated by practical needs.

The most basic decision was to adopt tragic form. This is the end to which the action was to be directed, and to bring it about required an adjustment of the end of the story. The old play concludes happily with the reconciliation of Lear and Cordelia, but in pseudo-historical versions of the tale Lear, 'made ripe by eld' (as Spenser puts it), dies naturally, and years later Cordelia, dispossessed of her kingdom and imprisoned by her nephews, kills herself. Centring the tragedy on Lear, and avoiding the suicide motif—or rather, transferring it to Gonoril—Shakespeare causes Cordelia to die, murdered and still young, before Lear, and then, stressing the bond between them, has the father die over his daughter's body, of grief no less than age. Lear's journey towards death, adumbrated in his opening speech, forms one of the play's links with the morality tradition in which 'the hero is humbled and made to recognize his own weakness and vulnerability, which are the necessary conditions of his existence'.

Seeking intensity of effect, Shakespeare pared away much of the action of the old play, especially its scenes of bawdy comedy, and reorganized and compressed much of the narrative that he retained, as for example in the opening scene. In Shakespeare's play, Lear's division of the kingdom has a ritualistic quality. Avoiding simplistic explanations of human behaviour, he reduces the motivation by which Leir, widowed, sets up the love test as a way of ensuring the succession. This has been seen as a fault. Coleridge commented on the 'nursery-tale' character of the scene; notoriously, Tolstoy, with the instincts of a great romantic novelist, preferred the old play to what Shakespeare made of it; and more recently even Frank Kermode appears to align himself with critics who 'have openly admitted that the anonymous author manages the opening scene better than his successor'. It might on the contrary be argued that Shakespeare's opening scene is a masterpiece of dramatic exposition—almost a little play in its own right—and that its reduction and simplification of motive is one of the ways in which it establishes a mode in which symbol and emblem will have as important a part to play as psychological verisimilitude. Constantly the play's language—verbal and gestural—will relate its action to moral and philosophical concepts, and its mode of characterization will be prepared, when necessary, to subordinate plausibility to broader patterns of dramatic discourse. To say that Shakespeare was writing a straightforward morality play would be a gross over-simplification, but he was aware of the morality tradition, his use of abstract nouns as personifications reflects its conventions (at e.g. 1.138–40), and he is unafraid of allowing his characters to draw attention to the unreality of their own behaviour—'Why I do trifle thus with his despair | Is done to cure it' (20.33–4), says Edgar as he plays his part in the elaborate morality play in which he acts as moral tutor to his suicidal father. A remark like this transparently shows us a dramatist putting his own words into a character's mouth in order to guide his audience's reactions, and there are others like it, especially when Shakespeare feels the need to rein back a potentially comic response to the absurdity of madness: 'O thou side-piercing sight!' (20.85) from Edgar as he sees Lear crowned with weeds and flowers, and 'A sight most pitiful in the meanest wretch, | Past speaking in a king' from the Gentleman, just in case we are merely amused by Lear's running exit (20.193–4).

Another technique by which Shakespeare opens up the play's action, replacing specificity by multiplicity of suggestiveness, is de-localization. In the old play, movements are plotted with some care: 'Now happily I am arrivèd here, | Before the stately palace of the Cambrian King', says the messenger (ll. 1158–9); in _King Lear_ , however, it is often impossible to assign the action to any specific location. The only town mentioned by name (with the possible exception of Gloucester at 5.1) is Dover, thought of as the closest place in England to France—and even that (rather like Moscow in Chekhov's _Three Sisters_ ) is an ideal rather than a reality. The play's action, writes Jodi Mikalachki, 'staggers toward a Dover it will never reach, smelling its way to the sea whose other shore is the distant and yet-to-be encountered civility of Europe' (p. 70). Yet Dover is the gateway through which civilizing virtues, embodied first in the King of France and later in his queen, Cordelia, enter upon the barbarity of Britain. As 'the place where Lear will see Cordelia, or the place where Gloucester will have the satisfaction of suicide' the town is, as Jonathan Goldberg has written, 'a site of desire, the hope for recovery or, at least, repose, restoratives to answer "eyeless Rage" [8.7], or the final closing of the eyes in a sleep without end'.

Equally, Shakespeare withdraws, or muddies, the sense of period. Charles Edelman (p. 152) remarks that 'those who would perform _King Lear_ soon realise that there is simply no one era for the costume and scene designers to employ which is not rendered inconsistent elsewhere'. To give just one example, according to Holinshed Lear lived 'in the year of the world 3105', that is, around 656 BC, 'three generations prior to the founding of Rome'; nevertheless, Shakespeare's characters swear by Roman deities, and Edgar became king some 1,700 years later, in AD 959. (This assumes, of course, that the Edgar of the play is to be equated with the historical king of that name; but since such a king existed, some members, at least, of the audience may have made the connection, especially since other aspects of the play may relate to the Anglo-Saxon king.) Shakespeare denies the old play's strongly explicit Christian frame of reference; 'In contrast to _Hamlet_ ', W. R. Elton has written, 'a Christianized version of the pre-Christian Amleth story, _Lear_ , in Shakespeare's hands, becomes a paganized version of a Christian play' (p. 70). But it might be argued that this demonstrates a concern for authenticity beyond that of the author of the old play, which Shakespeare short-circuits in adopting a pagan setting.

To say this is not necessarily to deny that the play can promulgate Christian values or that it draws on the language and associations of Christianity, as it manifestly does in, especially, the portrayal of Cordelia; but Shakespeare was clearly anxious not to place the action within a specific philosophical or religious context. The replacement of God by the gods, the frequent invocation of pagan deities, may, as some critics have argued, enhance the earnestness of the play's concern with fundamental human issues. Stripped of the consolations of received religion, it gains in mystery, in the sense of life as a battle with the elements, a struggle for survival against wind and rain in a world where humanity has to compete with animal forces both within and outside itself. Shakespeare turns the play into a kind of anti-pastoral by his addition of the storm that is external to Lear and of the tempest that rages in his mind. As in _As You Like It_ , the 'winter wind' is 'not so unkind | As man's ingratitude' ( _AYLI_ 2.7.175–7).

Absence of specificity in the play's geographical and temporal setting would have been enhanced by the neutrality of its original staging on the bare boards of the Globe, a staging which in itself encouraged non-naturalistic interpretation of action. Later stagings of the play have often sought a similar effect. Many productions from Macready's in 1838 up to and including the Elliott–Olivier television film (discussed on pp. 78–9) have placed part or all of the action in a Stonehenge-like setting of vast, primitive blocks of stone and dressed the characters in druidic robes. More adventurous directors have found different ways of suggesting that the play belongs to no specific time or place. So Komisarjevsky in his 1936 Stratford production used a single set composed of stairs and platforms with the declared intention of suggesting the play's 'elemental quality', and Isamu Noguchi's cubist settings and bizarre costumes for the 1955 Stratford production directed by George Devine, with John Gielgud as a heroically loyal Lear, were designed to be 'free of historical or decorative associations so that the timeless, universal, and mythic quality of the story [might] be clear'. ('No revival', wrote J. C. Trewin, 'was so calculated to withdraw the mind from the timeless, universal, and mythical quality of the narrative and from Shakespeare's text.')

4. Jonathan Hyde as Edgar as Tom o'Bedlam in Adrian Noble's RSC production, 1982.

But the play is not simply abstract. Many features of the text link it to Shakespeare's time, notably Edgar's disguise as a Tom o'Bedlam, a figure that would have been as familiar to Jacobean audiences as homeless derelicts and bagladies today and that might similarly have aroused dismay as well as pity. 'Edgar', writes Michael Goldman, 'must be filthy, grotesque, very nearly naked, and bear on his body evidence of horrible mutilation. He is the kind of beggar who _enforces_ charity—so repellent, nasty, and noisy that you pay him to go away.' Though the play's landscape is pagan and Lear reigned many centuries before the Christian era, it can accommodate references to 'spectacles' (2.35), a godson (6.91), items of contemporary clothing such as the codpiece (9.27), and even—if only by oversight—steeples with weathercocks (9.1–3). In Shakespeare's time, indeed, the play would, so far as we can tell, have been performed in contemporary costume, though not necessarily in the everyday dress of members of the audience. Theatre companies spent lavishly on splendid costumes, and sometimes acquired them at little cost: a Swiss visitor to London in 1599, Thomas Platter, noted that 'The play-actors are dressed most exquisitely and elegantly, because of the custom in England that when men of rank or knights die they give and bequeath almost their finest apparel to their servants who, since it does not befit them, do not wear such garments, but afterwards let the play-actors buy them for a few pence.' This meant that distinctions of social rank could be indicated visually. It is all too easy to forget, when reading the play—and consequently also when staging it—that, for example, characters baldly referred to as Gloucester and Kent are senior members of the aristocracy, and that this would have meant a great deal to the play's first audiences. Post-Restoration stagings up to and beyond the time of Garrick also used costume of the time of performance; from when Garrick first played the role, in 1756, till early in the nineteenth century, Lear was traditionally costumed in scarlet trimmed with ermine for most of the action, and he is so portrayed in paintings not directly based on theatrical performance.

Many modern directors have sought to emphasize the play's relevance to audiences of today by the use of modern dress—as in Deborah Warner's National Theatre production of 1990—and, sometimes, specifically contemporary settings. Not uncommonly this has resulted in a blurring of social distinctions, and consequently in a diminution of the play's political dimension. In its own time the play would have touched contemporary concerns, political and philosophical, in ways that are difficult to identify precisely but which it has been the endeavour of much historicist criticism to tease out. So for example Leah S. Marcus has probingly investigated liturgical and political significances that the Quarto text may have held for King James and his court in the performance given, as we know, on St Stephen's Night, 1606—a feast day on which 'the high were to look out in pity on the tribulations of the low' (p. 154). More simplistically, Annabel Patterson has proposed that the audience at that performance 'would quickly have realized that the archaic setting was a ruse to permit analysis of a particular style and ideology of monarchy', regarding the issue of the union of England and Scotland as 'one major form of the topicality in which _King Lear_ is saturated', and the bulk of the play as 'a critique of the socioeconomic system of Jacobean England'.

The constitution of the acting company available to Shakespeare inevitably helped to shape the play. _Leir_ , it has been estimated, could be acted by a group of eleven men and three boys; by the time Shakespeare came to write _King Lear_ companies were larger, and the quarto text of this play requires at least thirteen men (nine playing major roles) and three boys. We know too little about individual actors, but there is no question that Richard Burbage was the company's principal tragedian, and Shakespeare must have had him very much in mind as he wrote. Born in 1568, he was under forty years old when he first played the octogenarian Lear. It is a demanding role, physically as well as mentally, and many of the best performances in later times have been given by actors much younger than the character. Shakespeare was careful too to write challenging and rewarding roles for other members of his company: this is not a one-man play. Gloucester and Kent are strong supporting roles; Edgar provides virtuoso opportunities for a young actor both in his protean shifts of identity and in his reflectiveness when he speaks in his own persona, which can make him a moral centre of the play; by contrast, Edmund's cheerful amorality suits an actor of strongly defined, virile personality. We do not certainly know which of Shakespeare's actors played other roles than Lear.

The number of female characters is the same as in _Leir_ , and so, broadly, are their functions, though the wicked sisters do not actually plot to murder their father, and Cordelia is not as conventionally pious as her forebear. As often, Shakespeare adds to the choric element, especially in the character of the Fool (not required by the plot, as is demonstrated by its omission in the version by Nahum Tate which held the stage from 1681 to 1838), in aspects of the role of Edgar, and in his development of the role of Kent.

The Fool is another dramatic stereotype on which Shakespeare plays highly original variations. The character has antecedents in both life and drama; indeed, Will Sommers, court jester to Henry VIII, is the presenter of Thomas Nashe's pageant-play _Summer's Last Will and Testament_ , published in 1600. Many of Sommers's japes are recounted in a lively little book published in 1600 as _Fool upon Fool_ (revised in 1608 as _A Nest of Ninnies_ ), and written by Robert Armin, a comic actor who joined Shakespeare's company in 1599 and for whom Shakespeare may have intended the role of the Fool. This possibility, however, is not compatible with the idea that he meant the Fool and Cordelia to be doubled, since Cordelia must have been played by a boy, and Armin (born around 1568) was in his late thirties when _King Lear_ was first performed. W. P. Ringler Jr. argues that Armin is more likely to have played Edgar, partly on the grounds that the Fool is a 'boy', and also because Armin appears to have been a master of the kind of multiple impersonations required from the performer of Edgar.

Armin distinguishes between natural fools—half-wits who provide entertainment which is, to a greater or lesser degree, involuntary—and artificial fools: professional entertainers whose simulated folly is part of their act. Shakespeare had already made use of the type figure, most notably in Touchstone in _As You Like It_ , and Feste in _Twelfth Night_. The fool characteristically wore a distinctive, multi-coloured patchwork costume, the 'motley' referred to at Scene 4.139, along with a coxcomb, and carried a bauble—a stick with a carved head, sometimes with a bladder on the end with which he belaboured the victims of his wit, and which often assumes phallic significance. Court fools had special privileges; as the Duke says of Touchstone, 'He uses his folly like a stalking-horse, and under the presentation of that he shoots his wit' ( _As You Like It_ 5.4.104–5). But they were also vulnerable to punishment if they went too far in criticism of their betters. Once, we are told, Cardinal Wolsey threatened Will 'A rod in the school | And a whip for a fool | Are always in season'; so Lear will warn 'Take heed, sirrah—the whip' (4.104), and may threaten him with one, as Wolfit did.

The character type was valuable particularly because it could serve a quasi-choric function while remaining within the framework of the action. It can speak for the author or, more subtly, express a dissentient point of view which increases the complexity of the portrayal. The fool can act as a kind of safety-valve for the audience, expressing their feelings and mediating between them and the action. Being classless, he can move easily between one set of characters and another. And as an entertainer, he can amuse the audience in the theatre as well as those on stage. His characteristic behaviour was vividly described by Thomas Lodge in his book _Wit's Misery_ , of 1596: 'give him a little wine in his head, he is continually flearing and making of mouths; he laughs intemperately at every little occasion, and dances about the house, leaps over tables, outskips men's heads, trips up his companions' heels, burns sack with a candle, and hath all the feats of a lord of misrule in the country . . . it is a special mark of him at the table, he sits and makes faces.' But Lear's Fool has cause to be more melancholy; and we are told that he has 'much pined away' even before we see him.

Court and domestic fools died out in the later part of the seventeenth century, and the absence of an obvious social counterpart in later ages has caused difficulty in representing Lear's Fool—which may be why Tate omitted him. In 1838, when Macready (at the last minute) ventured to restore the role, it was played by a woman, Priscilla Horton, a practice which has recurred, reflecting the asexuality of the role (at least in Macready's shortened text). He has no personal name. He is a function as much as a character, and so peculiarly liable to openness of interpretation. Lear often addresses him as 'boy' (and once as 'lad'), and if, as has been conjectured, he was originally doubled with Cordelia, he would have been played by a boy in Shakespeare's company. But the form of address could be a remnant of a long-standing relationship, validating the common practice of playing him as a man of Lear's generation. Directors have often brought the Fool on stage in the opening scene as a silent partner to his master; but this detracts from the dramatic and symbolic impact of his entry after Lear has repeatedly called for him in Scene 4. His role as entertainer has been recognized by costuming him as a circus clown or a broken-down old comedian.

Actors are apt to compare the Fool to a pet monkey—hyperactive, attached to its master but chatteringly irreverent both to him and to those around him. So in an anecdote whose truth may be metaphorical rather than literal, Rosenberg reports that Michael Williams, in Trevor Nunn's 1968 production, saw the Fool's loyalty to Lear 'as almost instinctive, animal-like. He decided to choose a monkey for his model, and was studying the monkey house at the zoo, when he saw a familiar figure in front of him—Alex Clunes [ _in error for_ Alec McCowen], Scofield's stage Fool. Clunes [ _sic_ ] pointed to a monkey at the top of the house and said, "That was mine." ' (Rosenberg, p. 109.) Similarly Antony Sher, whose essay on playing the Fool to Michael Gambon's Lear in Adrian Noble's 1982 RSC production is an illuminating study of the role from the actor's point of view, declares that in rehearsal the director 'asked each of the actors involved to find an animal to play, in order to release the savagery and wildness of the situation. I chose a chimpanzee, chattering and clapping hands, hurling myself around in forward rolls, and found this very liberating for the role. That weekend I hurried to London Zoo to watch the chimps and became even more convinced that they had all the requisite qualities for the Fool—manic comic energy when in action, a disturbing sadness when in repose. A delightful coincidence that day at the zoo was rounding a corner to discover that Michael Gambon was also there, presumably also in search of his character, leaning against the plate-glass of the gorillas' cage, man and beast locked in solemn contemplation of one another.'

5. Ian Talbot (who took over from Antony Sher) as the Fool in Adrian Noble's RSC production, 1982.

Shakespeare's addition to the Lear story of the parallel story of Gloucester and his two sons—largely of his own invention in spite of having its origins in Sidney—is in part a response to the need, 'On a stage where the progress of the story is advanced by the momentary clearing of the stage and where continuous playing is the rule', for the dramatist to provide more than one set of characters. But as usual Shakespeare made artistic capital out of practical necessity: the addition adds to both the implicit and the explicit commentary on the Lear story. This is his only tragedy to have a fully developed plot parallel to that of the main action: he juxtaposes the story of a man who is driven mad with that of one who has his eyes torn out. It seems misleading to refer to the Gloucester story as a subplot, or underplot, because it adds to the Lear story, with which it soon becomes inextricably intertwined, rather than simply supports it. Parallels of situation are clear, but there are also differences which extend the play's range of reference.

Both Lear and Gloucester are men of power, but Lear's royalty means that his fate has dynastic implications, whereas Gloucester's remains on a more domestic level. Lear has two hypocritical, self-seeking, rationalist daughters and a virtuous one; the superstitious Gloucester has one hypocritical, self-seeking, rationalist son and a virtuous one. Gloucester, as we learn at the very beginning of the play, has transgressed sexually; both his younger son and Lear's elder daughters seek to do so, with each other, in the course of the action. Lear too displays faults of character—irascibility, self-centredness, blatantly false judgement ('Come, noble Burgundy')—on his first appearance. During the course of the action, Lear's elder daughters and Gloucester's younger son will turn against both their fathers and their siblings, and will pay for it with their deaths. Lear's youngest daughter and Gloucester's elder son, on the other hand, will remain loyal to their parents, and take offensive action on their behalves in the play's closing episodes. Whereas Cordelia, banished, is absent for much of the action, Edgar, disguised, is able to set his virtue to work on behalf of Lear as well as his own father. He will survive, but Cordelia will die a cruel and unmerited death. Both Gloucester and Lear will undergo great suffering, but Lear's is primarily of the mind, Gloucester's of the body.

6. David Bradley as Gloucester and Robert Stephens as Lear in Adrian Noble's RSC production, 1993.

Lear's madness is one of Shakespeare's additions to the story, heightened and complicated by Edgar's impersonation of a servingman, possessed by devils, 'whose sexual conquest of his mistress has made him run mad', and also by the 'natural' folly of the Fool. As in _Hamlet_ the hero's feigned madness sets off and gives reality to the actual madness of Ophelia, so the manifest if skilful 'daubings' of Edgar counterpoint and heighten the pathos and credibility of Lear's loss of reason. But Hamlet contains both the feigned madman and the fool within himself; in Lear, their polarization increases the emphasis on 'reason in madness' (20.164). By causing Lear to go mad, Shakespeare greatly extends the character's emotional range (and therefore his theatrical power); in his madness the King challenges not only his court and family but the universe around him. But madness also enhances the intellectual and political range of the play in the opportunities it affords for satire. Before Lear goes mad, the Fool satirizes him in snatches of verse and song that have a more than local resonance. The Fool leaves the play after Lear is sent to seek 'welcome and protection' (13.85) at Dover, but then Lear subsumes the Fool's role within himself, directing against others, and against society in general—especially in his scene (Sc. 20) with the blind Gloucester—the kind of satire that the Fool had directed against him.

Lear's climactic expression of mental suffering comes as the elemental tempest beats around him, and he declares

This tempest in my mind

Doth from my senses take all feeling else

Save what beats there: filial ingratitude.

(11.12–14)

But the suffering diminishes when madness comes upon him. As Gloucester is to realize later in the play, madness can bring relief from suffering:

Better I were distraught;

So should my thoughts be fencèd from my griefs,

And woes by wrong imaginations lose

The knowledge of themselves.

(20.273–6)

The climax of Gloucester's physical suffering comes later than Lear's, with his blinding—'All dark and comfortless' (14.83)—and he too is made horribly aware of 'filial ingratitude' when, as he calls upon Edmund to take revenge, Regan enlightens him that it is Edmund who betrayed him. Suffering teaches both men how they have misvalued their offspring, and leads them to acknowledge their own faults and to express humility. Finally, each will die, both reconciled to their virtuous children: Gloucester, off stage, happy in Edgar's love; Lear, before our eyes, grieving over the body of his dead daughter.

Although the plot of _King Lear_ is intricately woven, it is nevertheless open enough to admit the inclusion of speeches and episodes which, inessential to the story line, add to and illuminate its system of ideas. Prominent among these are much of the Fool's role, including the bulk of the scene (Sc. 5) in which Lear first experiences intimations of madness; Lear's mock-trial of Gonoril and Regan (13.31–75); Edgar's moralizing speech at the end of Scene 13 ('When we our betters see bearing our woes . . .'); the scene (Sc. 17) in which we hear of Cordelia's reaction to her father's plight; and, most conspicuously, the encounter between mad Lear and blind Gloucester (Sc. 20). Some of these episodes are absent from the Folio text, but all throw light on the ideas provoked in Shakespeare's mind as he first wrote the story of King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester.

In refashioning this story Shakespeare was influenced by contemporary notions of dramatic genre, but by no means in thrall to them. The entry of the play in the Stationers' Register refers to it as a 'history', and the title-page of the Quarto calls it a 'true chronicle history'; I adopt this title for convenience, to distinguish it from the text printed among the tragedies in the Folio, but there is no doubt that from the start Shakespeare was determined to reshape his chronicle sources into tragic form. This was, however, a fluid concept. It permitted the inclusion of comedy and satire, associated especially with the roles of the Fool, Edgar as Tom o'Bedlam, Kent in his brusqueness, and Oswald as the butt of Kent's scorn. It permitted too a development of the narrative that links it to the romance tradition. Although Shakespeare's protagonist undergoes suffering far greater than that portrayed in the old play, there is a point of the action at which it seems possible that his play, like _King Leir_ , will end as a tragicomedy, concluding with what Nahum Tate was to call 'a success to the innocent distressed persons'. Rescued by the forces of Cordelia, now Queen of France, Lear is restored at once to sanity and to the love of the daughter whom he had banished. The scene of their reunion and mutual forgiveness links this most tragic of plays to the comic tradition, to the reunion of the living with the supposedly dead—fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives—in plays from each stage of Shakespeare's career, ranging from _The Comedy of Errors_ to _The Tempest_. In all those plays one of the relatives believes that the other has come back from the dead; Lear, however, believes that he himself has been resurrected, and regrets it: 'You do me wrong to take me out o'th' grave . . .' (21.43). (It is not clear whether at this point Lear believes that he has been brought back to life on earth, or that, somehow, his dead body has been taken out of the grave and made sentient even though his soul is 'bound upon a wheel of fire'.)

Any sense of a happy ending that this episode may create is rapidly dispelled. The play's closing stages present a sequence of events in which the slow struggle towards success of the political and military movement headed by Cordelia, Albany, and Edgar suffers repeated setbacks as a result of a series of hammer blows directed against those on whose behalf they are fighting. The disguised Edgar's delivery of a challenge to Albany (22.42–52) raises hope, but then Edmund declares that Lear and Cordelia 'shall never see [Albany's] pardon'. After the oddly stylized and foreshortened off-stage battle (23.0–5) we hear that 'King Lear hath lost' and has been taken prisoner along with Cordelia. Lear's vision of a timeless life with Cordelia in which they will take upon themselves 'the mystery of things' as if they were God's spies is immediately followed by Edmund's sinister instructions to the Captain to 'follow them to prison' on a 'great employment' which 'Will not bear question'.

The outlook for those engaged in the countermovement brightens with Albany's arrest of Edmund and Gonoril, his challenge to Edmund and Edmund's counter-challenge, followed by the disguised Edgar's successful fight against his brother, though the scene is darkened again by Edgar's narrative of their father's death and of Kent's grief, so strong that 'the strings of life | Began to crack'. Edmund shows signs of relenting—'This speech of yours hath moved me, | And shall perchance do good'—and although the appearance of a Gentleman 'with a bloody knife' may arouse fears for Lear and Cordelia, it emerges that Regan has stabbed herself and poisoned Gonoril, and their bodies are brought on stage. Edmund's determination to do good in spite of his own nature raises hope that it may not be too late to save Lear and Cordelia, but hope is shattered by Lear's entry bearing his youngest daughter's body. The stage picture here creates a grim echo of the opening scene. There, Lear on his throne had been flanked by his three daughters. Now, as Granville Barker pointed out, 'The same company are here, or all but the same, and they await his pleasure. Even Regan and Goneril are here to pay him a ghastly homage. But he knows none of them—save for a blurred moment Kent whom he banished—none but Cordelia' (pp. 277–8). The structural echo can be reinforced by stage patterning, as it was in Nicholas Hytner's 1990 RSC production when the placing of stage furniture for the sisters in the opening scene was echoed in both the mock trial and the final scene. News of Edmund's death completes the annihilation of the anti-Lear party, and we are given cause to think that the play may still be going to end with Lear at least alive, as Albany resigns the kingdom to him, promises honour to Edgar and Kent, and seems to be wrapping the play neatly up with an assignment of poetic justice.

All friends shall taste

The wages of their virtue, and all foes

The cup of their deservings.

But he has not rhymed. Something happens to draw attention to Lear—'O see, see!'—and the play achieves its tragic consummation with his death. Only then are we ready for the couplets in which Albany reassigns rule to Kent and Edgar, Kent declares that he too is ready to die, and Albany speaks a subdued epitaph.

### _The Play_ ' _s Language_

The use of rhymed couplets to close a play is conventional. Shakespeare was indebted to convention, but not subservient to it, for the language of his play. The old play of _King Leir_ is typical of its time in its mingling of verse for the high characters with prose for the low—messengers and watchmen, for instance. This convention underlies, but does not determine, Shakespeare's practice. As in almost all plays of the period, blank verse is his norm, and he handles it with the flexibility that characterizes his use of the medium in his later work. To give but one example, the sonorous formality of Lear's opening speech (1.36–48) is very different from the fractured suspensions of 'O, reason not the need! . . .' (7.422–44). And although, when recollected from a distance, the play may give the impression of being written in a relatively uniform, generally austere style, when more closely examined it reveals a wide range of verbal registers and a remarkable degree of stylistic self-consciousness. With a virtuosity deriving from long experience, Shakespeare varies the blank verse as occasion arises with rhymed couplets—sometimes to define exits and scene endings—a variety of lyric measures and octosyllabics for the Fool's homilies and snatches of song, and prose.

The play's linguistic artifice is not entirely unselfconscious. Although the playwright's art lies partly in the success with which he conceals art so as to create the impression of spontaneous utterance, at times he causes characters to express awareness of the manipulative and affective powers of what they say and of the way they say it. In the opening scene, Gonoril and Regan find themselves in the position of the playwright in being required to articulate emotions that they do not feel. Shakespeare causes them to speak in a self-conscious, hyperbolical style, creating set speeches which give the impression of having been thought out in advance and which are delivered as on-stage performances—as may be emphasized by the manner of their delivery and by formality of staging. He directs the audience's attention to their falsity through Cordelia's asides and her explicit criticism of her sisters' 'glib and oily art'. As a result, Cordelia's relative inarticulacy may acquire its own kind of eloquence, making us 'imagine that she feels much more than she says'. Kent is proud of his ability to 'deliver a plain message bluntly' (4.31), while Cornwall accuses him of affecting 'A saucy roughness' (7.92), whereupon Kent deliberately goes 'out of his dialect' to speak in high-flown terms. The blind Gloucester is defensively aware of Edgar's improvement in 'phrase and matter' even though Edgar suggests that his father's other senses may have grown 'imperfect | By [his] eyes' anguish' (20.5–8), Edmund recognizes that his disguised brother's 'tongue some say of breeding breathes' (24.140), and the end of the play returns to its beginning as Albany declares we should 'Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.'

Unlike people in real life, he says so in verse, not in prose. Nevertheless, roughly 25 per cent of the play is written in prose. Its use may be determined by situation as much as character. The courtly prose spoken at the play's opening by the aristocratic Gloucester and Kent heightens the formality of Lear's first utterances, establishing the verse rhetoric of his opening speech as a norm, and the return of prose in the scene's closing dialogue between Gonoril and Regan is both appropriate to their cold rationality and rounds off the scene with aesthetically pleasing shapeliness. Prose occurs frequently in scenes where the emotional temperature is relatively low, such as the exposition of the Gloucester plot (Sc. 2), and in the rough comedy of Lear's conversation with the disguised Kent (Sc. 4) and the baiting of Oswald (Sc. 4 and 7). It can help to convey the pathos of inarticulacy, as when Lear first embarks on the process of self-examination in the presence of the Fool:

FOOL . . . Thou canst not tell why one's nose stands in the middle of his face?

LEAR No.

FOOL Why, to keep his eyes on either side's nose, that what a man cannot smell out, a may spy into.

LEAR I did her wrong.

(5. 19–24)

Here, emotion exists between rather than in the lines; silences are as expressive as speech. In this scene, departing from the standard conventions of poetic drama, Shakespeare creates a dialogue of non-communication anticipative of the methods of Beckett or Pinter in its approach to psychological realism, a dialogue as concerned with failure of communication as with the direct expression of meaning or emotion. Edgar's prose as he adopts the roles of Poor Tom and, later, the 'bold peasant' with a rustic accent whom Oswald makes the mistake of challenging (20.223–42), helps Edgar to assume a linguistic as well as a physical disguise.

Prose marks Lear's increasing understanding of common humanity:

Is man no more but this? Consider him well. Thou owest the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Here's three on 's are sophisticated; thou art the thing itself. Unaccommodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art. (11.92–7)

It charts his descent into madness, but also points the poignancy of his resumption of verse as he recalls his lost kingly dignity: 'When I do stare, see how the subject quakes!' (20.106). The mixing of prose with verse helps to maintain dramatic impetus as the action develops, but it is unsuited to the relentless intensity of the closing scenes; from the episode of Lear's reunion with Cordelia to the end, only the Herald's challenge (24.109–13) is in prose.

Both the prose and the verse of the play are underpinned by the rigorous training in rhetoric that Shakespeare must have received at school, but his method of using it is a far cry from the patterned formality apparent in earlier plays such as _Richard III_ and _A Midsummer Night_ ' _s Dream_. Paradoxically, _King Lear_ —a play that revels in paradox—is at one and the same time both the most and the least poetical of Shakespeare's tragedies. Remarking that 'one reason why _King Lear_ has been mistaken for an unactable play is that it is so nearly an unreadable play', Winifred Nowottny noted the absence of 'poetry that survives quotation out of context'. The passage that might most be thought to do so, the Gentleman's description of Cordelia's reaction to news of her father's plight beginning 'You have seen | Sunshine and rain at once . . .' (17.18–19), forms part of the entire scene omitted in the Folio text, as if it were considered an indulgence. The absence of 'beauties' is a measure of the subordination of poetic to dramatic effect.

The same critic also wrote 'the play is inexhaustibly patterned', and the patterning of its language forms a nervous system for the play, linking all its parts into a single intercommunicating organism. In this sense the play is pure poetry, but poetry in which language, action, stage effect, and even silence are inextricably interwoven. The essentially dramatic nature of the language is apparent in the way that verbal and visual images interact. So, for example, the intricate patternings of imagery of sight initiated by Gonoril's claim that she loves Lear 'dearer than eyesight' emerge into the action with the blinding of Gloucester when he is not merely deprived of eyesight but has his eyes torn out and cast upon the stage; the play's concern with justice and punishment is emblematized in the stage property of the stocks in which Kent is confined; and its implicit investigation of what it is to be a man is conducted partly through a multiple series of allusions to animals, from Lear's comparison of himself to a dragon (1.113) to his posing over Cordelia's body of the unanswerable question 'Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life, | And thou no breath at all?' (24.301–2).

To its early audiences, the language of _King Lear_ must have seemed very strange, as original in its day as that of James Joyce or Dylan Thomas in theirs. The commentary to this edition notes over a hundred words or compounds which either represent or predate _OED_ 's first recorded use (absolutely or in this sense), and though this is not entirely reliable it gives some idea of the innovativeness of the play's vocabulary. There are also many rare words and expressions, some literary, others deriving from specialist vocabularies that defeat scholarly investigation. The language constantly strains meaning beyond its normal limits. Margreta de Grazia notes its 'inclination to superfluity', its use of 'superlatives and super-superlatives' and 'pejor-pejoratives', and links this with the way 'the play itself goes to extremes, pushing beyond the bounds of tragedy, particularly in its superfluous addition of Cordelia's death'. Frequently, too, syntax is strained to the point of contortion, and (even allowing for textual problems) characters express themselves so cryptically that they risk becoming incomprehensible. This is germane to the dramatic purpose in, especially, many of the Fool's oracular rhymes and songs in which he tries obliquely to convey harsh truths, and also in the calculated dissociations of Edgar's assumed and Lear's real madness. Sometimes too it helps movingly to convey the difficulty that characters themselves experience in expressing themselves. But it seems almost wanton when, for example, Gonoril says of her sister

But being widow, and my Gloucester with her,

May all the building on my fancy pluck

Upon my hateful life

(16.83–5)

or when she warns Lear that unless he is careful

the fault

Would not scape censure, nor the redress sleep

Which in the tender of a wholesome weal

Might in their working do you that offence,

7. 'Bound upon a wheel of fire': from Giovanni Ferro, _Teatro d'imprese_ (Venice, 1623).

That else were shame, that then necessity

Must call discreet proceedings.

(4.200–6)

It is almost as if she wished to provide food for commentators.

To say all this, however, is not to deny that the language of the play can rise to incomparable heights of calculated eloquence in both verse and prose, or indeed that it may at times speak with a sublime simplicity that seems all the more powerful for the knotted tortuosities that have gone before. Both qualities are supremely present in the scene of the reunion between Lear and Cordelia. We had last seen Lear as, in his madness, he ran to escape capture with the words 'Nay, an you get it, you shall get it with running' (20.191–2). After the grotesquery of that exit, his dignity is reestablished with a cosmic image linking earth, heaven, and hell, fusing the Christian belief in resurrection of the body with classical mythology (in its recollection of Ixion):

LEAR

You do me wrong to take me out o'th' grave.

Thou art a soul in bliss, but I am bound

Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears

Do scald like molten lead.

(21.43–6)

Vast in imaginative scope and elevated in poetic tone though these lines are, they are plain in diction and contain only two words of more than one syllable. This simplicity is sustained throughout the episode that follows. It contains little overt expression of feeling. It is written in verse, but many of the phrases that have proved most moving in performance are so far from being consciously 'poetic' that we ourselves might use them in everyday conversation with no feeling that we were being literary: such phrases as 'I feel this pin prick', 'You must not kneel', 'Do not laugh at me', 'I know you do not love me', even 'You must bear with me'. Though Cordelia says little during the episode, her actions and reactions as she kneels to her father, begs his blessing, weeps, and denies that she has had cause to do Lear wrong, demand from the performer an eloquent if often silent depiction of a highly emotional state, and do much to direct the audience's reactions. They are part of the performative poetry of the scene. A comparison of this scene with the parallel one in the play of _King Leir_ provides an object lesson in the superiority of Shakespeare's artistry.

The intellect and imagination of Shakespeare's audience are challenged not only by the language but also by the inventive audacity with which he laid out his plot material. Some episodes, such as Lear's mock-trial of his absent daughters, Gloucester's leap from a cliff that exists only in Edgar's brilliant word-painting, and the conversation between the mad King and the blind Gloucester—often seen in recent times as an anticipation of Beckett—are bizarre in their surreality. Violence was common in the theatres of Shakespeare's time, but the blinding of Gloucester followed by the stabbing of Cornwall exceeds in horror even the more sensational brutalities of _Titus Andronicus_ because of the sophisticated craftsmanship with which Shakespeare leads up to and away from the blinding itself. Readers and audiences have often found the scene too painful to bear; it was omitted in some nineteenth-century performances, including Irving's, and even in our own time Jonathan Miller—like Garrick before him—had it played off stage.

### _Early Performance_

The mock-trial (13.16–51) is not present in the Folio text. Perhaps Burbage himself found it too much of a challenge in its treading of the knife-edge between pathos and absurdity; or perhaps its early audiences could not measure up to it. We know little about the reception of the play in Shakespeare's time. The fact that it was performed at court indicates at least initial success, and an epitaph on Burbage, who died in 1619, lists 'kind Lear' among his finest roles. The prominence accorded to the role of Edgar on the title-page of the Quarto may mean that the actor of this virtuoso role scored a hit. A provincial touring company of recusant actors performed a number of plays, including 'Perocles prince of Tire' and 'king Lere', in 1610 at Gowthwaite Hall, in Yorkshire. It is of interest that they worked from printed copies, not manuscripts. Repeatedly since C. J. Sisson drew attention to the court case in which they were involved it has been stated that they played Shakespeare's _King Lear_ , but this is not certain; the old play was also available in print. Before long, however, a version of Shakespeare's play was acted in Germany: a company of English actors playing in Dresden in 1626 acted among other plays with Shakespearian connections 'Tragoedia von Lear, König in Engelandt'. Identification of the play as a tragedy indicates that it was based on Shakespeare.

There is also an early offshoot of the play—the first of its many subsequent adaptations into media other than that for which it was composed—which, though modern editors ignore it, is of interest for more than one reason. This is the ballad 'A Lamentable Song of the Death of King Lear and his Three Daughters' (reprinted with commentary on pp. 277–85). Though the first known printing is in a volume dated 1620, it was probably composed well before that date. By its very existence the ballad tells us that the play was popular enough to generate a song likely to have been sung in the streets of London. Like many later offshoots, it compounds elements from the play with material drawn from elsewhere. In its descriptions of Lear in his madness and his death over Cordelia's body it gives us what may well be unique eyewitness impressions of moments from the play as performed by Shakespeare's company.

The fact that Shakespeare took the trouble to revise his play suggests both that he was not entirely satisfied with it in its original form, and that it nevertheless continued in the repertoire—a fact which surely indicates that the original Globe audiences were capable of a profundity of response with which they are not always credited. There are, however, far fewer early allusions to _King Lear_ than to, say, _Hamlet_ or _Othello_. It seems likely that the play's challenges were too great to win easy popularity for it in its own time.

### ' _King Lear' as a Text for Readers_

At the opening of this Introduction I referred briefly to the continuing, and growing, impact that Shakespeare's text has exerted through the centuries. Any text operates by virtue of latent energies released as the result of a process of interaction between the words on the page and people who read them. With plays, these energies are most properly mediated through performance—and even actors have to read the text before they can perform it. Nevertheless, Shakespeare was writing in a period which was exceptional in that much of the finest verse and prose was composed for the theatre, and as a result his plays, like those of his contemporaries, have continued to offer much to readers as well as to play-goers. John Keats, one of Shakespeare's best readers, described the experience as purgatorial in lines that reflect a common response:

Once again, the fierce dispute

Betwixt damnation and impassioned clay

Must I burn through; once more humbly assay

The bitter-sweet of this Shakespearean fruit.

For Keats, as for many others, the play induces humility, offering an experience almost too intense to bear. A vast body of scholarly and critical literature, too, is based either entirely or mainly on reading experience.

The tools of scholarship and of criticism are constantly changing. Critics have analysed the play's structure, its techniques of characterization, its dramaturgy, its imagery and symbolism, and its other verbal techniques. They have worried over the ethical and moral issues that it raises, its relation to systems of thought in its own and later times, the social and philosophical resonances it may have evoked in contemporary audiences, and that it continues to evoke today; and they have endlessly, sometimes heatedly, discussed whether it is open to Christian interpretation. They have applied to it the techniques of formalist, structuralist, deconstructionist, historicist, New Historicist, feminist, humanist, Marxist, and many other types of criticism. They have investigated the play's performance history, criticized its critical history, charted its fluctuating popularity and influence, and considered its effect on both readers and audiences whether performed in 'authentic' or adapted texts, in English or in translation. All this bears witness to the richness and density of Shakespeare's text, and to the force of its impact over the centuries, not only on those who regard it as one of the landmarks of Western civilization, but even on those who have found it technically faulty and ideologically distasteful. An attempt to summarize even the principal writings about _King Lear_ would inevitably be superficial; some are cited elsewhere in this Introduction. Guides to criticism, and anthologies, frequently appear, and some of the landmarks are listed on pp. 286–90.

Performance always, and obviously, belongs to its present. Though criticism may seek to create the impression that it reaches back to objective truths, it too belongs to the time in which it is written. It is inescapably subjective, reflective of the personality of the writer, the intellectual and social preoccupations of the age that gives rise to it, governed by its own rules and conventions. Though it proceeds through intellectual analysis, it often aspires to the condition of art, and much criticism of _King Lear_ especially tries to convey something of the emotional impact the play has had upon the writer. In the hands of writers such as Charles Lamb, A. C. Bradley, Wilson Knight, Stephen Greenblatt and many others, criticism achieves its own kind of literary distinction, irrespective of the validity of its arguments.

As will be clear from the discussion of the text (pp. 3–9), however, what people read as _King Lear_ has been far from constant over the centuries. Even those editions which aim to present the play in its purity vary according to editorial theory and practice, so that for example Malone's edition of 1790 makes different choices in its selection of variant readings and its emendations from Craig's of 1901 or Kenneth Muir's of 1952, and more recently Quarto and Folio have been disentangled. In addition, some aspects of the text lie within the domain of the editor in ways that impact on the nature of the reading experience. In its first printing the text was presented continuously, with none of the divisions into acts and scenes that were added in the Folio, let alone the indications of locality introduced first by eighteenth-century editors. Editions of the second half of the twentieth century give far less typographical prominence than their predecessors to editorially imposed act and scene divisions, and the practice, going back to Rowe (1709), of heading each scene with a statement of its supposed location—'A Room in the Duke of Albany's Palace', or 'A Chamber in a Farmhouse adjoining the Castle', to quote from Muir's edition—has slowly been abandoned but still influences thinking about the play: it is common to speak of the heath scenes even though the precise word 'heath' occurs nowhere in the text.

Stage directions vary greatly from one edition to another in the extent to which they attempt to flesh out the often inadequate directions of the early texts, helping the reader to envisage stage action. The physical presentation varies too, ranging from plain text editions (especially useful to actors) to heavily annotated ones such as Furness's New Variorum (1880), and from the most utilitarian of school editions and paperbacks, through reprints adorned with illustrations and theatrical photographs, to the typographical splendour of A. H. Bullen's ten-volume Shakespeare Head edition of 1904–7 and the elegance of Folio Society reprints (such as that of 1956, which offers an introduction by Donald Wolfit along with reproductions of Noguchi's designs for the 1955 Stratford production). All this has its effect on the reading experience.

### _Performance Texts of_ ' _King Lear_ '

For theatre practitioners from members of Shakespeare's company onwards the act of reading has been an essential preliminary to performance, and an early step in the process of releasing the theatrical energies of the text has often been an acknowledgement of the need to alter it to suit changing theatrical exigencies, including the abilities of individual actors, the nature of the performance space, the expectations of the audience, and so on. This process is seen at work in the play's first surviving theatrical adaptation, that printed in the 1623 Folio. Since then it has resulted in a stream of theatre texts published and unpublished, prompt books and acting editions, which have received relatively little scholarly attention but which bear witness to the metamorphoses the text has undergone in performance, and to the philosophical impossibility of regarding the play of _King Lear_ as anything approaching a fixed entity.

Prompt books are essentially working documents, invaluable to the theatre historian but often cryptic and deceptively partial witnesses to the theatrical event. Published theatre editions fall into two principal categories. Some are offered as practical guides to putting on the play. An extreme example is the Samuel French Acting Edition of 1967, prepared by an actor, George Skillan, which is furnished with astonishingly detailed instructions for the kind of performance that might have been given in English provincial theatres during the earlier years of the twentieth century, and with an elaborate, theatrically-interpretative commentary. Other theatre editions present themselves rather as souvenirs of particular productions. The first major example is John Bell's collection of 1774–5 offering the plays 'as they are now performed at the Theatres Royal in London', in which _Lear_ appears in Garrick's version of Tate's adaptation, with an engraving of 'Mr Reddish in the Character of Edgar' and of Lear removing his 'lendings' in the storm—one of the most frequently illustrated points of the play. During the nineteenth century, texts of the play as acted were available for audiences of, for example, Charles Kean's 1858 production and Henry Irving's Lyceum version of 1892, with a statement in the latter that the play 'is necessarily reduced to reasonable length to suit the exigencies of the present time' and that 'In the curtailment, all superfluous horrors have been omitted'. Both versions entirely omit the blinding scene, and (like Macready's acting edition of 1838, which probably influenced them) end virtually with Lear's death, on Kent's words 'He hates him | That would upon the rack of this tough world | Stretch him out longer'.

Theatre editions, like theatre programmes, are mostly ephemeral. They serve a purpose at the time of the production which gives rise to them, and they pass into the province of the theatre historian when it is over. Occasionally, however, the printed text of an acting edition usurps the authority of the original text, and so it was with the first surviving English theatre version of _King Lear_ (unless that label belongs to the Folio text), Nahum Tate's adaptation of 1681. Shakespeare's play had been acted on the Restoration stage before Tate's version appeared: according to the prompter John Downes, _Lear_ was given 'exactly as Mr Shakespeare wrote it' in London probably in the 1663–4 season, but nothing else is known of these performances, and the fact that they were succeeded by a heavily adapted version suggests that they had no great success.

### _Nahum Tate_ ' _s Adaptation_

_The History of King Lear. Acted at the Duke's Theatre. Reviv'd with Alterations. By N. Tate_ was printed in 1681 with a cast list naming the great actor Thomas Betterton as Lear. Tate made far more changes than the adapter of the Quarto text printed in the First Folio, and, like him, did so in the belief that he was effecting improvements. In his introductory epistle he professes great admiration for 'our Shakespeare's creating fancy', while criticizing the play as 'a heap of jewels unstrung and unpolished, yet so dazzling in their disorder that I soon perceived I had seized a treasure'. Re-stringing the jewels he shortens the text by around eight hundred lines, removing entirely the character of the Fool; he modernizes the language at many points; he adds a love story of his own composition, removing the King of France and turning Edgar and Cordelia into virtuous lovers who come together at the end; most notoriously, he makes 'the tale conclude in a success to the innocent distressed persons', preserving the lives of Lear, Kent, and Gloucester and sending them off into peaceful retirement. Edgar ends the play optimistically, declaring to Cordelia:

Thy bright example shall convince the world,

Whatever storms of fortune are decreed,

That Truth and Virtue shall at last succeed.

What Tate did to Shakespeare was not essentially different from what Shakespeare had done to _King Leir_ : Shakespeare had turned an old tragicomedy into a tragedy, Tate reversed the process. In doing so he created a new, different play which, critics have increasingly argued, has its own artistic validity. Admittedly, he rather asked for trouble by retaining as much of Shakespeare as he did, thereby inviting odious comparisons with verse that he wrote himself. But at the time Tate wrote, Shakespeare was not thought of as an immortal classic, but as a dramatist whose works, however admirable, required adaptation to fit them for the new theatrical and social circumstances of the time, as well as to changes in taste. William Davenant had already composed successful new plays on the basis of, for example, _The Two Noble Kinsmen_ (as _The Rivals_ , 1664), _The Tempest_ (with Dryden, 1667) and _Macbeth_ (1673). Now Tate did the same for _King Lear_ , and in the process created a text which, though it operates on a far lower level of artistic aspiration than its source play, has to be acknowledged as one of the longest-lasting successes of the English drama: it supplanted Shakespeare's play in every performance given from 1681 to 1838.

As Shakespeare rose in esteem, however, invidious comparisons came to be made, and Tate's text, frequently vilified, was itself subjected to adaptation. As early as 1711, Addison complained that, 'reformed according to the chimerical notion of poetical justice', the play had 'lost half its beauty'. David Garrick used unaltered Tate for his first appearances as Lear in 1742, in his twenty-fifth year, but in 1743 playbills advertised performances at Lincoln's Inn Fields 'with restorations from Shakespeare' (Lear was played by an anonymous 'Gentleman'). Later Samuel Foote urged Garrick to play the original, 'fool and all', but the great actor prepared a new version of Tate for performances given from 1756, still without the Fool, though with considerable restoration in the earlier part of the play. In 1756 the poet and playwright Frances Brooke (1724–89), writing of a performance with Garrick's great rival, Spranger Barry, as Lear, found it 'matter of great astonishment' that actors, above all Garrick, 'who professes himself so warm an idolater' of Shakespeare, should prefer Tate to 'Shakespeare's great original'. Nevertheless she acknowledged that the performance 'moved the whole house to tears'. A version prepared by George Colman for Covent Garden in 1768 omitted Tate's love story, and did not succeed. Garrick continued to play Lear with enormous success till the end of his career, and even though he deprived himself of the death scene, tears continued to dominate audiences' responses. This won him praise in competition with Barry. A contemporary wrote:

The town has found out different ways

To praise the different Lears.

To Barry they give loud huzzas,

To Garrick—only tears.

And another added:

'A King? Nay, every inch a king'

Such Barry doth appear,

But Garrick's quite a different thing:

He's every inch King Lear.

At Garrick's farewell performance in 1776, we learn,

The curse at the close of the first act, his frenetic appeal to heaven at the end of the second on Regan's ingratitude, were two such enthusiastic scenes of human exertion that they caused a kind of momentary petrifaction through the house, which he soon dissolved as universally into tears. Even the unfeeling Regan and Goneril, forgetful of their characteristic cruelty, played through the whole of their parts with aching bosoms and streaming eyes. In a word, we never saw before so exquisite a theatrical performance, or one so loudly and universally applauded.

8. Detail from George Romney (1734–1802), _King Lear in the Tempest Tearing off his Robes_.

Though touching, this is also faintly ludicrous. Garrick was unquestionably a great Lear, but neither descriptions nor theatrical illustrations do much to preserve the impact that he and other actors of his time achieved in the role. Nor is there much critical or literary response of any distinction from this period; the arts of both theatrical and literary criticism were still relatively undeveloped. More profound responses to the play survive, however, in some of the more private visual art that it inspired. George Romney's extraordinary oil painting (fig. 8)—an early work, dating from around 1760—is intensely dramatic, and, like the theatre of his time, shows the characters in contemporary costume. It was painted at the height of Garrick's career, but before Romney had left his native Lake District to seek his fortune in London. Though the painting apparently has no direct relationship to performance, it is curiously close to a description of Garrick written by Thomas Wilkes around the time that Romney painted the picture: 'I never see him coming down from one corner of the stage, with his old grey hair standing, as it were, erect on his head, his face filled with horror and attention, his hands expanded, and his whole frame actuated by a dreadful solemnity, but I am astounded, and share in all his distress . . . Methinks I share his calamities, I feel the dark drifting rain and the sharp tempest.' Nevertheless, Romney's painting is closer to Shakespeare than to contemporary acting editions. The demented Lear, his head bare, is beginning to tear off his clothes. Gloucester is there to the left of the painting, with his torch, and Edgar, wrapped in his blanket, to the right. Behind Edgar, Kent looks on in dismay, and at the far right is a middle-aged looking personage who may or may not be the Fool. In Shakespeare, Kent, Edgar and the Fool are with Lear as he starts to strip, and Gloucester enters just after; at the corresponding moment in Garrick's version of Tate, there is of course no Fool, and Gloucester comes on considerably later.

If Romney's skeletally grotesque portrayal of Lear anticipates Wilson Knight's essay on ' _Lear_ and the Comedy of the Grotesque', John Runciman's no less fine oil _King Lear in the Storm_ , of 1767 (fig. 9), looks forward, in its introduction into the scene of a storm at sea, to the imagery criticism also of the 1930s. Here again the costumes resemble those used on the stage in the artist's time. W. Moelwyn Merchant, in his study of the painting, remarks that Lear 'wears the full Van Dyck dress which had become common for actors in the eighteenth century who represented pre-Tudor characters', and 'the figures of Kent and Edgar are rembrandtesque'; on the other hand, Lear is not represented as a king. The most original aspect of the painting is the fact that 'The greater part of the canvas . . . is occupied by stormy sea and sky.' As Merchant remarks, Runciman, with 'the visual penetration of a painter . . . has isolated the imagery which most effectively depicts the King's mental chaos'. Less symbolic but no less vivid is a drawing (fig. 10) by John Runciman's brother Alexander (1736–85) done in Rome, also in 1767, which provides an early depiction of the Fool, with coxcomb and bauble, and apparently wearing a phallus.

9. John Runciman (1744–68), _King Lear in the Storm_ (1767).

The continuing success of Tate's adaptation, even in modified form, reflects aspects of the neoclassicism that prevailed in both theatrical practice and critical thought during the later part of the seventeenth century and much of the eighteenth, both in England and overseas. Even Samuel Johnson, writing over eighty years after the adaptation first appeared, gave his guarded approval to the popularity of its happy ending:

Cordelia from the time of Tate has always retired with victory and felicity. And if my sensations could add anything to the general suffrage, I might relate that I was many years ago so shocked by Cordelia's death that I know not whether I ever endured to read again the last scenes of the play till I undertook to revise them as an editor.

A French play based on the story and successfully performed on a number of occasions from 1783 to 1800 also neoclassicized it. This is J.-F. Ducis's _Le Roi Léar_ (1783), written in rhyming alexandrines, which restructures the narrative even more comprehensively than Tate, and owes relatively little to Shakespeare, whose name is not mentioned in the published text. In Germany, Friedrich Schröder played Lear in a long-lived adaptation of 1778 less drastic than Tate's; Lear is allowed to die, of a heart attack brought on by the false belief that Cordelia is dead; she recovers and 'finishes the play mourning for him'.

10. Alexander Runciman (1736–85), _King Lear on the Heath_ (1767).

Even in the Romantic period, with its very different criteria of taste, and in spite of growing scorn for Tate, his version remained the starting point for performances on the English-speaking stage. Though Charles Dibdin vigorously defended Shakespeare in his _Complete History of the Stage_ (1800), John Philip Kemble, in 1809, dropped some of Garrick's restorations 'and put back a corresponding amount of Tate'. His great rival and successor Edmund Kean, whose acting style was far more romantic than Kemble's, used Tate at first but, declaring that 'No one . . . could know what he was capable of until they had seen him over the dead body of Cordelia', restored the tragic ending for a few performances in 1823; they failed, and he regretfully reverted to Tate. In America, too, where the play had first been performed in 1754, Tate's was the standard version until 1875 when Edwin Booth's became 'the first Lear-without-Tate to be performed by any important American actor'. A 'happy ending' was also adopted at the Burgtheater, Vienna, in 1822 in a relatively faithful adaptation by Josef Schreyvogel in which, after Lear's last words (in the Folio text) 'Look there, look there!', Cordelia miraculously revived, and the curtain fell on an additional reunion scene.

### _Return to Shakespeare_

The major breakthrough on the English stage came at Covent Garden in 1838, when William Charles Macready, after much hesitation, abandoned Tate altogether in favour of a shortened and somewhat rearranged version of Shakespeare's text, even including the Fool, played by a young woman, Priscilla Horton. This was a successful production in which, according to John Forster, Macready's Lear was 'heightened by this introduction of the Fool to a surprising degree'. Nevertheless, _Lear_ was the least popular of Shakespeare's major tragedies on the Victorian stage, and though Tate did not return, Shakespeare's text continued to be rearranged and shortened in ways that reduced its emotional and intellectual challenge. The German novelist Theodor Fontane, who saw Samuel Phelps's Sadler's Wells production when it visited Berlin in the winter of 1858, remarked that 'The manager's scissors had done their worst' while nevertheless admiring the skill of the cutting. Attempting to define the difference between German and English attitudes to the play he wrote that

an English performance lays more emphasis on its pathetic elements. The German performance gives a Lear who is mad and a king, the English above all the old, abused and abandoned man; the German emphasises the consequences of illness and a broken heart, but through the raging of the English Lear there always sounds the grief that created that madness, the lamenting of an old man and a heartbroken father. . . . there is always a danger that the high tragic and royal elements will be watered down to the sentimental and petty-bourgeois.

And, he added, 'that Oswald is played as a clown goes without saying. Like it or not, every Shakespeare play has to have some kind of comic man.'

As English actors travelled abroad, so foreign actors came to England. The Italian Tommaso Salvini gave a virtuoso performance as Lear in a severely abbreviated and rearranged Italian translation which toured in England and America from 1882; the effect, especially on English-speaking audiences, must have been operatic.

The late nineteenth century was a low water mark in the play's reputation. Henry James, writing in 1883, found it 'impossible to imagine a drama that accommodates itself less to the stage' (p. 90). At the time of Henry Irving's production in 1892, newspaper writers declared that 'Shakespeare is, as a poet and playwright, at his worst in _King Lear_ ' and that the play 'would not be tolerated if produced without the name of Shakespeare'. A. C. Bradley's reservations about the play's theatrical potential, expressed in the course of the most sustained piece of analytically appreciative criticism that Shakespeare's tragedies had so far received, have already been quoted (p. 2). Irving, in the attempt to improve the play according to the standards of his day, cut some 46 per cent of the lines, streamlined the action, reduced its violence and sexuality, increased the prominence of his own role, and rearranged episodes to suit the illusionistic scenic conventions of the theatre of his time. For all this, it was one of his least successful performances.

At the time of Irving's production, the counterwave to Victorian spectacular theatre was just beginning to make itself felt in pseudo-Elizabethan productions by William Poel which were to result in a greatly increased understanding of Shakespeare's stagecraft and consequently in a revolution in staging by which, to put it simply, staging methods were adapted to the plays rather than play texts to the conventions and physical conditions of the current theatrical scene. Poel's emphasis on continuity of action is paralleled in André Antoine's 1904 production at the Théâtre Antoine in Paris. This was the first French production of the unadapted text, given in a translation by Pierre Loti. In Berlin, too, a production by Max Reinhardt of 1908, and in London a Haymarket Theatre production of 1909 with designs by Charles Ricketts, anticipated the more fluent staging methods adopted by Harley Granville Barker in Savoy Theatre productions of 1912 to 1914 (which did not include _Lear_ ). Poel was anything but a textual purist, but Barker, who played Richard II and other roles for him, mediated his ideas into the English theatrical mainstream and developed them in ways that encouraged the use of full, unadapted texts.

Barker's _Preface_ of 1927, one of the most practically efficacious pieces of drama criticism ever written, is a landmark in the history of the reception of _King Lear_ because of its successful and calculated refutation of Charles Lamb's claim that 'Lear is essentially impossible to be represented on a stage'. Lamb, as Barker writes, had never seen the play acted; and even at the time Barker wrote there had been few opportunities to judge the stageworthiness in performance of anything like a full version of Shakespeare's text. All criticism of the play up to the end of the nineteenth century and beyond is based either on reading, or on theatre experience of adapted, rearranged, and truncated versions of the text, or on one modified by the other. Barker, urging the need for close study of the play as a product of Shakespeare's skills as a practical dramatist, is at pains especially to counter Bradley's belief (developing Charles Lamb's criticism of 'The contemptible machinery by which' the actors 'mimic the storm') that in the theatre 'The storm scenes in _King Lear_ gain nothing and their very _essence_ is destroyed'. Combating the tradition that prevailed throughout the nineteenth century of representing the storm with a battery of sound and light effects, Barker insists that the storm is not in itself 'dramatically important, only in its effect upon Lear', and that the actor should 'impersonate both Lear and—reflected in Lear—the storm'. Barker himself was among the earlier opponents of conflation, writing that 'Where Quarto and Folio offer alternatives, to adopt both versions may make for redundancy or confusion' (p. 329). Overall he regarded the Folio as the more satisfactory text, but clearly believed that a director would be best advised to make considered choices among variants. This is what Theodore Komisarjevsky did in his acclaimed, though quite heavily cut, Stratford production of 1936, in which he also made textual transpositions and, in part, turned the Knights into 'a Chorus commenting on the futility of the old king's aims. They repeated, in unison, the Fool's songs and sayings.'

It was not until 1940 that Barker at last had the opportunity to translate his _Preface_ into theatrical practice and to show that it was possible to perform an almost complete text, in Elizabethan costume, with great theatrical success when, in collaboration with Lewis Casson, he directed John Gielgud as Lear at the Old Vic. Gielgud acknowledged Barker's influence when, collaborating this time with Anthony Quayle, he directed himself as Lear at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1950. T. C. Worsley described this production as one that 'might convert those, if there still are any, who prefer reading _Lear_ to seeing it':

11. The reunion of Lear and Cordelia in the production by John Gielgud and Anthony Quayle, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1950. Left to right: Andrew Cruickshank as Kent, Peggy Ashcroft as Cordelia, John Gielgud as Lear, Peter Norris as the Doctor, and Robert Hardy as a Knight.

I have never seen the recognition scene [fig. 11] . . . so movingly played. The bewildered waking, the ghost of a voice speaking as if from some other dimension, the fall on to his knees that is half a fall from the bed, and then the stumbled, pleading recognition—I should not believe that anyone, however visually imaginative, could in his study bring the tears to his own eyes as Mr Gielgud does to ours here.

Since Barker's time there has been a general tendency in the British theatre and elsewhere not to work from pre-existing acting editions but to create prompt books from full, edited—which has almost invariably meant conflated—texts, cutting no more than a few hundred lines. Of course, any cutting has an effect on meaning, and while some directors cut for mainly practical reasons—ease of comprehension, length of performance, etc.—others do so in order to further their own interpretative ideas. Peter Brook, in his Stratford-upon-Avon production of 1962, was accused of slanting the text towards a bleakness reminiscent of the plays of Samuel Beckett, whose work is invoked by Jan Kott in the chapter ' _King Lear_ and _Endgame_ ' in his book _Shakespeare Our Contemporary_. Brook offered overall an exceptionally full text, but two of his principal changes, the omission of the servants' comforting of Gloucester after his blinding (14.97–105) and of Edmund's repentance and last-minute attempt to save Cordelia (24.196–214), added to the production's sense of a hostile universe. The vehemence of the criticism centring on these changes—even though the former is made in the Folio—was a measure of the impact of what has come to be recognized as one of the most challenging productions the play has ever received.

Debate about the relationship between the Quarto and Folio texts, followed by the publication of unconflated editions, has renewed interest in the critical and theatrical implications of textual choices. Directors have become more liable to acknowledge which text they are using, and in what ways they have altered it, and there have been consciously experimental productions based firmly on one text or the other. At the University of Rochester in 1985 a semi-professional cast aimed 'honestly to explore the Quarto, to determine to the best of our ability what would work on our stage with our actors', while admitting conflation with the Folio 'if certain words or passages could not be given a satisfactory stage life'. The fully professional theatre, on the other hand, has favoured the Folio text. So for example Nicholas Hytner, in 1990 at Stratford-upon-Avon, claimed in his programme 'The text is that of the First Folio.' Whereas prompt books normally adapt a printed text, his uses a special typescript which includes Q's mock-trial along with an inserted, printed text of Edgar's 'When we our betters . . .' speech (13.95–108), also found only in Q—presumably a late insertion.

### _Interpretation in Performance_

But textual choices and decisions are only the first of the processes by which the energies of a dramatic text are released through performance. Theatrical realization of the text calls for collaboration from many participants and is subject to a wide range of variables, including the personality and styles of the performers, the constraints of the performance space, and, less definably, the intellectual and social climate of the time. No production can be neutral, but some are more clearly interventionist than others. So, for example, when Peter Brook caused Lear's knights to behave as Gonoril says they do, in a debauched and riotous fashion (4.232–8), he was consciously breaking with tradition in a manner that reduced sympathy for Lear. The production device affected interpretation no less than his textual changes, and he was as severely criticized for it as for them. Scofield's performance as Lear matched Brook's direction. It was an austere reading of the role, understated in suffering, denying to both the character and the audience the emotional release afforded by actors who rage more extrovertly against the coming of the dark. 'Lay him to rest,' wrote Kenneth Tynan, 'the royal Lear with whom generations of star actors have made us reverently familiar . . .' But the effect of Scofield's austerity on many members of the audience was no less devastating than the overt emotionalism of a Wolfit. And no one present at the first night will forget the sight of the cruelly blinded Gloucester groping his way toward the wings as the house lights slowly rose to signal the interval.

If Brook attempted to interpret the play through ideas current at the time, he did so without drawing explicit parallels with modern society. Other directors have used production devices to force the audience to make connections. In Deborah Warner's Royal National Theatre production of 1990, which used a full (conflated) text, Lear whizzed on in a wheelchair wearing a red nose for his first entry, clearly celebrating his eightieth birthday. The chair became a symbolic prop; later, 'bundled up with a rug over his knees, Lear looked old and vulnerable, a geriatric out-patient waiting for the ambulance to take him home'. A production by Helena Kaut-Howson seen first at the Leicester Haymarket in 1997 presented the play 'as the dream, or hallucination, of a dying patient in a geriatric hospital' with 'wheelchairs becoming chariots, a bathtub Tom's hovel, and the hospital bed the one in which Lear awakened to Cordelia'. Lear was played by a woman, Kathryn Hunter.

Other directors have been bolder with text as well as setting. Sometimes indeed, especially when given in translation, the play has been virtually rewritten—as it was by Tate, though to very different ends. In Germany in 1974 Peter Zadek, rejoicing in the liberations of the age, set it in circus tents; Lear sexually assaulted Cordelia in the reunion scene and carried her on stark naked in death. Ingmar Bergman, directing the play in Stockholm in 1984, used expressionist devices to restructure the action, emphasizing an alliance between power and sex: Goneril seduced Oswald, on stage, and the sisters' desire for Edmund was obsessive. In Japan, Tadashi Suzuki created his own text for _The Tale of Lear_ (1984), producing 'a distillation of the play to its spiritual and emotional essence'. Here, as in some Western productions, Lear's throne became a wheelchair. And on film, experimentation reaches an extreme in Jean-Luc Godard's postmodern _King Lear_ (1987), 'in which William Shakespeare Junior the Fifth goes to Hollywood to produce his ancestor's plays, which end up being edited by Woody Allen'.

Alongside such experimental versions, directors have continued to present the original text in more straightforward ways which justify Granville Barker's faith that Shakespeare's stagecraft, properly understood, can be successfully translated into modern theatrical terms. In 1997, Peter Hall's uncut Folio text played in Jacobean dress at the Old Vic was disappointingly unengaging, but Richard Eyre's National Theatre version, in which Ian Holm played Lear, offering a virtually complete conflated text played in 'timeless' costumes—'hints of Renaissance here, of the First World War there', as Robert Smallwood wrote—'presented the play's seething emotional relationships unrelentingly before the audience's examination'. Both Edgar and Lear genitally exposed their bodies to the storm: more than anywhere else in the Shakespeare canon, full nakedness is justified in the play's portrayal of 'unaccommodated man'.

During the twentieth century, energies deriving from the text of _King Lear_ have been released in performances given in media other than theatre—film, television, radio and sound recordings. Although these are no less of their own time than stage productions, they reach far wider audiences over a longer period of time. Not all of them necessitate textual adaptation. Sound recordings, such as that in which an immensely distinguished cast headed by John Gielgud—playing Lear for the last time over sixty years after his earliest performances in the role—enact a full Folio text, can reach a wide audience; but absence of a visual dimension means that the experience offered lies somewhere between that of reading the play and of seeing it realized in stage terms.

Film and its close relative television are potentially highly flexible media offering great opportunities for experimentation, but generally so far working within traditions of naturalistic presentation related to those of nineteenth-century theatre, which also encourage textual adaptation. Peter Brook's film of 1971, deriving (though also differing greatly) from his stage production and with some of the same cast, abbreviates the text no less drastically than Irving had in 1892, and employs more ostensibly naturalistic settings than Brook's Stratford production. Michael Elliott's television film released in 1983, with Laurence Olivier as Lear, is avowedly theatrical in its origins, recalling nineteenth-century productions in its naturalistic settings and drawing on a 1946 Old Vic production in which Olivier had directed himself. Just as Garrick's 1776 performances were all the more affecting because audiences knew that they would be his last, so Olivier's gains in poignancy because of the aged and ailing actor's self-evident frailty. Nevertheless his performance constantly illuminates the role, not simply in the pathos of the reunion with Cordelia, but especially in the unsentimental lightness of touch with which he plays the Dover Cliff scene. This Lear has passed beyond the tempestuous madness of the storm into a precarious serenity that looks forward to his vision of singing, with Cordelia, 'like birds i'the' cage' (24.9). Though intimations of reality lurk beneath the surface, his woes 'by wrong imaginations' have lost the 'knowledge of themselves' (20.275–6).

Increasingly, Shakespeare's international appeal has resulted in the translation and transmutation of his plays into foreign language versions. Grigori Kozintsev's powerful film of 1970, using a translation into Russian by Boris Pasternak, was issued in Britain with subtitles using Shakespeare's language. The spectator is able simultaneously to hear Pasternak and to read Shakespeare. Still more radical in adaptation was Akira Kurosawa's great film _Ran_ (the title means both 'chaos' and 'civil war') of 1984, in which Shakespeare's play, transferred to feudal Japan, and with Lear's daughters metamorphosed into sons, became the basis for an essentially new work of art, just as Shakespeare himself had transformed the old play. So interpretation moves into adaptation, which in turn moves into re-creation. The work of art begets others in a cycle of response and counter-response.

I wrote at the beginning of this Introduction of some of the ways in which what Shakespeare wrote has created a stream of influence productive of new works of art. Some of them, such as Turgenev's long short story _A King Lear of the Steppes_ (1870), Gordon Bottomley's verse play _King Lear_ 's _Wife_ (1915), Edward Bond's play _Lear_ (1971), or Elaine Feinstein's _Lear's Daughters_ (1987), explicitly acknowledge in their titles a debt to the original, however far they depart from it. In others, such as Jane Smiley's novel _A Thousand Acres_ (1991), the debt is no less great if less readily apparent. Sometimes, as in Balzac's novel _Le Père Goriot_ (1834), it is buried deep beneath the surface, and no doubt there are works in which influence is present though unidentifiable. In 'Offshoots of _King Lear_ ' (pp. 286–92) I give information about a selection of the more important manifestations of the stream of influence set flowing by Shakespeare's penning of those 25,000 or so words in 1605.

## **TEXTUAL INTRODUCTION AND EDITORIAL PROCEDURES**

THIS section provides a more technical supplement to information about the text provided on pp. 3–9. It is based in large part on the _Textual Companion_ (Oxford, 1988) to the Oxford edition of the Complete Works, pp. 509–11. The prime editor of the play in that edition was Gary Taylor, working in collaboration with Stanley Wells.

There are two early quartos, known as Q1 and Q2. The earlier is said on its title-page (reproduced as fig. 1) to have been printed for Nathaniel Butter in 1608. The printer was Nicholas Okes. Fig. 12 reproduces a page from this edition, with notes drawing attention to characteristic features of its presentation of the text.

Q2, also printed for Butter, bears the same date. The priority of Q1 was not established until 1866; between 1908 and 1910 W. W. Greg, A. W. Pollard, and others demonstrated that Q2 was one of a group of plays printed with false dates in 1619 by William Jaggard for Thomas Pavier. Printed directly from Q1, it has no independent authority. Though it introduces error, its printers attempted, with some success, to correct typographical mistakes, to make punctuation more intelligible, and to supply needed stage directions. As explained in the General Introduction (pp. 3–9), Q1 has only recently been edited in its own right. The first fully critical edition is an unpublished one by P. W. M. Blayney who kindly allowed access to its text to the Oxford editors; a number of his emendations are followed here. Changes from Q2 accepted in our edition are recorded in our collation notes, printed immediately below the text.

Blayney, in his monumental study of the texts of the play, demonstrates that printing of Q1 probably began in December 1607 and continued into 1608 (p. 85). Two compositors set the book seriatim—i.e. working straight through from the beginning to the end of the manuscript, not dividing up separate sections of the text between them so that they could work simultaneously. They are identified by Blayney as Okes's B and C. C set 17.0 to 18.30; 20.95 to 205; 20.263 to 21.55; and 24.118 (after 'summons') to the end. B set the rest of the play.

12. A page (sig. D2 verso) from Q1, illustrating characteristic features of the text:

1 a character identified by rank rather than name (common in plays of the period): ' _Duke_ ' for ' _Albany_ '

2 absence of entry direction

2–12 verse set as prose

4 obvious error: 'make the worst blast'; see also 18–19, 'take the foole with a fox when one has caught her'; 30, 'then praise'

5 running together of words: 'fatherscursse'

5, 31 different spellings of the same word: 'peruse', 'pearce'

7 inversion of words: 'you cast' for 'cast you'

13 wrong case punctuation: italic question mark

15, 33 speeches ending with a comma

16 'then' for modern 'than' (noted particularly at 4.114–23); see also 29, 'y' are' for 'you're'

17 question mark for exclamation

22, 33 two short speeches set on a single line

25–30, 35–8 light punctuation, e.g. commas between complete sentences

32 idiosyncratic spelling: 'ought' for 'off', resulting in misleading punctuation

34 no indication of scene break (common in plays of the period)

34 deficient stage direction (Kent also should enter)

_Lear_ appears to have been the first play printed by Okes. It clearly made heavy demands on his limited supply of type: for instance, the question mark often appears in italic after a word set in roman, and the ampersand is often used for 'and'. Even after allowance is made for the possibility that differences between the Quarto and the Folio texts may reflect changes of mind on Shakespeare's part rather than mistakes by the compositor, Q1 is exceptionally unreliable in its distinctions between prose and verse and in its arrangement of verse. Unfamiliarity with this kind of manuscript, mistakes on the part of the compositors, and ambiguity and alteration in the manuscript may account for all such errors of lineation, though it may be difficult to distinguish between these causes in any given instance. Changes of lineation made in this edition are recorded on pp. 293–302. Explanations of some of them are provided in the _Textual Companion_ , 'Lineation Notes', pp. 654–8.

It seems clear that the copy from which the printers worked was hastily written. At points, for example, the compositors have apparently been faced with abbreviations which they have incorrectly expanded—at 16.15 ' _Edgar_ ' for 'Edmund', probably written ' _Ed_.', the opposite error at 20.0.1, and at 19.4, 'Lady' for 'Lord', probably written 'L.'

Twelve copies of Q survive. Many corrections were made while the book was going through the press, resulting in a large number of differences from one copy to another. Lists and discussions of these press variants can be found in Greg, _Variants_ , and Blayney, _Texts_ , pp. 592–7. The corrected state is not necessarily to be preferred since the compositor may have guessed at a correct reading without consulting the manuscript. In this edition each variant is considered in its own right, but an attempt has always been made to make sense of the uncorrected reading in the belief that this may be closer to the original manuscript than the supposed correction. The variants, along with the many clear errors, show that the handwriting of the manuscript from which the compositors worked presented difficulties. They show too that the manuscript could easily have been misread in ways associated with the sections of the manuscript play _Sir Thomas More_ believed (along with a few signatures on legal documents) to constitute the only surviving evidence of Shakespeare's handwriting, and also with other quartos believed to have been set up from Shakespeare's own papers. In the frequent inadequacy of its stage directions and the inconsistency of its designations of characters this quarto also appears to have been set up from an author's draft rather than a fair copy made by a scribe, or a theatrical manuscript. Such evidence suggests that the underlying manuscript was a late draft. The bibliographical evidence tends to confirm literary arguments that the Quarto represents a legitimate early version of the play rather than a corruption of it, as earlier critics believed.

Unlike the Folio, the Quarto version contains many obviously nonsensical or inadequate readings. The chief problem for an editor is the extent to which these should be corrected by reference to F. In this edition, Q1 is followed when it seems defensible. When it seems not to make sense, an effort has been made to seek the most plausible explanation of the error and the most economical restoration of sense without presuming that the Folio reading necessarily offers the most valid correction of the Q1 text. Nevertheless, readings of the Folio are accepted if, as frequently happens, they appear to offer the best solution to errors in Q.

Like all the texts of Shakespeare printed in his lifetime, Q1 has no act or scene divisions. It was written for continuous performance, and since it stands outside the eighteenth-century editorial tradition, no convention of act-scene reference has been established. In this edition the scenes are numbered continuously, with no interpolation of act divisions, reflecting the way it would originally have been performed. The scene divisions pose no problems except at the point where Kent falls asleep in the stocks (7.166). In Q—as in F—Kent remains on stage asleep during Edgar's soliloquy, waking up shortly after Edgar exits and Lear enters. The stage is not cleared; F marks no scene division before Edgar's entrance or after he leaves; both texts envisage the same sequence of action. Eighteenth-century editors were nevertheless troubled by the apparent reappearance of the fugitive Edgar before Gloucester's home, and by the apparent compression of time. Steevens therefore made Edgar's soliloquy a new scene, followed by yet another scene in which Lear and his party discover Kent in the stocks. This arrangement makes unwarranted assumptions about consistency of time and place in the pre-Restoration theatre. The present edition follows the early texts in regarding as one uninterrupted scene the action from Kent and Oswald's entrance to the exeunt of Cornwall, Regan, Gonoril, Oswald, and Gloucester.

### _Collations_

The collations attempt to record all substantive departures—i.e. those affecting meaning—from Q1 along with a selection of the more plausible editorial emendations not adopted here. Changes to the wording of Q1's stage directions, interpretations of its spelling which might be questioned, and substantive changes of its punctuation are recorded but not normally ascribed. Otherwise, changes are normally attributed to the first edition in which they appear. Readings adopted from the Folio are recorded, along with others which might be corrections of Q1 rather than changes to its text, but, treating F as an independent text, we make no attempt to record all the many points at which it differs from Q1. These are listed in the collations to e.g. Jay L. Halio's edition of _The First Quarto of King Lear_ (Cambridge, 1994). Non-substantive printing errors (i.e. self-evident printing errors that do not affect meaning) in Q1 are listed in the _Textual Companion_ , 'Incidentals', pp. 540–1, where they are keyed to the Oxford original-spelling edition of the Complete Works. The present edition differs at certain points from that printed in the Complete Works. Apart from a few changes of modernization, punctuation, wording of directions, and minor corrections, it reverts to Q1 for substantive readings at 1.257 (instead of adopting Rowe's emendation), 2.125, 8.9 (for Muir's emendation), 11.4, 11.165, 15.57, 20.130, and 20.174. At 1.176. 1 it adds a direction from F, at 2.126 and 5.29 it follows F instead of Q1, and at 11.54–5 it adopts an emendation by Halio.

Q1's punctuation is very light and erratic, often employing commas when modern usage prefers heavier punctuation such as semicolons, colons, and stops. Question marks and full stops are often used for exclamations. Such punctuation is characteristic of texts believed to be printed directly from Shakespeare's papers, and of the sections of _Sir Thomas More_ generally supposed to be in Shakespeare's own hand. It is not necessarily an indication of how words should be spoken; a sequence of clauses separated only by commas does not necessarily imply that Shakespeare wished them to be delivered breathlessly. This edition attempts to punctuate in a manner that will increase comprehensibility for the modern reader without being over-prescriptive for the actor. Changes of the original punctuation which manifestly affect meaning are recorded, as for instance at 1.250.1, where Q1 reads 'Bid them farewell _Cordelia_ , though vnkind | Thou loosest here, a better where to find.', which implies, at least to a modern reader, that it is Cordelia who is unkind, not her sisters. Though the collations attempt to indicate alternative interpretations when, for example, a sentence might be intended as either a plain statement or an exclamation or question (as at 1.98 and 2.25), they do not record changes, such as addition of a question mark when the words preceding it are clearly interrogative, which simply interpret for a modern reader the sense that seems implicit in the original. Modernizations of spelling are noted when Q1 might be suspected of ambiguity, e.g. at 1.91, where 'Happely' is altered to 'Haply'.

The reading to the left of the square bracket is that of this edition. The reading to the right is that of Q1 unless otherwise stated. Qa refers to the uncorrected, Qb to the corrected state of the Quarto. Quotations from early editions are given in the original spelling, but long s ( ) and wrong fount letters are not reproduced as such. A wavy line or 'swung dash' (~) to the right of the bracket signifies a word that is substantively the same as that to the left; the caret (^) indicates absence of a punctuation mark. Quotations from Blayney's edition are ascribed to him and modernized when appropriate. BL2 refers to an annotated copy of Q in the British Library, shelfmark C.34.k.17.

### _Other Editorial Procedures_

This edition follows the Editorial Procedures common to volumes in the Oxford Shakespeare series. Spelling is modernized according to the principles set out by Stanley Wells in _Modernizing Shakespeare's Spelling, with Three Studies in the Text of 'Henry V_ ', by Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor (Oxford, 1979). Quotations from printed texts by Shakespeare's contemporaries are given in modern spelling unless there is reason to preserve the original spelling. References to works of Shakespeare are to the Oxford Complete Works (1986, etc.). Throughout the play, directions for speeches to be spoken 'aside' and to a particular character are editorial, as are numerals ('First', etc.) preceding the word 'Gentleman' in speechprefixes and directions. All other departures from Q1's stage directions are noted in the collations but not in the text. Directions whose content and/or placing are uncertain, and disputable speech prefixes, are printed in broken brackets    : so, for example, ' _To Cordelia_ ' at 1.115, since it is possible that the following words should be addressed to Kent rather than to Cordelia, and ' _Edmund_ ' in the direction at 1.255, since (as explained in the commentary to 1.36, ' _Exit_ ') he may have left the scene earlier.

Shakespeare draws heavily on proverb lore, transmitted orally as well as in writing. The standard compilation of proverbs and commonplaces of his time is M. P. Tilley's _A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries_ (Ann Arbor, 1970); this includes a 'Shakespeare Index' which was heavily revised and expanded in _Shakespeare's Proverbial Language_ : _An Index_ by R. W. Dent (Berkeley, etc., 1981), using references relating to Tilley's. I draw on this in the commentary, citing references in the form 'Dent E26'. The language of Shakespeare's time was permeated by the Bible. Identification of biblical influence in the commentary is indebted to Naseeb Shaheen's _Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays_ (Newark, Del., 1999). Quotations from the Bible are normally from the 1582 reprint of the Geneva (or 'Breeches') Bible, the version with which Shakespeare seems to have been most familiar (discussed by Shaheen, pp. 38–48). Quotations from Harsnet are modernized from and refer to Brownlow's edition; the form 'Harsnet' is preferred to the alternative Harsnett. In the notes, as in the stage directions, the play is thought of primarily as a text to be performed in the theatres of Shakespeare's time, though from time to time the notes also record decisions made in later performances.

### _Abbreviations and references_

EDITIONS OF SHAKESPEARE

Q, Q1 | The First Quarto, 1608

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Q2 | The Second Quarto, 1619

F, F1 | The First Folio, 1623

F2 | The Second Folio, 1632

F3 | The Third Folio, 1663

F4 | The Fourth Folio, 1685

Alexander | Peter Alexander, _Works_ (1951)

BL2 | Anonymously annotated copy of Q1, British Library C.34.K.17

Bratton | J. S. Bratton, _King Lear_ , Plays in Performance (Bristol, 1987)

Capell | Edward Capell, _Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies_ , 10 vols. (1767–8)

Collier | John Payne Collier, _Works_ , 8 vols. (1842–4)

Craig | W. J. Craig, _The Tragedy of King Lear_ , Arden Shakespeare (1901)

Duthie | G. I. Duthie, _Shakespeare's 'King Lear': A Critical Edition_ (Oxford, 1949)

Duthie–Wilson | G. I. Duthie and John Dover Wilson, _King Lear_ , New Shakespeare (Cambridge, 1960)

Dyce | Alexander Dyce, _Works_ , 6 vols. (1857)

Foakes | R. A. Foakes, _King Lear_ , The Arden Shakespeare, Third Series (1997)

Furness | H. H. Furness, _King Lear_ , New Variorum Shakespeare (Philadelphia, 1880)

HalioF | Jay L. Halio, _The Tragedy of King Lear_ , New Cambridge Shakespeare (Cambridge, 1992)

HalioQ | Jay L. Halio, _The First Quarto of King Lear_ , New Cambridge Shakespeare, Early Quartos (Cambridge, 1994)

Hanmer | Thomas Hanmer, _Works_ , 6 vols. (Oxford, 1743–4)

Horsman | E. A. Horsman, _The Tragedy of King Lear_ (Indianapolis, 1973)

Hudson | H. N. Hudson, _Works_ , 11 vols. (Boston, 1851–6)

Hunter | G. K. Hunter, _King Lear_ , New Penguin Shakespeare (Harmondsworth, 1972)

Jennens | Charles Jennens, _King Lear_ (1770)

Johnson | Samuel Johnson, _Plays_ , 8 vols. (1765)

Kittredge | G. L. Kittredge, _King Lear_ , The Kittredge Shakespeare (Boston, 1940)

Malone | Edmond Malone, _Plays and Poems_ , 10 vols. (1790)

Muir | Kenneth Muir, _King Lear_ , Arden (1952, etc.)

Norton | Stephen Greenblatt (general editor), _The Norton Shakespeare Based on the Oxford Edition_ (New York, 1997)

Oxford | Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, John Jowett, and William Montgomery, _Complete Works_ (Oxford, 1986)

Pope | Alexander Pope, _Works_ , 10 vols. (1723–5)

Ridley | M. R. Ridley, _King Lear_ , New Temple Shakespeare (1935)

Riverside | G. Blakemore Evans (textual editor), _The Riverside Shakespeare_ (Boston, 1974; 2nd edn, 1997)

Rowe | Nicholas Rowe, _Works_ , 6 vols. (1709)

Rowe 1714 | Nicholas Rowe, _Works_ , 8 vols. (1714)

Singer 1856 | Samuel W. Singer, _Dramatic Works_ , 10 vols. (1856)

Staunton | Howard Staunton, _Plays_ , 3 vols. (1858–60)

Steevens | Samuel Johnson and George Steevens, _Plays_ , 10 vols. (1778)

Theobald | Lewis Theobald, _Works_ , 7 vols. (1733)

Warburton | William Warburton, _Works_ , 8 vols. (1747)

Weis | René Weis, _King Lear: A Parallel Text Edition_ (1993)

OTHER ABBREVIATIONS

Abbott | E. A. Abbott, _A Shakespearian Grammar_ (1869)

---|---

Armstrong | E. A. Armstrong, _Shakespeare's Imagination_ (1946)

Barker | Harley Granville Barker, _Prefaces to Shakespeare_ , 2 vols. (1958). The Preface to _King Lear_ , first printed in 1927, revised 1935, is in Vol. 1; it has been variously reprinted.

Bate | Jonathan Bate, _Shakespeare and Ovid_ (Oxford, 1993)

Bate, _Romantics_ Jonathan Bate, ed., _The Romantics on Shakespeare_ , New Penguin Shakespeare Library (Harmondsworth, 1992)

BlayneyQ ('Blayney' in collations) Unpublished 'reference text' (1979) of Q1, consulted and cited by the Oxford editors

Blayney, _Texts_ | Peter W. M. Blayney, _The Texts of 'King Lear' and their Origins: Vol. 1: Nicholas Okes and the First Quarto_ (Cambridge, 1982)

Bradley | A. C. Bradley, _Shakespearean Tragedy_ (1904)

Bullough | Geoffrey Bullough, _Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare_ , vol. vii, Major Tragedies (1975)

Carlisle | Carol Jones Carlisle, _Shakespeare from the Greenroom: Actors' Criticisms of Four Major Tragedies_ (Chapel Hill, 1969)

Cercignani | Fausto Cercignani, _Shakespeare's Works and Elizabethan Pronunciation_ (Oxford, 1981)

Chambers, _Elizabethan Stage_ E. K. Chambers, _The Elizabethan Stage_ , 4 vols. (Oxford, 1923)

Colie and Flahiff Rosalie L. Colie and F. T. Flahiff, eds., _Some Facets of 'King Lear': Essays in Prismatic Criticism_ (Toronto and London, 1974)

Dent | R. W. Dent, _Shakespeare's Proverbial Language: An Index_ (Berkeley, 1981)

Dessen, _Conventions_ Alan Dessen, _Elizabethan Stage Conventions and Modern Interpreters_ (Cambridge, 1984)

Dessen, _Recovering_ Alan Dessen, _Recovering Shakespeare's Theatrical Vocabulary_ (Cambridge, 1995)

_Division_ | Gary Taylor and Michael Warren, eds., _The Division of the Kingdoms: Shakespeare's Two Versions of King Lear_ (Oxford, 1983, 1986)

Edelman | Charles Edelman, _Brawl Ridiculous: Swordfighting in Shakespeare's Plays_ (Manchester, 1992)

_ELR_ | _English Literary Renaissance_

Elton | W. R. Elton, _King Lear and the Gods_ (San Marino, Calif., 1966; repr. Lexington, Ky., 1988)

Greg, _Collected Papers_ W. W. Greg, _The Collected Papers of Sir Walter W. Greg_ , ed. J. C. Maxwell (Oxford, 1966)

Greg, _Variants_ W. W. Greg, _The Variants in the First Quarto of_ ' _King Lear': A Bibliographical and Critical Inquiry_ (1940)

Gurr and Ichikawa A. J. Gurr and Mariko Ichikawa, _Shakespeare and the Theatres of his Time_ (Oxford, 2000)

Hall | Joan Lane, _John Hall and his Patients: The Medical Practice of Shakespeare's Son-in-Law_ (Stratford-upon-Avon, 1996)

Halstead | William P. Halstead, _Shakespeare as Spoken_ , 12 vols. (Ann Arbor, 1977), and its supplements, vols. 13 and 14, _Statistical History of Acting Editions of Shakespeare_ (1983)

Harsnet | F. W. Brownlow, _Shakespeare, Harsnett, and the Devils of Denham_ (Newark, 1993); includes an edition of Harsnet's _Declaration of Egregious Popish Imposters_ ('Harsnet' is an alternative spelling)

Heilman | R. B. Heilman, _This Great Stage_ (Baton Rouge, 1948)

Henn | T. R. Henn, _The Living Image: Shakespearean Essays_ (London, 1972)

Hoeniger | F. David Hoeniger, _Medicine and Shakespeare in the English Renaissance_ (Newark, London and Toronto, 1992)

Holland | Peter Holland, _English Shakespeares: Shakespeare on the English Stage in the 1980s_ (Cambridge, 1997)

Hulme | Hilda M. Hulme, _Explorations in Shakespeare's Language_ (1962; repr. 1977)

Johnson | Samuel Johnson, _Johnson on Shakespeare_ , ed. Arthur Sherbo, 2 vols. (New Haven and London, 1968); notes on _King Lear_ , ii. 659–705

Knowles | Richard Knowles, 'Cordelia's Return', _SQ_ 50 (1999), 33–50

Leggatt | Alexander Leggatt, _King Lear_ , Shakespeare in Performance series (Manchester, 1991)

( _King_ ) _Leir_ | Anon., _The True Chronicle Historie of King Leir and his three Daughters_ (1605); quotations modernized from the reprint in Bullough, pp. 337–402

Mack | Maynard Mack, _King Lear in Our Time_ (Berkeley, Calif., 1965; London, 1966)

Marcus | Leah Marcus, _Puzzling Shakespeare: Local Reading and its Discontents_ (Berkeley, etc., 1988); reprinted in part in Ryan, _New Casebook_ , pp. 114–29 (references are to the original)

Mikalachki | Jodi Mikalachki, _The Legacy of Boadicea: Gender and Nation in Early Modern England_ (1998)

Milward | Peter Milward, _Biblical Influences in Shakespeare's Great Tragedies_ (Bloomington, 1987)

_MLN_ | _Modern Language Notes_

_MLR_ | _Modern Language Review_

_N & Q_ | _Notes and Queries_

Odell | G. C. D. Odell, _Shakespeare from Betterton to Irving_ , 2 vols. (New York, 1920)

_OED_ | _The Oxford English Dictionary_ , second edition, 20 vols. (Oxford, 1989), Compact Disk (1992)

Ogden and Scouten James Ogden and Arthur H. Scouten, eds., ' _Lear' from Study to Stage: Essays in Criticism_ (Madison, 1997)

Onions | C. T. Onions, _A Shakespeare Glossary_ , rev. R. D. Eagleson (Oxford, 1986)

Opie | Iona and Peter Opie, eds., _The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes_ (Oxford, 1951)

Percy, _Reliques_ Thomas Percy, _Reliques of Ancient English Poetry_ , ed. H. B. Wheatley, 3 vols. (1886?, repr. New York, 1966)

Perrett | Wilfrid Perrett, _The Story of King Lear from Geoffrey of Monmouth to Shakespeare_ (Berlin, 1904)

_PQ_ | _Philological Quarterly_

_RES_ | _Review of English Studies_

Rosenberg | Marvin Rosenberg, _The Masks of King Lear_ (Berkeley, 1982)

Ryan | Kiernan Ryan, ed., _New Casebooks: King Lear: Contemporary Critical Essays_ (1993)

Rydén | Mats Rydén, _Shakespearean Plant Names: Identifications and Interpretations_ (Stockholm, 1978)

Salingar | L. C. Salingar, _Dramatic Form in Shakespeare and the Jacobeans_ (Cambridge, 1986)

Schmidt | Alexander Schmidt, _Shakespeare-Lexicon_ (1874–5), rev. G. Sarrazin, 6th edn., 2 vols. (Berlin, 1971)

Seng | Peter J. Seng, _The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare: A Critical History_ (Cambridge, Mass., 1967)

Shaheen | Naseeb Shaheen, _Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays_ (Newark, Del., and London, 1999)

Shickman | Allan R. Shickman, 'The Fool's Mirror in _King Lear_ ', _ELR_ 21 (1991), 75–86

Smith | Bruce R. Smith, _The Acoustic World of Early Modern England: Attending to the O-factor_ (Chicago, 1999)

Sohmer | Steve Sohmer, 'The lunar calendar in Shakespeare's _King Lear', Early Modern Literary Studies_ , 5.2 (September 1999); Internet <http://purl.oclc.org/emls/05–2/sohm-lear.htm>, 15 December [ _sic_ ] 1999

Spurgeon | Caroline F. E. Spurgeon, _Shakespeare's Imagery and What it Tells Us_ (Cambridge, 1935)

_SQ_ | _Shakespeare Quarterly_

_SS_ | _Shakespeare Survey_

_S.St_. | _Shakespeare Studies_

Sternfeld | F. W. Sternfeld, _Music in Shakespearean Tragedy_ (1963)

Stone | P. W. K. Stone, _The Textual History of_ ' _King Lear_ ' (1980)

Sugden | E. H. Sugden, _A Topographical Dictionary to the Works of Shakespeare and his Fellow Dramatists_ (Manchester, 1925)

Taylor, 'Four Readings' Gary Taylor, 'Four New Readings in _King Lear', N & Q_, NS 29 (1982), 121–3

Taylor, _Moment by Moment_ Gary Taylor, _Moment by Moment by Shakespeare_ (1985)

_TC_ | Stanley Wells, Gary Taylor, John Jowett, and William Montgomery, _William Shakespeare: A Textual Companion_ (Oxford, 1987)

Teague | Frances Teague, _Shakespeare's Speaking Properties_ (Lewisburg, London and Toronto, 1991)

Urkowitz | Steven Urkowitz, _Shakespeare's Revision of_ ' _King Lear_ ' (Princeton, 1980)

Vickers, _Prose_ | Brian Vickers, _The Artistry of Shakespeare's Prose_ (1968)

Walker | W. S. Walker, _A Critical Examination of the Text of Shakespeare_ , ed. W. N. Lettsom, 3 vols. (1860)

Wells, _Theatre_ | Stanley Wells, ed., _Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism_ (Oxford, 1997)

Wiles | David Wiles, _Shakespeare's Clown_ (Cambridge, 1987)

Williams, _Dictionary_ Gordon Williams, _A Dictionary of Sexual Language and Imagery in Shakespearean and Stuart Literature_ , 3 vols. (1997)

Williams, _Glossary_ Gordon Williams, _A Glossary of Shakespeare's Sexual Language_ (1998)

## **_The History of King Lear_**
## **THE PERSONS OF THE PLAY**

LEAR, King of Britain

GONORIL, Lear's eldest daughter

Duke of ALBANY, her husband

REGAN, Lear's second daughter

Duke of CORNWALL, her husband

CORDELIA, Lear's youngest daughter

Earl of KENT, later disguised as Caius

Earl of GLOUCESTER

EDGAR, elder son of Gloucester, later disguised as Tom o'Bedlam

EDMUND, bastard son of Gloucester

OLD MAN, a tenant of Gloucester

CURAN, Gloucester's retainer

Lear's FOOL

OSWALD, Gonoril's steward

Three SERVANTS of Cornwall

DOCTOR, attendant on Cordelia

Three CAPTAINS

A HERALD

A KNIGHT

A MESSENGER

Gentlemen, servants, soldiers, followers, trumpeters, others
**Sc. 1** _Enter the Earl of Kent, the Earl of Gloucester, and Edmund the bastard_

KENT I thought the King had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.

GLOUCESTER It did always seem so to us, but now in the division of the kingdoms it appears not which of the Dukes he values most; for equalities are so weighed that curiosity in neither can make choice of either's moiety. 5

**Title** ] M. William Shakspeare _HIS_ Historie, of King Lear. Q

**1.** 0.1–2 _Enter . . . bastard_ ] Q ( _Enter Kent, Gloster, and Bastard_.) 2, 33.2, 61, 118 _Cornwall_ ] _Cornwell_ Q

**Title** The play's entry in the Stationers' Register (see Introduction, p. 4) describes it as a history (which could mean simply a narrative), and this term recurs in the Quarto's head title and running titles as well as on its title-page (fig. 1).

**1** This is a formal court scene. At the Globe the stage may have been set with a chair of state—a throne mounted on a platform with steps, which Lear would have mounted on his first entrance. It seems likely that royal characters, at least, would be distinguished by costume and headdress, and that the male courtiers would wear swords. Other properties required are a coronet (l. 33.1) and a map (l. 37).

0.1 **_Earl of Kent_** There were historical Earls of Kent, but Shakespeare invents the character for this play, while taking hints from the counsellor Perillus in _King Leir_. Kent is a large county in the south-east of England, in which Dover is a principal town. Earls rank below dukes and marquises in the Norman and subsequent aristocratic hierarchy. At 4.37 Kent says he is 48 years old.

**_Earl of Gloucester_** Q's spelling, 'Gloster', reflects the pronunciation current both in Shakespeare's time and today. Shakespeare imported the name into the story. Gloucester, prosperous in Roman times, is the principal city of the county of Gloucestershire, in south-west England. There were earls of Gloucester from the twelfth century to the fourteenth, and dukes from 1385, but both titles were extinct in Shakespeare's time. His choice of earl rather than duke may represent an effort at historicization, even though either title would have been anachronistic in relation to the supposed dates of Lear's reign. Gloucester is old enough to have two grown-up sons.

0.2 **_Edmund_** Gloucester's illegitimate son, younger by _some year_ (1.18–19) or _some twelve or fourteen moonshines_ (2.5) than his brother. Like Edgar, Edmund was the name of several Saxon kings, probably chosen for this reason (though possibly suggested by its occurrence in, e.g., Holinshed, Harsnet, and Camden) rather than because Shakespeare had a brother (who died in 1607) of the same name.

1 **affected** favoured, loved

4 **kingdoms** may refer to the territories already ruled by Albany and Cornwall along with the rest of the 'kingdom'—F's word; but could mean 'kingly authorities' ( _OED sb_. 1). The implications of the word are more fully discussed in _Division_ , p. vi.

5–6 **equalities . . . moiety** correspondences are so nicely balanced (or pondered) that minute observation of neither share ( _moiety_ ) can determine grounds for preference between the portions allocated to each. The implication is that Lear has already divided the kingdom between them.

KENT Is not this your son, my lord?

GLOUCESTER His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge. I have so often blushed to acknowledge him that now I am brazed to it. 10

KENT I cannot conceive you.

GLOUCESTER Sir, this young fellow's mother could, whereupon she grew round-wombed and had indeed, sir, a son for her cradle ere she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell a fault? 15

KENT I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of it being so proper.

GLOUCESTER But I have, sir, a son by order of law, some year elder than this, who yet is no dearer in my account. Though this knave came something saucily into the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair, there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged. ( _To Edmund_ ) Do you know this noble gentleman, Edmund? 20

EDMUND No, my lord. 25

GLOUCESTER ( _to Edmund_ ) My lord of Kent. Remember him hereafter as my honourable friend.

EDMUND ( _to Kent_ ) My services to your lordship.

KENT I must love you, and sue to know you better.

EDMUND Sir, I shall study deserving. 30

25 EDMUND] _Bast_. Q ( _subs. throughout_ )

8 **breeding** may play on the senses 'begetting' and 'bringing up', 'educating'.

**at my charge** at my expense; or, more generally, my responsibility

10 **brazed** brazened, made shameless

11 **conceive** understand. Gloucester forces a pun on 'become pregnant (by)'.

15 **smell a fault** detect a transgression, with possible wordplay on _fault_ as 'lost scent' (in hunting) and female genitals (Williams, _Glossary_ )

16 **issue** result, offspring

17 **proper** fault _less_ (substantially _OED a_. 8a), handsome ( _OED_ 9)

18 **by order of law** by legal arrangement ( _OED, order, sb_. 16), i.e. legitimate

19 **elder** Edgar's seniority (emphasized again at 2.5–6) indicates that Edmund was adulterously begotten.

20 **knave** fellow (jocular)
 **saucily** wantonly, cheekily (Shakespeare usually uses the word seriously: _OED, saucy, a_.1 2b)

22 **whoreson** bastard (jocular as well as literal)

28 **My services . . . lordship** A bow or other gesture of respect is called for.

29 **sue** seek

30 **study deserving** seek to earn favour

GLOUCESTER ( _to Kent_ ) He hath been out nine years, and away he shall again.

_Sound a sennet_

The King is coming.

_Enter one bearing a coronet, then King Lear, then the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall_ ; _next Gonoril, Regan, Cordelia, with followers_

32.1 _Sound a sennet_ ] Q ( _after_ 'coming', _l_. 33) 33.1 _King_ ] _not in_ Q

31 **out** away, for an unexplained reason: perhaps, as was common in Shakespeare's time, to be brought up in another nobleman's household, or abroad on an educational or military mission. An actor might draw significance from Gloucester's apparently cheerful acquiescence in Edmund's absences, in contrast to his treatment of Edgar.

32.1–33.3 The directions demand a ritualistic and hierarchical entry, probably through the central entrance at the Globe. Lear presumably sits centre-stage before speaking. Cordelia, who later speaks aside to the audience, may well stand downstage. Some directors bring on the Fool with Lear. In naturalistic terms this would help to explain his later awareness of what happened in the scene, but his entry in 1.4 is so elaborately built up as to suggest that he has not been seen before.

32.1 **_sennet_** A trumpet call heralding a ceremonial entry.

33.1 **_coronet_** small crown worn by one below the rank of king (so Casca in _Caesar_ : ''twas not a crown neither, 'twas one of these coronets', 1.2.237–8), here probably intended for Cordelia's successful suitor. Lear himself would wear the royal crown, and Albany and Cornwall would wear coronets (A. J. Gurr, 'Staging at the Globe', in _Shakespeare's Globe Rebuilt_ , ed. R. Mulryne and M. Shewring (Cambridge, 1997), 159–68; p. 165).

**_Lear_** This is the regular spelling in the Quarto, a phonetic variant of the previously more common 'Leir'. According to John Higgins in _The Mirror for Magistrates_ (1574), this legendary King of Britain ruled some 880 years before the birth of Christ; Holinshed (Bullough, vii. 316) says he 'made the town of Caerleir now called Leicester'. At 21.59 he claims to be aged _Fourscore and upward_.

33.2 **_Duke of Albany_** According to Holinshed (i. 144 in the six-volume reprint of 1807), Albany, or Albania, was the whole of Britain 'beyond the Humber northward', named after Albanect, youngest son of Brutus. The name was current in Shakespeare's time; King James's younger son, Prince Charles, became Duke of Albany on his baptism in 1600. The Duke's age is not specified. The first syllable of his name is pronounced 'Orl-' or 'Ol-'. 'Duke' is the highest title of the aristocracy, ranking immediately below royalty.

**_Duke of Cornwall_** Cornwall is, and was, a large area in the south-west of England, an independent kingdom until it came under Anglo-Saxon rule in the tenth century. From the time of Edward III the duchy has been hereditary to the Prince of Wales, so when Shakespeare wrote the play it belonged to James I's eldest son, Prince Henry, born 1594. This means that if Shakespeare were thinking in terms of his own time, Cornwall would have had to be Lear's son, not his son-in-law. There is a Duke of Cornwall in _King Leir_ , married not to Regan but to Gonoril. Shakespeare does not specify his age.

**_Gonoril_** In Q, as in _King Leir_ , the name is spelt Gonorill, closer to Holinshed's 'Gonorilla' than F's 'Gonerill'. We follow the usual practice of omitting the redundant final letter. She is Lear's eldest daughter, but her age is not specified.

33.2 **_Regan_** Lear's middle daughter. This is Holinshed's spelling; in _Leir_ , she is Ragan. Her age is not specified.

33.3 **_Cordelia_** Lear's youngest, and unmarried, daughter. Her name is 'Cordella' in Holinshed, 'Cordeilla' in _Leir_. Shakespeare adopts Spenser's form, perhaps, in view of his practice of giving his heroines significant names—Marina, Perdita, Miranda—in his late plays, 'having in mind an association with the heart' (Foakes)—'cor' in Latin; but Foakes's further suggestion of a significant anagram of 'ideal' in '-delia' seems strained.

LEAR

Attend my lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.

GLOUCESTER I shall, my liege.  _Exit_  35

LEAR

Meantime we will express our darker purposes.

The map there. Know we have divided

In three our kingdom, and 'tis our first intent

To shake all cares and business off our state,

Confirming them on younger years. 40

The two great princes, France and Burgundy—

Great rivals in our youngest daughter's love—

Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn,

And here are to be answered. Tell me, my daughters,

Which of you shall we say doth love us most, 45

That we our largest bounty may extend

Where merit doth most challenge it?

Gonoril, our eldest born, speak first.

GONORIL

Sir, I do love you more than words can wield the matter;

Dearer than eyesight, space, or liberty; 50

35 _Exit_ ] F; _not in_ Q; _Exeunt Gloucester and Edmund_ CAPELL 39 off] Q (of) 48 first.] Q (~?)

34 **Attend** wait upon, escort. The implication is that they are waiting to be summoned to the royal presence.

35 **liege** liege lord, the superior in a feudal system to whom allegiance is due

**_Exit_** Edmund also may leave here; he has nothing to say in the rest of the scene, but will later be affected by what occurs, and may reasonably swell the crowd. J. L. Halio argues for his continuing presence in 'Staging _King Lear_ 1.1 and 5.3', in _Shakespearean Illuminations_ , ed. J. L. Halio and H. Richmond (Newark, NJ, 1998), pp. 102–9; p. 105.

36 **darker** more secret, inward. Perhaps referring to his previously unannounced plan to add his unmarried daughter, Cordelia, to the married ones as recipients of his bounty. The opening dialogue could imply an understanding that the kingdom was to be shared only between Gonoril and Regan; if so _In three_ (l.38) would come as a surprise.

37 **The map there** Apparently Lear calls for a map to be produced (as explicitly in F), though in many productions it has been made conspicuous on his entry. The midline pause allows for action.

38 **first** most pressing ( _OED a_. 4a)

39 **business** could mean ( _OED_ 5) the same as _care_ ; anxiety, responsibility.

**state** (physical) condition, status, high rank

40 **Confirming** establishing

41 **France and Burgundy** It was customary for rulers to be addressed simply by the name of their territory.

44 **answered** given a decision

46 **largest** most generous

47 **challenge** lay claim to ( _OED v_. 5)

49 **wield** express ( _OED v_. 4d)

50 **eyesight, space, or liberty** Key concepts of the play: Gonoril will command _Pluck out his eyes_ (14.4); _liberty_ may mean 'domain' or 'property' ( _OED sb_.1 7c) as well as 'freedom'.

Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare;

No less than life; with grace, health, beauty, honour;

As much as childe'er loved, or father, friend;

A love that makes breath poor and speech unable.

Beyond all manner of so much I love you. 55

CORDELIA ( _aside_ )

What shall Cordelia do? Love and be silent.

LEAR ( _to Gonoril_ )

Of all these bounds even from this line to this,

With shady forests and wide-skirted meads,

We make thee lady. To thine and Albany's issue

Be this perpetual.—What says our second daughter? 60

Our dearest Regan, wife to Cornwall, speak.

REGAN Sir, I am made

Of the self-same mettle that my sister is,

And prize me at her worth. In my true heart

I find she names my very deed of love— 65

Only she came short, that I profess

Myself an enemy to all other joys

Which the most precious square of sense possesses,

And find I am alone felicitate

In your dear highness' love.

53 as] F; a Q father, friend] Q (~ ^ ~) 59 Albany's] Q ( _Albaines_ ) 63 mettle] Q (mettall) 64 worth. In] Q (~ ^ ~)

51 **what** whatever

53 **father, friend** (e'er loved; _friend_ could mean relative, or lover); possibly an error for F's 'father found' (so HalioQ)

54 **makes breath poor** outruns the power of expression

**unable** inadequate

55 **Beyond . . . much** 'beyond any "so much", any comparison, of whatever kind it may be' (Schmidt)

56 **Love . . . silent** The idea that we can say least to those we love best was proverbial (Dent L165 cites, e.g., 'She remembered it was one of the properties of love to be silent', Pettie, _Palace of Pleasure_ (1576)), and recurs in Shakespeare.

57 **this . . . to this** Lear gestures to, or draws on, the map.

58 **forests** F's addition, 'and with champains riched, | With plenteous rivers' is added in HalioQ on the grounds that it may have been omitted as the result of eyeslip.

**wide-skirted meads** wide-bordered, extensive meadows

63 **Of the** 'elided as one syllable'

**mettle** spirit, substance (not distinct in Shakespeare's time from 'metal')

64 **prize me** value myself

65 **deed** bond

66 **came** HalioQ regularizes the metre by adding 'too' from F.

**that** to the extent that

68 **square of sense** Variously explained; the general sense is 'area' or 'criterion' (from the carpenter's square) of sensibility; there may be a hint of 'genital area'.

69 **felicitate** made happy ( _OED_ 's only instance)

CORDELIA ( _aside_ ) Then poor Cordelia— 70

And yet not so, since I am sure my love's

More richer than my tongue.

LEAR ( _to Regan_ )

To thee and thine hereditary ever

Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom,

No less in space, validity, and pleasure 75

Than that confirmed on Gonoril. ( _To Cordelia_ ) But now our joy,

Although the last, not least in our dear love:

What can you say to win a third more opulent

Than your sisters?

CORDELIA Nothing, my lord. 80

LEAR

How? Nothing can come of nothing. Speak again.

CORDELIA

Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave

My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty

According to my bond, nor more nor less.

LEAR

Go to, go to, mend your speech a little 85

Lest it may mar your fortunes.

CORDELIA Good my lord,

You have begot me, bred me, loved me.

I return those duties back as are right fit—

Obey you, love you, and most honour you.

Why have my sisters husbands if they say 90

70 Cordelia] Q ( _Cord_.)

72 **More** much

73 **hereditary** by inheritance

75 **validity** value

77 **last** Both 'last-born' and 'last to be asked'.

78 **third** one of three (not necessarily equal) parts. Seemingly Lear has reserved the best for Cordelia.

81 **Nothing . . . nothing** Proverbial (Dent N285).

82–3 **heave . . . mouth** 'The heart of fools is in their mouth: but the mouth of the wise is in their heart' (Ecclesiasticus 1: 26). In _Leir_ , Cordella says 'I cannot paint my duty forth in words' (l. 277).

84 **bond** obligation, duty. The word's range of reference is discussed by Salingar, pp. 96–7. He finds 'something cold and measured in Cordelia's use of the word'.

85 **Go to** A general expression of disbelief or rebuke; 'Come, come!'.

87 **begot . . . bred** begotten . . . brought up, raised, educated

88 **return . . . fit** pay back ( _OED, return, v_.1 21a) 'those duties that are most fitting' (Kittredge), i.e. those mentioned in the following line.

89 **Obey . . . love . . . honour** The passage echoes the Christian catechism: 'To love, honour, and succour my father and mother'; Shaheen, p. 607, records biblical parallels.

They love you all? Haply when I shall wed

That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry

Half my love with him, half my care and duty.

Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters,

To love my father all. 95

LEAR But goes this with thy heart?

CORDELIA Ay, good my lord.

LEAR So young and so untender?

CORDELIA So young, my lord, and true.

LEAR

Well, let it be so. Thy truth then be thy dower; 100

For by the sacred radiance of the sun,

The mysteries of Hecate and the night,

By all the operation of the orbs

From whom we do exist and cease to be,

Here I disclaim all my paternal care, 105

Propinquity, and property of blood,

And as a stranger to my heart and me

Hold thee from this for ever. The barbarous Scythian,

Or he that makes his generation

Messes to gorge his appetite, 110

91 Haply] Q (Happely) 98 untender?] Q (~,) 102 mysteries] F2; mistresse Q; miseries F1 night] F; might Q

91 **Haply** maybe, perhaps (merges with 'happily'; Q spells 'Happely')

92 **plight** troth-plight (sealed by handclasp), pledge

96 **goes** accords

98 **So . . . untender?** Q follows with a comma, F with a question mark (which could be interpreted as an exclamation mark): this could be either a question, an exclamation, or a statement. _OED_ records no previous use of 'untender'; it has been calculated that Shakespeare coined 93 latinate words beginning in un (B. A. Garner, 'Shakespeare's Latinate Neologisms', _S. St_. 15 (1982), 149–70; pp. 165–6).

102 **mysteries** mysterious rites

**Hecate** Two syllables (hecket); pagan goddess of the underworld and of night; makes a personal appearance in the scenes of _Macbeth_ attributed to Middleton.

**night** Q's 'might' 'could be defended—"the mysteries and the might of Hecate"—but the construction would be awkward; the proposed easy misreading produces more natural syntax and a more explicit contrast with "the sun" ' ( _TC_ ).

103 **operation . . . orbs** activity and influence of the celestial bodies

105 **paternal** _OED_ 's first instance of the adjective (the adverb is recorded in 1603).

106 **Propinquity** close relationship

**property . . . blood** family attributes

108 **Scythian** inhabitant of uncivilized regions of Asia, proverbially barbarous: 'Was never Scythia half so barbarous', _Titus_ 1.1.131. Shakespeare's audience might have heard a reference to Tamburlaine, the Scythian tyrant of Marlowe's popular two-part play, in which Scythians are twice called 'barbarous' (Part 1, 3.3.271; Part 2, 3.4.19).

109 **generation** offspring, or (his own) kind

110 **Messes** servings of food

Shall be as well neighboured, pitied, and relieved

As thou, my sometime daughter.

KENT Good my liege—

LEAR

Peace, Kent. Come not between the dragon and his wrath.

I loved her most, and thought to set my rest

On her kind nursery.  _To Cordelia_  Hence, and avoid my sight!— 115

So be my grave my peace as here I give

Her father's heart from her. Call France. Who stirs?

Call Burgundy.  _Exit one or more_

Cornwall and Albany,

With my two daughters' dowers digest this third.

Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her. 120

I do invest you jointly in my power,

Pre-eminence, and all the large effects

That troop with majesty. Ourself by monthly course,

With reservation of an hundred knights

By you to be sustained, shall our abode 125

Make with you by due turns. Only we still retain

The name and all the additions to a king.

The sway, revenue, execution of the rest,

119 dowers] F; dower Q

111 **be as** Elided (Cercignani, p. 291).

**neighboured** treated in a neighbourly fashion

112 **sometime** former

113 **his** its (as often)

114 **set my rest** In gambling, 'stake all that remains'; so, figuratively, 'set my final hope or trust', though with a sense also of 'repose'.

115 **kind nursery** natural care, as from a mother

**Hence** go away

117 **Who stirs?** 'i.e. Be quick! The courtiers are shocked into immobility' (Muir)

119 **digest** assimilate, incorporate

120 **plainness** plain-speaking, bluntness

**marry her** win her a husband

121 **in** with (F's word). The Q reading makes 'invest' less metaphorical: 'wrap you in'.

122 **effects** impressive accompaniments

123 **Ourself** The royal plural, for greater effect.

124–5 **With reservation . . . sustained** The proviso may come as a shock to Gonoril and Regan. Donald Sinden remarks that 'a hundred knights are not a hundred servants, they are a hundred knights _plus_ their servants . . . The only person who gives that clue away is Goneril, when she says "Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires [4.232]." ' ('Playing King Lear: Donald Sinden talks to J. W. R. Meadowcroft', _SS 33_ (1980), pp. 81–7.)

124 **reservation** In law, the act of 'retaining for oneself some right or interest in property which is being conveyed to another' ( _OED_ 2).

127 **additions** titles, honours

128 **sway** power of government

**revenue** income; accent on the second syllable.

Belovèd sons, be yours; which to confirm,

This crownet part betwixt you.

KENT Royal Lear, 130

Whom I have ever honoured as my king,

Loved as my father, as my master followed,

As my great patron thought on in my prayers—

LEAR

The bow is bent and drawn; make from the shaft.

KENT

Let it fall rather, though the fork invade 135

The region of my heart. Be Kent unmannerly

When Lear is mad. What wilt thou do, old man?

Think'st thou that duty shall have dread to speak

When power to flattery bows? To plainness honour's bound

When majesty stoops to folly. Reverse thy doom, 140

And in thy best consideration check

This hideous rashness. Answer my life my judgement,

Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least,

Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound

Reverbs no hollowness.

LEAR Kent, on thy life, no more! 145

130 crownet] Q (Coronet) 133 prayers—] Q (~.) 137 mad] Q2, F; man Q1 145 more!] Q (~.)

130 **crownet** The coronet carried on at his entrance; if it had been intended for Cordelia's successful suitor, its division between Albany and Cornwall would be ironically symbolic of her rejection. (The old spelling is retained to preserve the metre.)

134–6 **The bow . . . my heart** A difficult passage to construe precisely. Some commentators take Lear to mean that, taut with anger, he interrupts Kent to warn him to avoid ( _make from_ —an odd sense) the (metaphorical) arrow he is ready to shoot; if this is so, Kent's reply must mean 'rather let the arrow fly'—though _fall_ seems an odd choice of word for this—'even if its barbed head [ _OED_ 's only instance of this sense of _fork_ ] pierces me to the heart'. Perhaps a more natural interpretation of Lear's words is that he is demonstrating impatience with Kent's preamble, in which case _make from the shaft_ would have to be strained into meaning 'let the arrow go', i.e. 'say what you have to say', 'fire away'; then Kent's words would have to mean 'let the weapon I have prepared fall back upon myself rather than be directed at you, even . . .'. But then _Be Kent unmannerly_ would indicate a sudden change of tactic: that he will speak plainly—i.e. direct an arrow at Lear—even at risk to himself.

137 **thou . . . old man** Kent breaches decorum with familiar terms of address.

138–40 The personified abstractions— _duty, power, flattery, plainness, honour, majesty, folly_ —suggest a morality play.

140 **doom** sentence (on Cordelia; but could also be interpreted as Lear's own _doom_ )

142 **Answer . . . judgement** let my life be answerable for my opinion

145 **Reverbs . . . hollowness** does not reverberate hollowly; proverbial (Dent V36). In _Henry V_ the Boy says of Pistol 'I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart. But the saying is true: "The empty vessel makes the greatest sound." ' (4.4.64–6.) 'Reverb' is Shakespeare's coinage.

KENT

My life I never held but as a pawn

To wage against thy enemies, nor fear to lose it,

Thy safety being the motive.

LEAR Out of my sight!

KENT

See better, Lear, and let me still remain

The true blank of thine eye.

LEAR Now, by Apollo— 150

KENT

Now, by Apollo, King, thou swear'st thy gods in vain.

LEAR  _making to strike him_

Vassal, recreant!

KENT Do, kill thy physician,

And the fee bestow upon the foul disease.

Revoke thy doom, or whilst I can vent clamour

From my throat I'll tell thee thou dost evil. 155

LEAR

Hear me; on thy allegiance hear me!

Since thou hast sought to make us break our vow,

Which we durst never yet, and with strayed pride

To come between our sentence and our power,

Which nor our nature nor our place can bear, 160

Our potency made good take thy reward:

148 sight!] Q (~.) 150 Apollo—] Q2; ~, Q1 152 _making . . . him_ ] _not in_ Q recreant!] Q (~.) 156 me!] Q (~?)

145 **on . . . more** In _Leir_ , when Perillus stands up for Cordella, Leir says 'Urge this no more, and if thou love thy life' (l. 569).

146–7 **pawn . . . wage** stake to wager (with a glance at the sense of _pawn_ as the piece of lowest value in the game of chess)

150 **blank** the white at the centre of an archery target. Kent asks Lear to continue to 'look to' him for guidance.

**Apollo** Pagan god of the sun, and the archer god.

151 **swear'st** swearest by

152 **Vassal** servant, menial owing allegiance to a feudal master

152 **recreant** allegiance-breaker, villain. Lear makes a threatening gesture, restrained in F by Albany and Cornwall (or Cordelia) with the words 'Good sir, forbear!'

154 **vent** utter

156 **on thy allegiance** A solemn adjuration which may cause Kent to kneel.

157 **us** Again Lear switches to the plural for greater solemnity.

158 **durst** dared

**strayed** uncontrolled ('strained', i.e. forced, unnatural, in F; misreading is possible)

160 **nor . . . nor neither . . . nor**

**place** status

161 **made good** Various shades of meaning are possible: carried into effect; defended; repaired (after Kent's attacks on it) (Horsman).

Four days we do allot thee for provision

To shield thee from dis-eases of the world,

And on the fifth to turn thy hated back

Upon our kingdom. If on the next day following 165

Thy banished trunk be found in our dominions,

The moment is thy death. Away! By Jupiter,

This shall not be revoked.

KENT

Why, fare thee well, King; since thus thou wilt appear,

Friendship lives hence, and banishment is here. 170

( _To Cordelia_ ) The gods to their protection take thee, maid,

That rightly thinks, and hast most justly said.

( _To Gonoril and Regan_ )

And your large speeches may your deeds approve,

That good effects may spring from words of love.

Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu; 175

He'll shape his old course in a country new. _Exit_

_Flourish. Enter the King of France and the Duke of_

_Burgundy, with the Earl of Gloucester_

GLOUCESTER

Here's France and Burgundy, my noble lord.

163 dis-eases] Q (diseases) 165 next] BLAYNEY; tenth QF 167 Away!] Q (~,) 171 thee,] Q (the^) 176 _Exit_ ] F; _not in_ Q 176.1 _Flourish_ ] F; _not in_ Q 176.1–2 _Enter . . . Gloucester_ ] Q ( _Enter France and Burgundie with Gloster_.)

163 **dis-eases** discomforts, misfortunes—closer in meaning to F's 'disasters' than the modern sense of the word, and hyphenated here to signal the difference.

165 **next** Q and F read 'tenth', which seems illogical and was questioned by e.g. Daniel, who suggested 'se'nth' (Muir, finding this 'more logical'). The emendation, by Blayney, is accepted by Foakes but not by Halio, who however does not attempt to defend Q in either of his editions. Sohmer overcomes the difficulty by stating that Lear 'allows Kent four days to prepare, a fifth day to depart, and an additional ten days' grace before the decree matures into a death-sentence' (paragraph 14).

166 **trunk** body

167 **Jupiter** Chief Roman god, worshipped also by the Ancient Britons.

169–76 Kent moves into rhyme. The effect may be one of weary detachment.

170 **banishment is here** i.e. I shall experience banishment if I remain here [?]

173 **approve** prove to be true

175 **adieu** farewell. The word had been anglicized, and rhymes with 'new'.

176 **shape . . . course** pursue his customary conduct, i.e. retain his integrity. Kent's couplet marks a decisive exit, probably from the opposite door to that from which Gloucester and the suitors enter.

716.1 The ' _Flourish_ ' is from F. The suitors may have worn distinctive costumes, and would presumably make some form of obeisance to Lear.

**_King of France_** The Gallian—i.e. French—King in _Leir_ , where he plays a much larger role. Burgundy and he are presumably thought of as young.

176.1–2 **_Duke of Burgundy_** Shakespeare's invention as a suitor to Cordelia; more authentically historical Dukes of Burgundy also occur in _1 Henry VI_ and _Henry V_.

LEAR My lord of Burgundy,

We first address towards you, who with a king

Hath rivalled for our daughter: what in the least 180

Will you require in present dower with her

Or cease your quest of love?

BURGUNDY Royal majesty,

I crave no more than what your highness offered;

Nor will you tender less.

LEAR Right noble Burgundy,

When she was dear to us we did hold her so; 185

But now her price is fallen. Sir, there she stands.

If aught within that little seeming substance,

Or all of it, with our displeasure pieced,

And nothing else, may fitly like your grace,

She's there, and she is yours.

BURGUNDY I know no answer. 190

LEAR

Sir, will you with those infirmities she owes,

Unfriended, new-adopted to our hate,

Covered with our curse and strangered with our oath,

Take her or leave her?

BURGUNDY Pardon me, royal sir.

Election makes not up on such conditions. 195

LEAR

Then leave her, sir; for by the power that made me,

I tell you all her wealth. ( _To France_ ) For you, great King,

I would not from your love make such a stray

178 lord] Q (L.) 184 less.] Q (~?)

180 **rivalled** competed; the first known use of 'rival' as a verb.

**in the least** at the lowest estimate

181 **present dower** immediately available dowry

184 **tender** offer

**less.** Q and F follow with a question mark, retained by some editors, but it is not supported by the sentence structure, and could be interpreted as an exclamation mark.

185 **so** Quibbling on _dear_ as 'beloved' and 'highly valued'.

187 **little seeming** may be interpreted as 'appearing (physically) small', or 'refusing to put on an act'.

188 **pieced** added

189 **fitly like** reasonably please

191 **infirmities . . . owes** weaknesses of character she possesses

193 **Covered with** concealed by

**strangered with** alienated by ( _OED_ 's first instance of this rare verb)

195 **Election . . . up** choice is not possible (a strained expression; _OED, make, v_.1, 96k. (b), citing Schmidt, defines 'make up' as '? To come to a decision', offering no other instances)

197 **tell** give a (financial) account of

198 **stray** 'action of straying or wandering' ( _OED sb_. 4)

To match you where I hate, therefore beseech you

To avert your liking a more worthier way 200

Than on a wretch whom nature is ashamed

Almost to acknowledge hers.

FRANCE

This is most strange, that she that even but now

Was your best object, the argument of your praise,

Balm of your age, most best, most dearest, 205

Should in this trice of time commit a thing

So monstrous to dismantle

So many folds of favour. Sure, her offence

Must be of such unnatural degree

That monsters it, or your fore-vouched affections 210

Fall'n into taint; which to believe of her

Must be a faith that reason without miracle

Could never plant in me.

CORDELIA ( _to Lear_ )

I yet beseech your majesty,

If for I want that glib and oily art 215

To speak and purpose not—since what I well intend,

I'll do't before I speak—that you acknow

It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness,

No unclean action or dishonoured step

That hath deprived me of your grace and favour, 220

210 your] F; you Q 217 acknow] OXFORD; may know Q; make knowne F

199 **To** as to

**beseech** (I) beg

200 **a . . . way** on to a more deserving object

204 **object** being within sight (?)

**argument** theme

206 **trice** instant

207 **to dismantle** (as) to strip off ( _OED_ 's first use in this sense)

210 **monsters** makes a monster of ( _OED_ 's first example of the rare use of the word as a verb)

**your** Weis defends Q's 'you', paraphrasing 'or the affections you asserted you felt for her have now discredited you'.

**fore-vouched** previously declared

211 **taint** discredit

212 **reason without miracle** 'an obvious allusion to the theological idea that miracles are needed to bring the reason of man to faith in God' (Milward, p. 163).

215 **if . . . want** if (what you say is) because I lack

217 **acknow** acknowledge. Oxford's emendation, comparing _Othello_ 3.3.324, 'where Q has "you knowne" for F "acknowne" '. _OED_ finds the word 'very rare' after the Old English period except in the past participle. Q reads 'may know', F 'make known', adopted in HalioQ. John Jowett (privately) suggests emendation of Q's 'you' to 'hee', i.e. 'he—France—may know'.

218 **vicious blot** stain of vice

219 **dishonoured** stained with dishonour. _OED_ 's first use of the adjective is in _Measure_ , 4.4.30.

But even the want of that for which I am rich—

A still-soliciting eye, and such a tongue

As I am glad I have not, though not to have it

Hath lost me in your liking.

LEAR Go to, go to.

Better thou hadst not been born than not to have pleased me better. 225

FRANCE

Is it no more but this—a tardiness in nature,

That often leaves the history unspoke

That it intends to do?—My lord of Burgundy,

What say you to the lady? Love is not love

When it is mingled with respects that stands 230

Aloof from the entire point. Will you have her?

She is herself a dower.

BURGUNDY Royal Lear,

Give but that portion which yourself proposed,

And here I take Cordelia by the hand,

Duchess of Burgundy—

LEAR Nothing. I have sworn. 235

BURGUNDY ( _to Cordelia_ )

I am sorry, then, you have so lost a father

That you must lose a husband.

221 the] HANMER; for QF 231 point. Will] Q (~ ^ ~) 232 a] F; and Q

221 **the want** Hanmer's emendation of Q's 'for want', defended by Oxford since 'The syntax requires a noun clause, not a prepositional phrase, and QF's 'for' could easily arise from contamination' ( _TC_ ). HalioQ and Weis follow Q.

222 **still-soliciting** always begging; _OED_ 's first instance of _soliciting_ as a participial adjective.

224 **lost me in** deprived me of

225 A metrically crowded line which becomes an alexandrine if _thou hadst not_ is spoken as 'thou'dst not' and 'to have' as 'to've'.

226 **tardiness in nature** natural hesitation ( _OED_ 's first instance of 'tardiness')

227 **history unspoke** tale untold; _OED_ 's only instance of the 'arch[aic] variant' of 'unspoken'.

228 **do** act out

229 **Love . . . love** recalls Sonnet 116: 'Love is not love | Which alters when it alteration finds'—unpublished when the play appeared.

230 **respects** considerations

**stands** The grammar was acceptable.

231 **the entire** (elided) the essential

**Will . . . her?** France's willingness to defer to Burgundy may seem less than complimentary to Cordelia, but sustains the dramatic tension.

232 **a dower** Ridley and Weis retain and defend Q's 'and dower'.

**dower** dowry (F's word; the forms were interchangeable)

233 **portion** dowry

234 **take . . . hand** Alluding to the betrothal formality of handfasting; presumably 'Burgundy takes her hand, and drops it again when he hears Lear's reaction, only for France to _seize_ Cordelia's hand at [242]' (Foakes).

CORDELIA

Peace be with Burgundy; since that respects

Of fortune are his love, I shall not be his wife.

FRANCE

Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor; 240

Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despised:

Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon.

Be it lawful, I take up what's cast away.

Gods, gods! 'Tis strange that from their cold'st neglect

My love should kindle to inflamed respect.— 245

Thy dowerless daughter, King, thrown to my chance,

Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France.

Not all the dukes in wat'rish Burgundy

Shall buy this unprized precious maid of me.—

Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind. 250

Thou losest here, a better where to find.

LEAR

Thou hast her, France. Let her be thine, for we

Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see

That face of hers again. Therefore be gone,

Without our grace, our love, our benison.— 225

Come, noble Burgundy.

 _Flourish.  Exeunt Lear and Burgundy, then
Albany, Cornwall, Gloucester,  Edmund,
and followers_

244 cold'st] Q (couldst) 246 my] F; thy Q 250 Cordelia, . . . unkind.] Q (~, ~ ^ 255 benison.—] Q (~?) 256 _Flourish_ ] F; _not in_ Q _Exeunt_ ] Q ( _Exit_ ) _then . . . followers_ ] _not in_ Q sisters.] Q (~?)

238 **respects** considerations

240 **most . . . poor** The paradox is biblical, e.g. 'Our Lord Jesus Christ, that he being rich, for your sakes became poor' (2 Corinthians 8: 9).

242 **seize upon** take possession of. Probably he takes her by the hand.

244 **their** Either the gods' or Lear's and Burgundy's. The movement into rhyme formalizes the outcome of the episode.

245 **inflamed** fervent (possibly deriving from Geoffrey of Monmouth's reference to France as ' _amore virginis inflammatus_ ': Bullough, vii. 273)

246 **dowerless** without a dowry; _OED_ 's first instance.

246 **thrown . . . chance** 'cast (as in throwing dice) to my (good) fortune' (Foakes)

248 **in** of; a hyperbole resulting from France's _inflamed_ condition, as Burgundy would have only one duke at a time.
 **wat'rish** well, or over, watered (derisory, 'wet'); 'the province is full of rivers and streams' (Sugden).

249 **unprized** (a) priceless ( _OED_ 's only use of this conjectured sense); (b) unvalued

250 **unkind** unnatural

251 **where** place

255 **benison** blessing

256 **_Flourish_** Not in Q, but this is a ceremonial exit, marked by the sound of trumpets, and such directions are often absent in foul papers.

FRANCE ( _to Cordelia_ ) Bid farewell to your sisters.

CORDELIA

The jewels of our father, with washed eyes

Cordelia leaves you. I know you what you are,

And like a sister am most loath to call

Your faults as they are named. Use well our father. 260

To your professèd bosoms I commit him.

But yet, alas, stood I within his grace

I would prefer him to a better place.

So farewell to you both.

GONORIL Prescribe not us our duties. 265

REGAN Let your study

Be to content your lord, who hath received you

At fortune's alms. You have obedience scanted,

And well are worth the worst that you have wanted.

CORDELIA

Time shall unfold what pleated cunning hides. 270

Who covers faults, at last shame them derides.

Well may you prosper.

FRANCE Come, fair Cordelia.

_Exeunt France and Cordelia_

GONORIL Sister, it is not a little I have to say of what most nearly appertains to us both. I think our father will hence tonight.

257 The] QF; Ye ROWE 1709 264 both.] Q (~?) 265 duties.] Q (~?) 268 At fortune's alms] QF; at fortune's arms STONE _conj_.; as fortune's alms CAPELL ( _subs_.) 269 worst] OXFORD; worth Q; want F; words STONE _conj_. 272 Cordelia.] Q (~?) 272.1 _Exeunt . . . Cordelia_ ] Q ( _Exit . . . Cord_.)

257 **The** Oxford adopts Rowe's 'Ye', arguing that QF's 'The' is 'almost certainly no more than an alternative interpretation of an ambiguous manuscript "ye/ye" ' ( _TC_ ), but the change seems unnecessary.

**washed** (with tears)

260 **as . . . named** by their plain names

261 **professèd bosoms** pretended affections

262 **grace** favour

263 **prefer** promote

266 **study** aim

268 **At fortune's alms** as an object of charity

**scanted** been sparing of ( _OED, scant, v_. 5)

269 **well . . . wanted** thoroughly deserve the ill fate that you have courted

**worth the worst** Oxford's emendation (not accepted by HalioQ) of Q's 'worth the worth': '. . . to say that Cordelia is "worth the wanted worst" is intelligibly venomous in a way that "worth the wanted worth" is not' ( _TC_ ). John Jowett (privately) finds 'worth the worth' acceptable as 'a quibble between _worth_ as 'deserving' and 'quality'. F reads 'worth the want'.

270 **Time . . . hides** Time will unwrap what cunning hides in folds; a version of the common saying 'Veritas filia temporis', 'Truth is the daughter of time' (Dent T324).

271 **Who** . . . **derides** In the end shame mocks those who seek to cover their faults. Cordelia makes an oracularly cryptic exit with a biblical echo: 'He that hideth his sins shall not prosper' (Proverbs 28: 13).

274 **nearly** closely

REGAN That's most certain, and with you. Next month with us.

GONORIL You see how full of changes his age is. The observation we have made of it hath not been little. He always loved our sister most, and with what poor judgement he hath now cast her off appears too gross. 280

REGAN 'Tis the infirmity of his age; yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself.

GONORIL The best and soundest of his time hath been but rash; then must we look to receive from his age not alone the imperfection of long-engrafted condition, but therewithal unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with them. 285

REGAN Such unconstant starts are we like to have from him as this of Kent's banishment. 290

GONORIL There is further compliment of leave-taking between Burgundy and him. Pray, let's hit together. If our father carry authority with such dispositions as he bears, this last surrender of his will but offend us.

292 Burgundy] HANMER; _France_ QF

281 **gross** palpably

284 **The best . . . time** i.e. even when he was in his prime and at his fittest

285 **look** expect

286 **long-engrafted** long-implanted ( _OED_ 's first example of _engrafted_ is in Sonnet 37)

286–7 **therewithal** along with that

289 **unconstant starts** unpredictable outbursts

291–2 **further . . . him.** If this is supposed to be taking place off stage it could be prompted by a sound such as a flourish of trumpets. QF read 'France', not 'Burgundy' and spell 'complement' but the forms were not distinct; _OED_ , noting that 'the word has since _c_.1655–1725 been supplanted by the parallel F[rench] word COMPLIMENT', cites this passage under 'complement' ( _sb_. 8b), defining 'observance of ceremony . . . formal civility, politeness, or courtesy.' Richard Knowles (in a private communication) favours ''That which completes or makes perfect' ( _OED_ 3), remarking 'in addition to the exile of Kent, what completes the picture of Lear's "poore iudgement" is his (perhaps predictable) further alienation of France', taking the phrase to imply that Lear is finalizing the break between the two countries. But 'leave-taking') surely implies courtesy ( _Macbeth_ 2. 3. 143, 'let us not be dainty of leave-taking') rather than dismissal. At 2. 22 we are told that France parted _in choler_. Duthie and Wilson's comment that the original is 'Prob[ably] sarcastic' seems like an attempt to save Shakespeare from the accusation of 'authorial inadvertence' (Foakes). Hanmer made the change but has not been followed by modern editors. The lines have been cut in many productions (e.g. RSC 1953, 1959, 1968, 1976, 1982, 1993) but retained unaltered in others (e.g. RSC 1950, 1955, 1962, and 1990).

292 **hit** agree ( _OED v_. 17; first recorded use in this sense); perhaps also 'act'.

293 **carry . . . bears** exercises power in his characteristic way

294 **surrender . . . offend** 'renunciation of his will do us nothing but harm' (Weis)

REGAN We shall further think on't. 295

GONORIL We must do something, and i'th' heat. _Exeunt_

**Sc. 2** _Enter Edmund the bastard_

EDMUND

Thou, nature, art my goddess. To thy law

My services are bound. Wherefore should I

Stand in the plague of custom and permit

The curiosity of nations to deprive me

For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines 5

Lag of a brother? Why 'bastard'? Wherefore 'base',

When my dimensions are as well compact,

My mind as generous, and my shape as true

As honest madam's issue?

Why brand they us with 'base, base bastardy', 10

Who in the lusty stealth of nature take

More composition and fierce quality

Than doth within a stale, dull-eyed bed go

**2**.0.1 _Edmund . . . Bastard_ ] Q ( _Bastard Solus_.) 3 Stand in] QF; Stand on STONE _conj_. 4 curiosity] QF; courtesy THEOBALD 13 dull-eyed] BLAYNEY ( _conj_. Stone); dull lyed Q

296 **i'th' heat** (of the moment), 'while the iron is hot' (Dent I94)

**2.1** Edmund probably enters through the door opposite that by which the sisters have exited. A letter is required (l. 19).

1 **nature** 'Nature' is a key word and concept of the play, used with varying shades of meaning. Though it often relates to natural ties of human feeling, here it seems most closely related to its use in the phrase 'state of nature', defined by _OED_ as 'the condition of man before the foundation of an organized society' ( _nature, sb_. 14 a ( _b_ )). The phrase ' _thy_ law' dissociates Edmund from the world of the opening scene; and 'law' is a paradox. The speech in general bears interesting resemblances to 'A Paradox, in the de-fence of Bastardy' in Thomas Milles's _Treasurie of Ancient and Modern Times_ (1613), quoted, along with other paradoxes relevant to the play, in ' _King Lear_ and Renaissance Paradoxes', by Brian Vickers, _MLR_ 63 (1968), 305–14.

3 **Stand . . . custom** be subject to pestilential custom (by which a bastard could not inherit his father's property)

4 **curiosity** faddiness, over-scrupulosity **deprive** _OED_ 's only instance of the absolute use ( _v_. 3b).

5 **For that** just because

**moonshines** months; described by _OED_ ( _sb_. 1d) as a jocular nonce-use.

6 **Lag of** later than

7 **dimensions** parts, 'proportions'

**compact** (past participle) put together

8 **generous** magnanimous, appropriate to one of high birth

9 **honest** virtuous

11 **lusty stealth** vigorous but furtive activity

11–12 **take . . . quality** acquire a better constitution and more ardent nature? require greater effort and a fiercer sexuality in the engendering?

13 **dull-eyed** Stone's proposed emendation (pp. 51–2), accepted by HalioQ and Weis, of Q's 'dull lyed' gives, as he says, 'not only a vivid image, but one entirely appropriate to the state "'tween asleep and wake" which it is meant to suggest'. The compound also occurs at _Merchant_ 3.3.14 and _Pericles_ Scene 2.2.

To the creating a whole tribe of fops

Got 'tween a sleep and wake? Well then, 15

Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.

Our father's love is to the bastard Edmund

As to the legitimate. Well, my legitimate, if

This letter speed and my invention thrive,

Edmund the base shall to th' legitimate. 20

I grow, I prosper. Now gods, stand up for bastards!

_Enter the Earl of Gloucester. Edmund reads a letter_

GLOUCESTER

Kent banished thus, and France in choler parted,

And the King gone tonight, subscribed his power,

Confined to exhibition—all this done

Upon the gad?—Edmund, how now? What news? 25

EDMUND So please your lordship, none.

GLOUCESTER Why so earnestly seek you to put up that letter?

14 creating] F; creating of Q 15 then,] F; the^ Q 20 to th'] QF (tooth' Q); top the CAPELL 21.1 _Gloucester . . . letter_ ] _Gloster_. Q 25 gad?] Q (~;)

14 **creating** Weis (but not HalioQ) retains Q's 'creating of'; adoption of F is explained in _TC_. This is _OED_ 's first instance of the verbal noun.

**fops** fools ('dandies' is a later meaning)

15 **Got** begotten

**wake** the state of wakefulness

18 **As** no less than

19 **letter** It may have been visible earlier.

**speed** succeed in its purpose

**invention** scheme

20 **shall to** shall advance to, usurp. This reading, common to both Q (tooth') and F (to'th), was long supplanted by 'shall top the' (Capell). QF are defended by T. Clayton and M. Pittock in separate articles in _N & Q_ 229 (1964), 207–8, 209–10. _TC_ suggests a possible pun on 'tooth' meaning 'bite' ( _OED, tooth, v_. 3). Hanmer's derided interpretation of QF as 'toe' (see Furness), described by Schmidt as 'a pretended provincialism' meaning 'to pluck up by the root', may deserve reconsideration. Though _OED_ 's first recorded verbal use is the golfing term meaning 'to kick with the toe', first recorded in 1865, Shakespeare was perfectly capable of using a noun as a verb. Johnson defended Hanmer: 'To "toe" him is perhaps to "kick" him "out", a phrase yet in vulgar use; or, to "toe" may be literally to "supplant".'

21 **stand up for** champion ( _OED, stand, v_. 103o, first recorded use in this sense); possibly with a hint of 'have an erection', the 'phallic pun' suggested by Heilman (p. 274).

21.1 **_Edmund reads_** Gloucester enters preoccupied with his thoughts, then sees Edmund reading the letter.

22 **choler** anger (doubtless at Lear's treatment of Cordelia)

23 **subscribed** (having) signed away, yielded up ( _OED, subscribe, v_. 5, only use in this sense)

24 **Confined to exhibition** reduced to (accepting) a pension

25 **Upon the gad** as if pricked with a gad, or spike, suddenly; _OED_ 's only example of the phrase ( _gad, sb_.1 4b).

**Edmund . . . news?** Gloucester, who has been preoccupied, notices Edmund and his letter.

27 **put up** conceal (in his pocket)

EDMUND I know no news, my lord.

GLOUCESTER What paper were you reading? 30

EDMUND Nothing, my lord.

GLOUCESTER No? What needs then that terrible dispatch of it into your pocket? The quality of nothing hath not such need to hide itself. Let's see. Come, if it be nothing I shall not need spectacles. 35

EDMUND I beseech you, sir, pardon me. It is a letter from my brother that I have not all o'er-read; for so much as I have perused, I find it not fit for your liking.

GLOUCESTER Give me the letter, sir.

EDMUND I shall offend either to detain or give it. The contents, as in part I understand them, are to blame. 40

GLOUCESTER Let's see, let's see!

EDMUND I hope for my brother's justification he wrote this but as an assay or taste of my virtue.

_He gives Gloucester a letter_

GLOUCESTER ( _reads_ ) 'This policy of age makes the world bitter to the best of our times, keeps our fortunes from us till our oldness cannot relish them. I begin to find an idle and fond bondage in the oppression of aged tyranny, who sways not as it hath power but as it is suffered. Come to me, that of this I may speak more. If our father would sleep till I waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue for ever and live the beloved of your brother, 45 50

Edgar.'

36 EDMUND] Qb ( _Ba_ < _stard_ >); _not in_ Qa 41 to] Q (too) 42 see!] Q (~?) 44.1 _He . . . Gloucester_ ] _not in_ Q

31 **Nothing** The choice of a keyword of the play where 'none' might have been expected seems deliberate.

32 **terrible** fearful, affrighted (Schmidt; a sense not recorded in _OED_ )

**dispatch** disposal, the act of putting away hastily; _OED_ 's first use in this sense.

33 **pocket** could refer to a bag or pouch not attached to a garment.

34–5 **I . . . spectacles** A proverbial notion (Dent S733.1). It is not necessary to suppose that Gloucester actually uses spectacles (as Teague does, p. 185).

37 **all o'er-read** read right through

41 **to blame** blameworthy (Q's 'too blame' could be an intensifier followed by an adjective, i.e. 'too much to blame')

44 **assay** trial (or possibly, as Salingar suggests, p. 113, 'essay', literary exercise)

**taste** trial, test ( _OED sb_.1 2a)

45 **This** Absence of an antecedent may indicate that at first Gloucester reads silently.

**policy of age** government by the aged? cunning of old people? policy of reverencing age?

46 **best of our times** our prime years

47–8 **idle and fond** absurd and foolish

49 **who sways** which governs

**suffered** tolerated

50 **I** (stressed)

Hum, conspiracy! 'Slept till I waked him, you should enjoy half his revenue'—my son Edgar! Had he a hand to write this, a heart and brain to breed it in? When came this to you? Who brought it? 55

EDMUND It was not brought me, my lord, there's the cunning of it. I found it thrown in at the casement of my closet. 60

GLOUCESTER You know the character to be your brother's?

EDMUND If the matter were good, my lord, I durst swear it were his; but in respect of that, I would fain think it were not.

GLOUCESTER It is his? 65

EDMUND It is his hand, my lord, but I hope his heart is not in the contents.

GLOUCESTER Hath he never heretofore sounded you in this business?

EDMUND Never, my lord; but I have often heard him maintain it to be fit that, sons at perfect age and fathers declining, his father should be as ward to the son, and the son manage the revenue. 70

GLOUCESTER O villain, villain—his very opinion in the letter! Abhorred villain, unnatural, detested, brutish villain—worse than brutish! Go, sir, seek him, ay, apprehend him. Abominable villain! Where is he? 75

EDMUND I do not well know, my lord. If it shall please you to suspend your indignation against my brother till you can derive from him better testimony of this intent, you should run a certain course; where if you violently proceed against him, mistaking his purpose, it would make a great gap in your own honour and shake in pieces the heart of his obedience. I dare pawn down my life for him he hath wrote this to feel my affection to your honour, and to no further pretence of danger. 80 85

55 Edgar!] Q (~,) 63–4 respect of that, . . . not.] Q2; ~, ~ . . . ~ ^ . . . ~, Q1 65 It is his?] Q; ~ ~ ~. F (Is it his? q2) 75–7 letter! . . . villain— . . . brutish! . . . apprehend him. . . . villain!] Q (~, . . . ~, . . . ~, . . . ~~, . . . ~^)

59–60 **casement . . . closet** window of my room. In _Caesar_ , a letter is thrown through the window of Brutus' closet (2.1.35–8).

61 **character** handwriting

63 **fain** gladly

65 **his?** So Q, but a question mark could indicate an exclamation; either Gloucester's mind is already made up, or he asks for confirmation.

68 **sounded** indirectly examined, sounded out

71 **at perfect age** fully grown, 'of age'

76–7 **apprehend** arrest

81 **run . . . course** act on certainty

**where** whereas

GLOUCESTER Think you so?

EDMUND If your honour judge it meet, I will place you where you shall hear us confer of this, and by an auricular assurance have your satisfaction, and that without any further delay than this very evening. 90

GOUCESTER He cannot be such a monster.

EDMUND Nor is not, sure.

GLOUCESTER To his father, that so tenderly and entirely loves him—heaven and earth! Edmund, seek him out, wind me into him. I pray you, frame your business after your own wisdom. I would unstate myself to be in a due resolution. 95

EDMUND I shall seek him, sir, presently, convey the business as I shall see means, and acquaint you withal. 100

GLOUCESTER These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us. Though the wisdom of nature can reason thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects. Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide; in cities mutinies, in countries discords, palaces treason, the bond cracked between son and father. Find out this villain, Edmund; it shall lose thee nothing. Do it carefully. And the noble and true-hearted Kent banished, his offence honesty! Strange, strange! 105

_Exit_

84 **pawn down** stake

85 **wrote** written (an unusual but not unique form)

**feel** sound out, put to the test

86 **pretence of danger** dangerous purpose (a now obsolete sense)

88–91 **If . . . evening** 'But he never does', writes Granville Barker, who sees this as a 'slight change of plan'. 'Shakespeare may have remembered, besides, that he had lately used this none too fresh device in _Othello_ ' (p. 274).

88 **meet** fitting

89–90 **auricular assurance** directly heard confirmation

90 **satisfaction** (of any doubts you may entertain)

96 **wind me into him** insinuate yourself into his confidence ( _OED, wind, v_.1 13b) for me

**frame . . . after** contrive . . . according to

97–8 **unstate . . . resolution** give up my status and property to be resolved about the truth of the matter

99 **presently** immediately

**convey** manage confidentially ( _OED, convey, v_ . 12b)

100 **withal** therewith

101 **late** recent

**eclipses** The possibility of a topical reference is discussed in the Introduction, pp. 12–13.

102–3 **wisdom . . . yet nature** wisdom of human nature (as expressed in e.g. philosophy or science) can offer such and such explanations, nevertheless the natural world

104 **sequent** consequent ( _OED_ 2, first recorded in this sense in _All's Well_ , 2.2.51)

104–7 **Love . . . father** This passage expresses a common theme—there is a parallel in, e.g., the play _Gorboduc_ , by T. Norton and T. Sackville (acted 1561), which has been suggested as a source for _Lear_ (B. H. C. de Mendonça, 'The Influence of _Gorboduc_ on _King Lear, SS 13_ (1960), pp. 41–8). It was well known from the Bible, especially Matthew 10: 21 (echoed in the homily 'Against Disobedience and Wilful Rebellion'): 'The brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son, and the children shall rise against their parents, and shall cause them to die' (Shaheen, p. 608). Ovid also expresses similar ideas ( _Metamorphoses_ , translated by Golding, 1.162–7, cited by Bate, p. 172). Shakespeare sounds the same theme in e.g. 2.5 of _Richard Duke of York_ ( _3 Henry VI_ ) where we see a soldier who has killed his son and one who has killed his father, and in Ulysses' 'degree' speech ( _Troilus_ 1.3.74–137, especially 'the rude son should strike his father dead', l. 115).

104 **falls off** diminishes, dwindles ( _OED_ 's first use in this sense, _fall, v_., 92f)

EDMUND This is the excellent foppery of the world: that when we are sick in fortune—often the surfeit of our own behaviour—we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars, as if we were villains by necessity, fools by heavenly compulsion, knaves, thieves, and treacherers by spherical predominance, drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence, and all that we are evil in by a divine thrusting on. An admirable evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of stars! My father compounded with my mother under the Dragon's tail and my nativity was under Ursa Major, so that it follows I am rough and lecherous. Fut! I should have been that I am had the maidenliest star of the firmament twinkled on my bastardy. Edgar . . . 110 115 120

109 honesty] F (~.); honest Q 115 spherical] F; spirituall Q

104 **falls off** diminishes, dwindles ( _OED_ 's first use in this sense, _fall, v_., 92f)

105 **mutinies** discord, contention

110 **excellent** supreme. _OED_ 's first instance of this 'bad or neutral sense' is in _Titus_ 2.3.7, 'A very excellent piece of villainy'. **foppery** folly

111 **surfeit** (result of) excess, overindulgence

115 **treacherers** traitors (a form current in the later part of the sixteenth century) **by spherical predominance** because certain spheres were in a dominant (astrological) position. Q's 'spirituall', retained by HalioQ and Weis, without note, seems implausible and is not supported by _OED. TC_ , interpreting Q as a misreading, observes that it is 'more understandable if the copy had the obsolete "spir" spelling of the noun _sphere_ '.

116 **adulterers** In the Elliott–Olivier film, Edmund isolates the word, clearly thinking of his father.

117–18 **divine thrusting on** heavenly compulsion

118 **whoremaster** lecherous

119 **goatish** lustful

120–2 **My . . . lecherous** Edmund moves into a sarcastic parody of what 'whoremaster man' might say.

120 **compounded** united, copulated

120–1 **the Dragon's tail** 'The descending node of the moon's orbit with the ecliptic' ( _OED, dragon_ ' _s tail_ , 1, recording this as its first instance, though 'dragon's head', for the 'ascending node', is recorded from 1509, and Chaucer refers to the 'tail of the dragon' as a 'wicked planete' ( _Treatise of the Astrolabe_ , in _Works_ , ed. Robinson, p. 551) (Weis)). Edmund's astral auspices were ominous.

121 **nativity . . . Major** birth took place when the constellation of the Great Bear—which was embraced by _the Dragon_ ' _s tail_ —was dominant, i.e. at its point of greatest visibility

_Enter Edgar_

and out he comes, like the catastrophe of the old comedy; 125

my cue is villainous melancholy, with a sigh like them of

Bedlam.—O, these eclipses do portend these divisions.

EDGAR How now, brother Edmund, what serious contemplation are you in?

EDMUND I am thinking, brother, of a prediction I read this other day, what should follow these eclipses. 130

EDGAR Do you busy yourself about that?

EDMUND I promise you, the effects he writ of succeed unhappily, as of unnaturalness between the child and the parent, death, dearth, dissolutions of ancient amities, divisions in state, menaces and maledictions against king and nobles, needless diffidences, banishment of friends, dissipation of cohorts, nuptial breaches, and I know not what. 135

123 maidenliest] Q (maidenlest) 124.1 _Enter Edgar_ ] Q2; ' _Edgar_ ' _in left margin_ Q1 125 out] Q; Pat F; on's cue out OXFORD 126 my cue] F; mine Q sigh] Q2; sith Q1 them] Q; _Tom_ F

122 **Fut!** An expression of surprise, recorded by _OED_ only in Marston's _Antonio and Mellida_ (printed 1602).

123 **maidenliest** most chaste, also perhaps newest. A bright new star, or nova, discovered by Kepler in 1604 'would have been shining throughout 1605 and 1606' (F. G. Butler, article noted in Introduction, p. 13 n. 1, p. 39). _TC_ gives parallels to Q's spelling.

124.1 **_Edgar_** Gloucester's elder son, Lear's godson (6.91), is asked, along with Kent, to assume rule of the kingdom at the end of the play; an Edgar was King of England from 959 to 975, and Edgar Atheling was leader of the Saxons in the reign of William the Conqueror. Shakespeare chose the name for the play. Historical derivation of this and the other Anglo-Saxon names in the play is suggested by T. Perrello in the article cited in the Introduction, p. 34 n. 3.

125 **out** i.e. of the tiring house on to the stage, continuing the theatrical imagery. Oxford emends to 'on's cue out' arguing that 'an earlier use of "cue" has been omitted. Eyeskip from "ons" to "out" would be easy enough' ( _TC_ ). HalioQ and Weis accept Q without emending 'mine' (l. 126).

**catastrophe of the old comedy** event or person which produces the denouement of a classical, or old-fashioned, comedy; deus ex machina. B. Spivack, _Shakespeare and the Allegory of Evil_ (New York, 1958), compares allegorical figures in late morality plays who 'come in at the end to inflict on the sinner his sublunar suffering' (p. 67).

126 **my cue** my role; _cue_ could mean 'The part assigned one to play at a particular juncture' ( _OED sb_.2 3). Q's 'mine' is a possible misreading of 'my cue', assuming minim error and consequent misunderstanding.

126–7 **them of Bedlam** i.e. Bedlam beggars, mental patients from the Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem, in London, who were licensed to roam the country begging for alms. Rogues sometimes feigned madness to gain sympathy. Q's reading may be an error for F's ' _Tom_ o'Bedlam'.

127 **O . . . divisions** He reverts to his father's theme. In F Edmund hums a few notes of music, as if in pretended abstraction, a piece of business that may have been added in rehearsal.

127 **divisions** disagreements, discords

133–4 **succeed unhappily** turn out badly ( _OED, succeed, v_. 11a)

135 **dearth** famine

EDGAR How long have you been a sectary astronomical? 140

EDMUND Come, come, when saw you my father last?

EDGAR Why, the night gone by.

EDMUND Spake you with him?

EDGAR Two hours together.

EDMUND Parted you in good terms? Found you no displeasure in him by word or countenance? 145

EDGAR None at all.

EDMUND Bethink yourself wherein you may have offended him, and at my entreaty forbear his presence till some little time hath qualified the heat of his displeasure, which at this instant so rageth in him that with the mischief of your person it would scarce allay. 150

EDGAR Some villain hath done me wrong.

EDMUND That's my fear, brother. I advise you to the best. Go armed. I am no honest man if there be any good meaning towards you. I have told you what I have seen and heard but faintly, nothing like the image and horror of it. Pray you, away. 155

EDGAR Shall I hear from you anon?

EDMUND I do serve you in this business. _Exit Edgar_ 160

A credulous father, and a brother noble,

Whose nature is so far from doing harms

That he suspects none; on whose foolish honesty

My practices ride easy. I see the business.

Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit. 165

All with me's meet that I can fashion fit. _Exit_

152 person] Q1 (parson), Q2 157 heard^] Q (~,) 160 I do] QF; Ay, I do OXFORD _conj_.

136 **maledictions** curses

137 **diffidences** mistrust, absence of faith

138 **dissipation of cohorts** dispersal of bands of soldiers

140 **sectary astronomical** votary ( _OED, sectary, sb_. 3) of astronomy

150 **qualified** modified, reduced

151–2 **with . . . allay** even physical injury to you could scarcely calm it

157 **image and horror** horrific reality; 'the horror which an exact description would fill you with' (Muir)

159 **anon** soon

164 **practices** machinations

165 **wit** exercise of intelligence

**Sc. 3** _Enter Gonoril and Oswald, her gentleman_

GONORIL

Did my father strike my gentleman

For chiding of his fool?

OSWALD Yes, madam.

GONORIL

By day and night he wrongs me. Every hour

He flashes into one gross crime or other

That sets us all at odds. I'll not endure it. 5

His knights grow riotous, and himself upbraids us

On every trifle. When he returns from hunting

I will not speak with him. Say I am sick.

If you come slack of former services

You shall do well; the fault of it I'll answer. 10

 _Hunting horns within_

OSWALD He's coming, madam. I hear him.

GONORIL

Put on what weary negligence you please,

You and your fellow servants. I'd have it come in question.

If he dislike it, let him to our sister,

Whose mind and mine I know in that are one, 15

Not to be overruled. Idle old man,

That still would manage those authorities

That he hath given away! Now, by my life,

**3**.0.1 _Oswald, her_ ] _not in_ Q 6 upbraids] Q1 (obrayds), Q2 7 trifle.] Q (~^) 10.1 _Hunting_ . . . _within_ ] _not in_ Q 18 away!] Q (~,)

**3** The imagined location has moved to the dwelling of Gonoril and Albany.

0.1 **_Oswald_** Like Edgar and Edmund, an Anglo-Saxon name, not used in any surviving earlier play. Shakespeare may have got the name from William Camden's _Remains_ (1605), where 'Osvvold' is defined as a 'house-ruler or steward' (S. Musgrove, 'The Nomenclature of _King Lear_ ', _RES_ 7 (1956), 294–8). His age is not indicated, but he is clearly able-bodied.

**_gentleman_** retainer, a man, normally of noble birth, attached to a great household. As Albany's Steward, Oswald would have had important responsibilities, discussed in Chapter 5 of _Masters and Servants in English Renaissance Drama_ (Basingstoke, 1997), by M. T. Burnett, who however points out that the role was liable to be occupied by upstarts, and that Kent, at least, regards Oswald as an unworthy representative of 'the traditional order of chief officers' (p. 173). He would presumably have worn his master's livery.

9 **services** i.e. to Lear

10 **answer** answer for

10.1 **_within_** in the tiring house, behind the back wall of the Jacobean stage

12 **Put on** affect

13 **come in question** become an issue

17 **authorities** powers

Old fools are babes again, and must be used

With checks as flatteries, when they are seen abused. 20

Remember what I tell you.

OSWALD Very well, madam.

GONORIL

And let his knights have colder looks among you.

What grows of it, no matter. Advise your fellows so.

I would breed from hence occasions, and I shall,

That I may speak. I'll write straight to my sister 25

To hold my very course. Go prepare for dinner.

_Exeunt severally_

**Sc. 4** _Enter the Earl of Kent, disguised_

KENT

If but as well I other accents borrow

That can my speech diffuse, my good intent

May carry through itself to that full issue

For which I razed my likeness. Now, banished Kent,

If thou canst serve where thou dost stand condemned, 5

Thy master, whom thou lov'st, shall find thee full of labour.

_Enter King Lear and servants from hunting_

25 speak.] Q (~,) 26.1 _Exeunt severally_ ] Q ( _Exit_.)

**4**.0.1 _disguised_ ] ROWE; _not in_ QF 2 diffuse] QF (defuse) 6 lov'st] Q (lovest) thee] Q (the) 6.1 _Enter_ . . . _hunting_ ] _Enter Lear_. Q; _Hornes within. Enter Lear and Attendants_. F

19 **Old . . . again** The idea that 'Old men are twice children' was proverbial (Dent M570).

**are** i.e. become

19–20 **used . . . abused** treated with rebukes as well as with indulgences when they are seen to make ill use of them or when they (the old men) are seen to be illused. Line 20 may have ten syllables ('flatt'ries', 'they're') or twelve.

23 **grows of** happens as a result of

24–5 **breed . . . speak** generate . . . opportunities . . . speak (my mind)

26 **very** exact, unswerving

**4** No change of time or location from the previous scene is imagined. At l. 89, Lear gives Kent money. Lear's Fool wears a coxcomb (l. 90) and may also carry the traditional bauble—a stick with a carved head, or an inflated bladder. Shickman suggests that he also carries a hand mirror, and that 'In so doing, he presents emblems of folly, prudence, and self-knowledge, consonant with the tragic polarities of the play' (p. 76). Lear may carry a whip (l. 104). Taylor, _Moment by Moment_ , pp. 162–236, offers a close analysis of 'Shakespeare's control of emphasis and point of view' in this scene.

1 **as well** i.e. as successfully as I have disguised my appearance

2 **diffuse** render confused or indistinct. _OED_ 's first use in this sense (but Muir cites earlier parallels).

**good intent** benevolent intention

3 **carry . . . issue** work itself through to the perfect outcome

4 **razed my likeness** erased my natural appearance (perhaps by shaving off his beard)

6.1 **_servants_** Q, which does not mention them in the entry direction, calls them 'servants' in speech-prefixes; F calls them 'attendants' in the direction and 'knights' in prefixes, clarifying their relation to Lear, discussed in the note to 1.124–5.

LEAR Let me not stay a jot for dinner. Go get it ready.

 _Exit one_

( _To Kent_ ) How now, what art thou?

KENT A man, sir.

LEAR What dost thou profess? What wouldst thou with us? 10

KENT I do profess to be no less than I seem, to serve him truly that will put me in trust, to love him that is honest, to converse with him that is wise and says little, to fear judgement, to fight when I cannot choose, and to eat no fish. 15

LEAR What art thou?

KENT A very honest-hearted fellow, and as poor as the King.

LEAR If thou be as poor for a subject as he is for a king, thou'rt poor enough. What wouldst thou? 20

KENT Service.

LEAR Who wouldst thou serve?

KENT You.

LEAR Dost thou know me, fellow?

KENT No, sir, but you have that in your countenance which I would fain call master. 25

LEAR What's that?

KENT Authority.

7.1 _Exit one_ ] _not in_ Q

6.1 **_from hunting_** An editorial deduction from 3.7, reinforced in F by a direction for the sounding of horns. As Dessen ( _Conventions_ , pp. 32–3) shows, directions to enter from hunting are common in plays of the period; an illustrative example is ' _Enter_ Orion _like a hunter, with a horn about his neck_ ; _all his_ Men _after the same sort hallooing and blowing their horns_ ' ( _Summer_ ' _s Last Will and Testament_ , in Thomas Nashe, _Selected Writings_ , ed. S. Wells (1964), p. 106). They often imply that the character wears hunting boots.

10 **profess** practise as your trade. Kent replies as if Lear meant 'claim'.

13 **converse** 'associate' or 'talk'

13 **him . . . little** 'He that hath knowledge spareth his words . . . Even a fool (when he holdeth his peace) is counted wise' (Proverbs 17: 27–8).

14 **judgement** Either earthly or heavenly.

14–15 **eat no fish** Self-deflatingly anticlimactic, but possibly also implying that he is either 'a proper—meat-eating—man', or a loyal Protestant who does not fast on Fridays—Craig cited Marston, _The Dutch Courtesan_ , 'Yet I trust I am none of the wicked that eat fish o' Fridays' (1.2.18–19)—or even that he does not consort with prostitutes. Williams ( _Glossary_ ) explains as 'to avoid the ways of Roman Catholics and of whores'.

16 **What . . . thou** Lear's repetition of the question he had asked at l. 8 may reflect revision in the course of composition, but could simply indicate impatience with Kent for not giving a straight answer.

25 **countenance** could mean 'bearing' as well as (facial) appearance.

LEAR What services canst do?

KENT I can keep honest counsel, ride, run, mar a curious tale in telling it, and deliver a plain message bluntly. That which ordinary men are fit for I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence. 30

LEAR How old art thou?

KENT Not so young to love a woman for singing, nor so old to dote on her for anything. I have years on my back forty-eight. 35

LEAR Follow me. Thou shalt serve me, if I like thee no worse after dinner. I will not part from thee yet.—Dinner, ho, dinner! Where's my knave, my fool? Go you and call my fool hither.  _Exit one_  40

_Enter Oswald the steward_

You, sirrah, where's my daughter?

OSWALD So please you— _Exit_

LEAR What says the fellow there? Call the clotpoll back.

_Exeunt Servant_  _and Kent_

Where's my fool? Ho, I think the world's asleep. 45

_Enter the Earl of Kent_  _and a Servant_

How now, where's that mongrel?

KENT He says, my lord, your daughter is not well.

LEAR Why came not the slave back to me when I called him?

SERVANT Sir, he answered me in the roundest manner he would not. 50

39 dinner.] JENNENS; ~, QF 41 _Exit one_ ] _not in_ Q 41.1 _Enter_ . . . _steward_ ] Q (' _Enter Steward_.', _after l_. 42) 43, 74, 77, 80 OSWALD] Q ( _Steward_ ) 43 you—] Q2; ~, Q1 _Exit_ ] _not in_ Q 44.1 _Exeunt Servant and Kent_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF; _Exit a Knight_ DYCE 45.1 _Enter the Earl of Kent_  _and a Servant_  ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF

30 **keep honest counsel** keep an honourable secret ( _OED, counsel, sb_. 5d)

30–1 **mar . . . tale** spoil an elaborate tale (a paradoxically oblique way of saying that he is plain-spoken)

32 **ordinary** The word had a range of meanings including 'methodical' and 'on the regular staff' as well as 'unexceptional'.

33 Shakespeare reveals Kent's disguise name only in the final scene (Sc. 24.278), and then cryptically; some nineteenth-century actors had Kent give it here: 'LEAR Thy name? | KENT. Caius.' (Bratton).

35 **singing** Possibly sexual; Williams ( _Glossary_ ) glosses 'sing' as 'coit with'.

38 **Follow me** i.e. be my follower

40 **knave** boy, servant; not necessarily rogue, though the conjunction of knave and fool was commonplace (Dent F506.1).

41.1 **_steward_** a household official, majordomo

43 **So please you** excuse me; I'm busy (an example of _weary negligence_ , 3.12)

44 **clotpoll** thickhead; judging by _OED_ , Shakespeare's coinage.

50 **roundest** bluntest

LEAR A would not?

SERVANT My lord, I know not what the matter is, but to my judgement your highness is not entertained with that ceremonious affection as you were wont. There's a great abatement appears as well in the general dependants as in the Duke himself also, and your daughter. 55

LEAR Ha, sayst thou so?

SERVANT I beseech you pardon me, my lord, if I be mistaken, for my duty cannot be silent when I think your highness wronged. 60

LEAR Thou but rememberest me of mine own conception. I have perceived a most faint neglect of late, which I have rather blamed as mine own jealous curiosity than as a very pretence and purport of unkindness. I will look further into't. But where's this fool? I have not seen him these two days. 65

SERVANT Since my young lady's going into France, sir, the fool hath much pined away.

LEAR No more of that, I have noted it. Go you and tell my daughter I would speak with her.  _Exit one_  70

Go you, call hither my fool.  _Exit one_

_Enter Oswald the steward_  _crossing the stage_

O you, sir, you, sir, come you hither. Who am I, sir?

OSWALD My lady's father.

LEAR My lady's father? My lord's knave, you whoreson dog, you slave, you cur! 75

OSWALD I am none of these, my lord, I beseech you pardon me.

66 this] Q; my F 67 these] QF (this) 71 _Exit one_ ] _not in_ Q 72 _Exit one_ ] _not in_ Q 72.1 _Oswald the_ ] _not in_ Q _crossing the stage_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF

52 **A** Unemphatic form of 'he'.

54 **entertained** treated

54–5 **that . . . wont** such . . . as you used to be

56 **abatement** F adds 'of kindness', but the word could be used absolutely, as in _Twelfth Night_ 1.1.13, 'abatement and low price'.

56 **dependants** retainers, servants

62 **rememberest** remindest

**conception** idea, perception

64 **jealous curiosity** suspicious over-interpretation, 'sensitiveness'

65 **very pretence** actual intention

**purport** expression

72.1 **_crossing the stage_** i.e. entering at one of the doors in the back wall of the Jacobean stage and leaving by another

77 **these** F's modernization of Q's 'this'.

LEAR Do you bandy looks with me, you rascal?

 _Lear strikes him_

OSWALD I'll not be struck, my lord— 80

KENT ( _tripping him_ ) Nor tripped neither, you base football player.

LEAR ( _to Kent_ ) I thank thee, fellow. Thou serv'st me, and I'll love thee.

KENT ( _to Oswald_ ) Come, sir, I'll teach you differences. Away, away. If you will measure your lubber's length again, tarry; but away if you have wisdom. 85

_Exit Oswald_

LEAR Now, friendly knave, I thank thee.

_Enter Lear_ ' _s Fool_

There's earnest of thy service.

_He gives Kent money_

FOOL Let me hire him, too. ( _To Kent_ ) Here's my coxcomb. 90

LEAR How now, my pretty knave, how dost thou?

FOOL ( _to Kent_ ) Sirrah, you were best take my coxcomb.

KENT Why, fool?

FOOL Why, for taking one's part that's out of favour. Nay, an thou canst not smile as the wind sits, thou'lt catch cold shortly. There, take my coxcomb. Why, this fellow hath banished two on's daughters and done the third a blessing against his will. If thou follow him, thou must needs wear my coxcomb. ( _To Lear_ ) How now, nuncle? 95

Would I had two coxcombs and two daughters. 100

79.1 _Lear_ . . . _him_ ] _not in_ Q 81 _tripping him_ ] _not in_ Q 87 if you have]BLAYNEY; you haue Q 88.1 _Enter . . . Fool_ ] Q (' _Enter Foole_.', _after l_. 89) 89.1 _He . . . money_ ] _not in_ Q 94 one's] Q1 (on's), Q2 99 nuncle?] Q (~,)

79 **bandy looks** exchange (insolent) glances

81 **football** Regarded as a game 'wherein is nothing but beastly fury and extreme violence' and 'to be utterly abjected of all noblemen' (Sir Thomas Elyot, _Book of the Governor_ , 1531; Everyman edn. (1907), p. 113).

85 **differences** i.e. how to recognize your betters

86 **lubber** lout

87 **if you** HalioQ (but not Weis) retains Q's 'you': 'away, you'. The ellipsis may have been acceptable.

88.1 **_Enter_ . . . _Fool_** 'it makes sense if the Fool enters in time to see Kent's _service_ in tripping Oswald' (Foakes). The role of the Fool is discussed on pp. 00–0.

89 **earnest of** token payment to secure

90 **coxcomb** Traditional fool's cap; Craig compares J. Minsheu, _Ductor in Linguas_ , 1617: 'Natural idiots and fools have, and still do accustom themselves to wear in their caps cocks' feathers or a hat with a neck and head of a cock on the top, and a bell thereon, and think themselves finely fitted and proudly attired therewith'.

92 **were best** had better

95 **an . . . sits** i.e. if you cannot adapt your mood to that of those in power

95–6 **catch cold** i.e. be in trouble

97 **on** of

99 **nuncle** A variant of 'uncle'.

LEAR Why, my boy?

FOOL If I gave them my living I'd keep my coxcombs myself. There's mine; beg another off thy daughters.

LEAR Take heed, sirrah—the whip.

FOOL Truth is a dog that must to kennel. He must be whipped out when Lady the brach may stand by the fire and stink. 105

LEAR A pestilent gall to me!

FOOL  _to Kent_  Sirrah, I'll teach thee a speech.

LEAR Do. 110

FOOL Mark it, uncle.

Have more than thou showest,

Speak less than thou knowest,

Lend less than thou owest,

Ride more than thou goest, 115

Learn more than thou trowest,

Set less than thou throwest,

Leave thy drink and thy whore,

And keep in-a-door,

And thou shalt have more 120

Than two tens to a score.

102 my] OXFORD; any Q; all my F 103 off] QF (of) 106 Lady the brach] STEEVENS; Ladie oth'e brach Q; theLady [ _sic_ ] Brach F 108 gall] F; gull Q 119 in-a-door] Q (in a doore)

102 **my living** Q's 'any liuing' is accepted by HalioQ and defended by Weis 'since it renders the Fool's remark particularly barbed: even the slightest gift to his daughters makes Lear a fool, let alone parting with everything for their sakes'. Weis, but not HalioQ, also accepts 'any' at l. 250, where F, more plausibly, has 'my'.

104 **whip** A common instrument of punishment of dogs (l. 106)—in _Two Gentlemen_ , Lance speaks of 'the fellow that whips the dogs', 4.4.23–4—as well as of people. Lear may threaten the Fool with a whip.

105 **to kennel** be forced into the doghouse

106 **Lady the brach** the bitch called Lady (oblique reference to Regan or Gonoril, just as 'Truth' may suggest the Fool, Cordelia, or Kent); _brach_ (pronounced 'bratch') was used as 'a term of abuse' ( _OED_ b, first rec. 1610).

108 **prestilent gall** poisonous cause of distress

109 **Sirrah . . . speech** Direction of the speech to Kent rather than to Lear is suggested by Taylor, _Moment by Moment_ , p. 196, noting that the Fool 'nowhere else calls Lear "sirrah", but he does so address Kent'.

112–21 There are earlier parallels to this proverbial-sounding jingle, e.g. Sir Richard Barckley, _Discourse of the Felicity of Man_ (1598), v. 535: 'believe not all thou hearest; do not all thou maist; nor speak all that thou knowest' (cited by Dent A202) and Florio's _Second Fruits_ (1591), 'The bottom of your purse or heart | To any man do not impart. | Do not give yourself to play | Unless you purpose to decay . . . | Shun wine, dice, and lechery, | Else will you come to beggary' (pp. 101–5, cited Muir). In Q, the repeated word _than_ is spelt 'then'; Taylor, _Moment by Moment_ , pp. 198–204, discusses potential ambiguities resulting from this.

114 **owest** ownest

115 **goest** walkest

116 **trowest** believest

117 **Set . . . throwest** stake less than you stand to win

119 **in-a-door** indoors

LEAR This is nothing, fool.

FOOL Then, like the breath of an unfee'd lawyer, you gave me nothing for't. Can you make no use of nothing, uncle? 125

LEAR Why no, boy. Nothing can be made out of nothing.

FOOL ( _to Kent_ ) Prithee, tell him so much the rent of his land comes to. He will not believe a fool.

LEAR A bitter fool.

FOOL Dost know the difference, my boy, between a bitter fool and a sweet fool? 130

LEAR No, lad. Teach me.

FOOL  _sings_  That lord that counselled thee

To give away thy land,

Come, place him here by me; 135

Do thou for him stand.

The sweet and bitter fool

Will presently appear,

The one in motley here,

The other found out there. 140

LEAR Dost thou call me fool, boy?

133, 157, 166, 188, 207, 216 _sings_ ] _not in_ Q

123 **Then** F, perhaps correctly, reads 'Then 'tis'.

**breath . . . lawyer** i.e. nothing, as lawyers proverbially 'will not plead but for a fee' (Dent L125)

127 **Prithee** I pray you, please **rent of** income from

132 **lad** man of low birth (not necessarily young)

133 **_sings_** The direction is editorial, supported by l. 162.

133–48 **That . . . snatching** These lines, which might have seemed critical of King James, are omitted from F, possibly as the result of theatrical censorship (discussed by G. Taylor, 'Monopolies, Show Trials, Disaster, and Invasion: _King Lear_ and Censorship', _Division_ , pp. 75–119).

133–4 **That . . . land** There is no such lord in this play, but the Fool's remark may hark back to the second speech in _Leir_ in which Skalliger advises the King to make each of his daughters a jointure of part of the kingdom.

136 **thou** Wiles (p. 191) suggests that this is the Fool's bauble, or _marotte_ , 'who can swivel his gaze from the sweet fool in Motley (Armin) to the bitter fool (Lear)'.

139 **motley** The variegated costume of the professional fool.

140 **The other** the _bitter fool_ , i.e. Lear himself **there** The Fool indicates Lear, who may have joined in the game by standing by him. Shickman suggests, however, that the Fool gives a mirror to Lear before declaring himself the _sweet_ fool, 'and then points, not at King Lear, but _into the mirror_. The "bitter fool" will presently appear _within the looking-glass_. The old man credulously looks where the Fool points, and sees—himself. "Dost thou call me fool, boy?" he demands, perhaps still uncertain of the Fool's intent' (p. 80). This ingenious interpretation, suitable enough for film, might seem difficult to project on stage, but in a production by Max Stafford-Clark at the Royal Court Theatre, London, a gay fool 'powdered his nose and then, movingly, showed Lear his own reflection in the mirror in the lid of his powder-compact' (Peter Holland, _English Shakespeares_ , p. 156).

FOOL All thy other titles thou hast given away. That thou wast born with.

KENT ( _to Lear_ ) This is not altogether fool, my lord.

FOOL No, faith; lords and great men will not let me. If I had a monopoly out, they would have part on't, and ladies too, they will not let me have all the fool to myself—they'll be snatching. Give me an egg, nuncle, and I'll give thee two crowns. 145

LEAR What two crowns shall they be?

FOOL Why, after I have cut the egg in the middle and eat up the meat, the two crowns of the egg. When thou clovest thy crown i'th' middle and gavest away both parts, thou borest thy ass o'th' back o'er the dirt. Thou hadst little wit in thy bald crown when thou gavest thy golden one away. If I speak like myself in this, let him be whipped that first finds it so. 155

 _Sings_

Fools had ne'er less wit in a year,

For wise men are grown foppish.

They know not how their wits do wear, 160

Their manners are so apish.

146 ladies] Qb; lodes Qa

144 **altogether fool** completely foolish

145 **will . . . me** 'The Fool catches up "altogether", substituting the sense "the only" for "entirely" ' (Duthie and Wilson).

146 **out** i.e. granted to me. Monopolies, granted by the sovereign, privileged their holders to exclusive trading in a commodity, or with a particular country. The Fool may glance critically at King James's abuse of the system by his 'wholesale granting of monopolies to royal favorites' (Marcus, p. 149).

**on't** of it

147 **fool** (a) a dessert made of eggs and cream, leading to _egg_ , l. 148; (b) possibly bawdy—'The natural fool was thought to be generously endowed genitally' (Williams, _Dictionary_ , p. 523).

148 **egg** Physically present in some twentieth-century productions (Bratton).

151 **eat** eaten

152–3 **clovest . . . middle** i.e. divided your kingdom

154 **borest . . . dirt** Alluding to a fable attributed to Aesop in which an old man, accused of overloading his ass, carries it to market.

155 **wit** intelligence **bald crown** At 8.6 Lear is white-haired; _bald_ may be metaphorical (Wiles, p. 190) or refer to the top of his head.

156 **If . . . myself** i.e. if I am thought to speak foolishly **whipped . . . so** i.e. punished as a fool who first thinks so

158–61 **Fools . . . apish** One of the Fool's more enigmatic utterances; possibly to be sung, perhaps 'echoing some popular song or rhyme of the day' (Seng, p. 201). Presumably the first two lines mean that there was never a time when fools were less witty than now, because they have been supplanted by _wise men_ who (like Lear) have grown _foppish_ and are even more foolish than the fools. In the second two lines, _They_ presumably refers to the _wise men_ who behave in such an _apish_ (foolish) manner that they don't realize how threadbare their wits have become. Dent (F535) regards the first line as proverbial on the basis of an earlier occurrence in Lyly's _Mother Bombie_ (1594). The passage is slightly clarified in F, which reads 'grace' for _wit_ , 'And' for _They_ , and 'to' for _do_. Johnson paraphrased F's first two lines as 'There never was a time when fools were less in favour, and the reason is, that they were never so little wanted, for wise men now supply their place.'

LEAR When were you wont to be so full of songs, sirrah?

FOOL I have used it, nuncle, ever since thou madest thy

daughters thy mother; for when thou gavest them the

rod and puttest down thine own breeches, 165

 _Sings_  Then they for sudden joy did weep,

And I for sorrow sung,

That such a king should play bo-peep

And go the fools among.

Prithee, nuncle, keep a schoolmaster that can teach thy fool to lie. I would fain learn to lie. 170

LEAR An you lie, we'll have you whipped.

FOOL I marvel what kin thou and thy daughters are. They'll have me whipped for speaking true, thou wilt have me whipped for lying, and sometime I am whipped for holding my peace. I had rather be any kind of thing than a fool; and yet I would not be thee, nuncle. Thou hast pared thy wit o' both sides and left nothing in the middle. 175

_Enter Gonoril_

Here comes one of the parings. 180

171 learn to] Qb (learneto); learne Qa 179.1 _Enter Gonoril_ ] Q ( _after l_. 180)

159 **foppish** foolish; _OED_ 's first instance of the adjective.

163 **used it** made a habit of it

164–5 **thou . . . breeches** 'He has made a rod for his own tail' was proverbial (Dent R153).

166–7 **Then . . . sung** Adapting the first line of a ballad by John Careless first printed in 1564 (Seng, pp. 203–4); Steevens found another version in Thomas Heywood's play _The Rape of Lucrece_ , 1608, and Seng demonstrates that it was very well known. Sternfeld prints an early setting, pp. 175–7, with a correction in his _Songs from Shakespeare_ ' _s Tragedies_ (1964, pp. 20ff.). The paradoxes of weeping for joy and singing for sorrow are characteristic of Lear's Fool.

168 **play bo-peep** 'The implication is that Lear has blinded himself, hidden himself (i.e. abdicated), or played silly pranks' (Muir, adding that 'the game seems to have been more like hide-and-seek than the modern [peep-bo]').

171 **would . . . lie** would dearly like to learn to lie (presumably because the truth is so painful). Ken Tynan, reviewing Paul Daneman's Fool in Douglas Seale's Old Vic production of 1958, wrote that the words were 'uttered with the sincere regret of one to whom candour will always be sacred' ( _Observer_ , 22 Feb. 1958), cited M. Clarke, _Shakespeare at the Old Vic_ , vol. 5 (1958), entry for _Lear_.

172 **An** if

173 **what kin** how alike

176 **peace** Perhaps playing on 'piece', i.e. genitals (Foakes); Williams, _Glossary_ , finds this sense only outside Shakespeare.

178 **pared** shaved away **wit** intelligence

180 **parings** shavings

LEAR

How now, daughter, what makes that frontlet on?

Methinks you are too much o' late i'th' frown.

FOOL Thou wast a pretty fellow when thou hadst no need to care for her frown. Now thou art an O without a figure. I am better than thou art, now. I am a fool; thou art nothing.  _To Gonoril_  Yes, forsooth, I will hold my tongue; so your face bids me, though you say nothing.

 _Sings_  Mum, mum.

He that keeps neither crust nor crumb,

Weary of all, shall want some. 190

That's a shelled peascod.

GONORIL ( _to Lear_ )

Not only, sir, this your all-licensed fool,

But other of your insolent retinue

Do hourly carp and quarrel, breaking forth

In rank and not-to-be-endurèd riots. 195

Sir, I had thought by making this well known unto you

To have found a safe redress, but now grow fearful,

By what yourself too late have spoke and done,

That you protect this course, and put it on

By your allowance; which if you should, the fault 200

Would not scape censure, nor the redress sleep

Which in the tender of a wholesome weal

185 now.] Qb (~^); thou Qa 199 it] F; _not in_ Q

181 **frontlet** headband, frown ( _OED_ records as its first instance of the figurative use)

182 **Methinks** it seems to me

**frown** _OED_ 's first use of the word as 'A wrinkled aspect of the brow' (but Shakespeare often uses it earlier, e.g. _Titus_ , 2.1.11).

183 **pretty** fine

184 **O . . . figure** a zero with no figure before it to give it value; a cipher, nothing

186 **forsooth** truly

188 **Mum, mum** softly, softly

189 **keeps . . . crumb** i.e. gives everything away

190 **want some** experience need

191 **shelled peascod** empty peapod, nothing (perhaps indicating Lear). Foakes suggests 'overtones of sexual impotence, reinforced by the echo of "codpiece" '.

192 **all-licensed** privileged, completely tolerated

193–5 **insolent . . . riots** The degree to which Lear's followers conform to this description, along with that at ll. 232–7, significantly affects the balance of sympathies in the play; Brook made them riotous (Introduction, p. 00).

194 **carp** could mean 'contend, fight' ( _OED v_.1 8) as well as 'find fault'.

197 **safe redress** certain amendment, improvement ( _OED, redress, sb_. 3a)

198 **too late** all too recently

199 **put it on** urge it on, encourage it (sense first recorded in _Hamlet_ 5.2.351; _OED, put, v_.1 47h).

200 **allowance** approval

201–3 **redress . . . their** The plural ending was often omitted after 's' (Abbott 471); F reads 'redresses'.

202 **tender of** tender consideration, care, concern for ( _OED, tender, sb_.2 3; _obsolete, rare_ ) **wholesome weal** healthy society

Might in their working do you that offence,

That else were shame, that then necessity

Must call discreet proceedings. 205

FOOL ( _to Lear_ ) For, you trow, nuncle,

 _Sings_

The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long

That it had it head bit off by it young;

so out went the candle, and we were left darkling.

LEAR ( _to Gonoril_ ) Are you our daughter? 210

GONORIL

Come, sir, I would you would make use of that good wisdom

Whereof I know you are fraught, and put away

These dispositions that of late transform you

From what you rightly are.

FOOL May not an ass know when the cart draws the horse? 215

 _Sings_  'Whoop, jug, I love thee!'

LEAR

Doth any here know me? Why, this is not Lear.

Doth Lear walk thus, speak thus? Where are his eyes?

Either his notion weakens, or his discernings

208 by it] Q (beit) 219 notion^ weakens] F; ~, weaknes Q

203–5 **Might . . . proceedings** (The actions needed to bring about the redress) might in their workings cause you such hurt as would be shameful were it not that the need for them must cause them to be regarded as judicious.

206 **trow** know (which F prints)

207–8 **hedge-sparrow . . . young** Cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, including sparrows, which feed the young. The host is faced with the task of inserting food into the mouth of a bird which rapidly grows much bigger than itself, and so appears to be in danger of having its head bitten off. The Fool is obliquely warning Lear against his daughter.

208 **it head . . . it** its head . . . its. 'Its' was only just beginning to supplant 'his' as the genitive neuter pronoun at this time; it is not used, for example in the 1611 Bible ( _OED_ ). The uninflected genitive 'it' was common; it does not necessarily signify baby-talk, but Shakespeare tends to use it in juvenile contexts.

209 **darkling** in the dark

210 **our** Lear reverts to the royal pronoun.

212 **fraught** supplied

213 **dispositions** moods

215 **May . . . horse** i.e. even a fool can tell when the natural behaviour of daughter to father is inverted (putting the cart before the horse was proverbial: Dent C103)

216 **'Whoop . . . thee'** Perhaps, as HalioF suggests, Gonoril 'makes a threatening gesture that elicits this mock protestation of love'. _Whoop_ is an interjection of variable significance; _jug_ was a pet name for Joan, sometimes used derogatorily. The words may be the refrain of a lost song (Steevens).

219 **notion** understanding, intellect; _OED_ 's first instance of this obsolete sense (5a). **discernings** powers of perception

Are lethargied. Sleeping or waking, ha? 220

Sure, 'tis not so.

Who is it that can tell me who I am?

Lear's shadow? I would learn that, for by the marks

Of sovereignty, knowledge, and reason

I should be false persuaded I had daughters. 225

FOOL Which they will make an obedient father.

LEAR ( _to Gonoril_ )

Your name, fair gentlewoman?

GONORIL Come, sir,

This admiration is much of the savour

Of other your new pranks. I do beseech

You understand my purposes aright, 230

As you are old and reverend, should be wise.

Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires,

Men so disordered, so debauched and bold

That this our court, infected with their manners,

Shows like a riotous inn, epicurism 235

And lust make more like to a tavern, or brothel,

Than a great palace. The shame itself doth speak

For instant remedy. Be thou desired,

220 lethargied] F; lethergie Q; lethargic OXFORD _conj_. 230 understand] Q; To vnderstand F 233 debauched] Q (deboyst) 236 more like to] OXFORD; more like Q; it more like F, BL2 tavern, or] tauerne^ or Q; Tauerne, or a F

220 **lethargied** affected with lethargy; _OED_ 's first instance of this rare form.

220–1 **Sleeping . . . so** Possibly, as HalioF suggests, Lear 'pinches or shakes himself to be sure he is not asleep or dreaming'. In any case the moment looks forward to Lear's uncertainty of his condition as he wakes into reunion with Cordelia (21.53–5).

221 **Sure . . . so** Presumably an expression of incredulity at what seems to be.

223–5 **Lear's shadow . . . daughters** F assigns _Lear's shadow_ to the Fool and omits the difficult remainder of the speech and the Fool's response. _I would learn that_ . . . may mean 'I wish I knew who I am, (I can't be Lear) because . . . everything tells me I can't be the father of my supposed daughters.' Or perhaps he means 'I should like to be persuaded I am merely Lear's shadow, not Lear himself, because everything tells me that I, Lear, cannot really be the father of these daughters.'

223–4 **marks . . . reason** all indications of kingship, the faculty of knowledge, and my reasoning power

226 **Which** whom (i.e. Lear)

228 **admiration** (pretended) surprise **savour** same character

229 **other . . . pranks** your other new tricks

231 **reverend** (therefore) deserving of respect

233 **disordered** riotous **bold** impudent

235 **epicurism** the pursuit of pleasure

236 **make more like** i.e. make it (the court) more like

237 **great** Possibly an error for F's 'graced', i.e. well-conducted, dignified.

**shame** disgrace (to me)

**speak** call

238 **Be . . . desired** i.e. 'let me entreat you' (an awkward phrase, perhaps consciously pompous)

**thou** HalioQ follows F's 'then', without comment; this may be right since elsewhere in this scene Gonoril regularly uses the plural form to Lear.

By her that else will take the thing she begs,

A little to disquantity your train, 240

And the remainder that shall still depend

To be such men as may besort your age,

That know themselves and you.

LEAR Darkness and devils!

Saddle my horses, call my train together!—

 _Exit one or more_

Degenerate bastard, I'll not trouble thee. 245

Yet have I left a daughter.

GONORIL

You strike my people, and your disordered rabble

Make servants of their betters.

_Enter the Duke of Albany_

LEAR

We that too late repent's—O sir, are you come?

Is it your will that we—prepare my horses. 250

 _Exit one or more_

Ingratitude, thou marble-hearted fiend,

More hideous when thou show'st thee in a child

244.1 _Exit one or more_ ] BLAYNEY ( _Exeunt some_ ); _not in_ QF 248.1 _the . . . Albany_ ] Q ( _Enter Duke_.) 250 will that we—prepare my] OXFORD; will that wee^ prepare any Q; will, speake Sir? Prepare my F 250.1 _Exit one or more_ ] OXFORD; _Exit a Knight_ FOAKES; _not in_ QF

239 **else** otherwise

240 **disquantity** diminish; _OED_ 's first instance of this rare word. The threat in the preceding line may ironize Gonoril's seeming wish not to cause offence.

241 **depend** be dependent on you. _OED_ has only one instance of this absolute sense, from 1673.

242 **besort** befit; _OED_ 's only instance of this verb. Shakespeare had used the word, also uniquely, as a noun at _Othello_ 1.3.237.

244 **_Exit_ . . . _more_** We assume here and at l. 250 that Lear is obeyed, but he still seems to be attended at ll. 263 and 280. HalioF says 'Lear's servants seem frozen here; thus, he must order them again at [253] and [283]'. Either interpretation is possible; Shakespeare may have left the precise action to be determined in rehearsal.

246 **a** could mean 'one' (i.e. Regan), implying that he disowns both Cordelia and Gonoril.

247 **disordered** disorderly

248 **Make . . . betters** i.e. treat their betters as servants

249 **We . . . repent's—** So Q except for a comma instead of a stop. We interpret as an interrupted sentence: 'We'—royal plural—'who repent us of our actions too late'. F has 'Woe that too late repents:'.

250 **Is . . . horses** After starting to address Albany he turns to his followers. Q reads 'is it your will that wee prepare any horses,'. F, which revises the lines, has 'Prepare my Horses.' Weis reads 'Is it your will that we—prepare any horses!' No certain interpretation of either text is possible, but it is clear that Lear is speaking distractedly.

250.1 **_Exit_ . . . _more_** The direction assumes that Lear is obeyed; Foakes directs ' _Exit a knight_ '.

Than the sea-monster—( _to Gonoril_ ) detested kite, thou liest.

My train are men of choice and rarest parts,

That all particulars of duty know, 255

And in the most exact regard support

The worships of their name. O most small fault,

How ugly didst thou in Cordelia show,

That, like an engine, wrenched my frame of nature

From the fixed place, drew from my heart all love, 260

And added to the gall! O Lear, Lear!

Beat at this gate that let thy folly in

And thy dear judgement out.—Go, go, my people!

ALBANY

My lord, I am guiltless as I am ignorant.

LEAR

It may be so, my lord. Hark, nature, hear: 265

Dear goddess, suspend thy purpose if

Thou didst intend to make this creature fruitful.

Into her womb convey sterility.

Dry up in her the organs of increase,

253–4 liest. | My train are] F; list^ my traine, and Q 263 people!] Q (~?) 264, 281, 286, 303, 326, 329 ALBANY] Q ( _Duke_ ) 267 fruitful.] Q (~^)

253 **the sea-monster** i.e. any fabulous monster of the sea; but Bate, p. 193, suggests that the passage derives from Ovid's _Metamorphoses_ : 'the image conflates two of the monsters slain by Perseus: "marble-hearted" and "hideous" come from the grotesque Gorgon's head which turns to stone, and the sea-monster itself is that from which Perseus saves Andromeda.'

**kite** The bird of prey symbolic to Shakespeare 'of cowardice, meanness, cruelty and death' (Armstrong, p. 12).

254 **choice** i.e. 'choicest', by association with _rarest_

255 **particulars** details

256 **in the most exact regard** 'with the greatest care' (Schmidt)

257 **worships . . . name** dignity ( _OED, worship, sb_. 3b) . . . reputation

259 **engine** _OED_ ( _sb_. 5b) defines as 'an engine of torture', but J. C. Maxwell suggested that 'the picture called up . . . is rather of Lear's frame being prised apart, once a lever has been introduced far enough to get purchase' (in Muir).

259 **frame of nature** i.e. physical fabric

260 **fixed** established, normal

261 **gall** bitterness

262 **gate** i.e. his head

263 **Go . . . people** The instruction is repeated at l. 280, just as Lear twice calls for his horses to be readied (ll. 244, 250). Foakes writes 'Perhaps Lear's remaining attendants, including Kent, leave the stage here; Lear and the Fool must remain on stage'; that would fit the Folio text, which has 'Away, away' instead of 'Go . . . people' at the end of l. 280, but Q's 'my people' there implies more than Lear and the Fool.

266 **Dear . . . if** The line would be more regular if _goddess_ were followed by another 'hear', as in F; on the other hand, the irregularity in Q gives weight to the invocation.

And from her derogate body never spring 270

A babe to honour her. If she must teem,

Create her child of spleen, that it may live

And be a thwart disnatured torment to her.

Let it stamp wrinkles in her brow of youth,

With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks, 275

Turn all her mother's pains and benefits

To laughter and contempt, that she may feel—

That she may feel

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is

To have a thankless child.—Go, go, my people! 280

_Exeunt Lear_ ,  _Kent, Fool, and servants_

ALBANY

Now, gods that we adore, whereof comes this?

GONORIL

Never afflict yourself to know the cause,

But let his disposition have that scope

That dotage gives it.

_Enter King Lear_  _and his Fool_

LEAR

What, fifty of my followers at a clap? 285

Within a fortnight?

ALBANY What is the matter, sir?

273 thwart] Q (thourt) disnatured] F; disuetur'd Q 275 cadent] F; accent Q 278 That she may feel] Q1; _not in_ Q2, F 280.1 _Exeunt Lear_ ,  _Kent, Fool, and servants_  ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q; _Exit_. F; _Exit Lear, Kent, and Foole_ BLAYNEY 284.1 _Enter . . . Fool_ ] _not in_ Q 285 clap?] Q (~,)

270 **derogate** deteriorated, debased; _OED_ 's first use in this rare sense, but Muir, p. 236, notes its occurrence in Florio's _Montaigne_.

271 **teem** give birth

272 **spleen** foul temper

273 **thwart** perverse **disnatured** rendered unnatural (a rare word, used in Florio's _Montaigne_ ; Muir, p. 236)

275 **cadent** falling ( _OED_ 's first instance of the literal use of an astrological term)

276 **Turn . . . benefits** turn all her maternal cares and rewards to a source of derision and contempt

278 **That . . . feel** The repetition, not in F, and possibly accidental here, may nevertheless indicate difficulty in finding the right words.

279 **sharper . . . tooth** 'They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent' (Psalm 140: 3).

284 **dotage** senility, second childhood

285–6 **fifty . . . fortnight** The natural interpretation is that Lear's train has been halved within the past two weeks. Realistically, however, Lear has not had the chance to learn this, and directors have occasionally introduced business to get round this (Rosenberg, 133). Knowles, however (p. 39, following an edition of 1792 by Ambrose Eccles), considers that 'Lear may equally well mean "Goneril has just given orders that my train must be cut in half within the _next_ fortnight".' Knowles discusses the implications for the play's time scheme.

285 **at a clap** at one stroke

LEAR

I'll tell thee. ( _To Gonoril_ ) Life and death! I am ashamed

That thou hast power to shake my manhood thus,

That these hot tears, that break from me perforce

And should make thee—worst blasts and fogs upon thee! 290

Untented woundings of a father's curse

Pierce every sense about thee! Old fond eyes,

Beweep this cause again I'll pluck you out

And cast you, with the waters that you make,

To temper clay. Yea, 295

Is't come to this? Yet have I left a daughter

Whom, I am sure, is kind and comfortable.

When she shall hear this of thee, with her nails

She'll flay thy wolvish visage. Thou shalt find

That I'll resume the shape which thou dost think 300

I have cast off for ever; thou shalt, I warrant thee.

_Exit_

GONORIL Do you mark that, my lord?

ALBANY

I cannot be so partial, Gonoril,

To the great love I bear you—

GONORIL Come, sir, no more.—

You, more knave than fool, after your master! 305

290 And should make thee—worst blasts] OXFORD; should make the^ worst blasts Q; Should make thee^ worth them. | Blastes F; Should make the worse: blasts BLAYNEY thee!] OXFORD; the^ Q; ~: | Th' F 291 Untented] Qb (vntented); vntender Qa 292 Pierce] Qb (pierce); peruse Qa thee!] F (~.); ~^ Q 294 cast you] F; you cast Q 301 _Exit_ ] F; _not in_ Q 304 you—] Q (~,) 305 master!] Q (~?)

290 **make thee—worst** This is our interpretation of Q's 'make the worst'. HalioQ interprets 'make.—The worst', but 'the' is a common spelling of 'thee' in Q and elsewhere. 'The conjecture adopted here presumes that Lear breaks off before finishing his sentence, _thee_ distracting his attention from his own tears back to Gonoril, whom he then curses' ( _TC_ ).

291 **Untented** unprobed, not dressed (i.e. breeding infection?). _OED_ 's first example of a rare sense.

292–4 **Old . . . cast you** 'Wherefore if thy right eye cause thee to offend, pluck it out and cast it from thee' (Matthew 5: 29).

292 **fond** foolish

293 **Beweep** if you weep for

295 **temper clay** mix with, or soften, clay; presumably as a sign of contempt for his own emotion

297 **Whom** Ungrammatical but not uncommon ( _OED, whom, pron_. 11); 'Who' in F.

**comfortable** comforting

300 **shape** of kingliness; in theatrical use, a role or stage costume ( _OED sb_.1 8a, b)

303–4 **partial . . . To** biased because of (Hunter; an unusual construction)

FOOL Nuncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry, and take the fool with thee.

A fox when one has caught her,

And such a daughter,

Should sure to the slaughter, 310

If my cap would buy a halter.

So, the fool follows after. _Exit_

GONORIL What, Oswald, ho!

_Enter Oswald_

OSWALD Here, madam.

GONORIL

What, have you writ this letter to my sister? 315

OSWALD Yes, madam.

GONORIL

Take you some company, and away to horse.

Inform her full of my particular fears,

And thereto add such reasons of your own

As may compact it more. Get you gone, 320

And after, your retinue. _Exit Oswald_

Now, my lord,

This milky gentleness and course of yours,

Though I dislike not, yet under pardon

You're much more attasked for want of wisdom

Than praised for harmful mildness. 325

ALBANY

How far your eyes may pierce I cannot tell.

Striving to better aught, we mar what's well.

307 with thee. | A] F; with ^ a Q ( _prose_ ) 312 _Exit_ ] Q2; _not in_ Q1 313. 1 _Enter Oswald_ ] _not in_ Q 321 And after] Qa; & hasten Qb retinue.] OXFORD; returne ^ QF _Exit Oswald_ ] _not in_ Q 322 milky] Qa; mildie Qb 324 attasked] QB (attaskt), DUTHIE ( _conj_. Greg) (ataxt); alapt Qa; at task F for want] QB; want Qa; for harmless want BLAYNEY _conj_. 325 praised] F; praise Q 327 aught, we] Q (ought, we); oft we F

308–12 The line-endings may have made better rhymes than now but the original pronunciation is uncertain (Cercignani, p. 325, etc.).

311 **halter** 'both a rope to lead her like a beast, and a hangman's noose' (Foakes)

318 **full** fully

320 **compact** confirm, give consistency to; _OED_ 's only instance of this sense ( _v_. 13).

321 **And after, your retinue** and afterwards, let your retinue (those under the Steward's command) follow you. The uncorrected Q reads '& after your returne'; corrected, '& hasten your returne'. Our emendation (not accepted by HalioQ or Weis) of QF's 'returne', and adoption of the uncorrected Q reading, is explained and defended in _TC_.

322 **milky** tender-hearted **course** (of action)

324 **attasked** taken to task, blamed; _OED_ 's only instance of this word.

327 **better aught** improve anything (F's 'better, oft' makes easier sense, but 'ought' (Q) is not recorded as a spelling of 'oft'). The expression 'let well alone' was proverbial (Dent W260).

GONORIL Nay, then—

ALBANY Well, well, the event. _Exeunt_

**Sc. 5** _Enter King Lear, the Earl of Kent disguised, and Lear's Fool_

LEAR  _to Kent_  Go you before to Gloucester with these letters. Acquaint my daughter no further with anything you know than comes from her demand out of the letter. If your diligence be not speedy, I shall be there before you.

KENT I will not sleep, my lord, till I have delivered your letter. _Exit_ 5

FOOL If a man's brains were in his heels, were't not in danger of kibes?

LEAR Ay, boy.

FOOL Then, I prithee, be merry: thy wit shall ne'er go slipshod. 10

LEAR Ha, ha, ha!

FOOL Shalt see thy other daughter will use thee kindly, for though she's as like this as a crab is like an apple, yet I con what I can tell. 15

328 then—] Q (~.)

**5**.0.1–2 _Enter . . . Fool_ ] Q2 ( _subs_.); _Enter Lear_. Q 7 were] Q2; where Q1 were't] Q (wert)

329 **the event** the outcome, i.e. we must see what happens

**5** The scene follows rapidly on the previous one—Lear still awaits his horses. He enters with a letter.

1 **Gloucester** Either the Earl or the city. In the following scene the Earl gives no sign of having received a letter. Conceivably, then, Lear is asking Kent to take a letter addressed to his daughters to the place, Gloucester; or 'Shakespeare anticipated here the arrival of Cornwall and Regan at Gloucester's house in the next scene, as if Lear could already know they would be there' (Foakes). Duthie and Wilson (but not Oxford, _pace_ Foakes), following Granville Barker and Greg, _Collected Papers_ , p. 325, emended to Cornwall 'since the letter is for Corn[wall]'s wife Reg[an].' Some Stratford productions (like the Elliott–Olivier film) have followed Duthie and Wilson, others (including Gielgud in 1950) have altered to Regan, and one (Glen Byam Shaw, in 1959) even to Gloucestershire.

1–2 **letters** The plural form could be used with singular meaning: _OED, letter, sb_. 14b).

3 **demand out of** questions arising from

7 **brains . . . heels** The idea that a fool's brains were in his heels was proverbial (Dent H386.1, citing de Serres, _Godlie and Learned Commentarie upon . . . Ecclesiastes_ (1585), 113f.: 'So the Greeks do speak of a fool that he hath his mind in his heels').

8 **kibes** chilblains

10–11 **thy . . . slipshod** 'You will never have to wear slippers because of chilblains, for you show you have no wit, even in your heels, in undertaking your journey to Regan' (Muir).

13 **Shalt** thou shalt

**kindly** could mean 'according to her nature' as well as 'affectionately'.

LEAR Why, what canst thou tell, my boy?

FOOL She'll taste as like this as a crab doth to a crab. Thou canst not tell why one's nose stands in the middle of his face?

LEAR No. 20

FOOL Why, to keep his eyes on either side 's nose, that what a man cannot smell out, a may spy into.

LEAR I did her wrong.

FOOL Canst tell how an oyster makes his shell?

LEAR No. 25

FOOL Nor I neither; but I can tell why a snail has a house.

LEAR Why?

FOOL Why, to put his head in, not to give it away to his daughters and leave his horns without a case.

LEAR

I will forget my nature. So kind a father! 30

Be my horses ready?

FOOL Thy asses are gone about them. The reason why the seven stars are no more than seven is a pretty reason.

LEAR Because they are not eight.

FOOL Yes. Thou wouldst make a good fool. 35

LEAR

To take't again perforce—monster ingratitude!

FOOL If thou wert my fool, nuncle, I'd have thee beaten for being old before thy time.

18 stands] Q2; stande Q1 29 daughters] F; daughter Q

14 **she . . . this** Regan . . . Gonoril

**like this . . . apple** Proverbial (Dent A290.1).

**crab** crab-apple (much smaller and sourer than a normal apple)

14–15 **I con . . . tell** Based on the proverb 'I know what I know' (Dent K173); a cryptic way of saying 'I am in on a secret'.

15 **con** know

18 **stands** Q1'S 'stande' is an easy misreading.

22 **a may** he may

23 **her** Cordelia (though D. G. James, _The Dream of Learning_ (1951), 94–6, suggests Gonoril)

26–9 **snail . . . case** The idea that a snail 'keeps his house on his back (head)' was proverbial (Dent S580).

29 **daughters** Q's singular is probably a simple error; omission of final 's' also occurs at e.g. 7.270 and 9.44.

**case** cover, shelter

32 **asses** servants (perhaps implying the Fool's opinion of them)

33 **seven stars** i.e. the Seven Sisters, chief stars in the constellation of the Pleiades, or the seven stars forming the Plough, or Great Bear, mentioned by Edmund at 2.121.

36 **take't . . . perforce** (for them to) take it (the kingdom, power, or crown) back by force

LEAR How's that?

FOOL Thou shouldst not have been old before thou hadst been wise. 40

LEAR

O, let me not be mad, sweet heaven!

I would not be mad.

Keep me in temper. I would not be mad.

_Enter a Servant_

Are the horses ready?

SERVANT Ready, my lord. 45

LEAR ( _to Fool_ ) Come, boy. _Exeunt Lear and Servant_

FOOL

She that is maid now, and laughs at my departure,

Shall not be a maid long, except things be cut shorter.

_Exit_

**Sc. 6** _Enter Edmund the bastard, and Curan, meeting_

EDMUND Save thee, Curan.

CURAN And you, sir. I have been with your father, and given him notice that the Duke of Cornwall and his duchess will be here with him tonight.

EDMUND How comes that? 5

CURAN Nay, I know not. You have heard of the news abroad?—I mean the whispered ones, for there are yet but ear-bussing arguments.

43–4 I would not be mad . . . I would not be mad] Q; not mad . . . I would not be mad BLAYNEY 44.1 _Enter a Servant_ ] _not in_ Q 46 _Exeunt . . . Servant_ ] _Exit_. Q

**6**.0.1 _Edmund the bastard_ ] Q ( _Bast_.) 7 abroad?] Q (~,)

44 **in temper** in proper (mental) condition

47–8 **She . . . shorter** 'The maid who sees only the funny side of the Fool's gibes, and does not realize that Lear is going on a tragic journey is such a simpleton that she won't know how to preserve her virginity' (Muir). The Fool addresses the audience, suggesting a break in the play's time scheme. 'Things . . . shorter' plays on _thing_ as penis; a pun on departure/deporter, French for 'bauble' has been suggested. 'Departure'/'shorter' would have rhymed.

**6** The action takes place at Gloucester's dwelling. This is the only scene to require an upper level. It probably requires torches for Gloucester's entrance (l. 36), and Edmund and Edgar need swords (ll. 29–30).

0.1 **_Curan_** Though the word was a common form of 'currant', its use as a name is unusual, appearing in no other play of the period. Foakes suggests it may be a version of the Irish 'Ciaran'. He appears only in Scene 6. His age is not indicated.

**_meeting_** implies entrance by separate doors.

1 **Save thee** A greeting: God protect you!

8 **ear-bussing arguments** ear-kissing (SO F) topics, i.e. communications made only close to the ear, rumours

EDMUND Not. I pray you, what are they?

CURAN Have you heard of no likely wars towards twixt the two Dukes of Cornwall and Albany? 10

EDMUND Not a word.

CURAN You may then in time. Fare you well, sir. _Exit_

EDMUND

The Duke be here tonight! The better, best.

This weaves itself perforce into my business. 15

 _Enter Edgar at a window above_

My father hath set guard to take my brother,

And I have one thing of a queasy question

Which must ask briefness. Wit and fortune help!—

Brother, a word. Descend, brother, I say.

 _Edgar climbs down_

My father watches. O, fly this place. 20

Intelligence is given where you are hid.

9 Not. I ^] Q (~, ~); Not ^ I: F 13 _Exit_ ] Q2; _not in_ Q1 15.1 _Enter Edgar at a window above_ ] OXFORD; _Enter Edgar_ Q1 ( _in the left margin, before_ 'it selfe', _the first word of a line set as prose_ ); _Enter Edgar_ Q2 ( _after_ ' _Which_ ' _in l_. 18, _before the prose line in which_ 'Brother, a word' _occurs_ ); _Enter Edgar_. F ( _before_ 'Brother, a word') 18 briefness. Wit and] OXFORD; breefnes and Q 19.1 _Edgar climbs down_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF

9 **Not.** A common idiom (as illustrated in _TC_ ), though HalioQ follows F and Weis emends without note to 'Not I.'

10–11 **Have . . . Albany** This is a loose end, though there is another hint of it at Sc. 8, 18–20. Granville Barker finds in it 'some signs that the emphasis of the play's whole scheme was altered . . . Edmund, with admirable promptitude, turns the notion to the further confusing of the so easily confused Edgar, but the wars themselves come to nothing. . . . It looks a little as if Shakespeare had thought of making the hypocrite inheritors of Cordelia's portion fall out over it (an obvious nemesis) and had changed his mind' (p. 273).

10 **towards** impending

14 **The . . . best** so much the better—the best that could happen!

15 **perforce** inevitably

15.1 _**Enter . . . above**_ Q1 has _Enter Edgar_ in the margin before the line starting _itself_ , whereas Q2 and F place the entry closer to the point at which he is addressed. Edgar appears as his brother starts to speak of him.

16 **My . . . brother** The line 'explains to an audience why Edgar is peering nervously from an upstairs window' ( _TC_ ), or from the balcony above the stage.

16 **take** capture

17 **thing . . . question** deed of hazardous uncertainty ( _queasy_ , uncertain, hazardous ( _OED_ 1b, citing this passage))

18 **must . . . help!** Q reads 'must aske breefnes and fortune helpe'. The Folio variant ('Which I must act, Briefnesse, and Fortune worke') is too far removed to be plausible as the source of this. HalioQ accepts Q without note; Ridley, unmetrically and without note, reads 'must ask briefness and fortune's help'. Weis emends by adding 'to' before _help_ —scarcely, as he claims, a metrical improvement—regarding our reading, explained in _TC_ , as 'an ingenious and unnecessary emendation'.

**must . . . briefness** requires speed

19.1 _**Edgar . . . down**_ As he is addressed in the next line Edgar probably jumps or climbs down in view of the audience rather than by an inner staircase.

20 **watches** is on the lookout

21 **Intelligence** information

You have now the good advantage of the night.

Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Cornwall aught?

He's coming hither now, in the night, i'th' haste,

And Regan with him. Have you nothing said 25

Upon his party against the Duke of Albany?

Advise you—

EDGAR I am sure on't, not a word.

EDMUND

I hear my father coming. Pardon me.

In cunning I must draw my sword upon you.

Seem to defend yourself. Now, quit you well. 30

( _Calling_ ) Yield, come before my father. Light here, here!

( _To Edgar_ ) Fly, brother, fly! ( _Calling_ ) Torches, torches!

( _To Edgar_ ) So, farewell. _Exit Edgar_

Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion

Of my more fierce endeavour.

_He wounds his arm_

I have seen

Drunkards do more than this in sport. ( _Calling_ ) Father, father! 35

Stop, stop! Ho, help!

27 you] BLAYNEY; your—Q; your selfe F 28–9 me. | In cunning] F; me in crauing Q 32, 35 _Calling_ ] _not in_ Q 32 _Exit Edgar_ ] F; _not in_ Q 34 _He . . . arm_ ] ROWE; _not in_ Q 36 Ho, help!] OXFORD ( _conj_. Stone); no, helpe? Q1; no^ helpe? Q2, F _the Earl of Gloucester_ ] Q ( _Glost_.) _and others_ ] BLAYNEY; _not in_ Q; _and Seruants with Torches_ F

23 **'gainst . . . aught** anything against

24 **i'th' haste** An unusual construction, though _OED a_. 3d records 'the' as 'Formerly sometimes used before abstract nouns'.

26 **Upon his party** If, as seems likely, this means 'on his side', Edmund must be deliberately confusing Edgar by suggesting first that he may have spoken for, then against, Cornwall.

27 **Advise you** think about it. Q reads 'advise your---', accepted by HalioQ as a broken word or sentence.

28 **I . . . coming** Greg suggested that this is spoken 'only to frighten Edgar' ( _Collected Papers_ , p. 324), implying that Gloucester's entry is motivated purely by Edmund's calls for help.

29 **In cunning** as a device. In fact his cunning is used against, not for, Edgar. Weis accepts Q's 'crauing' (an easy misreading of 'cunning'), glossing 'accusation' while admitting that this is a Middle English sense (recorded only once, and dated 1300).

30 **quit** 'acquit', and 'leave'

33–4 **beget . . . endeavour** create an impression that I have fought even more fiercely 35 **in sport** for fun (perhaps to impress their mistresses: Kittredge cites Witgood's renunciation of youthful follies such as 'Stabbing of arms for a common mistress' in Middleton's _A Trick to Catch the Old One_ ( _c_.1605), 5.2.178–91)

36 **Stop, stop!** (to the retreating Edgar)

**Ho** , **help!** Addressed to Gloucester as he enters. Weis and HalioQ adapt Q's 'no, helpe?', ignoring its comma.

_Enter the Earl of Gloucester_  _and others_

GLOUCESTER Now, Edmund, where is the villain?

EDMUND

Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out,

Warbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon

To stand 's auspicious mistress.

GLOUCESTER But where is he?

EDMUND

Look, sir, I bleed.

GLOUCESTER Where is the villain, Edmund? 40

EDMUND

Fled this way, sir, when by no means he could—

GLOUCESTER

Pursue him, go after. _Exeunt others_

By no means what?

EDMUND

Persuade me to the murder of your lordship,

But that I told him the revengive gods

'Gainst parricides did all their thunders bend, 45

Spoke with how manifold and strong a bond

The child was bound to the father. Sir, in fine,

Seeing how loathly opposite I stood

42 _Exeunt others_ ] DYCE ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q 46 manifold] Q (many fould) 47 fine] F; a fine Q

36 _**Enter . . . others**_ F (calling the _others_ servants) adds 'with torches', which 'probably represents the original intention' ( _TC_ ). Urkowitz, p. 27, argues that the extras are not needed. Gurr and Ichikawa (p. 89) remark that 'Gloucester and his servants do not enter just after the bastard's first call ([6.]31), but do so three and a half lines after Edgar begins to exit ([6].36). The exit and the entrance are presumably made through different doors. This three-and-a-half-line gap ensures that the entrance of Gloucester and his servants does not overlap with Edgar's exit, though Edgar probably does not need all three and a half lines since he exits running. Neither Edgar's exit nor Gloucester's entrance could be clothed in darkness . . . It seems likely, therefore, that the three-and-a-half-line gap reflects Shakespeare's wish to prevent Gloucester's entrance overlapping with Edgar's exit.'

38 **Warbling of** singing, chanting (F changes to 'mumbling of')

**conjuring** calling solemnly on

39 **stand's** act as

**auspicious mistress** propitious patroness (Shakespeare uses the same phrase of Fortune in _All's Well_ , 3.3.8). The _moon_ is probably thought of as Hecate (see 1.102).

41 **this way** It would be natural for Edmund to point in the wrong direction, so as to gain time; but this would be difficult if there were only two stage doors as Gloucester must have entered by a different one from that by which Edgar departed.

44 **revengive** revenging, vindictive; _OED_ 's only instance. F alters to 'revenging', possibly a compositorial reversion to a more familiar form; there is no reason to question Q as Shakespeare's coinage.

45 **thunders bend** aim their thunderbolts

46 **manifold** many-sided

47 **in fine** to sum up

48 **loathly opposite** abhorrently opposed

To his unnatural purpose, with fell motion,

With his preparèd sword he charges home 50

My unprovided body, lanced mine arm;

But when he saw my best alarumed spirits

Bold in the quarrel's rights, roused to the encounter,

Or whether gasted by the noise I made

Or     I know not, 55

But suddenly he fled.

GLOUCESTER Let him fly far,

Not in this land shall he remain uncaught,

And found, dispatch. The noble Duke my master,

My worthy arch and patron, comes tonight. 60

By his authority I will proclaim it

That he which finds him shall deserve our thanks,

Bringing the murderous caitiff to the stake;

He that conceals him, death.

EDMUND

When I dissuaded him from his intent

And found him pitched to do it, with curst speech 65

51 lanced] Q (lancht) 55 Or . . . not] OXFORD; _not in_ QF 65 pitched] QF (pight)

49 **fell motion** fierce thrust (in fencing, 'motion' was a regulated movement)

50 **preparèd** readied, unsheathed

51 **unprovided** unarmed

**lanced** wounded ( _OED, launch, v_. 1a; obsolete). Q reads 'lancht', F 'latched'. Editors (e.g. Foakes) regard Theobald's 'lanced' as an emendation but it is more properly a modernization.

52–6 **But . . . fled** This is a difficult passage.

Q prints (as prose): 'but when he saw my best alarumd spirits, bould in the quarrels, rights, [ _sic_ ] rousd to the encounter, or whether gasted by the noyse I made, but sodainly he fled.' F prints as verse: 'And when he saw my best alarum'd spirits | Bold in the quarrels right, rouzd to th'encounter, | Or whether gasted by the noyse I made, | Full sodainely he fled.' 'Full' improves on Q's 'but', which seems to lack a contradicting previous statement, but still provides no 'or . . .' to balance 'Or whether . . .'. Duthie thought the irregularity a consciou indication of 'Edmund's perturbation', but 'this difficulty is itself the only syntactical evidence of any such "perturbation" ' ( _TC_ ). We suppose that Q has accidentally omitted a verse line ending 'I know not', with an unrecoverable alternative following the 'Or'. R. Proudfoot (reported in Foakes) attractively conjectures that 'when' in l. 52 misrepresents 'whe'er', i.e. 'whether', but although this supplies the missing alternative, and makes good sense with F's 'Full . . .', it still provides no alternative justifying Q's 'but', which seems unlikely to be a misreading of 'full'.

52 **best . . . spirits** energies best called to arms, roused to action ( _OED_ 's first instance of 'alar[u]med' as ppl. a.)

53 **Bold . . . rights** emboldened by the justice of my cause

54 **gasted** frightened (as in 'aghast')

56 **Let . . . far** i.e. however far he may fly

58 **found, dispatch** when he is found—death!

59 **arch** chief ( _OED, arch, a_. B, _quasi-n_ [ _oun_ ].; one of its only two instances, both dated to 1605)

62 **caitiff** miserable wretch

64 **dissuaded** i.e. tried to dissuade

65 **pitched** determined

**curst** angry

I threatened to discover him. He replied,

'Thou unpossessing bastard, dost thou think

If I would stand against thee, could the reposure

Of any trust, virtue, or worth in thee

Make thy words faithed? No, what I should deny— 70

As this I would, ay, though thou didst produce

My very character—I'd turn it all

To thy suggestion, plot, and damned pretence,

And thou must make a dullard of the world

If they not thought the profits of my death 75

Were very pregnant and potential spurs

To make thee seek it.'

GLOUCESTER Strong and fastened villain!

Would he deny his letter? I never got him.

_Trumpets within_

Hark, the Duke's trumpets. I know not why he comes.

All ports I'll bar. The villain shall not scape. 80

The Duke must grant me that; besides, his picture

I will send far and near, that all the kingdom

May have note of him—and of my land,

Loyal and natural boy, I'll work the means

To make thee capable. 85

_Enter the Duke of Cornwall and Regan_

CORNWALL

How now, my noble friend? Since I came hither,

70 No, what] F; no. what Q; nowhat STONE _conj_. 77 villain!] Q (~,) 78.1 _Trumpets within_ ] ROWE; _not in_ Q; _Tucket within_. F ( _after_ ' _it_ ', _l_. 77) 83 have] Q; haue due F 85.1 _and Regan_ ] _not in_ Q

66 **discover** betray

67 **unpossessing** Bastards could not inherit property. _OED_ 's first use of a rare form.

68 **reposure** reposal, placing. Both this and F's 'reposal' are _OED_ 's first instances of rarely recorded words.

70 **faithed** believed

72 **character** handwriting (as evidence)

**turn** twist

73 **suggestion** prompting (to evil)

**pretence** intention

74 **must . . . world** would have to suppose everybody to be stupid

75 **not thought** did not think

**profits of** benefits resulting from

76 **Were . . . spurs** would be very compelling and powerful incentives

77 **fastened** confirmed

78 **got** begot—an accusation of bastardy ('And this to Edmund his bastard!': Granville Barker, p. 316, describing this as a stroke of irony 'only to be fully appreciated perhaps by the shade of Lady Gloucester'.)

80 **ports** seaports, or gates of walled towns

81 **picture** could mean simply 'description'.

85 **capable** qualified to inherit ( _OED_ 's first instance of this sense)

86 **How now** i.e. how is it now? (a common form of greeting)

Which I can call but now, I have heard strange news.

REGAN

If it be true, all vengeance comes too short

Which can pursue the offender. How dost, my lord?

GLOUCESTER

Madam, my old heart is cracked, is cracked. 90

REGAN

What, did my father's godson seek your life?

He whom my father named, your Edgar?

GLOUCESTER

Ay, lady, lady; shame would have it hid.

REGAN

Was he not companion with the riotous knights

That tend upon my father? 95

GLOUCESTER

I know not, madam. 'Tis too bad, too bad.

EDMUND Yes, madam, he was.

REGAN

No marvel, then, though he were ill affected.

'Tis they have put him on the old man's death,

To have the spoil and waste of his revenues. 100

I have this present evening from my sister

Been well informed of them, and with such cautions

That if they come to sojourn at my house

I'll not be there.

CORNWALL Nor I, assure thee, Regan.

EDMUND, I heard that you have shown your father 105

A childlike office.

89 dost] Q, F1; does F2 95 tend] THEOBALD; tends Q; tended F 100 the spoil and waste] BLAYNEY; these---and wast QA, Q2; the wast and spoyle QB; th'expence and wast F his] QB; this his Qa 105 heard] Q; heare F

87 **but** just

91 **godson** A Christian term in spite of the pagan setting.

95 **tend** Q's 'tends', retained in HalioQ and Weis, may be right (Abbott 333), but could equally be a misprint for 'tende'.

98 **though . . . affected** if he was ill disposed, disloyal

99 **put . . . on** incited him to. _OED_ 's first instance of this construction ( _put, v_.1 27a (b)).

100 **the spoil and waste of his** BlayneyQ's reading, accepted by HalioQ and Weis, for uncorrected Q's 'these—and waste of this his' and corrected Q's 'the wast and spoyle of his'. The reading assumes 'that Qb inadvertently transposed the two nouns, in correcting the first' ( _TC_ ).

100 **revenues** (accent on the second syllable)

105 **heard** This is Q's reading, retained by Oxford, Weis, and HalioQ, but misreading in Q of F's 'heare' would be easy, as conversely at 7.166.

106 **childlike office** service proper to a son

EDMUND 'Twas my duty, sir.

GLOUCESTER ( _to Cornwall_ )

He did betray his practice, and received

This hurt you see striving to apprehend him.

CORNWALL

Is he pursued?

GLOUCESTER Ay, my good lord.

CORNWALL

If he be taken, he shall never more 110

Be feared of doing harm. Make your own purpose

How in my strength you please. For you, Edmund,

Whose virtue and obedience doth this instant

So much commend itself, you shall be ours.

Natures of such deep trust we shall much need. 115

You we first seize on.

EDMUND I shall serve you truly,

However else.

GLOUCESTER ( _to Cornwall_ ) For him I thank your grace.

CORNWALL

You know not why we came to visit you—

REGAN

This out-of-season threat'ning dark-eyed night—

Occasions, noble Gloucester, of some poise, 120

Wherein we must have use of your advice.

Our father he hath writ, so hath our sister,

Of differences which I least thought it fit

To answer from our home. The several messengers

115–16 need. | You ^] Q1 (need you,), Q2, F 118 you—] Q (you?) 119 This] OXFORD ( _conj_. Stone); Thus QF 120 poise] Qb; prise Qa, Q2, F 123 differences] QB (diferences); defences Qa least] Qb (lest); best QA, Q2, F 124 home] QB, F; hand Qa, Q2

107 **betray . . . practice** reveal Edgar's plot

111 **Be . . . doing** arouse fear that he will do

111–12 **Make . . . please** i.e. pursue your intents making whatever use you please of my power and authority

117 **However else** to whatever extent

119 **This** Our reading (suggested by Stone and accepted by HalioQ) is based on the belief that 'It is much easier to suppose that "This" was misread "Thus" than that F's "threadding" was taken for Q's "threatning" ' ( _TC_ ).

120 **poise** weight, gravity. Weis (but not HalioQ) accepts the uncorrected and Folio reading, but the case for the corrected 'poyse' is made in _Division_ , pp. 362–3.

123 **differences** disagreements

123–4 **which . . . home** which I thought it unfitting to respond to from our home (presumably so that Lear cannot descend on her; in F's reading, accepted by Weis and HalioQ, 'best thought', _from_ has to mean 'away from')

From hence attend dispatch. Our good old friend, 125

Lay comforts to your bosom, and bestow

Your needful counsel to our business,

Which craves the instant use.

GLOUCESTER I serve you, madam.

Your graces are right welcome. _Exeunt_ 130

**Sc. 7** _Enter the Earl of Kent, disguised, at one door, and Oswald the steward, at another door_

OSWALD Good even to thee, friend. Art of the house?

KENT Ay.

OSWALD Where may we set our horses?

KENT I'th' mire.

OSWALD Prithee, if thou love me, tell me.

KENT I love thee not.

OSWALD Why then, I care not for thee.

KENT If I had thee in Lipsbury pinfold I would make thee care for me.

130 _Exeunt_ ] _not in_ Q; _Exeunt. Flourish_. F

**7.** 0.1–2 _Enter . . . door_ ] _Enter Kent, and Steward_. Q 1 OSWALD] Q (' _Steward' subs. throughout the scene_ ) even] Qb (euen), Q2; deuen Qa; dawning F

125 **attend dispatch** wait to be sent off

128 **craves . . . use** demands immediate attention

**7** The opening line locates the action outside Gloucester's dwelling soon after that of the previous scene. (Line 26 pins it down to _two days_ after that of Sc. 4.) Edgar's soliloquy (ll. 166–86), however, is unlocalized. Stocks (l. 130.1) and a letter (l. 155.1) are needed. Dessen ( _Recovering_ , 107–8) considers that in this simultaneous staging 'The stocks would signal not a courtyard or other specific locale but rather a general sense of imprisonment or bondage . . . just as Edgar would be assumed to be in flight, anywhere'. Both Kent and Oswald are armed.

1 **even** This modernization of the uncorrected Q reading, 'deuen', is identical with the corrected Q reading, 'even'. F reads 'dawning', and a number of editors, including Weis and Foakes (in his note), follow Greg in thinking that uncorrected Q's 'deuen' means 'dawn', and that Qb's 'euen' is a miscorrection. _OED_ however does not record 'deven' or any similar spelling for 'dawn', and indeed the word 'dawn' is first recorded in _Romeo_ (the previous equivalent is 'dawing' or 'dawning'). According to HalioF 'deuen' is colloquial. HalioF naturally accepts 'dawning' and argues that 'it is night-time before dawn' on the basis of l. 28 (substantively identical in Q and F), though HalioQ accepts 'even' without comment. Following Stone he regards F's 'Good dawning' as a neologism, but though _OED_ does not record the greeting, the noun 'dawning' is standard for dawn and occurs several times in Shakespeare. It is difficult to argue from the time of day since 'Good even' might not seem inappropriate in darkness, and anyhow consistency even from one part of a scene to another cannot be assumed. There seems no reason not to accept Q.

2 **Ay** (Not true—but Kent is in disguise.)

8 **in Lipsbury pinfold** A pinfold is a pound for stray animals. _Lipsbury_ , not a known place-name, means 'liptown'. R. Nares conjectured that the phrase means 'If I had you in my teeth', i.e. in my clutches, while adding that 'it remains for some more fortunate inquirer to discover what is really meant' ( _Glossary of Words_. . ., 1822, etc.).

OSWALD Why dost thou use me thus? I know thee not. 10

KENT Fellow, I know thee.

OSWALD What dost thou know me for?

KENT A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats, a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, filthy worsted-stocking knave; a lily-livered, action-taking knave; a whoreson, glass-gazing, superfinical rogue; one-trunk-inheriting slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service, and art nothing but the composition of a knave, beggar, coward, pander, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch, whom I will beat into clamorous whining if thou deny the least syllable of the addition. 15 20

OSWALD What a monstrous fellow art thou, thus to rail on one that's neither known of thee nor knows thee!

KENT What a brazen-faced varlet art thou, to deny thou knowest me! Is it two days ago since I beat thee and tripped up thy heels before the King? Draw, you rogue; for though it be night, the moon shines. 25

 _He draws his sword_

14 suited] Q (shewted) 15 stocking] Q (stocken) 28.1 _He . . . sword_ ] ROWE ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q

10 **use** treat

12 **for** i.e. as, to be

13 **broken meats** left-overs

14 **three-suited** Serving men appear to have been allowed three suits of clothes a year; at 11.121 Edgar (as Tom o'Bedlam) boasts of having had _three suits to his back_. This use of _suited_ as a participial adjective antedates _OED_ 's first instance (2), from 1632.

**hundred-pound** This would be a large income. Steevens and later editors have seen it as a jibe at James I's creation of knights in return for this sum, but the joke is not easily evident. Kent seems to veer between accusing Oswald of behaving like a despised menial and, on the other hand, a pampered favourite.

15 **worsted-stocking** Worsted stockings were cheaper than the silk ones worn by the wealthy.

**lily-livered** i.e. cowardly, as having no blood in the liver. Falstaff speaks of cold blood which has 'left the liver white and pale, which is the badge of pusillanimity and cowardice' ( _2 Henry IV_ , 4.2.101–2).

15–16 **action-taking** litigious, taking legal in preference to physical action

16 **glass-gazing** always looking into mirrors, vain

**superfinical** over-fussy (not exclusively in dress). The compound is not in _OED_ (F has 'superserviceable, finical').

17 **one-trunk-inheriting** possessing, or inheriting, no more than would go into one trunk. (Johnson took the phrase to mean 'a wearer of old cast-off cloaths, an inheritor of torn breeches', but _OED_ records this meaning of 'trunk' only in the plural.)

17–18 **wouldst . . . service** would be willing to do anything, however contemptible, and count it good service

19 **composition** combination

22 **addition** style of address

27 **Draw** i.e. draw your sword (implying that Kent does so). Oswald appears not to accept the challenge, but there is clearly some sort of scuffle.

I'll make a sop of the moonshine o' you. Draw, you whoreson, cullionly barber-monger, draw! 30

OSWALD Away. I have nothing to do with thee.

KENT Draw, you rascal. You bring letters against the King, and take Vanity the puppet's part against the royalty of her father. Draw, you rogue, or I'll so carbonado your shanks—draw, you rascal, come your ways! 35

OSWALD Help, ho, murder, help!

KENT Strike, you slave! Stand, rogue! Stand, you neat slave, strike!

OSWALD Help, ho, murder, help!

_Enter Edmund the bastard with his rapier drawn_ ,

 _then_  _the Earl of Gloucester_ ,  _then_  _the Duke of_

_Cornwall and Regan the Duchess_

EDMUND  _parting them_  How now, whats the matter?

KENT With you, goodman boy. An you please come, I'll flesh you. Come on, young master. 40

GLOUCESTER Weapons? Arms? What's the matter here?

CORNWALL Keep peace, upon your lives. He dies that strikes again. What's the matter? 45

39.1 _the bastard_ ] _not in_ Q 39.2  _then_  _the Earl of Gloucester_ ,  _then_  OXFORD; _Gloster_ Q 39.2–3 _of Cornwall_ ] _not in_ Q 39.3 _Regan the_ ] _not in_ Q 40 _parting them_ ] _not in_ Q 44 CORNWALL] Q (' _Duke'throughout the scene_ )

29 **sop . . . moonshine** Could mean 'I'll turn you into a sop (piece of soggy bread) by the light of the moon'; or 'I'll render you no more substantial than moonlight' ( _OED, sop, sb_. 12b); or 'I'll turn you into moonshine', which could be either a dish made of eggs ( _OED sb_. 3a) or a dessert of blancmange or custard (the sky) decorated with moon and stars in jelly ( _OED sb_. 3b). Duthie and Wilson's paraphrase 'make mincemeat of you' catches the sense.

30 **cullionly** base; 'cullion', meaning 'testicle', was also used as a general term of contempt. This is _OED_ 's first instance of _cullionly_.

**barber-monger** 'a constant frequenter of the barber's shop, a fop' ( _OED, barber, sb_. 2)

33 **Vanity the puppet** Editors usually follow Johnson in explaining that Gonoril is seen as a personified character in an allegorical play, or in a puppet play, but J. C. Meagher, noting that 'Lady Vanity does not appear in the extant old moralities at all', points out that 'puppet' was used for 'a vain and "dolled-up" woman', and glosses 'the epitome of the vain woman, the personification of Vanity' ('Vanity, Lear's Feather, and the Pathology of Editorial Annotation', in _Shakespeare 1971_ , cited in the Introduction, p. 52 n. 4).

34 **carbonado** slash, like meat to be grilled

35 **come . . . ways** come on, now!

37 **Stand** defend yourself ( _OED, stand, v_. 10)

**neat** trim (scornful)

39.1 _**rapier**_ a small sword

41 **With you** i.e. the quarrel is with you

**goodman boy** A scornful way of addressing a cocky young man.

**An** if

42 **flesh** initiate (into tasting blood, implying that Edmund has not fought before)

REGAN The messengers from our sister and the King.

CORNWALL ( _to Kent and Oswald_ ) What's your difference? Speak.

OSWALD I am scarce in breath, my lord.

KENT No marvel, you have so bestirred your valour, you cowardly rascal. Nature disclaims in thee; a tailor made thee. 50

CORNWALL Thou art a strange fellow—a tailor make a man?

KENT Ay, a tailor, sir. A stone-cutter or a painter could not have made him so ill though he had been but two hours at the trade. 55

GLOUCESTER Speak yet; how grew your quarrel?

OSWALD This ancient ruffian, sir, whose life I have spared at suit of his grey beard— 60

KENT Thou whoreson Z, thou unnecessary letter—( _to Cornwall_ ) my lord, if you'll give me leave I will tread this unboulted villain into mortar and daub the walls of a jakes with him. ( _To Oswald_ ) Spare my grey beard, you wagtail? 65

CORNWALL

Peace, sir. You beastly knave, have you no reverence?

KENT

Yes, sir, but anger has a privilege.

CORNWALL Why art thou angry?

KENT

That such a slave as this should wear a sword,

That wears no honesty. Such smiling rogues

As these, like rats, oft bite those cords in twain 70

54 man?] Q (~.) 61 Z] QF (Zedd) 66 have you] RIDLEY; you haue Q; know you F

47 **difference** quarrel

51 **disclaims in** renounces all part in

51–2 **tailor . . . thee** Proverbial (Dent A283, T17), meaning that he is no more than his clothes.

60 **at suit of** at the request of

61 **unnecessary** (because it can always be replaced by s)

63 **unboulted** normally means unsifted (as of the lime from which _mortar_ is made), but 'bolt' could mean 'penis' (Williams, _Glossary_ )—Kent is calling him a eunuch.

64 **jakes** privy

65 **wagtail** Contemptuous form of address; _OED_ 's first instance; womanizer (Williams, _Glossary_ ).

66 **have you** Weis accepts Q's 'you haue' without comment. F reads 'know you'. Accidental inversion seems likely.

67 **anger . . . privilege** i.e. the right to speak out; possibly proverbial (Dent P595.1).

69 **sword** Thought of as a gentleman's weapon, though most men appear to have carried arms in Shakespeare's time.

Which are too entrenched to unloose, smooth every passion

That in the natures of their lords rebel,

Bring oil to fire, snow to their colder moods,

Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks 75

With every gale and vary of their masters,

Knowing naught, like dogs, but following.

( _To Oswald_ ) A plague upon your epileptic visage!

Smile you my speeches as I were a fool?

Goose, an I had you upon Sarum Plain 80

I'd send you cackling home to Camelot.

CORNWALL

What, art thou mad, old fellow?

GLOUCESTER  _to Kent_  How fell you out? Say that.

KENT

No contraries hold more antipathy

Than I and such a knave.

72 too entrenched] OXFORD ( _conj_. Stone); to intrench Q; t'intrince F unloose,] F (~:); in-loose ^ Q 74 fire] F; stir Q 77 dogs] F; dayes Q 79 Smile] Q (smoyle), F 81 Camelot.] F; Camulet., Q1; Camulet. Q2

72 **entrenched** embedded. Stone suggests that 'A somewhat loose reference is apparently intended to the mouse in the fable [of Aesop] who, out of gratitude to a lion for once saving his life, released him from the net in which he lay entrapped by gnawing through the ropes.' HalioQ and Weis accept Stone's proposal, adopted here, for Q's 'intrench'. The fable is clearly alluded to in _Leir_ (Bullough, ll. 642–3).

**smooth** _OED_ ( _v_. 6a) glosses as 'allay, assuage', but Onions's 'flatter, humour' seems equally apt.

73 **rebel** against reason

74 **Bring . . . fire** i.e. feed the flame (of their lords' passions); proverbial (Dent O30).

75 **Renege** deny

75–6 **turn . . . gale** Proverbial (Dent W439). **halcyon** the kingfisher. A dried corpse was supposed, when suspended, to act as a weathervane ( _OED, kingfisher_ ).

76 **gale and vary** varying wind (hendiadys), whim

78 **epileptic** _OED_ 's first use of the adjective; epilepsy is first recorded in 1578 as a technical term replacing 'falling sickness', so the word may well have sounded unfamiliar. Perhaps one of Kent's exaggerated insults—epileptic fits were 'often attributed to possession by devilish spirits, from which the unfortunate victims needed to be exorcised, after appropriate repentance' (Hoeniger, p. 199)—or Oswald may be smiling twitchily.

79 **Smile** deride, laugh at ( _OED v_. 7, citing this as its only instance)

80–1 **an . . . Camelot** Picturesque but obscure. Sarum is the old name for Salisbury, the cathedral city in Wiltshire. The plain, which has Stonehenge at its centre, was notorious for highwaymen, and geese 'are plentifully pastured' there (Sugden). _Camelot_ (chosen partly for alliterative, partly for historical effect), the legendary capital of King Arthur, is sometimes identified with Winchester, in Hampshire, not very far from Salisbury. Kent calls Oswald a goose because his smiles remind him of cackling, and says that if he had him at his mercy he would chase him a long way. There may be sexual overtones: 'goose' could mean both 'whore' and 'a whore's client' (Williams, _Dictionary_ ), and Winchester House in London was adjacent to brothels.

CORNWALL Why dost thou call him knave?

What's his offence?

KENT His countenance likes me not. 85

CORNWALL

No more perchance does mine, or his, or hers.

KENT

Sir, 'tis my occupation to be plain:

I have seen better faces in my time

Than stands on any shoulder that I see

Before me at this instant.

CORNWALL This is a fellow 90

Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect

A saucy roughness, and constrains the garb

Quite from his nature. He cannot flatter, he.

He must be plain, he must speak truth.

An they will take't, so; if not, he's plain. 95

These kind of knaves I know, which in this plainness

Harbour more craft and more corrupter ends

Than twenty silly-ducking observants

That stretch their duties nicely.

KENT

Sir, in good sooth, or in sincere verity, 100

Under the allowance of your grand aspect,

89 Than] Q2, F; That Q1 92 roughness] F (roughnes); ruffines Q 94 He must be plain] Q; An honest mind and plaine F; Honest he must be, plain OXFORD _conj_.

85 **likes** pleases

87 **plain** candid

91 **bluntness** curtness, rudeness. _OED_ 's first instance of this sense.

92 **saucy** insolent

**roughness** rudeness. _OED_ 's first instance of this sense.

**constrains** forces, wrenches the style (of speaking) completely away from its true nature (to express sincerity)

95 **he's plain** i.e. that's how he is—plain-spoken

96 **These kind** A common construction ( _OED, kind, sb_. 14b).

97 **Harbour** conceal

**craft** craftiness

**more corrupter** i.e. even more corrupt

98 **silly-ducking** foolishly bowing, obsequious

**observants** obsequious attendants. _OED_ 's first instance of this sense.

99 **stretch . . . nicely** strain (themselves to carry out) their duties punctiliously

100–3 **Sir . . . front** Kent parodies a courtly style.

100 **sooth** truth

**verity** A latinate word, grander than the Anglo-Saxon 'sooth'.

101 **allowance . . . aspect** approval of your mighty way of looking (aspect, accented on the second syllable, was an astrological term)
Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire

In flickering Phoebus' front—

CORNWALL What mean'st thou by this?

KENT To go out of my dialect, which you discommend so much. I know, sir, I am no flatterer. He that beguiled you in a plain accent was a plain knave, which for my part I will not be, though I should win your displeasure to entreat me to't. 105

CORNWALL ( _to Oswald_ )

What's the offence you gave him?

OSWALD I never gave him any.

It pleased the King his master very late 110

To strike at me upon his misconstruction,

When he, conjunct, and flattering his displeasure,

Tripped me behind; being down, insulted, railed,

And put upon him such a deal of man that

That worthied him, got praises of the King 115

For him attempting who was self-subdued,

And in the fleshment of this dread exploit

Drew on me here again.

KENT None of these rogues and cowards

But Ajax is their fool.

103 flickering] POPE; flitkering Q; flicking F 104 dialect] F; dialogue Q 105 I know] QF; know OXFORD _conj_. 114–15 man that | That] Q1 (man, that, | That); man, that ^ | That Q2; Man, | That F; man, | That' [i.e. 'That it'] FURNESS 117 fleshment] F (flecĥment); flechuent Q

102 **influence** Another astrological term.

103 **flickering** illuminated by an unsteady light ( _OED_ 's first instance of this sense); fickle

**Phoebus' front** brow of Phoebus Apollo, the sun god

104 **dialect** normal way of speaking. Q's 'dialogue' is generally rejected.

**discommend** find fault with

105 **I know** 'Know, sir' may seem a more natural locution from Kent, and the anticipation of 'I' from later in the line would be easy.

105–6 **He . . . you** i.e. whoever deceived you in the way you have described

107–8 **though . . . to't** Probably an awkward way of saying 'even if I should overcome ( _OED, win, v_. 12) your displeasure so far that you would beg me to be'.

112 **conjunct** in league (with Lear)

**flattering his** playing up to Lear's

113 **insulted** could mean 'exulted'.

114 **put . . . man** assumed such a large quantity of manliness

115 **That . . . worthied** that deed begot a good opinion for him. Conceivably 'That' should be 'It' ( _TC_ ).

116 **attempting** attacking

**was self-subdued** i.e. had already surrendered

117 **fleshment** i.e. excitement of his first success. _OED_ 's only instance of this word. Kent uses the verb at l. 42.

**dread** (sarcastic)

119 **Ajax . . . fool** can mean 'rogues and cowards like these inflate their importance to make a warrior like Ajax sound like a fool' (but Ajax was notoriously stupid, as in _Troilus_ ); 'rogues and cowards like these make fools of (deceive) great men like Ajax (and Cornwall)'. There may be a submerged pun on 'jakes', a privy. Presumably it is the implied comparison with Ajax that finally strains Cornwall's patience beyond the breaking point.

CORNWALL  _calling_  Bring forth the stocks, ho!—

You stubborn, ancient knave, you reverend braggart, 120

We'll teach you.

KENT I am too old to learn.

Call not your stocks for me. I serve the King,

On whose employments I was sent to you.

You should do small respect, show too bold malice

Against the grace and person of my master, 125

Stocking his messenger.

CORNWALL  _calling_  Fetch forth the stocks!—

As I have life and honour, there shall he sit till noon.

REGAN

Till noon?—till night, my lord, and all night too.

KENT

Why, madam, if I were your father's dog

You could not use me so.

REGAN Sir, being his knave, I will. 130

 _Stocks brought out_

CORNWALL

This is a fellow of the selfsame nature

Our sister speaks of.—Come, bring away the stocks.

GLOUCESTER

Let me beseech your grace not to do so.

His fault is much, and the good King his master

Will check him for't. Your purposed low correction 135

119, 126 _calling_ ] _not in_ Q 120 ancient] F; ausrent Qa; miscreant Qb 126 Stocking] F; Stobing Qa; Stopping Qb stocks!] Q (~?) 130.1 _Stocks brought out_ ] F; _not in_ Q; _after l_. 132 DYCE 132 speaks] Q2, F; speake Q1

120 **reverend** venerable (sarcastic)

125 **grace . . . person** kingly and human status

126 **stocks!** Either he calls off stage, or on-stage servants obey.

130 **being . . . knave** (you) being his servant

132 **sister** sister-in-law, Gonoril

**speaks** Q's 'speake' may represent a misreading of either 'speaks' or 'spake' ( _TC_ ), or could be an (unrecorded) spelling of 'spake'.

**bring away** Presumably an order to bring the stocks to the place where they are to be put to use (as Foakes notes, 'in some part of the stage that makes it practicable for Edgar to deliver his soliloquy at [166–186] and exit without noticing Kent'), or to prepare them for use.

135 **check** rebuke

**low correction** ignoble punishment

Is such as basest and contemnèd wretches

For pilf 'rings and most common trespasses

Are punished with. The King must take it ill

That he's so slightly valued in his messenger,

Should have him thus restrained.

CORNWALL I'll answer that. 140

REGAN

My sister may receive it much more worse

To have her gentlemen abused, assaulted,

For following her affairs. Put in his legs.

_They put Kent in the stocks_

Come, my good lord, away!

_Exeunt all but Gloucester and Kent_

GLOUCESTER

I am sorry for thee, friend. 'Tis the Duke's pleasure, 145

Whose disposition, all the world well knows,

Will not be rubbed nor stopped. I'll entreat for thee.

KENT

Pray you, do not, sir. I have watched and travelled hard.

Some time I shall sleep out; the rest I'll whistle.

A good man's fortune may grow out at heels. 150

Give you good morrow.

GLOUCESTER

The Duke's to blame in this; 'twill be ill took. _Exit_

KENT

Good King, that must approve the common say:

136 contemnèd] BLAYNEY; contaned Qa; temnest Qb; contemned'st CAPELL 143.1 _They . . . stocks_ ] POPE ( _conj_. Rowe); _not in_ Q 144.1 _Exeunt . . . Kent_ ] F ( _Exit_.); _not in_ Q 148 travelled] Q (trauaild) 149 out] Q2, F; ont Q1 152 _Exit_ ] Q2, F; _not in_ Q1 153 say] Qa; saw QB, Q2, F

136 **contemnèd** despised. Weis and HalioQ both adopt Capell's 'contemned'st' even though Weis says that 'contemned' is 'brilliantly extrapolated by Blayney' ( _Texts_ , pp. 247–8) 'from the layout of the Q proofsheet'. The superlative in _basest_ probably carries itself over to _contemnèd_.

140 **restrained** confined

**answer** answer for

141 **more worse** worse (an acceptable construction)

143 **following . . . affairs** pursuing her business

147 **rubbed** impeded, hindered (the only instance of this sense in _OED, rub, v_.1 3b)

150 **A good** i.e. even a good (?)

**out at heels** A commonplace (Dent H389), appropriate to one whose heels are in the stocks.

152 **took** taken

153 **approve** confirm

**say** saying. Well attested, though HalioQ (but not Weis) adopts corrected Q and F's 'saw', the usual Shakespearian form.

Thou out of heaven's benediction com'st

To the warm sun. 155

 _He takes out a letter_

Approach, thou beacon to this under globe,

That by thy comfortable beams I may

Peruse this letter. Nothing almost sees miracles

But misery. I know 'tis from Cordelia,

Who hath now fortunately been informed 160

Of my obscurèd course, and shall find time

For this enormous state, seeking to give

Losses their remedies. All weary and overwatched,

Take vantage, heavy eyes, not to behold

This shameful lodging. Fortune, good night; 165

Smile; once more turn thy wheel. _He sleeps_

_Enter Edgar_

154 com'st] Q (comest) 155.1 _He . . . letter_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q 158 miracles] F (myrackles); my rackles Qa; my wracke Qb 160 now] OXFORD; not Qa; most Qb, Q2, F 162 For] ROWE; From QF 163 their] Qb; and Qa overwatched] Q2, F; ouerwatch Q1 164 Take] Qb; Late Qa 166 _He sleeps_ | _Enter Edgar_ ] OXFORD; _new scene_ (2.3) STEEVENS _etc. He_ ] _not in_ Q heard] F; heare Q

154–5 **out . . . sun** Proverbial (Dent G272. 'Out of God's blessing into the warm sun'), meaning 'from good to bad' (the heat of the sun being regarded as a misfortune).

156 **beacon** i.e. the sun, just rising **under globe** the earth

157 **comfortable** bringing comfort

158–9 **Nothing . . . misery** A cryptically abstract way of saying 'hardly anyone witnesses miracles except the afflicted' ('because to the desperate any relief seems miraculous' (Foakes)). Kent's 'miracle' is the letter from Cordelia.

160 **now** This emendation of uncorrected Q's 'not' is defended in Taylor, 'Four New Readings'. Weis and HalioQ follow corrected Q's 'most' without comment. Realistically, only Kent could have informed Cordelia of his disguise (Knowles, p. 35).

161 **obscurèd** darkened, disguised

161–3 **and . . . remedies** This is a much disputed passage. We assume that _Cordelia_ , not _I_ , is the subject of _shall_ , and that Kent is saying that she will find the time to act on behalf of England— _this enormous state_ —or more generally of the current terrible state of affairs, trying to find remedies for what has been lost. Q's 'From' (l. 162), retained by Weis but not HalioQ, who also adopts Rowe's 'For'—might just be explicable as 'Away from', i.e. in France, but 'For' would be an easy misreading and seems preferable. Editors have sometimes tried to make sense of the original by assuming that Kent reads one or more disjointed phrases from Cordelia's letter. The passage is discussed at greater length in _TC_.

162 **enormous state** excessively disordered, wildly irregular state of things, or country. A parallel occurs in _Kinsmen_ when Arcite prays to Mars as the 'great corrector of enormous times' (5.1.61).

163 **overwatched** exhausted for lack of sleep

164 **vantage** advantage of the opportunity (by going to sleep)

166 **wheel** 'Fortune's wheel is ever turning' was proverbial (Dent F617). Charles Nicholl discusses recurrent wheel imagery in the course of an alchemical interpretation of the play in _The Chemical Theatre_ (1980), pp. 145–7, etc., remarking 'The Wheel is the "journey" undertaken by all the central characters . . . in short, the pattern of _King Lear_ ' (p. 147).

EDGAR I heard myself proclaimed,

And by the happy hollow of a tree

Escaped the hunt. No port is free, no place

That guard and most unusual vigilance

Does not attend my taking. While I may scape 170

I will preserve myself, and am bethought

To take the basest and most poorest shape

That ever penury in contempt of man

Brought near to beast. My face I'll grime with filth,

Blanket my loins, elf all my hair with knots, 175

And with presented nakedness outface

The wind and persecution of the sky.

The country gives me proof and precedent

Of Bedlam beggars who with roaring voices

Strike in their numbed and mortified bare arms 180

Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary,

And with this horrible object from low farms,

Poor pelting villages, sheep-cotes and mills

170 Does] F; Dost Q; doth _or_ do OXFORD _conj_. taking. While] Q (~^~) 175 elf] F; else Q 180 and] Qb; _not in_ Qa 181 Pins] Qb; Pies Qa 182 from] Qb; frame Qa farms] F (fermes); seruice Q

166 **_Enter Edgar_** Shakespeare's audience would have accepted the convention by which Edgar shows no awareness of Kent's presence and appears to be in a different place. Juxtaposition of the two men is emblematically fitting. Editors have often marked a new scene here and at l. 186.1, but the stage is not cleared.

166 **proclaimed** (as an outlaw)

167 **happy** luckily available

168 **port** seaport, gate (as at 6.80) **free** unguarded, i.e. safe

168–9 **no . . . That** i.e. there is no place where

169 **guard** watchfulness

170 **attend my taking** apply itself to my capture, is in waiting for me

**scape** escape

171 **bethought** resolved

172 **most poorest** An acceptable double superlative (Abbott 11).

**shape** disguise

173 **in . . . man** despising mankind

174–86 **My face . . . am** Actors sometimes alter their appearance as they speak these lines. Rosenberg (p. 151) remarks: 'The process of stripping before the audience is central, will anticipate Lear's action; particularly so if Edgar too must throw off conspicuously rich clothes to become nothing.'

175 **Blanket** cover with a blanket ( _OED_ 's first use of the verb)

**elf** tangle as an elf might do. _OED_ 's first instance of a rare verb.

176 **presented** displayed

178 **proof** evidence

179 **Bedlam beggars** Explained at 2.126–7n. In _The Bellman of London_ , Thomas Dekker writes of 'Tom of Bedlam's band of madcaps, otherwise called "Poor Tom's flock of wild geese", whom here thou seest by his black and blue naked arms to be a man beaten to the world' (1608, sig. C1v).

180 **mortified** numbed, insensible (presumably as the result of long misuse)

181 **pricks** skewers

182 **object** spectacle, sight

**farms** F's reading. Both HalioQ and Weis retain Q's 'seruice', Weis glossing as 'lowly, poor servants, perhaps tenant farmers in the countryside'. This seems strained especially as the next line mentions only places, not people.

183 **pelting** unimportant, paltry

Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers

Enforce their charity. 'Poor Tuelygod, Poor Tom!' 185

That's something yet. Edgar I nothing am. _Exit_

_Enter King Lear, his Fool, and a Knight_

LEAR

'Tis strange that they should so depart from home

And not send back my messenger.

KNIGHT As I learned,

The night before there was no purpose

Of his remove.

KENT ( _waking_ ) Hail to thee, noble master. 190

LEAR

How! Mak'st thou this shame thy pastime?

FOOL Ha, ha, look, he wears cruel garters! Horses are tied

by the heads, dogs and bears by th' neck, monkeys by th'

loins, and men by th' legs. When a man's over-lusty at

legs, then he wears wooden nether-stocks. 195

LEAR ( _to Kent_ )

What's he that hath so much thy place mistook

To set thee here?

KENT It is both he and she:

Your son and daughter.

LEAR No.

KENT Yes.

185 Tuelygod] Qa; Turly god Qb, Q2, F; tirlery-gaud STONE _conj_. 186–186.1 _Exit_ | _Enter_ ] OXFORD; _new scene_ (2.4) STEEVENS 186.1 _Lear . . . Knight_ ] _not in_ Q 187 home] F; hence Q 189 purpose] Q; purpose in them F 190 _waking_ ] STAUNTON; _not in_ Q 193 heads] F; heeles Q

184 **bans** curses

185 **Tuelygod** The word is otherwise unknown; editors usually adopt Qb's alternative 'Turlygod', but as neither word has meaning, the choice is immaterial. Schmidt suggests 'seemingly a name given to bedlam-beggars'. The matter is discussed at length in _TC_.

186 **That's . . . yet** i.e. at least I shall have some identity

**nothing** in no way

186.1 Editors often mark a new scene, but there is no change in place or time.

**they** Cornwall and Regan

189–90 **purpose . . . remove** intention that he should leave

192 **cruel** (a) harsh; (b) made of crewel, a worsted yarn used to make stockings

193 **heads** HalioQ retains Q's 'heeles'; Weis follows F, as here. Q is not nonsense, but F seems closer to normal practice.

194–5 **over-lusty at legs** Dekker uses the phrase to mean simply 'hyper-active': 'tradesmen, as if they were dancing galliards, are lusty at legs, and never stand still' ( _The Seven Deadly Sins of London_ (1606), quoted Smith, p. 54); here it may signify 'too much of a vagabond', or 'over-active sexually'.

195 **nether-stocks** stockings. _OED_ 's only instance of the transferred sense.

196 **place** position, office

197 **To** as to

198 **son** son-in-law

LEAR No, I say.

KENT

I say yea.

LEAR No, no, they would not.

KENT Yes, they have.

LEAR

By Jupiter, I swear no. They durst not do't, 200

They would not, could not do't. 'Tis worse than murder,

To do upon respect such violent outrage.

Resolve me with all modest haste which way

Thou mayst deserve or they propose this usage,

Coming from us.

KENT My lord, when at their home 205

I did commend your highness' letters to them,

Ere I was risen from the place that showed

My duty kneeling, came there a reeking post

Stewed in his haste, half breathless, panting forth

From Gonoril, his mistress, salutations, 210

Delivered letters spite of intermission,

Which presently they read, on whose contents

They summoned up their meiny, straight took horse,

Commanded me to follow and attend

The leisure of their answer, gave me cold looks; 215

And meeting here the other messenger,

Whose welcome I perceived had poisoned mine—

204 propose] OXFORD; purpose Q; impose F 213 meiny] F; men Q

200 **Jupiter** King of the gods in Roman mythology.

202 **upon respect** to one who should be respected (cf. _OED, respect, sb_. 16c); or upon consideration

203 **Resolve** inform

**modest** reasonable

204 **propose** Our emendation from Q's 'purpose' improves the metre and, arguably, the sense. It is not accepted by HalioQ or Weis.

205 **Coming** seeing that you came

**us** The royal plural, used by Lear for the last time (Foakes).

206 **commend** deliver

**letters** could mean 'a letter'.

208 **duty** respect

208 **reeking** steaming (with sweat); _OED_ 's first instance of the adjective used of a person.

**post** messenger

211 **spite of intermission** although he was interrupting me (or 'in spite of the gasps and pauses that his breathless condition required'—Hunter)

212 **presently** immediately

**on** i.e. as a result of

213 **meiny** retinue. Q's 'men', accepted by HalioQ and Weis, makes sense, 'but the presence of _meiny_ in related contexts in Harsnet, the ease of misreading the rare "meinie" for commonplace "menne", and the metrical irregularity combine to support the emendation' ( _TC_ ).

Being the very fellow that of late

Displayed so saucily against your highness—

Having more man than wit about me, drew. 220

He raised the house with loud and coward cries.

Your son and daughter found this trespass worth

This shame which here it suffers.

LEAR

O, how this mother swells up toward my heart!

_Histerica passio_ , down, thou climbing sorrow; 225

Thy element's below.—Where is this daughter?

KENT

With the Earl, sir, within.

LEAR Follow me not; stay there.

_Exit_

KNIGHT ( _to Kent_ )

Made you no more offence than what you speak of?

KENT

No. How chance the King comes with so small a train?

FOOL An thou hadst been set in the stocks for that question, thou hadst well deserved it. 230

KENT Why, fool?

FOOL We'll set thee to school to an ant, to teach thee there's no labouring in the winter. All that follow their noses are led by their eyes but blind men, and there's not a nose among a hundred but can smell him that's stinking. Let go thy hold when a great wheel runs down a hill, lest it break thy neck with following it; but the great one that goes up the hill, let him draw thee after. When a wise man gives thee better counsel, give me mine again. I would have none but knaves follow it, since a fool gives it. 235 240

220 Having] QF; I, having OXFORD _conj_. 225 _Histerica_ ] F4; _Historica_ QF 227 there.] Q (~?) 227.1 _Exit_ ] F; _not in_ Q

219 **Displayed so saucily** acted ostentatiously in so insolent a manner ( _OED_ 's only instance of this use of 'display')

220 **Having . . . wit** (I) having more valour than discretion

**drew** drew my sword

222 **this trespass** this offence of mine

224–5 **mother . . . _Histerica passio_** 'Mother' was the common name for hysteria; _OED_ 's first instance of 'hysterica [ _sic_ ] passio' (Latin, 'suffering of the womb') is from Harsnet, where Shakespeare may have picked it up. Hoeniger, in an interesting discussion (pp. 320–4), notes that the illness is 'marked by fearful and painful ( _passio_ ) sensations rising from the lower abdomen to the heart and the throat'. Properly, as it originates in the womb, it could only afflict women, but Harsnet (p. 401) includes the confession of a man who says that he 'had a spice of the mother . . . whether I do rightly term it the mother or no, I know not'. He names other men who suffered from the same disease, which 'riseth . . . of a wind in the bottom of the belly, and, proceeding with a great swelling, causeth a very painful colic in the stomach and an extraordinary giddiness in the head' and fears that he, like his brother, will die of it.

225 **sorrow** _OED_ ( _sb_. 5a) cites the obsolete sense 'Physical pain or suffering'; its last example is from 1398, but this is clearly the meaning here.

226 **element** proper place

233–4 **We'll . . . winter** Ants lay up food in the summer for the winter. The Fool implies that no profit is to be gained from serving Lear in the winter of his fortunes. The passage may be influenced by Proverbs 6: 6, 8: 'Go to the pismire [ant], O sluggard; behold her ways and be wise. . . . Prepareth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in harvest.'

 _Sings_   That sir that serves for gain

And follows but for form,

Will pack when it begin to rain, 245

And leave thee in the storm.

But I will tarry, the fool will stay,

And let the wise man fly.

The knave turns fool that runs away,

The fool no knave, pardie. 250

KENT Where learnt you this, fool?

FOOL Not in the stocks.

_Enter King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester_

LEAR

Deny to speak with me? They're sick, they're weary?

They travelled hard tonight?—mere insolence,

Ay, the images of revolt and flying off. 255

Fetch me a better answer.

GLOUCESTER My dear lord,

You know the fiery quality of the Duke,

250 pardie] Q (perdy) 252.1 _King_ ] _not in_ Q _the Earl of_ ] _not in_ Q 254 insolence] BLAYNEY; Iustice Q; fetches F

236–7 **stinking** like a corpse. Anyone in their senses would know that it's best to avoid Lear.

240 **give . . . again** i.e. return it

243 **sir** man, servant

244 **form** mere show

245 **pack** pack up, leave

**begin** Subjunctive (Abbott 368).

249–50 **The knave . . . knave** The Fool plays with paradoxes about folly and wisdom. 'The fellow that forsakes his master is (from the point of view of the higher wisdom) a fool, since true wisdom implies fidelity; and the fool who, like me, remains faithful is, at all events, no knave' (Kittredge).

250 **pardie** by God

253 **Deny** (do they) refuse

254 **tonight** last night ( _OED adv_. 3)

**insolence** Q's 'Iustice' is obviously wrong and could not represent F's 'fetches'. HalioQ also accepts BlayneyQ's emendation.

255 **images** symbols, embodiments

**flying off** desertion

257 **quality** disposition

How unremovable and fixed he is

In his own course.

LEAR Vengeance, death, plague, confusion!

What 'fiery quality'? Why, Gloucester, I'd 260

Speak with the Duke of Cornwall and his wife.

GLOUCESTER Ay, my good lord.

LEAR

The King would speak with Cornwall; the dear father

Would with his daughter speak, commands, tends service.

'Fiery'? The Duke?—tell the hot Duke that Lear— 265

No, but not yet. Maybe he is not well.

Infirmity doth still neglect all office

Whereto our health is bound. We are not ourselves

When nature, being oppressed, commands the mind

To suffer with the body. I'll forbear, 270

And am fallen out with my more headier will,

To take the indisposed and sickly fit

For the sound man.—Death on my state,

Wherefore should he sit here? This act persuades me

That this remotion of the Duke and her 275

Is practice only. Give me my servant forth.

Tell the Duke and 's wife I'll speak with them,

Now, presently. Bid them come forth and hear me,

Or at their chamber door I'll beat the drum

Till it cry sleep to death.

GLOUCESTER I would have all well 280

Betwixt you. _Exit_

263 father] Qb; fate Qa 264 his] Qb; the Qa commands] Qb; come and Qa tends] Qa; her Qb; their ALEXANDER 265 'Fiery'? The] BLAYNEY; The fierie Qa; Fierie Qb; Fiery? The Fiery? F 266 No] Qb; Mo Qa 269 commands] Q2; Cõmand Q1 276 practice only. Give] f; ~, ~ Q

264 **tends** awaits

267–8 **Infirmity . . . bound** A generalized way of saying 'in illness we always neglect that duty which we are committed to in health'.

271 **fallen . . . will** have repudiated my more precipitate impulse

272–3 **take . . . For** mistake the irregular behaviour of one who is unwell for that of. Weis interprets _sickly fit_ as 'those who are sick while appearing well', but this is anachronistic: _OED, fit, a_. 6.

273 **state** Both 'condition' and the 'kingly power' that he no longer exerts.

275 **remotion** departure ( _OED_ , first example of this sense); 'act of keeping aloof' (Schmidt)

276 **practice only** just a cunning trick

278 **presently** immediately

LEAR O, my heart, my heart!

FOOL Cry to it, nuncle, as the cockney did to the eels when she put 'em i'th' paste alive. She rapped 'em o'th' cox-combs with a stick, and cried 'Down, wantons, down!' 'Twas her brother that, in pure kindness to his horse, buttered his hay. 285

_Enter the Duke of Cornwall and Regan, the Earl of_

_Gloucester, and others_

LEAR Good morrow to you both.

CORNWALL Hail to your grace.

 _Kent here set at liberty_

REGAN I am glad to see your highness.

LEAR

Regan, I think you are. I know what reason 290

I have to think so. If thou shouldst not be glad

I would divorce me from thy mother's shrine,

Sepulchring an adultress. ( _To Kent_ ) Yea, are you free?

Some other time for that.—Belovèd Regan,

Thy sister is naught. O, Regan, she hath tied 295

Sharp-toothed unkindness like a vulture here.

I can scarce speak to thee. Thou'lt not believe

Of how deplored a quality—O, Regan!

286.1–2 _Enter . . . Gloucester_ ] Q ( _Enter Duke and Regan_.) 286.2 _and others_ ] BLAYNEY; _not in_ Q; _Seruants_ F 288 CORNWALL] Q (' _Duke_ ' _throughout the scene_ ) 288.1 _Kent here set at liberty_ ] F; _not in_ Q 292 divorce] Qb (diuorse); deuose Qa shrine,] OXFORD; fruit, Qa; tombe Qb, F 297 Thou'lt] Q (thout) 298 deplored] BLAYNEY ( _conj_. Stone); deptoued Qa; depriue  Qb; deprau'd F

282 **cockney** 'squeamish [because unwilling to kill the eels before cooking them], over-nice, wanton, or affected woman' ( _OED sb_. 2d, first instance), also 'Londoner'.

**did to the eels** No other instance of the anecdote is known. It is a parable of Lear's fruitless attempt to subdue what in F he calls 'my heart, my rising heart'.

283 **paste** pastry (for a pie)

283–4 **coxcombs** heads (jocular)

284 **wantons** 'sportive or roguish animal[s]' ( _OED_ B _sb_. 2b, first instance)

286 **buttered . . . hay** A misplaced kindness exemplary of innocent folly.

292 **mother** This is the play's only reference to Lear's wife. The critical implications of this are investigated by Coppélia Kahn in 'The Absent Mother in _King Lear_ ', in _Rewriting the Renaissance_ , ed. M. Ferguson, _et al_. (Chicago and London, 1986), 33–49, where she traces 'Lear's progress toward acceptance of the woman in himself'.

292 **shrine** tomb. Taylor's emendation of uncorrected Q's 'fruit', defended in 'Four New Readings'. Weis and HalioQ accept corrected Q's 'tombe'.

293 **Sepulchring** serving as a burial place for ( _OED_ 's first instance of this sense)

295 **naught** worthless, wicked

296 **vulture** Alluding to the legend of Prometheus, who, having stolen fire from the gods, was punished by being chained to a rock where a vulture gnawed continually at his liver.

298 **deplored** BlayneyQ's emendation, proposed by Stone but not accepted by HalioQ or Weis, attempts to make sense of the Q readings without recourse to F.

REGAN

I pray you, sir, take patience. I have hope

You less know how to value her desert 300

Than she to slack her duty.

LEAR My curses on her.

REGAN O sir, you are old.

Nature in you stands on the very verge

Of her confine. You should be ruled and led 305

By some discretion that discerns your state

Better than you yourself. Therefore I pray

That to our sister you do make return;

Say you have wronged her, sir.

LEAR Ask her forgiveness?

Do you mark how this becomes the house? 310

 _Kneeling_   'Dear daughter, I confess that I am old.

Age is unnecessary. On my knees I beg

That you'll vouchsafe me raiment, bed, and food.'

REGAN

Good sir, no more. These are unsightly tricks.

Return you to my sister.

LEAR  _rising_   No, Regan. 315

She hath abated me of half my train,

Looked black upon me, struck me with her tongue

Most serpent-like upon the very heart.

All the stored vengeances of heaven fall

On her ungrateful top! Strike her young bones, 320

You taking airs, with lameness!

299 you] F; _not in_ Q 304 in] F; on Q 309 sir.] Q2; ~? Q1 forgiveness?] Q (~,) 311 _Kneeling_ ] HANMER; _not in_ Q 315 _rising_ ] DYCE; _not in_ Q 320 top!] Q (~,) 321 lameness!] Q (~.)

299 **you** Metrically desirable and presumably (like 'in' in l. 304) accidentally omitted from Q.

300–1 **You . . . duty** An awkward way of saying 'you are less able to appreciate her worth than she is of neglecting her duty'.

304–5 **Nature . . . confine** A stilted way of saying 'You're very close to death.'

304 **verge** extreme limit

305 **confine** allocated space

306 **some discretion that** i.e. the good sense of someone who

**discerns your state** perceives, understands your condition

310 **becomes the house** befits the (royal) household, family

314 **unsightly** ugly ( _OED_ 's first use of the word 'Applied to immaterial things')

316 **abated** deprived

317 **struck** wounded ( _OED, strike, v_. 37)

318 **serpent** Used generally of venomous reptiles.

320 **top** head

**young bones** Probably 'bones of any infant that she may breed', as at _Leir_ , l. 844, 'poor soul, she breeds young bones, | And that is it that makes her so touchy, sure'. Lear could imply that she is already pregnant, but it seems likely that if this were so, more prominence would have been given to it.

CORNWALL Fie, fie, sir.

LEAR

You nimble lightnings, dart your blinding flames

Into her scornful eyes. Infect her beauty,

You fen-sucked fogs drawn by the pow'rful sun

To fall and blast her pride.

REGAN O, the blest gods! 325

So will you wish on me when the rash mood—

LEAR

No, Regan. Thou shalt never have my curse.

Thy tender-hested nature shall not give

Thee o'er to harshness. Her eyes are fierce, but thine

Do comfort and not burn. 'Tis not in thee 330

To grudge my pleasures, to cut off my train,

To bandy hasty words, to scant my sizes,

And, in conclusion, to oppose the bolt

Against my coming in. Thou better know'st

The offices of nature, bond of childhood, 335

Effects of courtesy, dues of gratitude.

Thy half of the kingdom hast thou not forgot,

Wherein I thee endowed.

REGAN Good sir, to th' purpose.

LEAR

Who put my man i'th' stocks?

 _Trumpets within_

322 LEAR] Q2 ( _Lear_.); _not in_ Q1 ( _which however indents the line as though it were the beginning of a speech_ ) 328 Thy] F; The Q 339 _Trumpets within_ ] ROWE; _not in_ Q; _Tucket within_. F ( _one line earlier_ )

321 **taking** infectious, 'catching' ( _OED ppl. a_. 3, first use of this rare sense)

324 **fen-sucked fogs** As in _Tempest_ , 2.2. 1–2 'All the infections that the sun sucks up | From bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall . . .'.

326 **mood** F completes the sentence with 'is on', but the ellipsis is marked in Q.

328 **tender-hested** may mean 'tender-purposed': _OED, hest, v_. 3, offers one instance of the verbal noun 'hesting' meaning 'purpose, design'. F's 'tender-hefted', defined by _OED_ as 'set in a delicate "haft" or bodily frame; hence, womanly, gentle' ( _tender, a_. [ _adv_.] and _n_., C), adopted by Halio and Weis, is no less recondite.

332 **scant my sizes** curtail my allowances (of food and drink)

333 **oppose the bolt** shut the doorbolt as an obstacle

335 **offices of nature** natural obligations

**childhood** childship, filial relation ( _OED_ 5, first recorded use in this obsolete sense)

336 **Effects** manifestations

338 **to th' purpose** come to the point

CORNWALL What trumpet's that?

_Enter Oswald the steward_

REGAN

I know't, my sister's. This approves her letters 340

That she would soon be here. ( _To Oswald_ ) Is your lady come?

LEAR

This is a slave whose easy-borrowed pride

Dwells in the fickle grace of her a follows.

 _He strikes Oswald_

Out, varlet, from my sight!

CORNWALL What means your grace?

_Enter Gonoril_

GONORIL

Who struck my servant? Regan, I have good hope 345

Thou didst not know on't.

LEAR Who comes here? O heavens,

If you do love old men, if your sweet sway

Allow obedience, if yourselves are old,

Make it your cause! Send down and take my part.

( _To Gonoril_ ) Art not ashamed to look upon this beard? 350

O Regan, wilt thou take her by the hand?

GONORIL

Why not by the hand, sir? How have I offended?

339.1 _Oswald the_ ] _not in_ Q 343.1 _He strikes Oswald_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF 346 on't] Q (ant) 347 your] F; you Q

340 **I know't** implies an identifiable trumpet call (Steevens), specific to Regan.

**approves** confirms (the contents of)

342 **easy-borrowed pride** _Pride_ could mean 'ostentatious adornment or ornamentation' ( _OED sb_.1 7), in which case this phrase would mean that Oswald's finery has been readily, or casually, lent by his mistress. The hyphen is editorial; some editors interpret _easy_ as an adjective (e.g. Foakes, glossing 'casual or effortless').

343 **fickle grace** uncertain favour

**a** he (the unemphatic form)

343.1 **_He_ . . . _Oswald_** Oxford's direction, assuming that Oswald is visibly reeling on Gonoril's entrance. But possibly '"Who struck my servant?" refers to Oswald's earlier encounter with Kent' ( _TC_ ).

344 **Out . . . sight** Weis instructs Oswald to leave, yet assumes his presence without re-entry at l. 374. Perhaps his mistress encounters him as he is about to leave through the door by which she enters.

344.1 **_Enter Gonoril_** She takes Regan's hand at some point between here and l. 351.

346 **heavens** Here equated with the gods.

347–8 **your . . . obedience** your benevolent rule approves of obedience. HalioQ, like this edition, adopts F's _your_ ; Weis retains Q's 'you', interpreting 'if you grant ( _Allow_ ) to humility gentle government'—a possible but tortured construction.

350 **beard** 'an emblem of age, and therefore of authority and deserving' (Hunter)

All's not offence that indiscretion finds

And dotage terms so.

LEAR O sides, you are too tough!

Will you yet hold?—How came my man i'th' stocks? 355

CORNWALL

I set him there, sir; but his own disorders

Deserved much less advancement.

LEAR You? Did you?

REGAN

I pray you, father, being weak, seem so.

If till the expiration of your month

You will return and sojourn with my sister, 360

Dismissing half your train, come then to me.

I am now from home, and out of that provision

Which shall be needful for your entertainment.

LEAR

Return to her, and fifty men dismissed?

No, rather I abjure all roofs, and choose 365

To be a comrade with the wolf and owl,

To wage against the enmity of the air

Necessity's sharp pinch. Return with her?

Why, the hot-blood in France that dowerless took

Our youngest born—I could as well be brought 370

To knee his throne and, squire-like, pension beg

To keep base life afoot. Return with her?

Persuade me rather to be slave and sumpter

To this detested groom.

366–7 To be . . . air] THEOBALD; _lines in reverse order_ QF 371 beg] Q2, F; bag Q1

353–4 **indiscretion . . . so** poor judgement considers and second childishness terms so

356 **disorders** misdemeanours

357 **advancement** promotion (ironical)

365–8 Lear's angry response to Regan's sweet reasonableness is not entirely coherent. Somewhat tentatively, we follow Theobald in transposing lines 367 and 366, taking _wage_ to mean wager. This change is supported by Blayney ( _Texts_ , p. 215), who posits eyeslip causing omission of line 367 followed by inaccurate replacement. The change is disputed by Foakes, who (like e.g. Kittredge and Muir) takes _Necessity_ ' _s sharp pinch_ to be 'a phrase in apposition with, and summing up, Lear's angry and incoherent choice in the previous three lines'. Like HalioQ and _OED_ ( _v_. 10c, listing as a nonce-use), he takes _wage_ to mean 'struggle, do battle'.

369 **hot-blood** impetuous person (not recorded in _OED_ , but similar to F's 'hot-bloodied _France_ '); 'hot-blooded' is first recorded in _Merry Wives_ (5.5.2).

371 **knee** do obeisance to

**squire-like** 'In the manner of a squire or attendant; humbly, submissively' ( _OED_ , giving this as its only instance of the adverbial usage).

372 **base life afoot** a wretched life in existence

373 **sumpter** packhorse, beast of burden

**groom** servant or stableman

GONORIL At your choice, sir.

LEAR

Now I prithee, daughter, do not make me mad. 375

I will not trouble thee, my child. Farewell.

We'll no more meet, no more see one another.

But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter—

Or rather a disease that lies within my flesh,

Which I must needs call mine. Thou art a boil, 380

A plague-sore, an embossèd carbuncle

In my corrupted blood. But I'll not chide thee.

Let shame come when it will, I do not call it.

I do not bid the thunder-bearer shoot,

Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove. 385

Mend when thou canst; be better at thy leisure.

I can be patient, I can stay with Regan,

I and my hundred knights.

REGAN Not altogether so, sir.

I look not for you yet, nor am provided

For your fit welcome. Give ear, sir, to my sister; 390

For those that mingle reason with your passion

Must be content to think you are old, and so—

But she knows what she does.

LEAR Is this well spoken now?

REGAN

I dare avouch it, sir. What, fifty followers?

379 that lies within] Q; that's in F 380 boil] QF (bile)

381 **embossèd** swollen, tumid

**carbuncle** a gangrenous ulcer (Schmidt; also symptomatic of the plague (Hoeniger, p. 216)); stressed on the second syllable.

382 **corrupted blood** diseased lineage. 'Corruption of blood' was a legal term referring to 'the effect of an attainder upon a person attainted, by which his blood was held to have become tainted or "corrupted" by his crime, so that he and his descendants lost all rights of rank and title . . .' ( _OED, corruption_ , 2b).

383 **call** summon, ask for

384 **thunder-bearer** Jupiter, king of the gods; _OED_ 's first instance.

**shoot** throw a thunderbolt (as he does in _Cymbeline_ , 5.5.186.2)

385 **high-judging** judging from on high

**Jove** A poetical equivalent of Jupiter. Lear either uses both _thunder-bearer_ and _Jove_ to refer to the same deity, or thinks of Jupiter and Jove as different gods.

386 **Mend** improve

389 **look . . . for** expect. Probably an example of the 'Indicative simple present for complete present with adverbs signifying "as yet", etc.' (Abbott 346).

391 **mingle . . . passion** temper your emotionalism with reason

392 **so—** 'Regan breaks off as if she were about to repeat what she said at [303–7]' (Foakes)—or perhaps she holds back from saying what she really means.

394 **avouch it** vouch for, confirm it

Is it not well? What should you need of more, 395

Yea, or so many, sith that both charge and danger

Speaks 'gainst so great a number? How in a house

Should many people under two commands

Hold amity? 'Tis hard, almost impossible.

GONORIL

Why might not you, my lord, receive attendance 400

From those that she calls servants, or from mine?

REGAN

Why not, my lord? If then they chanced to slack you,

We could control them. If you will come to me—

For now I spy a danger—I entreat you

To bring but five-and-twenty; to no more 405

Will I give place or notice.

LEAR I gave you all.

REGAN And in good time you gave it.

LEAR

Made you my guardians, my depositaries,

But kept a reservation to be followed 410

With such a number. What, must I come to you

With five-and-twenty, Regan? Said you so?

REGAN

And speak't again, my lord. No more with me.

LEAR

Those wicked creatures yet do seem well favoured

When others are more wicked. Not being the worst 415

Stands in some rank of praise. ( _To Gonoril_ ) I'll go with thee.

Thy fifty yet doth double five-and-twenty,

And thou art twice her love.

395 of] QF; have _conj_. This edition

395 **What . . . more** what need should you have. Possibly, since Q's 'of' means 'have' at 24.301, this should be modernized to 'What [i.e. why] need have more'.

396 **sith that** since

**charge . . . danger** considerations of expense and danger (of riotous behaviour)

399 **Hold amity** sustain friendly relations

402 **slack you** give you inadequate service

406 **place or notice** room or attention

407 **I . . . all** In _Leir_ , the King says to Ragan 'Ah, cruel Ragan, did I give thee all' (l. 2144).

409 **depositaries** trustees. _OED_ 's first instance of the word, but it occurs along with 'guardian' in Florio's _Montaigne_ (Muir, p. 237).

410 **reservation** reserved right, saving clause ( _OED_ 's first instance (3a) of this sense)

414 **well favoured** good looking, attractive

417–18 **Thy . . . love** Lear still thinks that love can be quantified.

GONORIL Hear me, my lord.

What need you five-and-twenty, ten, or five,

To follow in a house where twice so many 420

Have a command to tend you?

REGAN What needs one?

LEAR

O, reason not the need! Our basest beggars

Are in the poorest thing superfluous.

Allow not nature more than nature needs,

Man's life is cheap as beast's. Thou art a lady. 425

If only to go warm were gorgeous,

Why, nature needs not what thou, gorgeous, wearest,

Which scarcely keeps thee warm. But for true need—

You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need.

You see me here, you gods, a poor old fellow, 430

As full of grief as age, wretchèd in both.

If it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts

Against their father, fool me not so much

To bear it tamely. Touch me with noble anger.

O, let not women's weapons, water-drops, 435

Stain my man's cheeks! No, you unnatural hags,

I will have such revenges on you both

That all the world shall—I will do such things—

What they are, yet I know not; but they shall be

The terrors of the earth. You think I'll weep. 440

No, I'll not weep.

 _Storm within_

422 need] F; deed Q 425 life is] F; life as Q1; life's as Q2 433 so] F; to Q 434 tamely] F; lamely Q 436 cheeks!] Q (~,) 441.1 _Storm within_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q; _Storme and Tempest_. F ( _after_ 'weeping')

420 **follow** follow, attend you

423 **superfluous** superabundantly supplied

424 **nature . . . nature** Lear struggles to express a distinction between human and animal nature.

425 **life is** Q2's 'life's as' (adopted by HalioQ) is no less plausible than F's correction of Q's 'life as'.

427–8 **gorgeous . . . warm** A hint that Gonoril should be 'gorgeously'—colourfully—costumed with more concern for appearance than for protection or modesty.

433–4 **fool . . . To** do not make me such a fool as to

435 **women's weapons** Proverbial: 'Tears are women's weapons' (Dent T82.2).

**water-drops** tears ( _OED_ 2, first instance of this sense of an expression first recorded at _Richard II_ 4.1.252)

441.1 **_Storm within_** i.e. storm noises, probably produced by drum beats or the sound of cannon-balls rolled down a trough, are heard from behind the tiring-house wall. The storm is also _within_ Lear himself: the external tempest figures that which rages in Lear's mind (11.12).

I have full cause of weeping, but this heart

Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws

Or ere I'll weep.—O fool, I shall go mad!

_Exeunt Lear, Gloucester, Kent_ ,  _Knight_ ,  _and Fool_

CORNWALL

Let us withdraw. 'Twill be a storm. 445

REGAN

This house is little. The old man and his people

Cannot be well bestowed.

GONORIL 'Tis his own blame;

Hath put himself from rest, and must needs taste his folly.

REGAN

For his particular I'll receive him gladly,

But not one follower. 450

CORNWALL

So am I purposed. Where is my lord of Gloucester?

REGAN

Followed the old man forth.

_Enter the Earl of Gloucester_

He is returned.

GLOUCESTER

The King is in high rage, and will I know not whither.

REGAN

'Tis good to give him way. He leads himself.

GONORIL ( _to Gloucester_ )

My lord, entreat him by no means to stay. 455

443 into] F; in Q flaws] F; flowes Q 444 mad!] Q (~.) 444.1 _Gloucester_ ] Q2 ( _Glocester_ ); _Leister_ Q1 _Knight_ ] _not in_ Q 447 blame;] HANMER; ~^ QF 451 purposed] Q (puspos'd) 452 _Enter . . . Gloucester_ ] Q (' _Enter_ ', _printed in right margin after l_. 451)

443 **into** Both Weis and HalioQ retain Q's unmetrical and unidiomatic 'in'.

**flaws** fragments ( _OED sb_.1 2, first instance of this sense)

444 **Or ere** before (Abbott 131)

444.1 **_Kent_** He has not been involved in the action since l. 288, when he was set free, but Q's explicit direction for him to exit here suggests that Shakespeare initially, at least, intended him to remain on stage until now. Foakes, noting that 'if he goes off into the storm with Lear it seems odd that he returns shortly . . . asking "Where's the King?" ' (8.2), suggests that he might leave after being released, at 7.294—as, indeed, Muir directs.

447 **bestowed** accommodated

**blame** fault

448 **Hath . . . rest** he has set himself apart from rest (both physical and mental). Weis follows Q's 'blame hath', without comment.

**taste** experience

449 **For . . . particular** so far as he himself is concerned

453 **will** will go

GLOUCESTER

Alack, the night comes on, and the bleak winds

Do sorely rustle. For many miles about

There's not a bush.

REGAN O sir, to wilful men

The injuries that they themselves procure

Must be their schoolmasters. Shut up your doors. 460

He is attended with a desperate train,

And what they may incense him to, being apt

To have his ear abused, wisdom bids fear.

CORNWALL

Shut up your doors, my lord. 'Tis a wild night.

My Regan counsels well. Come out o'th' storm. 465

_Exeunt_

**Sc. 8** _Storm. Enter the Earl of Kent disguised, and First Gentleman, at several doors_

KENT

What's here, beside foul weather?

465 Regan] Q ( _Reg_ )

**8.** 0.1 _Storm_.] F ( _Storme still_.); _not in_ Q 0.1 _the . . . First_ ] Q ( _Kent and a_ ) 0.1–2 _First Gentleman_ ] OXFORD; _a Gentleman_ Q

457 **rustle** Q prints 'russel'; F, 'ruffle'. Weis adopts F in his Q-based text because 'Q's text makes awkward sense only' and misreading would have been easy; but Cooper's definition in his _Thesaurus_ (1565) of _Strepito_ as 'to make noise often; to make a great noise: to rustle' (cited _OED v_. 1a) supports Q.

461 **with** by

**desperate** reckless, violent

462 **being** i.e. he being

463 **wisdom . . . fear** prudence advises us to take precautions against

465 The stocks would presumably have been removed at the end of the scene.

**8** The action is imagined as taking place in an open space traditionally referred to as a heath, though the word does not occur in the play. The sounds of the storm called for in the opening direction (not in Q) recur sporadically throughout this and the following scene, and may have been accompanied by visual effects, desirably more impressive than those satirized in the Induction to the play _A Warning for Fair Women_ (anon., 1599), where at the appearance of a ghost 'a little rosin flasheth forth, like smoke out of a tobacco pipe, or a boy's squib' (ll. 59–60). The interplay between the external and the internal storm requires careful orchestration. Roger Warren writes (privately) that in Peter Hall's 1997 Old Vic production 'although the sound effects were tremendous, they punctuated the speeches, so that the actors never had to shout them down'. Kent needs a purse from which he produces a ring (37–40).

0.1–2 **_First Gentleman_** Associated with Kent and Cordelia, he reappears in Sc. 17, 20, and 21. He is not the same as the messenger figure associated with Regan and Gonoril who appears in Sc. 16 and 24, and is usually given to the actor who plays the principal servant in Sc. 4.

FIRST GENTLEMAN One minded like the weather,

Most unquietly.

KENT I know you. Where's the King?

FIRST GENTLEMAN

Contending with the fretful element;

Bids the wind blow the earth into the sea

Or swell the curlèd waters 'bove the main, 5

That things might change or cease; tears his white hair,

Which the impetuous blasts, with eyeless rage,

Catch in their fury and make nothing of;

Strives in his little world of man to outscorn

The to-and-fro-conflicting wind and rain. 10

This night, wherein the cub-drawn bear would couch,

The lion and the belly-pinchèd wolf

Keep their fur dry, unbonneted he runs,

And bids what will take all.

3 element] Q; Elements F 9 outscorn] Q (outscorne); _not in_ F; outstorm MUIR ( _conj_. Steevens)

3 **fretful** agitated, gusty. This predates _OED_ 's first instance (3b) of this sense, from 1613.

**element** Possibly a misprint for F's 'elements', but Shakespeare uses the singular with a similar sense at e.g. _Henry V_ 4.1.102–3: 'the element shows to him as it doth to me'.

4–5 **wind . . . main** A Renaissance commonplace which Shakespeare often uses, possibly influenced by Psalm 46: 2–3: 'Though the earth be moved, and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof rage and swell'.

5 **swell** cause to rise ( _OED v_. 2b, first instance of this sense)

**main** could mean 'sea'—i.e. the waves swell above the level of the ocean—but more probably 'mainland'; the confusion of the elements is a characteristic Shakespearian theme, as at _Othello_ 2.1.3–17, _Winter_ ' _s Tale_ 3.3.82–92, _Tempest_ 1.2.3–5.

6 **things** the world

**cease** i.e. fall into chaos, in which the elements are indistinguishable from one another

7 **impetuous** moving violently (related to 'impetus')

**eyeless** blind, undiscriminating

8 **Catch** 'seize on' ( _OED v_. 13, obsolete) seems the most appropriate sense.

8 **make . . . of** treat contemptuously ( _OED, make, v_.1 21a)

9 **little world of man** The common concept of man as a microcosm, a figure of the world.

**outscorn** Misreading of 'outstorm' (Muir, followed by Oxford) is entirely plausible, but 'out-scorn', listed by _OED_ ( _out_ -, 18c), though with no other example, and meaning 'overcome or defeat by scorn', may well be what Shakespeare wrote.

10 **to-and-fro-conflicting** _OED_ first records _conflicting_ in a passage of _Timon_ that has several points of contact with _Lear_ : 'Call the creatures | Whose naked natures live in all the spite | Of wreakful heaven, whose bare unhousèd trunks | To the conflicting elements exposed | Answer mere nature; bid them flatter thee' (4.3.228–32.)

11 **cub-drawn** Either 'led by its cubs', or 'drawn, sucked dry' by them, and so ravenous, or possibly 'robbed of its whelps' (Milward, p. 174), and so fierce.

**couch** take shelter (in spite of hunger?)

13 **unbonneted** with uncovered head (first recorded in _Othello_ 1.2.23); a stage in Lear's progress to nakedness

14 **bids . . . all** says that whoever wishes to do so may take everything—the cry of the gambler, 'Winner takes all.'

KENT But who is with him?

FIRST GENTLEMAN

None but the fool, who labours to outjest 15

His heart-struck injuries.

KENT Sir, I do know you,

And dare upon the warrant of my art

Commend a dear thing to you. There is division,

Although as yet the face of it be covered

With mutual cunning, 'twixt Albany and Cornwall; 20

But true it is. From France there comes a power

Into this scattered kingdom, who already,

Wise in our negligence, have secret feet

In some of our best ports, and are at point

To show their open banner. Now to you: 25

If on my credit you dare build so far

To make your speed to Dover, you shall find

Some that will thank you, making just report

Of how unnatural and bemadding sorrow

The King hath cause to plain. 30

I am a gentleman of blood and breeding,

And from some knowledge and assurance offer

This office to you.

FIRST GENTLEMAN I will talk farther with you.

KENT No, do not. 35

For confirmation that I am much more

20–1 Cornwall; | But true it is.] BLAYNEY; ~^ | ~ ~ ~ ~, Q1; ~. | ~ ~ ~ ~, Q2 36 am] F; _not in_ Q

15 **outjest** drive out, console, with jokes

16 **heart-struck** struck to the heart ( _OED_ 's first instance of the compound)

17 **art** skill (in judging character)

18 **Commend . . . thing** entrust an important matter

**division** discord. This relates back to the division of the kingdoms, 1.3–4.

21 **France** Either the country or its king.

**power** army

22 **scattered** disunited

23 **Wise . . . negligence** clever enough to take advantage of our carelessness

24–5 **at . . . banner** ready, about to reveal their flags of war

26 **on . . . far** you dare trust me so far as

27 **speed** speedy way

27 **Dover** An ancient port on the south coast of England, in Kent, regarded 'in older times' as 'the key to England' (Sugden), and famous for its white cliffs. This is the first of eleven references; the town's function in the play is discussed in the Introduction, pp. 33–4.

28 **making** i.e. when you make

29 **bemadding** driving mad. _OED_ 's first use of the verb.

30 **plain** complain

31 **gentleman . . . breeding** man of high birth and education ( _gentleman_ itself implies, properly, one entitled to bear arms)

32 **assurance** trustworthy information (Muir)

33 **office** task

Than my out-wall, open this purse, and take

What it contains. If you shall see Cordelia—

As fear not but you shall—show her this ring

And she will tell you who your fellow is, 40

That yet you do not know. Fie on this storm!

I will go seek the King.

FIRST GENTLEMAN Give me your hand.

Have you no more to say?

KENT Few words, but to effect

More than all yet: that when we have found the King—

In which endeavour I'll this way, you that— 45

He that first lights on him holla the other.

_Exeunt severally_

**Sc. 9** _Storm. Enter King Lear and his Fool_

LEAR

Blow, wind, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow,

You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout

Till you have drenched the steeples, drowned the cocks!

45 In which endeavour I'll this way, you that—] OXFORD; Ile this way, you that; Q; in which your pain | That way, Ile this: F; for whom I'll seek | This way, you that BLAYNEY _conj_ 46–9.0.1 on . . . _Enter_ ] Q ('On him, hollow the other. _Exeunt_. | _Enter_ '; Q _also prints_ ' _Enter_ ' _as a catchword after_ 'lights')

**9**.0.1 _Storm_.] F ( _Storme still_.); _not in_ Q _Enter . . . Fool_ ] Q ( _Enter Lear and Foole_.) 2 cataracts] F (caterackes); caterickes Q hurricanoes] F (Hyrricano's); Hircanios Q

37 **out-wall** appearance ( _OED_ b, first instance of the figurative use, defining as 'clothing')

39 **ring** He gives the Gentleman a ring.

40 **fellow** companion

43 **to effect** in importance (Onions)

45 **In . . . that** The first three words are our conjectural addition to Q. In _TC_ we remark: 'Q can only be defended by interpreting "Ile this way, you that" as parenthetically (and unmetrically) interrupting Kent's sentence; F suggests that Shakespeare would have found such an interpretation as impossibly strained as we do. F also suggests the gist of what Q appears to omit . . . but can hardly represent what stood in Q's copy.' Both HalioQ and Weis accept Q, while admitting the metrical difficulty.

46 **lights on** alights upon, finds

**9** The action is virtually continuous. Lear is bare-headed, at least by l. 61.

1–3 **Blow . . . cocks!** 'Invoking the roundcheeked wind gods and the water spouts banished to the edges of the great Renaissance world maps, Lear calls on them to reclaim the center of that ordered world and return it to chaos' (Mikalachki, p. 89). The lines are usually spoken defiantly, but Donald Sinden used a stage whisper, describing them in the interview noted at 1.124–5 as 'an invocation that a storm _should_ happen, rather than a comment on one that is already happening.' (p. 85). Sinden also notes the natural sequence _wind, rain, lightning, thunder_.

2 **cataracts and hurricanoes** _cataracts_ was 'applied to water-spouts' ( _OED sb_. 1b, citing this passage), 'produced by the action of a whirlwind on a portion of the sea and the clouds immediately above it' ( _OED, water-spout_ , 3); _OED_ first records 'hurricano', an 'early form of hurricane', here and in _Troilus_ , 'the dreadful spout | Which shipmen do the hurricano call' (5.2.174–5).

You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,

Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts, 5

Singe my white head; and thou all-shaking thunder,

Smite flat the thick rotundity of the world,

Crack nature's mould, all germens spill at once

That make ingrateful man.

FOOL O nuncle, court holy water in a dry house is better than this rain-water out o' door. Good nuncle, in, and ask thy daughters blessing. Here's a night pities neither wise man nor fool. 10

LEAR

Rumble thy bellyful; spit, fire; spout, rain.

Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters. 15

I task not you, you elements, with unkindness.

I never gave you kingdom, called you children.

You owe me no subscription. Why then, let fall

Your horrible pleasure. Here I stand your slave,

A poor, infirm, weak and despised old man, 20

But yet I call you servile ministers,

That have with two pernicious daughters joined

8 germens] QF (Germains) 16 task] Q (taske); taxe F

3 **cocks** weathercocks (at the top of the steeples—both anachronistic in a play about ancient Britain)

4 **thought-executing** Either 'doing execution as swiftly as thought' or 'fatal to thought'.

5 **Vaunt-couriers** advance guards, forerunners

6 **thou . . . thunder** Virtually another apostrophe to Jupiter the _thunder-bearer_ (7.384), directly invoked at 1.167 and 7.200.

7 **Smite** Often used of affliction by God ( _OED, smite, v_. 4).

**thick rotundity** solid roundedness; _thick_ here appears to be used in the sense 'solid, not hollow' ( _OED a_. 1d), recorded only in the early part of the fifteenth century.

8 **nature's mould** the mould in which nature makes men—here tantamount to 'womb'

**germens** seeds. _OED_ 's first use of the Latin-derived word, which antedates 'germ'; Lear seems oddly close to the modern biological use of 'germ-' for 'the female reproductive element, in opposition to _sperm_ -' ( _OED, germ, sb_. 1) as if he were thinking of the world as a vast woman from whom all the means of conception could be squeezed out.

8 **spill** could mean 'spoil', which 'has taken the place of the earlier _spill_ ( _OED v_. 1) in the sense 'destroy, ruin' (11a).

10 **court holy water** holy water sprinkled as a matter of form at court, hence empty promises, flattery; a proverbial phrase (Dent H532).

16 **task . . . with** call to account for. Editors, following F, often read 'tax', but _task_ is still current in this sense. Q reads 'taske'; the forms were interchangeable.

18 **subscription** assent, support; submission, allegiance ( _OED_ 6b, citing this as its only instance)

21 **servile** slavish, meanly submissive ( _OED a_. 3, citing this as its first instance)

**ministers** agents (of the gods)

22 **pernicious** wicked, villainous

Your high engendered battle 'gainst a head

So old and white as this. O, 'tis foul!

FOOL He that has a house to put his head in has a good headpiece. 25

[ _Sings_ ] The codpiece that will house

Before the head has any,

The head and he shall louse,

So beggars marry many. 30

The man that makes his toe

What he his heart should make

Shall have a corn cry woe,

And turn his sleep to wake—

for there was never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass. 35

LEAR

No, I will be the pattern of all patience.

[ _He sits_.] _Enter the Earl of Kent disguised_

I will say nothing.

KENT Who's there?

24 foul!] Q (~.) _27 Sings_ ] _not in_ Q 35 but] Qb; hut Qa 37.1 _He sits_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF _Enter . . . disguised_ ] Q ( _Enter Kent_.)

23 **high engendered** originated on high, in the heavens

**battle** Often glossed 'army' or 'battalion', but 'to join battle' was already a common expression ( _OED, join, v_.1 18a).

25 **house . . . in** A commonplace expression (Dent H784.1).

27 **codpiece** the protective, often showy covering of the genitals in breeches; here implying the penis, as in _Measure_ 3.1.378–9, 'for the rebellion of a codpiece to take away the life of a man'—and, more generally, irrationality.

**house** find a home

28 **any** i.e. any housing

29 **louse** be infested with lice ( _OED_ 's only instance: _louse, v_. 2)

30 **So . . . many** so it is that poor men take up with many women. HalioF suggests that '"many" may also refer to lice; or the word order may be inverted for the sake of rhyme: "many beggars marry after this fashion" (NS)'.

31–2 **makes . . . make** i.e. displays an inverted sense of values; in _Coriolanus_ Menenius insults 'one o'th' lowest, basest, poorest | Of this most wise rebellion' by calling him 'the great toe of this assembly' (1.1.153–6). 'Toe' may be 'a symbol of the phallus, paralleling "codpiece" ' (HalioF, citing Danby), in which case _corn_ might allude to venereal disease, but neither sense is recorded by Williams ( _Glossary_ and _Dictionary_ ). The expression 'I will not set at my heart what I should set at my heel' was proverbial (Dent H317).

35–6 **made . . . glass** practised her expressions in a mirror (whether out of vanity or hypocrisy)

37.1 **_He sits_** The action, called for by l. 42, is not marked in QF, but seems suitably placed here; sitting is an appropriate posture for an exemplary figure of patience, as Viola remarks ( _Twelfth Night_ 2.4.114). Lear probably rises at l. 49.

FOOL Marry, here's grace and a codpiece—that's a wise man and a fool. 40

KENT ( _to Lear_ )

Alas, sir, sit you here? Things that love night

Love not such nights as these. The wrathful skies

Gallow the very wanderers of the dark

And makes them keep their caves. Since I was man 45

Such sheets of fire, such bursts of horrid thunder,

Such groans of roaring wind and rain I ne'er

Remember to have heard. Man's nature cannot carry

The affliction nor the force.

LEAR Let the great gods,

That keep this dreadful pother o'er our heads, 50

Find out their enemies now. Tremble, thou wretch

That hast within thee undivulgèd crimes

Unwhipped of justice; hide thee, thou bloody hand,

Thou perjured and thou simular man of virtue

That art incestuous; caitiff, in pieces shake, 55

That under covert and convenient seeming

Hast practised on man's life;

Close pent-up guilts, rive your concealèd centres

And cry these dreadful summoners grace.

I am a man more sinned against than sinning. 60

44 wanderers] F; wanderer Q 54 simular man] Q; Simular F 58 concealèd centres] Q; concealing Continents F 60 than] F; their Q

40 **grace . . . codpiece** On the surface, Lear is _grace_ and the Fool the _codpiece_ as in l. 27; but ambiguity remains.

44 **Gallow** gally, terrify; _OED_ 's first instance (under 'gally', to which it should perhaps be modernized; but the spelling may reflect assimilation to 'gallow'—modern 'gallows'—with its frightening associations).

**wanderers** In view of _caves_ presumably refers to animals, not men.

45 **keep** remain in

46 **fire** lightning

**horrid** causing horror (stronger than in modern usage)

48 **carry** endure

49 **force** 'violence or "stress" of weather' ( _OED sb_.1 2d, first recorded 1614).

50 **pother** tumult (not, as now, facetious)

52 **undivulgèd** _OED_ 's first use of a word not later recorded until 1854.

53 **Unwhipped** _OED_ 's first use. **of** by

54 **simular . . . of** i.e. man who simulates, counterfeits

55 **caitiff** villain

56 **seeming** hypocrisy

57 **practised on** plotted against

58 **Close pent-up** narrowly confined, deeply buried

**rive . . . centres** split open your hidden cores, rend asunder the coverings of the containers (F's 'continents') where you cower concealed; _concealed_ is stressed on the first syllable (Cercignani, p. 35).

59 **cry . . . grace** beg for mercy from

**summoners** officials who summoned offenders before the ecclesiastical courts

KENT Alack, bare-headed?

Gracious my lord, hard by here is a hovel.

Some friendship will it lend you 'gainst the tempest.

Repose you there whilst I to this hard house—

More hard than is the stone whereof 'tis raised, 65

Which even but now, demanding after you,

Denied me to come in—return and force

Their scanted courtesy.

LEAR My wit begins to turn.

( _To Fool_ ) Come on, my boy. How dost, my boy? Art cold?

I am cold myself.—Where is this straw, my fellow? 70

The art of our necessities is strange,

That can make vile things precious. Come, your hovel.—

Poor fool and knave, I have one part of my heart

That sorrows yet for thee.

FOOL [ _sings_ ]

He that has a little tiny wit, 75

With heigh-ho, the wind and the rain,

Must make content with his fortunes fit,

For the rain it raineth every day.

LEAR

True, my good boy. ( _To Kent_ ) Come, bring us to this hovel. _Exeunt_

61 bare-headed?] Q (~,) 66 you] F; me Q 72 your] F; you Q hovel.—Poor^] Q (~^, ~,), F 75 tiny] Q (tine) 79 hovel.] Q2; ~? Q1 _Exeunt_ ] _not in_ Q

66 **demanding after** (as I was) urgently enquiring about

67 **Denied me** refused to let me. Properly, the subject of the verb is the stone of which the house is made, but (unless there has been an accidental omission) this is made to stand for the house's inhabitants.

68 **scanted** limited, withheld

71 **art . . . necessities** skill resulting from our needs ( _art_ , which could also mean 'magic' (Schmidt), may here suggest alchemy)

73 **fool . . . knave** The expression 'to be both fool and knave' was commonplace (Dent F506.1).

75–8 These lines are a version of the first stanza of the song sung by Feste, the jester, at the end of _Twelfth Night_ , 'and it is likely that both were sung to the same tune' (Sternfeld, p. 171; he reproduces the music, first found in the eighteenth century, on pp. 188–92). Possibly they are based on a popular song. There are verbal resemblances to Robert Armin's _Quips upon Questions_ , of 1600, and it has been conjectured that Armin played both Feste and the Fool.

77 **make . . . fit** 'Either (1) must make his happiness fit his fortunes (Kittredge), or (2) must be content with the fortunes suitable to such a person' (HalioF); 'fit' as the fitting of garments is a later use.

**Sc. 10** _Enter the Earl of Gloucester and Edmund the bastard, with lights_

GLOUCESTER

Alack, alack, Edmund, I like not this

Unnatural dealing. When I desired their leave

That I might pity him, they took from me

The use of mine own house, charged me on pain

Of their displeasure neither to speak of him, 5

Entreat for him, nor any way sustain him.

EDMUND Most savage and unnatural!

GLOUCESTER Go to, say you nothing. There's a division betwixt the Dukes, and a worse matter than that. I have received a letter this night—'tis dangerous to be spoken—I have locked the letter in my closet. These injuries the King now bears will be revenged home. There's part of a power already landed. We must incline to the King. I will seek him and privily relieve him. Go you and maintain talk with the Duke, that my charity be not of him perceived. If he ask for me, I am ill and gone to bed. Though I die for't—as no less is threatened me—the King my old master must be relieved. There is some strange thing toward. Edmund, pray you be careful. _Exit_ 10 15

EDMUND

This courtesy, forbid thee, shall the Duke 20

Instantly know, and of that letter too.

This seems a fair deserving, and must draw me

That which my father loses: no less than all.

The younger rises when the old do fall. _Exit_

**10.** 0.1 _the Earl . . . Edmund_ ] Q ( _Gloster and_ ) 3 took] Q2, F; tooke me Q1 7 unnatural!] Q (~.) 24 The] F; then Q

**10.** 0.2 **_with lights_** i.e. carrying torches, which would indicate a night scene. The action appears to be imagined as taking place outside Gloucester's dwelling.

3 **pity** take pity on, help

6 **sustain** succour

9 **worse matter** Perhaps the French invasion.

11 **closet** private room, or cabinet

12 **home** to the full

13 **power** army

13 **incline to** favour, takes sides with

14 **privily** secretly

19 **toward** about to happen

22 **deserving** merit (which will win Edmund a reward)

**draw me** draw to me, reward me with

24 **The . . . fall** A variant of the proverbial 'The rising of one man is the falling of another' (Dent R136).

**The** Weis, but not HalioQ, retains Q's 'then', without comment.

**Sc. 11** _Storm. Enter King Lear, The Earl of Kent disguised, and Lear_ ' _s Fool_

KENT

Here is the place, my lord. Good my lord, enter.

The tyranny of the open night's too rough

For nature to endure.

LEAR Let me alone.

KENT

Good my lord, enter.

LEAR Wilt break my heart?

KENT

I had rather break mine own. Good my lord, enter. 5

LEAR

Thou think'st 'tis much that this contentious storm

Invades us to the skin. So 'tis to thee;

But where the greater malady is fixed,

The lesser is scarce felt. Thou'dst shun a bear,

But if thy flight lay toward the roaring sea 10

Thou'dst meet the bear i'th' mouth. When the mind's

free,

The body's delicate. This tempest in my mind

Doth from my senses take all feeling else

Save what beats there: filial ingratitude.

Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand 15

For lifting food to't? But I will punish sure.

**11.** 0.1 _Storm_.] CAPELL; _not in_ Q; _Storme still_ F ( _after_ ' _endure_ ', l. 3) 0.1–2 _King . . . Lear_ ' _s_ ] Q ( _Lear, Kent, and_ ) 2 The] Qb (the); the | the Qa. _Q a sets this speech as prose_. 4 enter] Q; enter heere F 6 contentious] F; crulentious Qa; tempestious Qb 10 roaring] Qb, F; raging Qa, Q2 12 This] Qb; the Qa, Q2, F 14 beats] Qb, F; beares Qa, Q2 there] Q (their)

**11** The action continues from the end of Scene 9, suggesting proximity to Gloucester's dwelling. Gloucester needs a torch (l. 102). This scene may use a trap door (see note to l. 22).

1 **place** the hovel (9.62); on Shakespeare's stage, presumably the central opening (which may have been curtained); possibly the door other than that through which the characters entered, or just possibly the trap.

2 **open night** night in the open air

3 HalioQ reasonably adds the direction ' _Storm still_ ' from F.

4 **enter.** Oxford and HalioQ, but not Ridley and Weis, accept F's 'enter heere', but a missing syllable at the caesura is acceptable (Abbott 508).

6 **contentious** argumentative; _OED_ 's first use of the transferred sense. This is more likely as the source of Qa's 'crulentious' than Qb's 'tempestious', a recorded spelling of 'tempestuous'.

8 **fixed** established

11 **free** unpreoccupied, untroubled

12 **delicate** sensitive (to suffering)

15 **tear** rend

16 **sure** thoroughly

No, I will weep no more.—

In such a night as this! O Regan, Gonoril,

Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave you all—

O, that way madness lies. Let me shun that. 20

No more of that.

KENT Good my lord, enter.

LEAR

Prithee, go in thyself. Seek thy own ease.

This tempest will not give me leave to ponder

On things would hurt me more; but I'll go in.

[ _Exit Fool_ ]

Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, 25

That bide the pelting of this pitiless night,

How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides,

Your looped and windowed raggedness, defend you

From seasons such as these? O, I have ta'en

Too little care of this. Take physic, pomp, 30

Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel,

That thou mayst shake the superflux to them

And show the heavens more just.

_Enter Lear_ ' _s Fool_

18 In such a night as this!] Q; in such a night, | To shut me out? Poure on, I will endure: | In such a night as this? F 22 own] Q1 (one), Q2 24.1 _Exit Fool_ ] BLAYNEY; _not in_ Q 33.1 _Enter . . . Fool_ ] _not in_ Q

18 **this!** This makes sense on its own, but the additional words printed in F (recorded in the collation) could have been omitted as the result of eyeslip.

19 **frank** generous

22 **go in thyself** Presumably addressed to Kent as he is the previous speaker; but the action is not clear. After l. 24, F adds 'In Boy, go first. You houselesse pouertie, | Nay get thee in; Ile pray, and then Ile sleepe.' These lines (perhaps accidentally dropped from Q) make sense of Lear's _I_ ' _ll go in_ as a deferred intention. Q as it stands provides neither direction nor motivation for the Fool's exit, though he has to be _in_ at l. 34. Nor do they (or F) instruct Kent to obey Lear's instruction to leave. It seems desirable for Kent at least to stand unobtrusively aside while Lear speaks his prayer, and for the Fool to enter either at l. 24 (as marked here) or later into a stage door representing the hovel from which he re-emerges at l. 33. Alternatively, the hovel might be represented by a trapdoor (as for example in Adrian Noble's 1983 Stratford production), which, as well as providing a point of entry for Edgar, would help to explain why Kent says _Give me thy hand_ (l. 36)—though this could be simply an offer of consolation.

25 **naked** could mean generally 'unprotected' as well as 'unclothed'.

26 **pelting** _OED_ 's first instance of the (rare) verbal noun.

28 **looped** full of holes (Schmidt); _OED_ 's only instance.

**windowed** also means 'full of holes' ( _OED_ 's first use of this sense; later uses imitate this).

30 **physic** medicine, specifically a purgative (Rosenberg, p. 204)

32 **superflux** excess, superabundance. _OED_ 's first use.

FOOL Come not in here, nuncle; here's a spirit. Help me, help me! 35

KENT Give me thy hand. Who's there?

FOOL A spirit. He says his name's Poor Tom.

KENT

What art thou that dost grumble there in the straw?

Come forth.

[ _Enter Edgar as a Bedlam beggar_ ]

EDGAR Away, the foul fiend follows me. Through the sharp hawthorn blows the cold wind. Go to thy cold bed and warm thee. 40

LEAR

Hast thou given all to thy two daughters,

And art thou come to this?

EDGAR Who gives anything to Poor Tom, whom the foul fiend hath led through fire and through ford and whirly-pool, o'er bog and quagmire; that has laid knives under his pillow and halters in his pew, set ratsbane by his potage, made him proud of heart to ride on a bay trotting-horse over four-inched bridges, to course his own shadow for a traitor. Bless thy five wits, Tom's a-cold! Bless thee from whirlwinds, star-blasting, and taking. Do Poor Tom some charity, whom the foul fiend vexes. There could I have him, now, and there, and there, and there again. 50 55

34 here's] Q (her's) 37 spirit] Q; spirite, a spirite F says^] Q (~,) 39.1 _Enter . . . beggar_ ] THEOBALD; _not in_ Q

38 **grumble** mutter, mumble (first recorded in _Shrew_ , 4.1.153)

39.1 **_as . . . beggar_** Edgar is often presented as virtually, sometimes (in modern performance) entirely, naked; according to l. 58 he wears a blanket round his loins.

40–1 **Through . . . wind** Possibly a snatch of an old ballad; Percy incorporated it into his 'The Friar of Orders Gray' ( _Reliques_ , i. 242–6).

41–2 **Go . . . thee** These words, which also occur in _Shrew_ , Ind. 1.7–8, may have been proverbial (B 186.1). Edgar is simulating madness by plucking associatively related quotations from his memory.

46–7 **led . . . quagmire** Tom's words resemble Robin Goodfellow's in _Dream_ , 3.1.101–2:'I'll lead you about a round, | Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier.' **whirlypool** A variant of 'whirlpool'.

47–9 **laid . . . potage** The Devil traditionally offered means of suicide to those guilty of the sin of despair.

48 **halters** nooses

**in . . . pew** The phrase may imply 'even in church' (Foakes), but _pew_ could mean any sort of raised seat.

49 **potage** soup

**proud . . . to** i.e. so over-confident as to [?]

49–50 **bay trotting-horse** brown ( _bay_ ) horse used mainly or entirely for trotting, and for show: 'A great personage entering a town in state would exchange his ambling nag for a trotting horse' (D. H. Madden, _The Diary of Master William Silence: A Study of Shakespeare and Elizabethan Sport_ (1897), p. 271). Presumably Edgar as Tom is having illusions of greatness.

50 **four-inched** four-inches-wide; _OED_ 's first instance of _inched_ in this sense. It is difficult to see any logic in this unless Edgar sees himself as performing an amazing feat while mounted on a horse. The most famous performing horse, Morocco, owned by a showman called Banks, was a bay gelding, alleged, among more plausible accomplishments, to have climbed St Paul's steeple.

**course** chase, hunt

LEAR

What, has his daughters brought him to this pass?

( _To Edgar_ ) Couldst thou save nothing? Didst thou give them all?

FOOL Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all shamed.

LEAR ( _to Edgar_ )

Now all the plagues that in the pendulous air 60

Hang fated o'er men's faults fall on thy daughters!

KENT He hath no daughters, sir.

LEAR

Death, traitor! Nothing could have subdued nature

52 star-blasting] F; starre-blusting Q 54–5 and there, and there, and there] HALIOQ; and there, and there Q2; and there, and | and Q1 56 What, has his] OXFORD; What, his Q; Ha's F1; Has his F2 61 daughters!] Q (~.)

51 **for** in the belief that it was

**Bless . . . wits** The expression, used as a jocular blessing in Fletcher's play _The Wild Goose Chase_ (in _The Dramatic Works in the Beaumont and Fletcher Canon_ , ed. F. Bowers, vol. 6 (1985), 5.6.96, cited Dent W575.1), is related to the beggar's cry preserved in Orlando Gibbons's _Cries of London_ : 'Poor naked Bedlam, Tom's a-cold, | A small piece of cut of thy bacon | Or a piece of the sow's side, good Bess' | God almighty bless thy wits'; cited by C. Garton ( _TLS_ 15 Dec. 1961, p. 904), who calls Edgar's words 'a conditional benison'. Edgar uses the words _Bless thy five wits_ again at 13.52, and offers a blessing associated with begging at 15.38. _Tom_ ' _s a-cold_ recurs at ll. 74, 132 and 157, and 15.50.

**five wits** Could mean both the bodily senses (hearing, smelling, taste, feeling, sight) and the five parallel faculties of the mind, defined in Stephen Hawes's _Pastime of Pleasure_ ( _c_.1506; ed. W. E. Mead (1928), pp. 33–5) as common wit, imagination, fantasy, estimation, and memory; but in Sonnet 141 Shakespeare distinguishes between them: 'But my five wits nor my five senses can | Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee' (ll. 9–10).

52 **Bless** save

**star-blasting** 'the pernicious influence of malign stars' ( _OED, star, sb_.1 20)

**taking** disease caused by star-blasting

54–5 **There . . . again** 'Edgar makes grabs at different parts of his body as if to catch vermin—or devils' (Kittredge)—or perhaps strikes around him. Oxford follows Q2, but Halio's emendation, supposing accidental omission before Q's repeated 'and', seems preferable.

55 HalioQ adds the direction ' _Storm still_ ' from F.

56 **What, has** Q reads 'What, his', retained by Ridley and Weis; HalioQ follows Oxford. Q is possible though unmetrical.

**pass** predicament

58 **reserved** held back

**blanket** In _The Bellman of London_ (1608), Thomas Dekker writes 'shall we not walk up and down in the world like beggars, with old blankets pinned about us?' (sig. C2v).

60 **pendulous** overhanging; first recorded use

63 **subdued** reduced (accent on the first syllable)

To such a lowness but his unkind daughters.

( _To Edgar_ ) Is it the fashion that discarded fathers 65

Should have thus little mercy on their flesh?

Judicious punishment: 'twas this flesh begot

Those pelican daughters.

EDGAR Pillicock sat on pillicock's hill; a lo, lo, lo.

FOOL This cold night will turn us all to fools and madmen. 70

EDGAR Take heed o'th' foul fiend; obey thy parents; keep thy word justly; swear not; commit not with man's sworn spouse: set not thy sweet heart on proud array. Tom's a-cold.

LEAR What hast thou been? 75

EDGAR A servingman, proud in heart and mind, that curled my hair, wore gloves in my cap, served the lust of my mistress' heart, and did the act of darkness with her; swore as many oaths as I spake words, and broke them in the sweet face of heaven; one that slept in the contriving of lust, and waked to do it. Wine loved I deeply, dice dearly, and in woman out-paramoured the Turk. False of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand; hog in sloth, fox in stealth, wolf in greediness, dog in madness, lion in prey. Let not the creaking of shoes nor the rustlings of silks betray thy poor heart to women. Keep thy foot out of brothel, thy hand out of placket, thy pen from lender's book, and defy the foul fiend. Still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind. Heigh no nonny. Dolphin, my boy, my boy! Cease, let him trot by. 80 85 90

72 word] POPE; words Q

64 **unkind** unnatural

68 **pelican** The ancient fable that young pelicans feed on their parents' blood was a common theme in art and literature which came to be applied to Christ's redemption of mankind by his blood ( _OED, pelican, sb_. 1c). In _Leir_ , Leir compares himself to 'the pelican, | That kills itself to save her young ones' lives' (ll. 512–13).

69 **Pillicock . . . hill** A nursery rhyme, 'Pillicock, pillicock sat on a hill, | If he's not gone—he sits there still' is known in a version of 1810 but clearly lies behind this line (Opie, p. 432). _Pillicock_ , which Edgar associatively picks up from 'pelican', is related to 'pillock' and was slang for the penis; it was also used as 'a flattering word for a young boy'; _pillicock_ ' _s hill_ is presumably the female genitals. Around 1639–40, one Henry Pillchorne 'did shew his privie members' to an audience of men and women, and declare he 'did daunce Piddecocke bolt vpright, and readie to fight' ( _Somerset_ , ed. J. Stokes and Robert Alexander, Records of Early English Drama, 2 vols. (Toronto, 1996), i. 60). **a lo . . . lo** An exclamation of uncertain meaning.

71–3 **obey . . . array** Imitating some of the Ten Commandments: to honour one's parents; not to bear false witness; not to take the name of the Lord in vain; not to commit adultery; and to avoid covetousness. Shaheen, p. 611, cites other biblical parallels.

72 **word** Ridley, Weis and HalioQ retain Q's 'words', but this is unidiomatic; Foakes accepts Pope's emendation, arguing for 'misreading of a tail on MS "d" '.

**commit** commit adultery ( _OED_ , 6c)

73 **sweet heart** or 'sweetheart' (hyphenated in F)

**proud array** flashy clothes

76 **servingman** Perhaps, in this context, takes on the meaning of 'lover', 'paramour' ( _OED, servant, n_. 4b).

76–88 **proud . . . book** The traditional notion of the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Envy, Sloth, Intemperance, Avarice, Wrath, and Lust) pervades this passage.

77 **curled . . . hair** A symbol of pride in Harsnet (p. 410).

**wore . . . cap** (like a mistress's favours)

**lust** sexual desire (and, more generally, 'pleasure')

78 **act . . . darkness** fornication (Dent D184.1). A similar phrase occurs in _Pericles_ , Sc. 19.37: 'If she'd do the deed of darkness . . .'.

80 **slept in** i.e. dreamt of

LEAR Why, thou wert better in thy grave than to answer with thy uncovered body this extremity of the skies. Is man no more but this? Consider him well. Thou owest the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Here's three on 's are sophisticated; thou art the thing itself. Unaccommodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art. Off, off, you lendings! Come on, be true. 95

89 no nonny] F; no on ny Q 90 boy!] Q (~,) Cease,] Q2; caese^ Q1; _Sesey_ : F 93 more^ . . . Consider] Q2; ~,~~^ ~, Q1 95 Here's] Q (her's) 98 lendings] Qb; leadings Qa on, be true.] Qa; on^ Qb; vn-button heere. F

82 **out-paramoured** had more lovers than **the Turk** the Turkish Sultan, or Great Turk, with his many concubines

83 **light of ear** 'credulous of evil, ready to receive malicious reports' (Johnson)

83–4 **hog . . . prey** This figuring forth of some of the Deadly Sins (Sloth, Stealth (i.e. stealing as well as slyness), Greed, perhaps Wrath ( _OED, madness_ , 3, records the sense of 'ungovernable rage', but not until 1665)) in animal form may be indebted to Harsnet, pp. 312, 411, though there the only close parallel is with gluttony, in the form of a wolf.

85 **creaking . . . silks** Apparently regarded as seductive.

87 **placket** An apron or petticoat, or 'the opening or slit at the top of a skirt or petticoat, for convenience in putting on or off' ( _OED, placket_ 2, 3, citing this as its first, 'doubtful', instance).

**lender's** money-lender's

89 **Heigh no nonny** A song refrain, as at _Much Ado_ 2.3.68.

**Dolphin** A normal English spelling of Dauphin, possibly the name of a horse ('trot'). Muir suggests that 'as Jonson, _Bartholomew Fair_ , V. iv . . . uses the phrase 'Hee shall be _Dauphin_ my boy' it is clear that Edgar was quoting from some song or ballad, unless Jonson was echoing Edgar'.

90 HalioQ adds the direction ' _Storm still_ ' from F.

91 **answer** outface

92 **extremity** violent outburst ( _OED_ 4)

93–5 **Thou . . . perfume** The idea that man borrows from the beasts was proverbial (Dent M218.1, citing several close parallels).

93 **Thou** Edgar

94 **worm** i.e. silkworm

95 **cat . . . perfume** A perfume is made from the secretion of the anal gland of the civet cat.

**sophisticated** altered, not simply 'the thing itself'

96 **Unaccommodated** unprovided (with clothes; _OED_ 's first instance)

97 **forked** i.e. two-legged, as at _2 Henry IV_ 3.2.305–6: 'When a was naked, he was for all the world like a forked radish'. The same scene includes an extended pa sage of wordplay on 'accommodated' (65–79).

98 **Off . . . lendings** Lear starts to strip down to nothing, _the thing itself_ , though the Fool's _be content_ suggests that he, and perhaps Kent, try to restrain him. In modern productions actors have sometimes literally stripped (Introduction, pp. 77–8).

FOOL Prithee, nuncle, be content. This is a naughty night to swim in. Now a little fire in a wild field were like an old lecher's heart—a small spark, all the rest on 's body cold. Look, here comes a walking fire. 100

_Enter the Earl of Gloucester with a_ [ _torch_ ]

EDGAR This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet. He begins at curfew and walks till the first cock. He gives the web and the pin, squinies the eye, and makes the harelip; mildews the white wheat, and hurts the poor creature of earth. 105

[ _Sings_ ]

Swithin footed thrice the wold,

A met the night mare and her nine foal;

101 on 's] F; in Q 102.1 _the . . . Gloucester_ ] Q ( _Gloster_.) _with a_ [ _torch_ ]] F; _not in_ Q 103 Flibbertigibbet] F; _Sriberdegibit_ Qa; _fliberdegibek_ Qb 104 gives] Qb; gins Qa 104–5 and the] Qb (& the); the Qa 105 pin, squinies] DUTHIE ( _conj_. Greg); pin-|queues Qa; pin, | squemes Qb; Pin, squints F harelip] Qb (hare lip); harte lip Qa 107 _Sings_ ] _not in_ Q 107 Swithin] OXFORD ( _after_ Tate); swithald Q; _Swithold_ F wold] QF (old) 108 A] Qa (a); he Qb (Q _aligns as prose_ ) met the] Qb; nellthu Qa mare] Qb; more Qa foal] QF (fold)

98 **lendings** clothes lent by _the worm . . . beast . . . sheep_ (95). The idea that a king differs from a peasant only in his clothes pervades Shakespeare's history plays, and is expressed by e.g. Henry V: 'I think the king is but a man, as I am . . . His ceremonies laid by, in his nakedness he appears but a man' ( _Henry V_ 4.1.101–5) (Mack, 52–3).

**Come . . . true** Lear may speak to an imaginary attendant ( _true_ , loyal) or to himself. We follow uncorrected Q. The corrected Q appears to represent an unfinished attempt at correction which cannot be recovered. HalioQ reads 'Come unbutton—', interpreting 'on bee true' as 'a garbled version of "unbutton" ', and discusses the crux on p. 16. Weis reads simply 'come on.'

99 **naughty** nasty, bad (cited at _OED a_. 5)

100 **fire** Presumably suggested by the approaching torch carried by the _old lecher_ Gloucester.

**wild field** uncultivated waste-land

101 **on's** of his. HalioQ and Weis emend Q's 'in' to 'in's'.

102.1 **torch** First named in F, but clearly called for by Q.

103 **Flibbertigibbet** The name of a devil in Harsnet (p. 242).

104 **curfew** Originally the time at which fires were legally required to be extinguished ( _couvrefeu_ ), signified by the ringing of a bell; more generally, an hour from which movements were forbidden or restricted.

104 **first cock** cockcrow, dawn. Spirits walked abroad at night: e.g. _Dream_ 5.2.9–52, _Hamlet_ 1.1.138: 'It faded on the crowing of the cock.' **gives** causes

104–5 **web . . . pin** A disease of the eye causing filming over the surface ( _OED, pin sb_. 11).

105 **squinies** causes to squint (a rare word found again at 20.131— _OED_ 's first instance of the verb—where it means simply 'squint')

**harelip** One of the _blots of nature_ ' _s hand_ which Oberon hopes to obviate with the fairies' blessing, _Dream_ 5.2.39–41.

**mildews** taints with mildew

106 **white wheat** wheat which turns white or light-coloured in ripening ( _OED, white, a_. 2b), ripe corn

107–11 **Swithin . . . witch, aroint thee** Edgar's spell against devils and evil spirits.

107 **Swithin** The only known parallel to Q's 'swithald' and F's 'Swithold' is a reference in _The Troublesome Reign of King John_ (1591) to 'Sweete S. Withold' (Bullough (vol. iv), l. 1184), otherwise unknown to fame. Q is weirdly corrupt here ('swithald footed thrice the old a nellthu night more'). Theobald's 'St. Withold' is a reasonable emendation 'only weakened by the fact that nothing whatever is known of this figure' ( _TC_ ). Swithun, or Swithin, on the other hand, was and remains a well-known English saint, famous for healing and associated with rain. HalioQ and Weis read 'Swithold'.

Bid her alight

And her troth plight, 110

And aroint thee, witch, aroint thee!

KENT ( _to Lear_ )

How fares your grace?

LEAR What's he?

KENT ( _to Gloucester_ ) Who's there? What is't you seek?

GLOUCESTER What are you there? Your names?

EDGAR Poor Tom, that eats the swimming frog, the toad, the tadpole, the wall-newt and the water; that in the fury of his heart, when the foul fiend rages, eats cowdung for salads, swallows the old rat and the ditch-dog, drinks the green mantle of the standing pool; who is whipped from tithing to tithing, and stock-punished, and imprisoned; who hath had three suits to his back, six shirts to his body, 115 120

109 her alight] F (her^ a light); her, O light Q 111 aroint . . . aroint] Q (arint . . . arint); aroynt . . . aroynt F witch] Qb; with Qa 116 tadpole] Qb (todpole), F (Tod-pole); tode pold Qa, Q2 (toade pold) wall-newt] Qb, F; wall-wort Qa, Q2

107 **footed** paced, traversed

**wold** a stretch of open country, a 'wild field' (l. 100)

108 **mare** A kind of goblin supposed to cause nightmare by sleeping on its victims' chests, or the nightmare itself ( _OED, mare_ , 1), sliding into the sense 'female horse'.

**foal** _OED_ 's definition of _ninefold_ as 'an attendant set of nine' simply tries to make sense of this passage.'Tyrwhitt's suggestion that _fold_ is an alternative form of "foal", influenced by the rhyme, is supported by examples of excrescent final _d_ elsewhere in Shakespeare (Cercignani, 318); alternatively, _fold_ might refer to coils in a serpent's body ( _sb_. 1e), appropriate enough for a devil' ( _TC_ , notes to _Tragedy of King Lear_ ).

110 **her troth plight** pledge her loyalty, promise to do no more harm

111 **aroint thee** begone. _OED_ 's only other early instance is from _Macbeth_ 1.3.5, but Hulme found the phrase in a Stratford document and discusses its possible origins (pp. 17–18).

116 **wall-newt** Presumably the wall-lizard ( _OED, wall, sb_ 1. 25b); newts often hibernate in walls.

**water** i.e. water-newt

118 **ditch-dog** 'dead dog thrown in a ditch' (Delius, cited Furness)

119 **mantle** green scum on stagnant ( _standing_ ) water

**whipped** As rogues and vagabonds were, according to a statute of 1596, to be 'openly whipped' and 'forthwith sent from parish to parish' (Chambers, _Elizabethan Stage_ , iv. 324).

120 **tithing** A rural district, originally of ten householders ( _OED sb_. 3), parish.

**stock-punished** punished by being set in the stocks

121 **hath had** i.e. formerly had

**three . . . back** Kent calls Oswald _three-suited_ at 7.14.

Horse to ride, and weapon to wear.

But mice and rats and such small deer

Hath been Tom's food for seven long year— 125

Beware my follower. Peace, Smolking; peace, thou fiend!

GLOUCESTER ( _to Lear_ )

What, hath your grace no better company?

EDGAR

The Prince of Darkness is a gentleman;

Modo he's called, and Mahu— 130

GLOUCESTER ( _to Lear_ )

Our flesh and blood is grown so vile, my lord,

That it doth hate what gets it.

EDGAR Poor Tom's a-cold.

GLOUCESTER ( _to Lear_ )

Go in with me. My duty cannot suffer

To obey in all your daughters' hard commands.

Though their injunction be to bar my doors 135

And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you,

Yet have I ventured to come seek you out

And bring you where both food and fire is ready.

LEAR

First let me talk with this philosopher.

( _To Edgar_ ) What is the cause of thunder?

KENT My good lord, 140

Take his offer; go into the house.

126 Smolking] OXFORD; snulbug Q; Smulkin F; Smulking BLAYNEY 130 Mahu] F; ma hu Q

123 **weapon to wear** as a gentleman would wear a sword?

124–5 **rats . . . year** Based on a couplet from the old romance _Sir Bevis of Hampton_ published in 1503: 'Rats and mice and such small deer | Was his meat that seven year' (Early English Text Society, Extra Series No. 46, 1895, etc., p. 75).

124 **deer** Used generally of animals.

126 **Smolking** A 'puny spirit' in Harsnet (p. 240), said to have taken the form of a mouse (p. 312).

129 **Prince of Darkness** Satan

130 **Modo . . . Mahu** In Harsnet, generals of the infernal furies, serving under 'the grand Prince of Darkness' (p. 317).

131 **flesh and blood** i.e. children

132 **gets** begets

133 **duty . . . suffer** (sense of) duty will not allow me

134 **in all** in every respect

139 **philosopher** The word had a broad range of meaning: learned man, natural scientist, even magician.

140 **What . . . thunder** 'Whether Jove or else the winds in breaking clouds do thunder' (Ovid, _Metamorphoses_ , trans. Golding, Book 15, l. 78) had been a stock philosophical question 'ever since the days of Pythagoras' (Muir, 'Madness', p. 36). Elton, pp. 202–8, discusses the role of thunder in _Lear_ and shows that 'attitudes to thunder on the Renaissance stage were clues to the religious positions of the characters' (p. 207); in this it parallels the opposing attitudes to the eclipses on the part of the credulous Gloucester and the rationalist Edmund, 2.101–24.

LEAR

I'll talk a word with this most learnèd Theban.

( _To Edgar_ ) What is your study?

EDGAR

How to prevent the fiend, and to kill vermin.

LEAR

Let me ask you one word in private. 145

_They converse apart_

KENT ( _to Gloucester_ )

Importune him to go, my lord.

His wits begin to unsettle.

GLOUCESTER Canst thou blame him?

His daughters seek his death. O, that good Kent,

He said it would be thus, poor banished man!

Thou sayst the King grows mad; I'll tell thee, friend, 150

I am almost mad myself. I had a son,

Now outlawed from my blood; a sought my life

But lately, very late. I loved him, friend;

No father his son dearer. True to tell thee,

The grief hath crazed my wits. What a night's this! 155

( _To Lear_ ) I do beseech your grace—

LEAR O, cry you mercy.

( _To Edgar_ ) Noble philosopher, your company.

EDGAR Tom's a-cold.

147 him] Q; him once more F 149 man!] Q (~,) 155 this!] Q (~?) 156 mercy.] Q (~^)

142 **Theban** Thebes was a city state not far from Athens, in Boeotia, whose inhabitants were supposed to be particularly stupid. John Marston, in 'Pygmalion's Image' (1598), refers to a 'dull-spirited, fat Boetian boor' (in Satire 2, l. 4), cited by _OED, Boeotian_ , A. a, b; also Sugden, 'Thebes'. This may then be a joke; F. G. Butler suggested that the reference is to the 'Theban Crates', cynic philosopher and follower of Diogenes, who lived in self-chosen poverty ( _English Studies_ , 67 (1986), 511–14). In any case the point lies in the incongruity of Lear's deference to Mad Tom.

143 **study** area of research, or, more generally, aim

144 **prevent** outwit, forestall

146 **him** F's addition of 'once more' may represent an accidental omission from Q (as HalioQ, following Blayney, argues).

148 **His . . . death** We have been shown no direct evidence for this, though at 13.82 Gloucester says he has heard _a plot of death_ upon Lear.

152 **outlawed . . . blood** banished and disinherited

156 **cry . . . mercy** (I) beg your pardon

GLOUCESTER

In, fellow, there in t'hovel; keep thee warm.

LEAR

Come, let's in all.

KENT This way, my lord.

LEAR With him!

I will keep still with my philosopher. 160

KENT ( _to Gloucester_ )

Good my lord, soothe him; let him take the fellow.

GLOUCESTER Take him you on.

KENT [ _to Edgar_ ]

Sirrah, come on. Go along with us.

LEAR ( _to Edgar_ )

Come, good Athenian.

GLOUCESTER No words, no words. Hush.

EDGAR Child Roland to the dark town come, 165

His word was still 'Fie, fo, and fum;

I smell the blood of a British man.' _Exeunt_

**Sc. 12** _Enter the Duke of Cornwall and Edmund the bastard_

CORNWALL I will have my revenge ere I depart the house.

158 there in t'hovel; keep] F (into th'); there, in't houell keepe Q 159–60 him! | . . . still] F (~, | . . . ~^); ~^ . . . ~, Q 165 town] Q (towne); Tower F come] Q; came F 167 _Exeunt_ ] F; _not in_ Q

**12.** 0.1 _Enter . . . bastard_ ] Q ( _Enter Cornewell and Bastard.)_

160 **keep still** stay all the time

161 **soothe** humour ( _OED v_. 4a)

164 **Athenian** Referring to Athens as the seat of learning and philosophy. 'Gielgud . . . offered [Edgar] his arm, yet, like a child, put a finger to his lips, made a hushing sound' (Rosenberg, p. 228).

165–7 **Child . . . man** The long-vowelled first line, which has proved haunting to the imagination (in its Folio form it is the title of a poem by Robert Browning), has been conjectured to be a line from a lost ballad about Roland, relative of Charlemagne, hero of the twelfth-century epic _Le Chanson de Roland_. 'Child' was a title given to young noblemen awaiting knighthood ( _OED sb_. 5). The lines that follow are cited by _OED, fee-faw-fum_ , 1, as its first reference to 'The first line of doggerel spoken by the giant in the nursery tale of "Jack the giant killer" upon discovering the presence of Jack.'

165 **town** Oxford, Weis and HalioQ adopt F's 'Tower'. Spelt 'towne' and 'towre' the words would be graphically almost interchangeable. If a ballad containing this line were definitely known, that would help to decide the issue, but it is not. Tempting as it is to follow the familiar reading, there is no good reason to emend Q in an edition based on its text. Jowett suggests (privately) that _town_ 'connects with _Athenian_ , Athens being an enlightened city rather than a _dark_ (British) town'.

**come** The old form of the past tense, still used in dialect, retained here for the rhyme.

**12.** 0.1 **_Edmund_** He has a letter which he produces at or before l. 9.

1 **the house** i.e. Gloucester's house (clarified by F's 'his')

EDMUND How, my lord, I may be censured, that nature thus gives way to loyalty, something fears me to think of.

CORNWALL I now perceive it was not altogether your brother's evil disposition made him seek his death, but a provoking merit set a-work by a reprovable badness in himself. 5

EDMUND How malicious is my fortune, that I must repent to be just! This is the letter he spoke of, which approves him an intelligent party to the advantages of France. O heavens, that his treason were not, or not I the detector! 10

CORNWALL Go with me to the Duchess.

EDMUND If the matter of this paper be certain, you have mighty business in hand.

CORNWALL True or false, it hath made thee Earl of Gloucester. Seek out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our apprehension. 15

EDMUND [ _aside_ ] If I find him comforting the King, it will stuff his suspicion more fully. ( _To Cornwall_ ) I will persever in my course of loyalty, though the conflict be sore between that and my blood. 20

9 just!] Q (~?) 11 were not] F; were Q

2 **censured** judged

**nature** natural affection

3 **something fears** rather frightens

4–7 **not . . . himself** The sense is doubtful. It may be a rather awkward way of saying 'not simply Edgar's evil disposition which made him seek his father's death, but also a sense of his own worth which provoked (or incited) him, inflamed into action by a reprehensible wickedness in Gloucester himself'; alternatively, 'not only your brother's innate wickedness that made him seek Gloucester's death, but a provoking quality in Gloucester ( _merit_ could mean "that which is deserved or has been earned, whether good or evil" ( _OED sb_. 1)) set on by a reprehensible wickedness in Edgar'. Cornwall is justifying his determination on _revenge_ both to himself and to Edmund.

5 **his** Gloucester's

9 **letter** Presumably Edmund has stolen the letter that Gloucester locked in his closet (10.11); he may give it to Cornwall, who appears to have it at 14.2.

9–10 **approves . . . party** confirms that he is an intelligence agent. _OED a_. 4 has four uses of 'intelligent' in the sense, defined by Schmidt, 'Bearing intelligence, giving information, communicative', two of the others from F _Lear_ (3.1.16, 3.7.10), the fourth from _Winter_ ' _s Tale_ (1.2.378).

11 **were not** Weis (but not HalioQ) retains Q's 'were' as 'the more difficult reading', glossing 'if only his treason, or anything rather than myself, were the detector of his disloyalty'. This seems strained, especially as Q often omits words.

13 **matter** contents

15–16 **it . . . Gloucester** 'Edmund may kneel to the Duke, who, with a sword to his shoulder, confers the title' (Rosenberg, 229); but this would slow the action, and the award is likely to be anticipative rather than actual.

16–17 **for . . . apprehension** for us to arrest him

18 **comforting** Craig, followed by Muir, suggests 'The word is used in its strict legal sense, referring to the conduct of anaccessory to a crime, after the fact in the manner of helping a condemned prisoner.' **stuff** bolster

21 **blood** family feelings

CORNWALL I will lay trust upon thee, and thou shalt find a dearer father in my love. _Exeunt_

**Sc. 13** _Enter the Earl of Gloucester and King Lear, the Earl of Kent disguised, Lear_ ' _s Fool, and Edgar as a Bedlam beggar_

GLOUCESTER Here is better than the open air; take it thankfully. I will piece out the comfort with what addition I can. I will not be long from you.

KENT All the power of his wits have given way to impatience; the gods discern your kindness! 5

[ _Exit Gloucester_ ]

EDGAR Frateretto calls me, and tells me Nero is an angler in the lake of darkness. Pray, innocent; beware the foul fiend.

FOOL ( _to Lear_ ) Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be a gentleman or a yeoman. 10

LEAR

A king, a king! To have a thousand

With red burning spits come hissing in upon them!

23 _Exeunt_ ] Q ( _Exit_.)

**13.** 1–3 _Enter . . . beggar_ ] Q ( _Enter Gloster and Lear, Kent, Foole, and Tom_.) 5 discern] OXFORD ( _conj_. Stone); deserue Q; reward F 5.1 _Exit Gloucester_ ] CAPELL; _not in_ Q; _after l_. 3 _in_ F ( _Exit_ ) 6 Frateretto] F; _Fretereto_ Q 11 king!] Q (~,) 12 hissing] Q1 (hiszing), Q2 (hissing), F (hizzing)

**13.1 Here** The action is imagined to be in an enclosed space connected with Gloucester's establishment. Seating is called for (ll. 17–18, 35), perhaps in the form of join-stools (l. 47), but could be provided by the stage itself. At l. 30 Lear is offered cushions to lie on. The curtains of l. 77 are probably imaginary.

2 **piece out** supplement

4–5 **impatience** inability to endure (though Lear had promised to be the 'pattern of all patience', 9.37)

5 **discern** (may they) acknowledge, recognize. HalioQ accepts the emendation from Q's 'deserue', but Weis follows Q, glossing 'requite' ( _OED_ 6, last recorded 1523–5).

6 **Frateretto** Another devil from Harsnet (p. 242), associated with a 'fiddler', which may have suggested Nero. The name means 'little brother'.

**Nero** The emperor notorious for fiddling while Rome burned. The primary sense of _lake of darkness_ is the Stygian lake (mentioned by Harsnet, p. 238), fed by the River Styx, by which the classical dead entered the infernal regions, but the phrase may also have sexual connotations; _angler_ was slang for a thief who used a rod with a hook attached for pilfering ( _OED, angler_ , 1b). This passage is discussed at length by S. Musgrove, 'Thieves' Cant in _King Lear_ ' ( _English Studies_ , 62 (1981), 5–13), who concludes that 'Edgar, imagining figures of evil to embody darkness and horror, combines visionary devils with notorious and real criminals . . . Nero, remembered above all as a matricide, suggests enough murderous and sexual evil . . . to carry the significance of night's enormous menace.'

10 **gentleman . . . yeoman** In the social hierarchy, the yeoman was a property holder but not an arms-bearing gentleman.

12 **them** Probably Gonoril and Regan.

EDGAR The foul fiend bites my back.

FOOL ( _to Lear_ ) He's mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse's health, a boy's love, or a whore's oath. 15

LEAR

It shall be done. I will arraign them straight.

[ _To Edgar_ ] Come, sit thou here, most learnèd justicer.

[ _To Fool_ ] Thou sapient sir, sit here.—No, you she-

foxes—

EDGAR Look where he stands and glares. Want'st thou eyes at troll-madam? 20

[ _Sings_ ] Come o'er the burn, Bessy, to me.

FOOL [ _sings_ ]

Her boat hath a leak,

And she must not speak

Why she dares not come over to thee.

17 justicer] THEOBALD; Iustice Q 19–20 Want'st thou eyes at troll-madam?] OXFORD; wanst thou eyes, at tral | madam^ Q1; wantst thou eies at tri-|all madam, Q2 21 burn] CAPELL (boorne); broome Q 21, 22 _sings_ ] _not in_ Q

13 **bites my back** Like _vermin_ (11.144).

15 **horse's health, whore's oath** Proverbially linked as untrustworthy (Dent H711).

16 **arraign . . . straight** indict them immediately

17 **justicer** judge, magistrate. HalioQ accepts Q's 'Iustice' while admitting that the emendation corrects the metre and may be supported by Q's 'Iusticer' at l. 51.

18 **sapient** wise

19 **he** the foul fiend? ('she' in F)

19–20 **Want'st . . . troll-madam** do you lack (or desire) eyes with which to play at troll-madam. In this game, according to J. Jones in _Bathes Buckstone_ (1572), cited _OED, troll-madam_ , 'the ladies, gentle-women, wives and maids may . . . have in the end of a bench eleven holes made, into the which to troll pummets or bowls of lead . . . or also of copper, tin, wood'. Q prints 'wanst thou eyes, at tral madam'. Editors (including Weis and HalioQ) usually adopt Q2's 'wantst thou eies at triall madam', interpreted with some strain as 'do you want to be the object of admiring glances even at your trial'. The crux is discussed in _Division_ , 486–8.

21 **Come . . . me** The first line of a popular song surviving only in moralized versions, found in William Wager's play _The Longer Thou Livest, the More Fool Thou Art_ (?1559–69; ed. R. M. Barber (1968), ll. 93–5) and adapted as a political ballad by William Birch (Sternfeld, pp. 168–9; printed in _The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse_ , ed. Henry Woudhuysen (1992), pp. 92–4), where it is associated with the accession of Queen Elizabeth. Sternfeld, who prints early settings (pp. 180–8), notes that the lyric 'seems to have had an unabated popularity for well over three centuries' (p. 167). He suggests that although 'only one line of the old song is given . . . there seems to be good reason for completing the verbal refrain . . . by expansion: Come o'er the burn, Bessy, | [My little pretty Bessy, | Come o'er the burn, Bessy] to me' (p. 170). Seng (pp. 209–10) gives additional information about early musical settings. A burn is a dialectal word for a stream or brook. Malone (cited Seng, p. 208) noted that ' _Bessy_ and poor _Tom_ usually travelled together'—i.e. that Bessy was a type name for a vagrant whore.

22 **leak** Possibly referring to menstruation (Williams, _Glossary_ , 'leaky', cites _Tempest_ , 1.1.45–6, 'as leaky as an unstanched wench').

EDGAR The foul fiend haunts Poor Tom in the voice of a nightingale. Hoppedance cries in Tom's belly for two white herring. Croak not, black angel: I have no food for thee. 25

KENT ( _to Lear_ )

How do you, sir? Stand you not so amazed.

Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions? 30

LEAR

I'll see their trial first. Bring in the evidence.

[ _To Edgar_ ] Thou robèd man of justice, take thy place;

[ _To Fool_ ] And thou, his yokefellow of equity,

Bench by his side. [ _To Kent_ ] You are o'th' commission,

Sit you, too. 35

EDGAR Let us deal justly.

[ _Sings_ ]

Sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepherd?

Thy sheep be in the corn,

And for one blast of thy minikin mouth

Thy sheep shall take no harm. 40

Purr, the cat is grey.

30 cushions] Q1 (cushings), Q2 31 the] POPE; their Q 32 robèd] Q (robbed) 34 o'th'] Q; of the HANMER

25–6 **The . . . nightingale** 'Edgar pretends that the Fool's singing is that of a fiend disguised as a nightingale' (Muir).

26 **Hoppedance** In Harsnet (p. 242) a devil, Hoberdidance, is associated with music.

27 **white** fresh, or salted but not smoked

**Croak** rumble ( _OED v_. 3)

**black angel** Presumably a fallen angel; devils were portrayed as black.

31 **in the** Q reads 'in their', possibly by contamination from the preceding use of 'their'; ' _OED_ shows that use of the possessive, or of constructions with _of_ or _from_ , indicate the source of testimony, not its object' ( _TC_ ). HalioQ and Weis follow Q.

32 **robèd** Ironical since Edgar has only a blanket (11.58).

33 **yokefellow of equity** associate, partner in fairness. In law, 'equity' refers to 'The recourse to general principles of justice . . . to correct or supplement the provisions of the law' ( _OED_ 3). 'In contemporary England, "yokefellows of equity" were judges in the Court of Chancery' (Marcus, p. 151).

34 **Bench** take a seat on the (judges') bench ( _OED_ 's first instance of this sense: _v_. 3b) **o'th' commission** one of those commissioned as justices

37–40 **Sleepest . . . harm** An allusion to the rhyme 'Little Boy Blue, | Come blow your horn, | The Sheep's in the meadow, | The cow's in the corn; | But where is the boy who looks after the sheep? | He's under a haycock, | Fast asleep' (Opie, pp. 98–9).

37 **jolly** had a wide range of meanings, including brave, amorous, arrogant, finely dressed, handsome; sometimes used ironically.

39 **for . . . of** i.e. if you will utter but one blast from **minikin** shrill ( _OED a_. B2)

41 **Purr** The name of a devil in Harsnet (p. 242), but evil spirits were often thought to appear as cats (such as Grimalkin in the opening scene of _Macbeth_ ).

LEAR Arraign her first. 'Tis Gonoril. I here take my oath before this honourable assembly she kicked the poor King her father.

FOOL Come hither, mistress. Is your name Gonoril? 45

LEAR She cannot deny it.

FOOL Cry you mercy, I took you for a join-stool.

LEAR

And here's another, whose warped looks proclaim

What store her heart is made on. Stop her there.

Arms, arms, sword, fire, corruption in the place! 50

False justicer, why hast thou let her scape?

EDGAR Bless thy five wits.

KENT ( _to Lear_ )

O pity! Sir, where is the patience now

That you so oft have boasted to retain?

EDGAR ( _aside_ )

My tears begin to take his part so much 55

They'll mar my counterfeiting.

LEAR The little dogs and all,

Tray, Blanch, and Sweetheart—see, they bark at me.

EDGAR Tom will throw his head at them.—Avaunt, you curs!

43 she] Q2, BL2; _not in_ Q1 47 join-stool] Q (ioyne stoole) 49 on] Q (an) 50 place!] q (~,)

47 **Cry . . . join-stool** A proverbial excuse for overlooking someone (Dent M897). A join- (or joint-) stool was made by a joiner, rather than clumsily knocked together. Probably part of the stage furnishings representing the bench.

48 **another** Regan

49 **store** Perhaps 'abundance', used ironically (Foakes); but could mean 'the stock of a tradesman' ( _OED sb_. 7b), so perhaps Lear means that her warped appearance reflects the distorted material—or even warped wood, like that of a join-stool—of which her heart is made, in which case _her_ would be emphatic—hers too'.

**Stop . . . there** He imagines she is trying to flee.

57 **Tray . . . Sweetheart** 'Tray' could mean 'pain, affliction' ( _sb_. 1, last recorded 1560). 'Blanch' could be the worn-down form of _blandish_ ('flatter', suiting Shakespeare's habitual characterization of dogs) recorded only as a verb ( _v_. 3). In Yukio Ninagawa's RSC production (1999), the three dogs were represented as toy figures; Lear (Nigel Hawthorne) threw the first two into a brazier, but clutched Sweetheart to himself.

58 **throw his head** Variously interpreted by both actors and editors. Muir reports that 'in Gielgud's 1950 production, Edgar made as though to lift his head from his shoulders', while also suggesting that Edgar might 'throw his horn' at the imaginary dogs, on the grounds that 'head' could mean 'the antlers of a deer', or that 'Edgar might put his horn on his head, and pretend he is an ox attacking the dogs with it'. The simplest gloss seems to be that Edgar jerks his head forward and glares threateningly.

Be thy mouth or black or white, 60

Tooth that poisons if it bite,

Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim,

Hound or spaniel, brach or him,

Bobtail tyke or trundle-tail,

Tom will make them weep and wail; 65

For with throwing thus my head,

Dogs leap the hatch, and all are fled.

Loudla, doodla! Come, march to wakes and fairs

And market towns. Poor Tom, thy horn is dry.

LEAR Then let them anatomize Regan; see what breeds about her heart. Is there any cause in nature that makes this hardness? ( _To Edgar_ ) You, sir, I entertain you for one of my hundred, only I do not like the fashion of your garments. You'll say they are Persian attire; but let them be changed. 70 75

KENT

Now, good my lord, lie here a while.

62 mongrel^] ROWE; ~, QF 62–3 grim, | Hound] F; grim-hoūd Q ( _setting the speech as prose_ ) 63 him] Q; Ĥym F;lym HANMER

60 **or . . . or** either . . . or

61 **poisons** 'with rabies' (Weis)

63 **brach** bitch-hound

**him** Much discussed. The difficulty is that parallelism seems to require an alternative to _spaniel_. Hanmer's emendation to 'lym', supposed to mean a species of bloodhound, has been refuted by Blayney in unpublished work (noted in HalioF). 'Edgar could simply point to an imaginary _him_ , or even to the Fool or Kent' (Foakes), or 'him' ('Hym' in F) might mean simply, and lamely, a male dog.

64 **Bobtail tyke** cur with a bobbed, or docked, tail

**trundle-tail** a dog, usually low-bred, with a curly tail

67 **hatch** closed lower part of a divided door

68 **Loudla, doodla** An exclamation of indeterminate meaning, perhaps imitating the sound of a horn (l. 69); Weis suggests 'a beggar's rallying cry, or a cry to announce his presence at village _wakes and fairs_ '.

**wakes** Annual parish festivals frequented by beggars and tinkers such as Autocylus in _Winter's Tale_ (e.g. 4.3.100–1).

69 **Poor . . . dry** Hollowed-out animal horns could be used as drinking vessels and as musical instruments. John Aubrey, in his _Natural History of Wiltshire_ (1651–91), 1847 edn., p. 93, says that Bedlam beggars 'wore about their necks a great horn of an ox in a string or baldric which, when they came to an house for alms, they did wind, and they did put the drink given them into this horn whereto they did put a stopple' (cited by Craig). The primary sense is that Tom is thirsty, but Edgar may also be saying that his invention is exhausted (so Steevens).

70–2 **Then . . . hardness** Perhaps simply a non-sequitur of madness, but Lear may be reverting to his thoughts on Regan's heart at l. 49.

70 **anatomize** dissect

72 **entertain you** take you into my service

73 **hundred** his (former) hundred knights

74 **Persian** orientally gorgeous (ironical since Edgar wears only a blanket), and resistant to change, like the laws of the Medes and Persians, 'which altereth not' (Daniel 6: 8).

76 **lie here** Lear lies down, possibly in the opening at the rear of the stage, as Gloucester does not immediately see him.

LEAR Make no noise, make no noise. Draw the curtains.

So, so, so. We'll go to supper i'th' morning. So, so, so.

_He sleeps. Enter the Earl of Gloucester_

GLOUCESTER ( _to Kent_ )

Come hither, friend. Where is the King my master?

KENT

Here, sir, but trouble him not; his wits are gone. 80

GLOUCESTER

Good friend, I prithee take him in thy arms.

I have o'erheard a plot of death upon him.

There is a litter ready. Lay him in't

And drive towards Dover, friend, where thou shalt meet

Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master. 85

If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life,

With thine and all that offer to defend him,

Stand in assurèd loss. Take up, take up,

And follow me, that will to some provision

Give thee quick conduct.

KENT ( _to Lear_ ) Oppressèd nature sleeps. 90

This rest might yet have balmed thy broken sinews

Which, if convenience will not allow,

Stand in hard cure. ( _To Fool_ ) Come, help to bear thy

master.

78.1 _He sleeps_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q _Enter Gloucester_ ] Q ( _Enter Gloster_.) 88 Take up, take up] F; Take vp to keepe qa; Take vp the King Qb

77 **curtains** Lear imagines the curtains around his bed.

82 **upon** against

83 **litter** 'A vehicle . . . containing a couch shut in by curtains, and carried on men's shoulders or by beasts of burden' ( _OED sb_. 2a.) A contemporary illustration, showing a litter both closed and open, and borne by two mules (?) each with a rider, is reproduced in S. Schoenbaum, _Shakespeare: the Globe and the World_ (New York, etc., 1979), p. 74.

84 **drive** may mean simply 'hasten' ( _OED v_. 25a).

**Dover** Where, presumably, the French army has landed.

86 **dally** delay

88 **Take up, take up** 'Q corr. makes good sense, but F probably restores the original manuscript reading, which again shows Gloucester repeating short phrases, as at [2.42, 6.96] etc.' (HalioQ).

89–90 **to . . . conduct** lead you quickly to where you will find necessary supplies

91 **balmed** soothed

**broken sinews** shattered nerves

93 **Stand . . . cure** will be hard to cure

**Come . . . master** This instruction to the Fool marks his departure from the play. In F he is given a closing line, 'And I'll go to bed at noon', immediately after Lear's 'We'll go to supper i'th' morning' (l. 78). This quip, superficially entertaining, is poignant in retrospect. It might conceivably have been omitted here by accident, but there is no evidence that this happened, and it is equally possible that Shakespeare deliberately allowed the external critic and representative of Lear's folly to fade quietly from the play as madness finally takes charge of Lear's mind. Occasionally directors have indicated to the audience that the Fool will appear no more, notably Adrian Noble in his 1982 RSC production, in which the Fool, played by Antony Sher, was 'stabbed in a dustbin by the mad Lear, continuingly destructive of his own good' (S. Wells, 'Lear in the Fool's shadow', _TLS_ , 16 July 1982).

Thou must not stay behind.

GLOUCESTER Come, come away.

_Exeunt all but Edger_

EDGAR

When we our betters see bearing our woes, 95

We scarcely think our miseries our foes.

Who alone suffers, suffers most i'th' mind,

Leaving free things and happy shows behind.

But then the mind much sufferance doth o'erskip

When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship. 100

How light and portable my pain seems now,

When that which makes me bend, makes the King bow.

He childed as I fathered. Tom, away.

Mark the high noises, and thyself bewray

When false opinion, whose wrong thoughts defile thee, 105

In thy just proof repeals and reconciles thee.

What will hap more tonight, safe scape the King!

Lurk, lurk. _Exit_

94.1 _Exeunt_ . . . _Edgar_ ] Q ( _Exit_.) 108 _Exit_ ] theobald; _not in_ Q

95–6 **When . . . foes** when we see our superiors suffering our own afflictions, we scarcely regard our misfortunes as inimical, i.e. we endure them more easily. Edgar speaks in his own person, directly to the audience.

97 **Who . . . mind** i.e. he suffers most in mind who suffers alone

98 **free things** carefree actions

99 **sufferance** suffering

100 **bearing** endurance

101 **portable** endurable

102 **makes me . . . bow** weighs heavily on me bows the King down

103 **childed . . . fathered** A compressed

way of saying 'his children have treated him as my father has treated me'; also explained as 'He (being made), turned into, a child, as I (being) made, turned into, a father' (Kathleen Wales, 'An Aspect of Shakespeare's Dynamic Language', _English Studies_ , 59 (1978), 395–404).

104 **Mark . . . noises** pay attention to what's going on in high places? Johnson glossed 'attend to the great events that are approaching'. **thyself bewray** reveal your real self

106 **In . . . thee** in proof of your integrity repeals (the sentence of outlawry) and reconciles you (to your father). In this line, the subject is understood to be true, not 'false', opinion.

107 **What** whatever

**safe . . . King** may the King escape safely

108 **Lurk, lurk** Keep out of sight! Edgar returns to the persona of Poor Tom.

**Sc. 14** _Enter the Duke of Cornwall and Regan, and Gonoril and Edmund the bastard_ , _and Servants_

CORNWALL ( _to Gonoril_ )

Post speedily to my lord your husband.

Show him this letter. The army of France is landed.

( _To Servants_ ) Seek out the villain Gloucester.

_Exeunt some_

REGAN Hang him instantly.

GONORIL

Pluck out his eyes.

CORNWALL Leave him to my displeasure.—

Edmund, keep you our sister company.

The revenges we are bound to take upon your traitorous father are not fit for your beholding. Advise the Duke where you are going, to a most festinate preparation; we are bound to the like. Our posts shall be swift, and intelligence betwixt us.— 5

Farewell, dear sister. Farewell, my lord of Gloucester. 10

_Enter Oswald the steward_

How now, where's the King?

**14.** 0.1–2 _Enter . . . bastard_ ] Q ( _Enter Cornwall, and Regan, and Gonorill, and Bastard_.) 0.2 _and Servants_ ] F; _not in_ Q 6 revenges] F; reuenge Q 8 festinate] F2; festuant Q; festiuate F1 9 posts] F; post Q 11.1 _Enter_ . . . _steward_ ] Q (' _Enter Steward_.', _after l_. 12)

**14** The scene of Gloucester's blinding takes place in his own house (ll. 29, 38). A letter (l. 2), bindings (l. 27) and chair (l. 32) are needed, and perhaps something to represent Gloucester's gouged-out eyes—Brook used peeled grapes. Cornwall has a sword (l. 77.1), and l. 78 makes clear that even the servants wear swords.

1 **Post** travel

2 **letter** The one that Gloucester locked in his closet (10.11, 21) and which is in Edmund's possession at 12.9. It is not clear who has it at this point.

**army** The forces mentioned at 8.21–5, 10.13, and, obliquely, at 13.86–8.

4 **Pluck . . . eyes** HalioF points out that blinding is seen by psychologically oriented critics as symbolic of castration—appropriate from the emasculating Gonoril—and that both castration and blinding were medieval punishments for adultery (though this is not the sin with which Gloucester's tormentors are themselves concerned).

5 **sister** i.e. sister-in-law

6 **traitorous** treacherous (to the new regime)

7 **Duke** i.e. Albany

8 **to** Perhaps shorthand for 'to expedite' (Abbott 186).

**festinate** hurried, hasty. _OED_ 's first instance of the rare, latinate word. Shakespeare had used the adverbial form—also apparently for the first time—in _Love_ ' _s Labour_ ' _s Lost_ (3.1.5).

**preparation** (for war)

9 **posts** messengers. HalioQ and Weis retain Q's 'post', but 'it seems odd for Cornwall to imply that they have only one messenger, who will be kept busy going back and forth' ( _TC_ ).

9–10 **intelligence** i.e. 'will convey information' ( _OED, intelligence, v_. 1a). HalioQ, following F, reads 'intelligent'.

11 **lord of Gloucester** i.e. Edmund (see 2.15–16)—confusingly, especially in view of Oswald's following words.

OSWALD

My lord of Gloucester hath conveyed him hence.

Some five- or six-and-thirty of his knights,

Hot questants after him, met him at gate,

Who, with some other of the lord's dependants,

Are gone with him towards Dover, where they boast 15

To have well-armèd friends.

CORNWALL Get horses for your mistress. _Exit Oswald_

GONORIL Farewell, sweet lord, and sister.

CORNWALL 20

Edmund, farewell. _Exeunt Gonoril and Edmund_

( _To Servants_ ) Go seek the traitor Gloucester.

Pinion him like a thief; bring him before us.

_Exeunt other Servants_

Though we may not pass upon his life

Without the form of justice, yet our power

Shall do a curtsy to our wrath, which men

May blame but not control. Who's there—the traitor? 25

_Enter the Earl of Gloucester brought in by two or three_

REGAN

Ingrateful fox, 'tis he.

CORNWALL ( _to Servants_ ) Bind fast his corky arms.

GLOUCESTER

What means your graces? Good my friends, consider

You are my guests. Do me no foul play, friends.

CORNWALL ( _to Servants_ )

Bind him, I say—

REGAN Hard, hard! O filthy traitor!

GLOUCESTER 30

Unmerciful lady as you are, I am true.

15 questants] OXFORD; questrits Q; Questrists F 19 _Exit Oswald_ ] STAUNTON; _not in_ Q 21 _Exeunt . . . Edmund_ ] Q (' _Exeunt Gon. And Bast_.', _after l_. 20) 22.1 _Exeunt . . . Servants_ ] CAPELL; _not in_ QF 23 we] Q; well we F

26.1 _the Earl of_ ] _not in_ Q

15 **questants** seekers. A rare word, but used by Shakespeare at _All_ ' _s Well_ 2.1.16. The emendation (accepted by HalioQ) is discussed in _Division_ , p. 488.

22 **Pinion . . . thief** tie his arms to his sides like a petty criminal (especially humiliating for an earl)

23 **pass . . . life** pass a death sentence

24 **form of justice** formal procedure of a trial

24 **power** legal authority _OED sb_. 5a)

25 **do . . . to** A metaphorical way of saying 'yield to'.

27 **corky** withered, sapless (this sense first recorded in Harsnet, p. 221)

30 **Bind . . . say** The repeated order suggests that the servants have held back.

31 **true** loyal (i.e. not a _traitor_ ; F has 'none')

CORNWALL ( _to Servants_ )

To this chair bind him. ( _To Gloucester_ ) Villain, thou

shalt find—

_Regan plucks Gloucester's beard_

GLOUCESTER

By the kind gods, 'tis most ignobly done,

To pluck me by the beard.

REGAN So white, and such a traitor!

GLOUCESTER Naughty lady, 35

These hairs which thou dost ravish from my chin

Will quicken and accuse thee. I am your host.

With robbers' hands my hospitable favours

You should not ruffle thus. What will you do?

CORNWALL 40

Come, sir, what letters had you late from France?

REGAN

Be simple, answerer, for we know the truth.

CORNWALL

And what confederacy have you with the traitors

Late footed in the kingdom?

REGAN To whose hands

You have sent the lunatic King. Speak.

GLOUCESTER 45

I have a letter guessingly set down,

32.1 _Regan . . . beard_ ] JOHNSON; _not in_ q 42 simple,] q (~ ^) 45 King. Speak.] F (~: ~.); ~ ^ ~? Q

34 **pluck . . . beard** A contemptuous insult.

35 **So . . . traitor!** Pretending surprise that Gloucester should be a traitor in spite of the whiteness of his beard, betokening both age and innocence.

36 **Naughty** wicked

37 **ravish** pluck

38 **quicken** come to life

39–40 **favours . . . ruffle** An exact sense is in-determinable. The phrase might mean 'treat my kindnesses with contempt . . .' ( _OED, ruffle, v_.2 4, 'to handle roughly; to set upon with violence'), but, at least on a literal level, it is not easy to see how 'hands' could do this; _OED_ gives _ruffle_ here as its first instance of the sense 'To take or snatch rudely' ( _v_.2 5), which seems to require _favours_ to be tangible, as in love favours—as if Gloucester had been wearing symbols of welcome—which seems strained; 'favour' could also mean 'face', or 'features' (of the face), so the phrase might be understood as 'do violence to my looks of welcome'.

41 **late** recently

42 **simple** honest, straightforward. HalioQ interestingly hyphenates—'simple-answerer'—without note. Q's 'Be simple answerer' could be a misreading of F's 'Be simple answer'd', i.e. answer straightforwardly.

**answerer** 'One who replies to a charge, objection, argument or statement' ( _OED_ 1).

43 **traitors** The _well-armèd friends_ of l. 18, regarded as traitors by Cornwall because disloyal to him (Knowles, p. 38 n. 15).

44 **Late footed** recently landed

46 **guessingly set down** written by guesswork; _OED_ 's first instance of the adverb.

Which came from one that's of a neutral heart,

And not from one opposed.

CORNWALL Cunning.

REGAN And false.

CORNWALL

Where hast thou sent the King?

GLOUCESTER To Dover.

REGAN

Wherefore to Dover? Wast thou not charged at peril—

CORNWALL 50

Wherefore to Dover? Let him first answer that.

GLOUCESTER

I am tied to th' stake, and I must stand the course.

REGAN Wherefore to Dover, sir?

GLOUCESTER

Because I would not see thy cruel nails

Pluck out his poor old eyes, nor thy fierce sister

In his anointed flesh rash boarish fangs. 55

The sea, with such a storm as his bowed head

In hell-black night endured, would have buoyed up

And quenched the stellèd fires. Yet, poor old heart,

He helped the heavens to rage.

If wolves had at thy gate howled that dern time, 60

56 anointed] Qb (annoynted), F; aurynted Qa 57 as] F; of Qa; on Qb bowed] BLAYNEY ( _conj_. Greg); lou'd Qa; lowd Qb 58 buoyed] F; layd Qa; bod Qb 59 stellèd] Qb, F; steeled Qa, Q2 60 helped] Q (holpt); holpe F 61 howled] F (hould); heard Q

50 **at peril** at risk (of your death)

52 **tied . . . course** Gloucester sees himself as a bear who must _stand_ —endure— _the course_ —successive attacks. Macbeth uses the same image: 'They have tied me to a stake. I cannot fly, | But bear-like I must fight the course' (5.7.1–2).

54–5 **Because . . . eyes** Gloucester virtually invites his own torment.

56 **anointed** i.e. sacred. Kings are, and were from medieval times, anointed with holy oil at the coronation service.

**rash** strike (F substitutes 'stick', perhaps for euphony)

57 **as** This Folio reading is accepted by HalioQ, but Weis reverts to corrected Q's 'on', which makes (rather difficult) sense. **bowed** bent down ( _OED_ 's first use of the literal sense of the participial adjective dates from 1848, but the verbal sense was common much earlier). Both HalioQ and Weis accept the emendation, though as Weis says, 'If Qa's _loved_ were accepted, it could be seen as evidence of Gloucester's protective affection for the King.'

58 **buoyed** risen, swelled ( _OED_ 's first use of this sense: _buoy, v_. 1)

59 **stellèd** starry ( _OED_ 's first use)

61 **dern** sombre, dreary. The word, changed to 'stern' in F, is used parodically in the anonymous manuscript play _Tom o_ ' _Lincoln_ ( _c_.1611); it may have 'become a dangerous word to use in a context of serious emotion' (G. R. Proudfoot, Introduction to _Tom o_ ' _Lincoln_ (Oxford, Malone Society Reprints, 1992), p. xxviii).

Thou shouldst have said 'Good porter, turn the key;

All cruels I'll subscribe.' But I shall see

The wingèd vengeance overtake such children.

CORNWALL

See't shalt thou never.—Fellows, hold the chair.—

Upon those eyes of thine I'll set my foot. 65

GLOUCESTER

He that will think to live till he be old

Give me some help!—O cruel! O ye gods!

[ _cornwall puts out one of Gloucester_ ' _s eyes and stamps on it_ ]

REGAN ( _to Cornwall_ )

One side will mock another; t'other, too.

CORNWALL ( _to Gloucester_ )

If you see vengeance—

SERVANT Hold your hand, my lord.

I have served you ever since I was a child, 70

But better service have I never done you

Than now to bid you hold.

REGAN How now, you dog!

SERVANT

If you did wear a beard upon your chin

I'd shake it on this quarrel. [ _To Cornwall_ ] What do you mean?

CORNWALL My villein! 75

63 cruels I'll subscribe] OXFORD ( _conj_. Stone); cruels else subscrib'd Q; Cruels else subscribe F; cruel selfe subscrib'd BLAYNEY 68.1–2 _cornwall . . . it_ ] This edition _after_ ROWE; _not in_ Q 71 you] Q2, F; _not in_ Q1 75 _To CORNWALL_] OXFORD; _not in_ QF 76 villein] Q (villaine)

63 **All cruels I'll subscribe** 'all cruel creatures I'll countenance, accept', or 'all cruel actions I'll surrender, give up, renounce'. This emends Q's 'All cruels else subscrib'd' ('subscribe', F), difficult to explain but accepted by HalioQ and Weis, and explained by Foakes as 'all cruel creatures but you yield (to feelings of sorrow and compassion at a time like this)'.

64 **wingèd vengeance** vengeance of the gods

66 **Upon . . . foot** It is not clear exactly what action Shakespeare envisaged; perhaps _foot_ is used for 'boot' or 'spur'. Dessen ( _Conventions_ , p. 120) regards it as symbolically appropriate that 'gloucester, bound to a chair, is lowered to the stage floor so that his head is under Cornwall's foot.' In Peter Brook's production, Gloucester's chair was tipped backwards so that Gloucester's head was on the floor and Cornwall apparently drove his spur into it.

70–80 **Hold . . . him** The Servant's action is described at 16.72–7.

71 **served you ever since** Weis accepts Q's 'seru'd euer since'.

75 **What . . . mean** Furness suggested that these words should be spoken by Cornwall; Kittredge assigned them to Regan.

76 **villein** serf, peasant (spelt 'villaine' in Q and F)

SERVANT

Why then, come on, and take the chance of anger.

_They draw and fight_

REGAN [ _to another Servant_ ]

Give me thy sword. A peasant stand up thus!

_She takes a sword and runs at him behind_

SERVANT ( _to Gloucester_ )

O, I am slain, my lord! Yet have you one eye left

To see some mischief on him.

[ _REGAN stabs him again_]

O! _He dies_

CORNWALL 80

Lest it see more, prevent it. Out, vile jelly!

_He_ [ _puts out_ ] _Gloucester's other eye_

Where is thy lustre now?

GLOUCESTER

All dark and comfortless. Where's my son Edmund?

Edmund, enkindle all the sparks of nature

To quite this horrid act.

REGAN Out, villain!

Thou call'st on him that hates thee. It was he 85

That made the overture of thy treasons to us,

Who is too good to pity thee.

GLOUCESTER

O, my follies! Then Edgar was abused.

Kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him!

REGAN ( _to Servants_ ) 90

Go thrust him out at gates, and let him smell

His way to Dover. ( _To Cornwall_ ) How is't, my lord?

How look you?

77.1 _They . . . fight_ ] Q (' _draw and fight_.', _after l_. 76) 80 _Regan . . . again_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF _He dies_ ] Q2; _not in_ Q1, F 81.1 _He . . . eye_ ] This edition _after_ ROWE; _Dashing Gloster_ ' _s other Eye to the Ground_ CAPELL 84 enkindle] F; vnbridle Q 85 quite] Q (quit)

77 **take . . . anger** accept the risk that (my) anger creates

78 **stand up** i.e. confront me ( _OED, stand_ , _v_. 103n.)

80 **mischief on him** harm done to him

84 **enkindle** F's replacement for Q's 'vnbridle'. 'Shakespeare elsewhere only uses the adjective _unbridled_ , and one does not easily "unbridle" sparks' ( _Division_ , p. 456). HalioQ, but not Weis, accepts F.

85 **quite** requite, avenge

**horrid** horrific

87 **overture** revelation

89 **abused** wronged

CORNWALL

I have received a hurt. Follow me, lady.

( _To Servants_ ) Turn out that eyeless villain. Throw this

slave

Upon the dunghill. _Exit one or more with Gloucester_

[ _and the body_ ]

Regan, I bleed apace. 95

Untimely comes this hurt. Give me your arm.

_Exeunt Cornwall and Regan_

SECOND SERVANT

I'll never care what wickedness I do

If this man come to good.

THIRD SERVANT If she live long

And in the end meet the old course of death,

Women will all turn monsters. 100

SECOND SERVANT

Let's follow the old Earl and get the bedlam

To lead him where he would. His roguish madness

Allows itself to anything.

THIRD SERVANT

Go thou. I'll fetch some flax and whites of eggs

To apply to his bleeding face. Now heaven help him! 105

_Exeunt severally_

95 _Exit . . . Gloucester_ ] BLAYNEY ( _Exit a seruant_ . . .); _not in_ Q; _Exit with Glouster_. F ( _after_ 'Dover', _l_. 92) _and the body_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF 96.1 _Exeunt . . . Regan_ ] F ( _Exeunt_.); _not in_ Q 97 SECOND] CAPELL; _not in_ Q 98, 104 THIRD] CAPELL; 2 Q 101 SECOND] CAPELL; 1 Q 102 roguish] Qa; _not in_ Qb 105.1 _Exeunt severally_ ] Q ( _Exit_.)

94–5 **Throw . . . dunghill** A humiliation visited, oddly enough, on the corpse of John Careless (mentioned in the note to 4.166–7), who, imprisoned for his religious convictions, died and 'was thrown out and buried most ignominiously upon a dunghill, by the adversaries of God's word' (cited Seng, p. 203).

95 **_Exit_ . . . _body_** F directs ' _Exit_ [i.e. _Exit the Servant_ ] _with Gloster_ ' after 'Dover', l. 92. It may well be that, as Gurr and Ichikawa write (p. 116), 'one of the onstage servants had the task of mutely unbinding Gloucester and leading him away just after Regan's command'. They suggest that 'in the Q1 version, when Cornwall repeats Regan's command' the servant may be 'still untying Gloucester. An alternative possibility is that the servants are so shocked and intimidated by what they have seen that none of them can even begin to unbind Gloucester until Cornwall gives the order a second time.'

95 **apace** profusely

96.1 **_Exeunt_ . . . _Regan_** Q's direction is _Exit_ , but the absence of a subsequent direction for Regan to leave implies that Regan gives Cornwall the help he seeks. In some productions, however, she has refused (Bratton).

99 **meet . . . death** i.e. die a natural death 101 **bedlam** Edgar as Poor Tom (note to 2.126–7)

102 **roguish** characteristic of vagrants

103 **Allows . . . anything** will agree to whatever we ask

104 **flax . . . eggs** White of egg was a traditional remedy to soothe hurt eyes and to staunch bleeding from them, used e.g. by Shakespeare's son-in-law, Dr John Hall, to treat a patient suffering from 'rheum in the eyes' (Hall, pp. 8–10); Hoeniger (p. 258) notes that Dr Walter Bailey, in his _Briefe treatise touching the preservation of the eiesight_ (1586, etc.), recommends 'a plaster of flax and the white of egg' for a hurt or bloodshot eye. 'Flax' could mean either linen (woven from flax) or raw flax fibres (tow) which 'could be pressed into pads for application to a wound'. The fibres 'would encourage the formation of blood clots' (Dr Melvin Earles, privately communicated).

**Sc. 15** _Enter Edgar as a Bedlam beggar_

EDGAR

Yet better thus and known to be contemned

Than still contemned and flattered. To be worst,

The low'st and most dejected thing of fortune,

Stands still in esperance, lives not in fear.

The lamentable change is from the best; 5

The worst returns to laughter.

_Enter the Earl of GLOUCESTER led by an Old Man_

Who's here? My father, parti-eyed? World, world, O

world!

But that thy strange mutations make us hate thee,

Life would not yield to age.

[ _Edgar stands aside_ ]

OLD MAN ( _to Gloucester_ ) O my good lord,

**15.** 0.1 _as . . . beggar_ ] _not in_ Q 2 flattered. To be worst] POPE ( _subs_.); ~ ^ ~ Q 4 esperance] F; experience Q 6.1 _Enter . . . Man_ ] Q ( _after_ 'age', _l_. 9, _and omitting_ ' _the Earl of_ ') 7 partieyed] qb (parti, eyd); poorlie, leed qa; poorely ^ led Q2, F 8 hate] QF; hold A. WALKER _conj_. ( _see_ Muir) 9 _Edgar stands aside_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF

**15** The presence of Gloucester's old tenant suggests that the action is imagined as taking place not far from Gloucester's dwelling. Gloucester produces a purse at l. 62.

1–2 **Yet . . . flattered** A somewhat cryptic way of saying 'It's better for me to be like this and know myself to be despised (contemned) than still to be despised yet flattered to my face (as at court)'.

3 **most . . . fortune** thing most cast down by fortune

4 **esperance** hope (the French word, used in

English in Shakespeare's time). Weis retains Q's 'experience', explaining 'the absence of fear results from being numb and arrested ( _Stands still_ ) in the experience of utter desolation'.

6 **The . . . laughter** Related to the proverb 'When things are at the worst they will mend' (Dent T216), varied also at _Macbeth_ 4.2.24–5.

7 **parti-eyed** with eyesockets of varied colours—bruised and bloody. Both Weis and HalioQ accept this interpretation of Qb's 'parti, eyd' over Qa's 'poorlie, leed', picked up by Q2 and F as 'poorely led'. Slight support for 'led' may be indicated by the fact that in _Arcadia_ , the old king is led by his son (Introduction, p. 00). Qb's reading is important because it indicates that Edgar realizes that his father is blind, whereas in the other texts this revelation might be prompted by Gloucester's _I_ ' _d say I had eyes again_ (l. 22).

8–9 **But . . . age** were it not that the strange vicissitudes of life cause us to reject the world, our life would not willingly give way to old age (and death)

9 **_Edgar_ . . . _aside_** The Old Man does not see Edgar until l. 22. It is not clear whether Edgar hears the intervening dialogue.

I have been your tenant and your father's tenant 10

This fourscore—

GLOUCESTER

Away, get thee away, good friend, be gone.

Thy comforts can do me no good at all;

Thee they may hurt.

OLD MAN

Alack, sir, you cannot see your way. 15

GLOUCESTER

I have no way, and therefore want no eyes.

I stumbled when I saw. Full oft 'tis seen

Our means secure us, and our mere defects

Prove our commodities. Ah dear son Edgar,

The food of thy abusèd father's wrath— 20

Might I but live to see thee in my touch

I'd say I had eyes again.

OLD MAN How now? Who's there?

EDGAR ( _aside_ )

O gods! Who is't can say 'I am at the worst'?

I am worse than e'er I was.

OLD MAN 'Tis poor mad Tom.

EDGAR ( _aside_ )

And worse I may be yet. The worst is not 25

As long as we can say 'This is the worst.'

OLD MAN ( _to Edgar_ ) Fellow, where goest?

GLOUCESTER Is it a beggarman?

OLD MAN Madman and beggar too.

GLOUCESTER

A has some reason, else he could not beg. 30

In the last night's storm I such a fellow saw,

Which made me think a man a worm. My son

Came then into my mind, and yet my mind

11 **fourscore** F adds 'years.'

18–19 **Our . . . commodities** our assets give us a false sense of security, and our sheer defects turn out to our advantage

20 **food of** i.e. victim of, or food for **abusèd** deceived, misled

21 **see . . . touch** recognize you by touching you

22 **How . . . there** Presumably a response to some movement or sound from Edgar.

30 **A . . . reason** i.e. he is not entirely mad

32 **worm** i.e. mean and defenceless; a biblical theme: Psalm 22: 6, 'I am a worm, and no man', and Job 25: 6: 'How much more man a worm, even the son of man, which is but a worm'.

Was then scarce friends with him. I have heard more

since.

As flies to wanton boys are we to th' gods; 35

They kill us for their sport.

EDGAR ( _aside_ ) How should this be?

Bad is the trade that must play fool to sorrow,

Ang'ring itself and others.

[ _He comes forward_ ]

Bless thee, master.

GLOUCESTER

Is that the naked fellow?

OLD MAN Ay, my lord.

GLOUCESTER

Then prithee, get thee gone. If for my sake 40

Thou wilt o'ertake us hence a mile or twain

I'th' way toward Dover, do it for ancient love,

And bring some covering for this naked soul,

Who I'll entreat to lead me.

OLD MAN Alack, sir, he is mad.

GLOUCESTER

'Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind. 45

Do as I bid thee; or rather do thy pleasure.

Above the rest, be gone.

35 flies to] F; flies are toth' Q 36 kill] F; bitt Q 37 that must play fool] F; that must play the | foole Q; must play the fool pope 38 _He comes forward_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q F 41 hence] F; here Q

34 **I . . . since** Indeed he has.

35 **flies to** Weis, but not HalioQ, accepts Q's unmetrical and unidiomatic 'flies are toth''.

**wanton** cruelly mischievous, like Coriolanus' son who chased a butterfly to 'mammock' it ( _Coriolanus_ 1.3.62–7).

37 **trade** course of action, manner of life ( _OED sb_. 3a)

**fool** Weis, but not HalioQ, accepts Q's 'the foole'.

38 **Ang'ring** Perhaps in the sense of 'distressing', 'wounding' (though _OED_ , _anger, v_., does not record this beyond _c_.1440) rather than 'enraging'.

**Bless . . . master** Probably a begging cry, as noted at 11.51.

41 **hence** Conceivably Q's 'here' may mean 'hence', but I have found no authority for this use of the word.

42 **ancient love** former affection, 'old time's sake'

43 **bring . . . covering** 'Edgar must change his appearance, and the audience must be warned of the change, because as the naked Poor Tom he could not have killed Oswald, and Albany would not have listened to his request to arrange a trial by combat with Edmund.' (W. P. Ringler Jr., 'Shakespeare and his Actors: Some Remarks on _King Lear_ ' (1981), repr. in Ogden and Scouten, 123–34; p. 131.)

45 **time's plague** disease of our time

47 **the rest** all

OLD MAN

I'll bring him the best 'parel that I have,

Come on't what will. _Exit_

GLOUCESTER Sirrah, naked fellow!

EDGAR

Poor Tom's a-cold. I cannot dance it farther. 50

GLOUCESTER Come hither, fellow.

EDGAR Bless thy sweet eyes, they bleed.

GLOUCESTER Know'st thou the way to Dover?

EDGAR Both stile and gate, horseway and footpath. Poor Tom hath been scared out of his good wits. Bless thee, goodman, from the foul fiend. Five fiends have been in Poor Tom at once, as of lust Obidicut, Hobbididence prince of dumbness, Mahu of stealing, Modo of murder, Flibbertigibbet of mocking and mowing, who since possesses chambermaids and waiting-women. So bless thee, master. 55 60

GLOUCESTER

Here, take this purse, thou whom the heavens' plagues

Have humbled to all strokes. That I am wretched

Makes thee the happier. Heavens deal so still.

Let the superfluous and lust-dieted man 65

49 _Exit_ ] F; _not in_ Q 55 thee] Q (the) 57 of . . . Obidicut] Q; as Obidicut, of lust hudson ( _conj_. W. S. Walker) Hobbididence] Q; hobbididdance CAPELL 59 Flibbertigibbet] POPE; _Stiberdigebit_ Q mocking ^] DUTHIE–WILSON; Mobing, Q ( _arranging as verse_ ); mopping ^ THEOBALD Mowing] THEOBALD; _Mohing_ Q; mouthing BLAYNEY _conj_.

48 **'parel** apparel

50 **Poor . . . a-cold** Edgar uses the same words at 11.74, 132, and 157. They seem to have formed a conventional begging phrase which Edgar starts on here, then breaks down into personal emotion as he looks into his father's mutilated face (S. Wells, 'Tom O'Bedlam's Song and _King Lear, SQ_ 12 (1961), 311–15). The traditional song of Tom O'Bedlam has interesting though enigmatic links with the play; it is reprinted and studied in _Loving Mad Tom: Bedlamite Verses of the XVIth and XVII Centuries_ , ed. J. Lindsay (1927, repr. 1969).

**dance it** i.e. play the fool. F has 'daub it'. The sentence may be spoken aside.

54 **horseway** bridle-path

56 **goodman** (a title of respect)

**Five fiends** Their names are from Harsnet: Obidicut, p. 295, Hobbididence and Flibbertigibbet, p. 242, and Maho and Modu, pp. 241, 243.

57 **of . . . Obidicut** Hudson's re-ordering, accepted by Oxford, seems unnecessary.

59 **mocking** Weis reads 'moping' with no gloss or explanation of the change from Q's 'mobing'. HalioQ accepts Theobald's 'mopping'. Both 'mock and mow' and 'mop and mow' were common expressions, the former the older, meaning 'to make a grimace' ( _OED, mop, v_.). **mowing** grimacing mockingly

60 **chambermaids . . . waiting-women** Presumably thought of as mocking their mistresses behind their backs.

63 **humbled . . . strokes** reduced to bear all kinds of humiliation

64 **Heavens** may the heavens

65 **superfluous** superabundantly supplied (as at 7.424, also recalling _superflux_ in the similar passage at 11.32)

That stands your ordinance, that will not see

Because he does not feel, feel your power quickly.

So distribution should undo excess,

And each man have enough. Dost thou know Dover?

EDGAR Ay, master. 70

GLOUCESTER

There is a cliff whose high and bending head

Looks saucily in the confinèd deep.

Bring me but to the very brim of it

And I'll repair the misery thou dost bear

With something rich about me. From that place 75

I shall no leading need.

EDGAR Give me thy arm.

Poor Tom shall lead thee.

_Exit Edgar guiding GLOUCESTER_

**Sc. 16** _Enter_ [ _at one door_ ] _Gonoril and Edmund the bastard_

GONORIL

Welcome, my lord. I marvel our mild husband

Not met us on the way.

_Enter_ [ _at another door_ ] _Oswald the steward_

Now, where's your master?

68 undo] F; vnder Q 72 saucily] OXFORD; firmely Q; fearfully F 78.1 _Exit . . . GLOUCESTER_] OXFORD; _Exeunt_. F; _not in_ Q

**16**.0.1 _at one door_ ] CAPELL ( _Enter Goneril and Edmund, Steward meeting them_.) 0.1 _Edmund the_ ] _not in_ Q 2 _Enter . . . steward_ ] Q ( _Enter Steward_.)

65 **lust-dieted** fed full with pleasure, including the sexual

66 **stands . . . ordinance** stands against, defies your decrees

67 **feel, feel** feel compassion, sympathize . . . experience

68 **undo** eliminate, abolish

71 **bending** curving

72 **saucily** insolently. Weis retains Q's 'firmely' but HalioQ emends independently to 'sternly' while admitting that it 'does not correct the metre'. The emendation is defended in _Division_ , p. 457.

**confinèd deep** deep sea bounded (by the straits of Dover)

74 **repair** remedy, set right again (cited at _OED v_. 5)

**16** Gonoril, Edmund and Oswald have arrived at Albany's dwelling as planned (14.1–21).

0.1 **_at_ . . . _door_** The exact staging is uncertain. It would be possible for Gonoril and Edmund to enter separately, but they are imagined as having travelled together and her enquiry about her husband implies that she has not yet encountered him. In the opening line she welcomes Edmund to her home; although Oswald left with them, the report of his conversation with Albany suggests that he has arrived in advance. At l. 21 Gonoril gives Edmund some kind of love token, and at l. 81 the Gentleman produces a letter.

1, 2, 14 **our . . . us . . . Our** Gonoril appears to be adopting the royal plural.
OSWALD

Madam, within; but never man so changed.

I told him of the army that was landed;

He smiled at it. I told him you were coming; 5

His answer was 'The worse.' Of Gloucester's treachery

And of the loyal service of his son

When I informed him, then he called me sot,

And told me I had turned the wrong side out.

What he should most defy seems pleasant to him; 10

What like, offensive.

GONORIL ( _to Edmund_ ) Then shall you go no further.

It is the cowish terror of his spirit

That dares not undertake. He'll not feel wrongs

Which tie him to an answer. Our wishes on the way

May prove effects. Back, Edmund, to my brother. 15

Hasten his musters and conduct his powers.

I must change arms at home, and give the distaff

Into my husband's hands. This trusty servant

Shall pass between us. Ere long you are like to hear,

If you dare venture in your own behalf, 20

A mistress's command. Wear this. Spare speech.

Decline your head. This kiss, if it durst speak,

10 defy] OXFORD ( _conj_. Stone); desire Q; dislike F 12 cowish] QF; currish BLAYNEY terror] Qb, F; curre Qa, Q2; tenor STONE _conj_. 15 Edmund] Q2, F; _Edgar_ Q1 21 command] Qb, F; coward Qa, Q2

4 **army** i.e. the French invading forces

8 **sot** fool

9 **turned . . . out** got things the wrong way round (i.e. Gloucester is loyal, Edmund treacherous)

10 **defy** set at nought, reject ( _OED v_.1 5). HalioQ accepts our emendation; Weis adopts F's 'dislike', but 'Substitution of antonyms is a rare compositorial error, and "desire" is not the most obvious antonym to "dislike" ' ( _TC_ ).

12 **cowish** cowardly (a rare sense)

13 **undertake** enter into a commitment ( _OED v_.1 8)

13–14 **He'll . . . answer** he refuses to acknowledge injuries which require retaliation

14 **wishes . . . way** Presumably 'the wishes we have expressed on our journey'—a cryptic remark which could allude to their developing sexual relationship, or to their desire to eliminate Albany, or to both.

15 **prove effects** be accomplished

**brother** brother-in-law (Cornwall)

16 **musters** assembling of troops

**conduct** guide, escort

17 **change arms** exchange the insignia of our sexes, i.e. the sword and distaff

**distaff** staff on which wool or flax was wound for spinning, traditionally emblematic of womanhood

19 **like** likely

21 **mistress** Combining the senses of ruler and lover.

**Wear this** She gives him a love token, perhaps a chain of office (which would require him to decline his head) or a favour for his hat.

Would stretch thy spirits up into the air.

[ _She kisses him_ ]

Conceive, and fare you well.

EDMUND Yours in the ranks of death. 25

GONORIL My most dear Gloucester. [ _Exit Edmund_ ]

To thee a woman's services are due;

My foot usurps my body.

OSWALD Madam, here comes my lord.

_Exit_

_Enter the Duke of Albany_

GONORIL

I have been worth the whistling.

ALBANY O Gonoril,

You are not worth the dust which the rude wind 30

Blows in your face. I fear your disposition.

That nature which contemns it origin Cannot be bordered certain in itself.

She that herself will sliver and disbranch

23.1 _She . . . him_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q 26 _Exit Edmund_ ] ROWE; _not in_ Q; _Exit_. F ( _after preceding line_ ) 27 a] Qb; _not in_ Qa 28 My foot usurps my body] Qa; A foole vsurps my bed Qb; My Foole vsurpes my body F; My foote vsurpes my head Q2 28.1 _Exit_ ] Q ( _Exit Stew_.) 28.2 _Enter . . . Albany_ ] Q2; _not in_ Q1 29 whistling] Qb; whistle qa, Q2, F 32 it] Qa; ith Qb; its Q3

23 **stretch . . . air** raise your spirits to a great height (with the possibility of sexual innuendo; 'spirit' could mean 'penis' (Williams, _Glossary_ ))

**thy** She moves into the more familiar form of address.

24 **Conceive** imagine, take my meaning

26 **Gloucester** She anticipates his inheritance of his father's title.

27 **services** Again with the possibility of innuendo.

28 **foot . . . body** A difficult line whether we accept Qa (as here, and HalioQ) or Qb (Weis). 'Thomas Clayton has defended Qa by reference to two commonplaces of Renaissance thought: the husband as his wife's "head", and the notion of a "body politic": Albany, who should be Gonoril's head, is no more than a foot, and usurps a place of which he is unworthy ("Old Light on the Text of _King Lear_ ", _Modern Philology_ , 78 (1981), 347–67). One might add that the line has an ironic secondary meaning of which Gonoril is unaware: in its slang sexual sense _foot_ (= French _foutre_ , " _to fuck_ ") suggests that Gonoril has allowed her sexual organs to dominate her body entirely (and unnaturally)' ( _TC_ ).

29 **I . . . whistling** i.e. at one time you would have dearly wanted to see me; varying the proverb 'It is an ill (poor) dog that is not worth the whistling' (Dent D488).

30 **rude** rough, ill-mannered

32 **contemns it origin** despises its maker **it** its ('an early provincial form of the genitive' (Abbott 228)). HalioQ adopts F's 'its' (and, oddly, reads 'condemns' for Q's 'contemnes').

33 **Cannot . . . itself** An awkward way of saying 'certainly cannot be relied on to control itself'. **bordered** kept within bounds, limited ( _OED v_. 2b, only instance of this sense)

34–6 **She . . . use** This passage appears to be influenced by John 15: 6: 'If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and withereth, and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they burn.' There is also a parallel in _King Leir_ (ll. 1242–6) which Shakespeare may have 'transformed . . . into a more explicit biblical reference' (Shaheen, pp. 614–15).

From her material sap perforce must wither,

And come to deadly use. 35

GONORIL No more. The text is foolish.

ALBANY

Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile;

Filths savour but themselves. What have you done?

Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed?

A father, and a gracious, agèd man, 40

Whose reverence even the head-lugged bear would lick,

Most barbarous, most degenerate, have you madded.

Could my good-brother suffer you to do it—

A man, a prince by him so benefacted?

If that the heavens do not their visible spirits 45

Send quickly down to tame these vile offences,

It will come,

Humanity must perforce prey on itself,

Like monsters of the deep.

GONORIL Milk-livered man,

That bear'st a cheek for blows, a head for wrongs; 50

43 good-brother] Q (good brother) 44 benefacted] OXFORD; beniflicted Qa; benifited Qb 46 these] Qb (this); the Qa 48 Humanity] Qb; Humanly Qa

34 **sliver** slice off; _OED_ 's first instance of the verb.

**disbranch** sever like a branch ( _OED_ 2, first instance of this sense)

35 **material** 'Forming the material or substance of a thing' ( _OED sb_. 3b, only instance of this 'rare' sense), 'which gave her her (moral and physical) substance' (Hunter).

36 **come . . . use** ' _i.e_. come, be used as a faggot for the burning' (Craig, comparing Hebrews 6: 8: 'But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned'). **The . . . foolish** i.e. 'you're preaching on a foolish theme'

38 **savour but themselves** are aware only of their own stink

41 **head-lugged** worried, or baited, by having its head pulled—or, as Hunter plausibly suggests, 'pulled along by the ring in its nose (and therefore in no good temper)'; possibly influenced by Harsnet's 'as men lead bears by the nose' (p. 285).

42 **madded** driven mad 43 **good-brother** brother-in-law 44 **benefacted** done good to. This rare back-formation from 'benefactor' is first recorded in 1594. It emends uncorrected Q's 'beneflicted', altered to 'benefited' in the corrected state accepted by Weis and HalioQ. The emendation is defended in Taylor, 'Four New Readings'.

45 **visible spirits** 'manifest avenging angels' (Weis)

48–9 **Humanity . . . deep** The idea was proverbial ('The great fish eat the small', Dent F311), and occurs vividly in the Shakespeare part of _Sir Thomas More_ : 'men like ravenous fishes | Would feed on one another' (ll. 95–6).

49 **Milk-livered** cowardly, having milk (associated with maternal gentleness) instead of blood in the liver, thought of as the seat of the passions; _OED_ 's first use of the compound.

50 **bear'st . . . wrongs** Perhaps elliptically 'passively hold your cheek to endure blows and your head to submit to wrongful attack'; but conceivably _bear_ ' _st_ is to be heard as 'bar'st', i.e. 'deliberately make defenceless', as in _Caesar_ : 'Have bared my bosom to the thunder-stone' (1.3.49). The idea is biblical: 'Whoso-ever shall smite thee on thy right cheek' turn to him the other also' (Matthew 5: 39; Shaheen, p. 615).

Who hast not in thy brows an eye discerning

Thine honour from thy suffering; that not know'st

Fools do those villains pity who are punished

Ere they have done their mischief: where's thy drum?

France spreads his banners in our noiseless land, 55

With plumèd helm thy flaxen biggin threats,

Whiles thou, a moral fool, sits still and cries

'Alack, why does he so?'

ALBANY See thyself, devil.

Proper deformity shows not in the fiend

So horrid as in woman.

GONORIL O vain fool! 60

ALBANY

Thou changèd and self-covered thing, for shame

Bemonster not thy feature. Were't my fitness

51 discerning] F; deseruing Q 55 noiseless] Qb (noyseles); noystles Qa 56 flaxen biggin threats] OXFORD; thy slayer begin threats Qa; thy state begins thereat Qb; thy state begins to threat jennens; thy slyre biggin threats STONE _conj_. 56 biggin] Qa (begin) 57 Whiles] Qa (Whil's); Whil'st Qb; While CAPELL 59 shows] Qb; seemes Qa

51–2 **discerning . . . suffering** able to distinguish between what does you honour and what hurts your reputation

53–4 **Fools . . . mischief** A cryptic way of saying 'it is foolish to pity ill-doers even if they have not yet committed the crimes for which they are being punished'—a justification for ill treatment of e.g. Lear, GLOUCESTER, and Cordelia.

55 **noiseless** i.e. with none of the sounds of preparation for war, peaceful (first recorded in _All_ ' _s Well_ 5.3.42)

56 **flaxen biggin threats** threatens your linen nightcap. This is a difficult crux. Most editors accept Jennens's 'state begins to threat' though Muir, while doing so, admits that 'Shakespeare is unlikely to have written it' since 'Greg, _Variants_ , p. 174, points out that there would certainly appear to have been no "to" in the copy.' Our emendation, defended in _TC_ and _Division_ , p. 488, adopts Stone's 'biggin' (of which Q's 'begin' is a recognized spelling) and emends Qa's 'slayer' to 'flaxen'. Foakes rejects this on the grounds that it 'invents a "flaxen biggin" or nightcap, an implausible association with an aristocrat like Albany', but HalioF, accepting it, remarks that 'The comparison between the King of France with his plumèd helm and Albany in his nightcap is deliberately ludicrous' (p. 303). Shakespeare employs a similar contrast in _2 Henry IV_ , where Prince Harry compares the King in his crown with the peasant 'whose brow with homely biggen [ _sic_ ] bound | Snores out the watch of night' (4.3.158–9).

57 **moral** moralizing, sententious

59–60 **Proper . . . woman** deformity (of appearance or character) does not seem as repulsive in the devil, to whom it is appropriate ( _Proper_ ), as in a woman

61 **self-covered thing** An elliptical way of saying that Gonoril has concealed her natural self and so become a thing rather than a person.

62 **Bemonster** deform, make hideous; _OED_ 's first instance of the word.

**feature** 'Good form or shape; comeliness' ( _OED sb_. 1b)

**Were't . . . fitness** if it befitted me

To let these hands obey my blood,

They are apt enough to dislocate and tear

Thy flesh and bones. Howe'er thou art a fiend, 65

A woman's shape doth shield thee.

GONORIL Marry your manhood, mew—

_Enter_  _Second_  _Gentleman_

ALBANY What news?

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN

O my good lord, the Duke of Cornwall's dead,

Slain by his servant going to put out 70

The other eye of Gloucester.

ALBANY Gloucester's eyes?

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN

A servant that he bred, thralled with remorse,

Opposed against the act, bending his sword

To his great master, who thereat enraged

Flew on him, and amongst them felled him dead, 75

But not without that harmful stroke which since

Hath plucked him after.

ALBANY This shows you are above,

You justicers, that these our nether crimes

So speedily can venge. But O, poor Gloucester!

Lost he his other eye?

64 dislocate] Q3; dislecate Q1 67 mew] Qb; now Qa 67. I _Enter . . . Gentleman_ ] Q (' _Enter a Gentleman_.', _after l_. 68) 69, _etc_.  SECOND GENTLEMAN ] OXFORD; _Gen_. Q ( _see_ 8.0.1–2 _n_.) 78 You] Qb (you); your Qa justicers] Qb; Iustices Qa, Q2, F

64 **dislocate** _OED_ 's earliest use of the finite verb (which was used as a past participle much earlier).

65 **Howe'er** although

67 **Marry** An expression of contempt, as it were 'pooh to'.

**mew** the cry of a cat, 'used as a derisive exclamation' ( _OED int_. and _sb_.3 2, first recorded 1606).

72 **bred** brought, or trained, up

**thralled with** in subjection to, governed by? HalioQ accepts F's 'thrilled', as does Weis, who nevertheless remarks that Q's 'thrald' 'may be intended', but that if so, the punctuation would have to be altered to 'that he bred thralled [i.e. in bondage to him], with remorse'. But it seems possible for someone to be in thrall to the passion of pity, as Macbeth's servants were 'slaves of drink, and thralls of sleep' (3.6.13).

72 **remorse** pity, compassion

73 **Opposed against** acted in opposition to (the intransitive use, now obsolete, _OED, oppose, v_. 7b)

73–4 **bending . . . To** aiming . . . at

75 **amongst them** between them (i.e. Cornwall and Regan together); or among them all, all present

77 **plucked** i.e. to death

77–9 **This . . . venge** The idea is biblical: 'Shall not God avenge his elect? . . . I tell you he will avenge them quickly' (Luke 18: 7–8). Shaheen, p. 615, cites _Leir_ , ll. 1909–10: 'The heavens are just, and hate impiety, | And will no doubt reveal such heinous crimes.'

78 **justicers** ministers of justice, gods **nether** belonging to the nether, earthly, regions

79 **venge** avenge

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN Both, both, my lord. 80

( _To Gonoril_ ) This letter, madam, craves a speedy answer.

'Tis from your sister.

GONORIL ( _aside_ ) One way I like this well;

But being widow, and my Gloucester with her,

May all the building on my fancy pluck

Upon my hateful life. Another way 85

The news is not so took.—I'll read and answer.

_Exit_

ALBANY

Where was his son when they did take his eyes?

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN

Come with my lady hither.

ALBANY He is not here.

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN

No, my good lord; I met him back again.

ALBANY Knows he the wickedness? 90

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN

Ay, my good lord; 'twas he informed against him,

And quit the house on purpose that their punishment

Might have the freer course.

ALBANY Gloucester, I live

To thank thee for the love thou showed'st the King,

And to revenge thy eyes.—Come hither, friend. 95

Tell me what more thou knowest. _Exeunt_

**Sc. 17** _Enter the Earl of KENT disguised, and_  _First_  _Gentleman_

KENT Why the King of France is so suddenly gone back know you no reason?

92 their] Q (there) 96 _Exeunt_ ] Q ( _Exit_.)

**17.** 0.1 _Enter . . . Gentleman_ ] Q (' _Enter Kent and a Gentleman_.')

82 **One way** i.e. in so far as Cornwall's death will reduce Regan's power

83 **being** (Regan) being

**Gloucester** i.e. Edmund

84–5 **May . . . life** A contorted way of saying 'may pluck down the entire edifice that my amorously inspired imagination has constructed on to a life that will have become hateful to me'.

84 **on** HalioQ adopts F's 'in', without comment, whereas Weis considers that it 'weakens the kinetic structure of the phrase through coalescing _building_ and _fancy_ into a single syntactic unit in relation to _pluck_ '.

86 **took** perceived, interpreted (F reads 'tart')

89 **back** on his way back

**17** The action takes place near or in Dover, to which Lear has been brought. The whole of this scene is absent from F; it could have been omitted in performances based on Q.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

Something he left imperfect in the state

Which, since his coming forth, is thought of; which

Imports to the kingdom so much fear and danger 5

That his personal return was most required

And necessary.

KENT

Who hath he left behind him general?

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

The Maréchal of France, Monsieur la Far.

KENT Did your letters pierce the Queen to any demonstration of grief? 10

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

Ay, sir. She took them, read them in my presence,

And now and then an ample tear trilled down

Her delicate cheek. It seemed she was a queen

Over her passion who, most rebel-like, 15

Sought to be king o'er her.

KENT O, then it moved her.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

Not to a rage. Patience and sorrow strove

Who should express her goodliest. You have seen

Sunshine and rain at once; her smiles and tears

Were like, a better way. Those happy smilets 20

That played on her ripe lip seemed not to know

9 Maréchal] Q (Marshall), POPE (Mareschal) 12 sir] THEOBALD; say Q 17 strove] BL2, POPE; streme Q 21 seemed] POPE; seeme Q

1–7 **Why . . . necessary** Granville Barker (p. 273) considered these 'the clumsiest few lines in the play', suggesting that Shakespeare may have thought of having Cordelia 'restore her father to his throne as in the old play', but changed plan because a French victory in England would 'not have done'.

1 **gone back** i.e. to France

3 **imperfect** unfinished

5 **Imports** portends

9 **Maréchal** 'The French word for "marshal" or "field-marshal" used occas. in English' ( _OED_ , first instance 1699 but clearly appropriate here, though not accepted by HalioQ or Weis).

9 **la Far** The name resembles that of the French Soldier, Monsieur le Fer, in _Henry V_ (4.4.25).

10 **pierce** touch, move deeply

13 **trilled** flowed, rolled

15 **passion who** emotion which

18 **goodliest** most fittingly

20 **a better way** 'but after a better fashion' (Muir). The line has been much emended, and some editors drop the comma. **smilets** little smiles; a rare word

21 **seemed** Q's 'seeme' may be acceptable as the historic present (Weis), but misreading is easy.

What guests were in her eyes, which parted thence

As pearls from diamonds dropped. In brief,

Sorrow would be a rarity most beloved

If all could so become it.

KENT Made she no verbal question? 25

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

Faith, once or twice she heaved the name of 'father'

Pantingly forth as if it pressed her heart,

Cried 'Sisters, sisters, shame of ladies, sisters,

Kent, father, sisters, what, i'th' storm, i'th' night,

Let piety not be believed!' There she shook 30

The holy water from her heavenly eyes

And clamour mastered, then away she started

To deal with grief alone.

KENT It is the stars,

The stars above us govern our conditions,

Else one self mate and make could not beget 35

Such different issues. You spoke not with her since?

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN No.

KENT

Was this before the King returned?

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN No, since.

KENT

Well, sir, the poor distressèd Lear's i'th' town,

Who sometime in his better tune remembers 40

What we are come about, and by no means

Will yield to see his daughter.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN Why, good sir?

KENT

A sovereign shame so elbows him: his own unkindness,

23 dropped. In] Q2 (dropt; in); ~ ^ ~ Q1 29 night,] Q1; ~? Q2 30 Let piety not be believed] OXFORD; Let pitie not be beleeft Q; Let pity ne'er believe it POPE 32 mastered] OXFORD ( _conj_. Stone); moystened her Q 43 him: his] Q2 (him, his); ~ ^ ~ Q1

27 **Pantingly** _OED_ 's first instance of the adverb.

30 **Let . . . believed!** i.e. do not believe that filial piety exists (if this be true); _piety_ is Oxford's emendation of Q's 'pitie', followed by HalioQ and Weis, and discussed in _TC_.

32 **clamour mastered** i.e. stopped her tears. Most editors emend Q's 'clamour moystened her' by dropping the metrically irregular 'her' (so HalioQ, Weis); like us, Foakes accepts Stone's suggestion 'mastered' but keeps 'her' (mistakenly attributing 'mastered her' to Oxford). The case is argued at length in _TC_.

35 **one . . . make** one and the same husband and wife ( _make_ could be used of either sex)

38 **returned** went back (to France)

40 **tune** frame of mind

43 **sovereign** overwhelming

That stripped her from his benediction, turned her

To foreign casualties, gave her dear rights 45

To his dog-hearted daughters—these things sting

His mind so venomously that burning shame

Detains him from Cordelia.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN Alack, poor gentleman!

KENT

Of Albany's and Cornwall's powers you heard not?

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN 'Tis so; they are afoot. 50

KENT

Well, sir, I'll bring you to our master Lear,

And leave you to attend him. Some dear cause

Will in concealment wrap me up a while.

When I am known aright you shall not grieve

Lending me this acquaintance. I pray you go

Along with me. _Exeunt_

**Sc. 18** _Enter Queen Cordelia, a Doctor, and others_

CORDELIA

Alack, 'tis he! Why, he was met even now,

As mad as the racked sea, singing aloud,

Crowned with rank fumitor and furrow-weeds,

56 _Exeunt_ ] Q (Exit.)

**18.** 0.1 _a_ ] _not in_ Q 2 racked] OXFORD; VENT Q; VEXT F 3 fumitor] Q (femiter)

45 **foreign casualties** the vicissitudes of life overseas

52 **dear cause** important business. 'The real reason is Shakespeare's desire to keep the revelation of Kent's identity till the last scene' (Hunter).

**18** This scene too takes place somewhere in or near Dover. As Sohmer observes, there is an 'abrupt shift' from 'wintry night' to 'high summer' (paragraph 13). This has sometimes been reflected in the staging, with ironical effect.

0.1 F adds ' _with Drum_ [i.e. drummer] _and Colours_ ', and replaces Q's ' _and others_ ' with ' _and Souldiours_ ', which may well have been used in the original staging to signal Cordelia's role as leader of the French army. Costume has sometimes signalled her changed circumstances (Bratton).

2 **racked** tormented (by winds). HalioQ and Weis accept F's 'vext', but 'Q is unlikely as an error for F' ( _TC_ ), and ' _ract_ (= racked) presumes an easy misreading in Q, makes good sense, and is supported by one of the play's most sustained patterns of imagery (tortured bodies)' ( _Division_ , p. 458).

3–5 **Crowned . . . weeds** Possibly influenced by the Homily 'Of the Misery of all Mankind': 'We . . . bring forth but weeds, nettles, brambles, briers, cockle, and darnel' (Shaheen, pp. 615–16).

3 **rank fumitor** 'Rank' means 'Vigorous or luxuriant in growth' ( _OED a_. 5), true of fumitory, a weed which 'often forms dense tufts, staying green and lush throughout the winter' (Rydén, p. 26). **furrow-weeds** weeds that grow on the furrows of ploughed land

With burdocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers,

Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow 5

In our sustaining corn. The centuries send forth.

Search every acre in the high-grown field,

And bring him to our eye.  _Exit one or more_

What can man's wisdom

In the restoring his bereavèd sense,

He that can help him 10

Take all my outward worth.

DOCTOR There is means, madam.

Our foster-nurse of nature is repose,

The which he lacks. That to provoke in him

Are many simples operative, whose power 15

Will close the eye of anguish.

CORDELIA All blest secrets,

All you unpublished virtues of the earth,

Spring with my tears, be aidant and remediate

4 burdocks] HANMER; hor-docks Q; Hardokes F 6 The centuries] OXFORD; a centurie is Q; A Centery F; Centuries BLAYNEY send] F; sent Q 8 _Exit one or more_ ] _not in_ QF 14 lacks. That] Q2 (~, ~); ~ ^ ~ Q1

4 **burdocks** The burdock is a common weed which produces burrs. Hanmer's once-popular emendation, accepted by HalioQ and Foakes, is discussed in _TC_.

**hemlock** A poisonous weed, used medicinally as a sedative.

**cuckoo-flowers** A name given to various plants which flower in spring, when the cuckoo is heard.

5 **Darnel** Used 'vaguely of any harmful weed', but possibly specific here to wild rye grass ( _Lolium tenentum_ ), 'a noxious plant, with narcotic powers, and hence appropriate to the demented Lear' (Rydén, p. 47).

**idle** useless

6 **sustaining** life-sustaining (opposed to 'idle'); _OED_ 's first instance of _sustaining_ as a participial adjective.

**The . . . forth** send out the divisions of the army (a _century_ was made up of 100 men). Weis retains Q's 'a centurie is sent forth', without comment, but HalioQ follows F's 'A Centery send', arguing that Q 'does not agree, as F does, with the imperatives of the next two lines'. Our reading, defended in _TC_ , assumes that 'centurie is' results from a misreading of 'centurie' and that, as often, 'a' was substituted for 'the'. John Jowett suggests (privately) 'A century is sent for', assuming that 'forth' was printed for 'for'. In mid seventeenth century, 'century' is recorded as a spelling of 'sentry' ( _OED sb_.1), but whereas a hundred may seem a lot, one does not seem enough.

8 **_Exit_ . . . _more_** Possibly, in view of 'Seek, seek for him' at l. 19, no one leaves here.

8–9 **What . . . restoring** whatever human knowledge can do to restore the sense which has been driven out of him (often repunctuated as a question)

10 **He that** let whoever

11 **outward worth** worldly wealth

15 **Are . . . operative** many medicines ( _simples_ , medicines made from single herbs, or the herbs themselves) are efficacious

17 **unpublished** not divulged or disclosed ( _OED_ 2, first recorded use), secret **virtues** (medicinal) powers

18 **with** i.e. germinated by

**aidant** helpful

**remediate** remedial ( _OED_ 's first use, suggesting it may be an error for 'remedial' or 'remediant')

In the good man's distress!—Seek, seek for him,

Lest his ungoverned rage dissolve the life 20

That wants the means to lead it.

_Enter a Messenger_

MESSENGER News, madam.

The British powers are marching hitherward.

CORDELIA

'Tis known before; our preparation stands

In expectation of them.—O dear father,

It is thy business that I go about; 25

Therefore great France

My mourning and important tears hath pitied.

No blown ambition doth our arms incite,

But love, dear love, and our aged father's right.

Soon may I hear and see him! _Exeunt_ 30

**Sc. 19** _Enter Regan and Oswald, Gonoril's steward_

REGAN

But are my brother's powers set forth?

OSWALD Ay, madam.

REGAN

Himself in person?

OSWALD Madam, with much ado.

Your sister is the better soldier.

REGAN

Lord Edmund spake not with your lord at home?

21 _a_ ] _not in_ Q 28 incite] Q2 (insite), F; in sight Q1 30 _Exeunt_ ] Q ( _Exit_.)

**19.** 0.1 _Oswald, Gonoril's_ ] _not in_ Q 1 OSWALD] Q (' _Stew_.' _subs. throughout the scene_ ) 4 Lord] F; Lady Q home?] Q2; ~. Q1

20 **rage** madness

21 **wants . . . means** i.e. lacks the sanity

23 **preparation** task force

24–5 **O . . . about** The 'clear reference' (Shaheen, p. 616) to words spoken by Christ ('I must go about my father's business', Luke 2: 49) means that _father_ may suggest God the Father as well as Lear.

26 **France** the King of France

27 **mourning** grieving, lamenting **important** importunate, urgent

28 **blown** inflated

**19** This scene could be thought to take place at either Regan's or Gloucester's dwelling. Oswald has brought Regan a reply to the letter she sent to Gonoril (16. 81–6) and also carries (but does not necessarily produce) letters from Gonoril to Edmund. Regan gives Oswald a letter or token at l. 33.

2 **with . . . ado** i.e. only after a lot of fuss and worrying

4 **lord** Weis keeps Q's 'lady', arguing that 'Oswald tells Regan a straight lie, because in [16. 18–28] he was present during Goneril's ( _the lady_ ) declaration of "love" to Edmund and the launching of their conspiracy against Albany' and that 'F's change . . . produces a blander text . . . missing the strand of sexual innuendo which runs throughout the play between Goneril and her _trusty servant_ '. HalioQ, like us, regards Q's 'lady' as the mistaken expansion of the abbreviation 'l'.

OSWALD No, madam. 5

REGAN

What might import my sister's letters to him?

OSWALD I know not, lady.

REGAN

Faith, he is posted hence on serious matter.

It was great ignorance, Gloucester's eyes being out,

To let him live. Where he arrives he moves 10

All hearts against us. Edmund, I think, is gone,

In pity of his misery, to dispatch

His 'nighted life, moreover to descry

The strength o'th' army.

OSWALD

I must needs after with my letters, madam. 15

REGAN

Our troop sets forth tomorrow. Stay with us.

The ways are dangerous.

OSWALD I may not, madam.

My lady charged my duty in this business.

REGAN

Why should she write to Edmund? Might not you

Transport her purposes by word? Belike— 20

Something, I know not what. I'll love thee much:

Let me unseal the letter.

OSWALD Madam, I'd rather—

REGAN

I know your lady does not love her husband.

I am sure of that, and at her late being here

11 Edmund] F; and now Q 15 after] OXFORD; after him Q; after him, Madam, F letters, madam.] BLAYNEY; letters ^ Q1; Letters. Q2, F 16 tomorrow. Stay] Q2, F (~, ~); ~ ^ ~ Q1

6 **import** signify

8 **is . . . hence** has ridden away

9 **ignorance** i.e. of the likely consequence

11 **Edmund** Weis accepts Q's 'and now' following Blayney in interpreting it as a continuation of l. 9. HalioQ, like us, accepts F.

13 **'nighted** Cited by _OED_ ('nighted') as a first usage meaning 'made dark or black as night', but here treated as a shortened form of 'benighted'.

**descry** discover

15 **after** Both HalioQ and Weis accept Q's unmetrical 'after him'; we assume accidental interpolation.

**madam** Neither HalioQ nor Weis accepts the addition.

18 **charged my duty** commanded my obedience

20 **word** i.e. word of mouth

**Belike** probably

24 **late** recent

She gave strange oeillades and most speaking looks 25

To noble Edmund. I know you are of her bosom.

OSWALD I, madam?

REGAN

I speak in understanding, for I know't.

Therefore I do advise you take this note.

My lord is dead. Edmund and I have talked, 30

And more convenient is he for my hand

Than for your lady's. You may gather more.

If you do find him, pray you give him this,

And when your mistress hears thus much from you,

I pray desire her call her wisdom to her. 35

So, farewell.

If you do chance to hear of that blind traitor,

Preferment falls on him that cuts him off.

OSWALD

Would I could meet him, madam. I would show

What lady I do follow.

REGAN Fare thee well. 40

_Exeunt severally_

**Sc. 20** _Enter Edgar disguised as a peasant, with a staff, guiding the blind Earl of Gloucester_

GLOUCESTER

When shall we come to th' top of that same hill?

25 oeillades] Q (aliads) 27 I, madam?] F; Q (I Madam.) 40 _Exeunt severally_ ] Q ( _Exit_.)

**20.** 0.1–2 _Enter . . . Gloucester_ ] OXFORD; _Enter Gloster and Edmund_. Q; _Enter Gloucester, and Edgar_. F 0.1 _with a staff_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF

25 **oeillades** oglings (the word, originally French, had become naturalized in Shakespeare's time)

26 **of her bosom** in her confidence

29 **take this note** take note of this

31 **convenient** suitable

32 **gather more** i.e. make your own inferences. Weis punctuates 'gather; more', saying 'she is being curt here and is at pains to stress her superior claim to Edmund', but the cryptic quality suggested by the original pointing is in keeping with the rest of the speech.

33 **this** a token or a letter (though Edgar reads only one letter after going through Edmund's pockets at 20.248–62)

34 **thus much** what I have told you

40 **lady** F reads 'party'. Foakes objects to _lady_ on the grounds that it is 'incongruous in relation to Oswald's steadfast loyalty to Gonoril shown earlier'; Weis defends Q on the grounds that 'Oswald may mean that although two ladies compete for his loyalty, they are both made of the same steely metal of which he approves.' It seems clear that Shakespeare originally wrote 'lady': Oswald may simply be saying that in this particular matter he supports Regan.

**20** As planned, Edgar, wearing the Old Man's _best_ ' _parel_ and no longer speaking like Poor Tom (ll. 7–8), has led his father towards Dover. Their opening lines are spoken as they move forward. Edgar needs a staff for his fight with Oswald. The action is imagined as taking place in an open space; at l. 265 Edgar mentions _sands_. But the unlocalized nature of the Shakespearian stage is particularly important here in Edgar's deception of Gloucester at ll. 11–41. Gloucester has a purse (l. 28), as does Oswald (l. 238), who also has letters (l. 240). Certain objects mentioned by Lear, such as the challenge (l. 134), may be real or imaginary.

EDGAR

You do climb up it now. Look how we labour.

GLOUCESTER

Methinks the ground is even.

EDGAR Horrible steep.

Hark, do you hear the sea?

GLOUCESTER No, truly.

EDGAR

Why, then your other senses grow imperfect 5

By your eyes' anguish.

GLOUCESTER So may it be indeed.

Methinks thy voice is altered, and thou speak'st

With better phrase and matter than thou didst.

EDGAR

You're much deceived. In nothing am I changed

But in my garments.

GLOUCESTER Methinks you're better spoken. 10

EDGAR

Come on, sir, here's the place. Stand still. How fearful

And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low!

The crows and choughs that wing the midway air

Show scarce so gross as beetles. Halfway down

Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade! 15

Methinks he seems no bigger than his head.

2 up it now] F; it vpnow Q 7 speak'st] Q (speakest) 11 here's] Q1 (her's), Q2

1 **hill** Dover Cliff, to which he had said he would go at 15.69–76.

2 **up it** Weis, but not HalioQ, follows Q's 'it vpnow', idiomatically possible but unmetrical. 'In Brook's version, Edgar led Gloucester with a long pole, suddenly yanking it up at moments like this to convey the impression, for Gloucester, of climbing' (R. Warren, privately).

3 **Horrible** horribly, excessively

8 **phrase . . . matter** style and content. Edgar now speaks verse.

13 **choughs** (pronounced 'chuffs') jackdaws, or perhaps Cornish choughs, now rare and restricted in geographical range to western coasts of the British isles.

**wing** fly across; _OED_ 's first use in this sense.

14 **Show** appear

**gross** large

15 **samphire** A plant eaten in salads, and often pickled, which grows on rocks and cliffs. John Gerard, in his _Herbal_ (1597, p. 428), says that it 'groweth on the rocky cliffs at Dover' and elsewhere. **dreadful** frightening

The fishermen that walk upon the beach

Appear like mice, and yon tall anchoring barque

Diminished to her cock, her cock a buoy

Almost too small for sight. The murmuring surge 20

That on the unnumbered idle pebble chafes

Cannot be heard, it's so high. I'll look no more,

Let my brain turn and the deficient sight

Topple down headlong.

GLOUCESTER Set me where you stand.

EDGAR

Give me your hand. You are now within a foot 25

Of th'extreme verge. For all beneath the moon

Would I not leap upright.

GLOUCESTER Let go my hand.

Here, friend, 's another purse; in it a jewel

Well worth a poor man's taking. Fairies and gods

Prosper it with thee! Go thou farther off. 30

Bid me farewell, and let me hear thee going.

EDGAR

Now fare you well, good sir.

_He stands aside_

GLOUCESTER With all my heart.

EDGAR ( _aside_ )

Why I do trifle thus with his despair

Is done to cure it.

22 heard, . . . high.] OXFORD; heard, its so hie ^ Q; heard; it's so high ^ RIDLEY 24 stand.] Q2; ~? Q1 32 _He . . . aside_ ] OXFORD, _after_ ROWE ( _Seems to go_.)

18 **anchoring** coming to, or lying at, anchor; _OED_ 's only use of the adjectival form in this sense.

**barque** small sailing ship

19 **cock** small ship's boat, dinghy

20 **surge** swell of the sea

21 **unnumbered** uncounted (because uncountable)

**idle pebble** barren heap or deposit of pebble

22 **heard, it's so high.** Ridley reads 'heard: it's so high ^', a reasonable alternative interpretation (also substantively adopted in HalioQ) of Q's 'heard, its so hie ^'.

23–4 **deficient . . . headlong** An elliptical way of saying 'my sight, made faulty by my dizziness, causes me to fall headlong down the cliff'.

25–6 **You . . . verge** It seems important that these words are _not_ spoken close to the edge of the stage.

27 **upright** vertically upwards ( _OED adv_. 2), because of the danger of landing even a fraction too far forward

28 **jewel** Used of any precious personal adornment.

29 **Fairies** Alluding to the superstition that 'hidden treasure is guarded by fairies and that they make it multiply miraculously in the presence of the discoverer' (Kittredge).

33–4 **Why . . . it** These lines both remind the audience of Edgar's true identity and draw attention to the artifice of the action.

GLOUCESTER O you mighty gods,

_He kneels_

This world I do renounce, and in your sights 35

Shake patiently my great affliction off !

If I could bear it longer, and not fall

To quarrel with your great opposeless wills,

My snuff and loathèd part of nature should

Burn itself out. If Edgar live, O bless him!— 40

Now, fellow, fare thee well.

EDGAR Gone, sir. Farewell.

_Gloucester falls forward_

( _Aside_ ) And yet I know not how conceit may rob

The treasury of life, when life itself

Yields to the theft. Had he been where he thought,

By this had thought been past.—Alive or dead? 45

( _To Gloucester_ ) Ho you, sir; hear you, sir? Speak.

( _Aside_ ) Thus might he pass indeed. Yet he revives.

( _To Gloucester_ ) What are you, sir?

GLOUCESTER Away, and let me die.

EDGAR

Hadst thou been aught but goss'mer, feathers, air,

So many fathom down precipitating 50

39 snuff] Q2; snurff Q1 40 bless him!] F (~ ~:); blesse Q 41.1 _Gloucester . . . forward_ ] Q (' _He fals_.', _after_ 'well.') 42 may] Q2, F; my Q1

37–8 **fall . . . with** descend to challenging

38 **opposeless** irresistible; _OED_ 's first instance.

39 **My snuff** the last flickerings of life in me. Literally, the smouldering wick of a candle; the expression 'to go out like a candle in a snuff' was proverbial (Dent C49). **loathèd . . . nature** hated remnants of life

41 **Gone . . . Farewell** Edgar moves or modulates his voice so as to create the illusion that he is departing.

41.1 **_Gloucester_ . . . _forward_** From Gloucester's perspective, this is a desperately serious action, but the fact that he has no distance to fall creates a potential absurdity which has been mitigated in some productions; 'Edmund Kean had his Edgar advance and catch Gloucester as he prepared to fall, and this became the accepted practice', but 'The usual twentieth-century practice has been to require Gloucester to make the jump' (Bratton), so accepting and even stressing the discrepancy between Gloucester's and the audience's point of view.

42–4 **how . . . Yields** how imagination may steal life away, when (the owner of that) life himself submits. Probably _how_ has the force of 'to what degree' (Schmidt 4), shading into 'whether' (i.e. the wish to commit suicide may have been enough to kill him).

45 **this** this moment

**Alive or dead?** Edgar may speak these words either to himself (in his own voice) or to Gloucester (in his feigned voice).

46 **Ho . . . Speak** Edgar puts on a different voice.

50 **fathom** The singular form for the plural, as often.

**precipitating** falling headlong ( _OED_ 's first instance of this obsolete sense); according to Muir (p. 236) the word occurs in Florio's _Montaigne_.

Thou hadst shivered like an egg. But thou dost breathe,

Hast heavy substance, bleed'st not, speak'st, art sound.

Ten masts a-length make not the altitude

Which thou hast perpendicularly fell.

Thy life's a miracle. Speak yet again. 55

GLOUCESTER But have I fallen, or no?

EDGAR

From the dread summit of this chalky bourn.

Look up a-height. The shrill-gorged lark so far

Cannot be seen or heard. Do but look up.

GLOUCESTER Alack, I have no eyes. 60

Is wretchedness deprived that benefit

To end itself by death? 'Twas yet some comfort

When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage

And frustrate his proud will.

EDGAR Give me your arm.

Up. So, how now? Feel you your legs? You stand. 65

GLOUCESTER

Too well, too well.

EDGAR This is above all strangeness.

Upon the crown of the cliff what thing was that

Which parted from you?

GLOUCESTER A poor unfortunate beggar.

EDGAR

As I stood here below, methoughts his eyes

52 speak'st] Q (speakest) 53 a-length] OXFORD ( _conj_. Stone); at each QF 57 summit] F (somnet); sommons Q; somnets STONE _conj_. 59 up.] Q2; ~? Q1 64 arm.] Q2; ~? Q1 65 how now?] OXFORD; how ^ Q; How is't? F 68 beggar] Q2, F; bagger Q1

51 **shivered** flown into pieces

53 **Ten . . . altitude** i.e. ten ship's masts laid end to end would not measure the height **a-length** length-wise ( _OED_ ). The emendation assumes misreading in Q, followed by F. HalioQ, Weis and Foakes accept 'at each' though Foakes, glossing 'end to end', admits that 'no parallel has been noticed for this phrase'.

54 **fell** fallen

57 **bourn** boundary (between land and sea), i.e. cliff

58 **a-height** aloft ( _OED_ 's first instance) **shrill-gorged** shrill-throated, shrill-voiced (larks sing high in the air)

63–4 **When . . . will** Gloucester appears to have in mind noble suicides such as the _noble act_ by which Cleopatra avoids being led in triumph by Octavius Caesar ( _Antony_ , esp. 5.2.203–22, 280).

63 **beguile** cheat

65 **how now** HalioQ and Weis follow F's 'How is't?', but 'There is no reason why "is't" should have been omitted here; "now", on the other hand, is a word frequently omitted' and 'The emendation produces better metre and sense' ( _TC_ ).

69 **methoughts** it seemed to me (a 'curious form' by analogy with 'methinks' ( _OED, methinks, v_., headnote))

Were two full moons. A had a thousand noses, 70

Horns whelked and wavèd like the enridgèd sea.

It was some fiend. Therefore, thou happy father,

Think that the clearest gods, who made their honours

Of men's impossibilities, have preserved thee.

GLOUCESTER

I do remember now. Henceforth I'll bear 75

Affliction till it do cry out itself

'Enough, enough,' and die. That thing you speak of,

I took it for a man. Often would it say

'The fiend, the fiend!' He led me to that place.

EDGAR

Bear free and patient thoughts.

_Enter King Lear mad_ ,  _crowned with weeds and flowers_

But who comes here? 80

The safer sense will ne'er accommodate

His master thus.

LEAR No, they cannot touch me for coining. I am the King himself.

EDGAR O thou side-piercing sight! 85

79 'The fiend, the fiend!'] Q (The fiend the fiend,) 80 Bear] Q1 (Bare ^), F; Bare, Q2 _Enter . . . flowers_ ] THEOBALD (' _Enter Lear, drest madly with Flowers_ '); _Enter Lear mad_. Q, _after l_. 82 81 ne'er] Q (neare)

71 **whelked** twisted and ridged like a whelk's shell

**enridgèd** thrown into ridges, ridged; _OED_ 's only example (F has 'enraged').

72 **fiend** Devils were supposed to tempt people to suicide, as Horatio warns Hamlet ( _Hamlet_ 1.4.50–5).

**father** Often used respectfully to an old man.

73 **clearest** most illustrious ( _OED, clear, a_. 5, last example)

73–4 **made . . . impossibilities** gained honour by doing things impossible to men. This appears to be influenced by Matthew 19: 26: 'With men this is unpossible, but with God all things are possible', or Luke 18: 27: 'The things which are unpossible with men are possible with God' (Shaheen, p. 616). HalioQ, following F, emends _made_ to 'make', without comment, whereas Weis remarks that Q 'seems to refer to the gods' mythic deeds in the past, as related e.g. in Ovid's _Metamorphoses_ '.

77 **thing** i.e. the disguised Edgar

80 **free** happy, untroubled

81–2 **The . . . thus** the saner ( _OED, safe, a_. 4) intelligence will not equip ( _OED, accommodate, v_. 11) its master in this way; a cryptic way of saying 'no sane man would get himself up like this'. Hulme (pp. 275–7), however, suggests that _accommodate_ means 'to maintain itself when confronted by', and that the overall sense is 'Gloucester's newly-recovered and precarious mental balance—his resolution to endure affliction until death—will never be able to maintain itself against the shock and horror of encountering Lear as he now is'.

83 **touch** censure

**coining** making coins (a royal prerogative)

85 **side-piercing** heart-rending (inevitably recalling to a Christian audience the piercing of Christ's side by a soldier when on the cross; John 19: 34)

LEAR Nature is above art in that respect. There's your press-money. That fellow handles his bow like a crow-keeper. Draw me a clothier's yard. Look, look, a mouse! Peace, peace, this toasted cheese will do it. There's my gauntlet. I'll prove it on a giant. Bring up the brown bills. O, well flown, bird, in the air. Ha! Give the word. 90

EDGAR Sweet marjoram.

LEAR Pass.

GLOUCESTER I know that voice.

LEAR Ha, Gonoril! Ha, Regan! They flattered me like a dog, and told me I had white hairs in my beard ere the black ones were there. To say 'ay' and 'no' to everything I said 'ay' and 'no' to was no good divinity. When the rain came to wet me once, and the wind to make me chatter, when the thunder would not peace at my bidding, there I found them, there I smelt them out. Go to, they are not men of their words. They told me I was everything; 'tis a lie, I am not ague-proof. 95 100

91 Ha!] Q (hagh) word.] Q2; ~? Q1 97 said ^] BLAYNEY; ~, Q1; ~: Q2, F 97, 101 to] Q1 (toe), Q2 (too)

86 **Nature . . . respect** The relation between nature and art was a stock theme of the period, often drawn on by Shakespeare. Lear's mind is wandering: here, as elsewhere in the scene, it is not possible to define clearly what he means; shafts of acute perception mingle with nonsense.

87 **press-money** payment given in advance, especially to a sailor or soldier on enlistment. Presumably Lear hands out real or imaginary coins.

87–8 **crow-keeper** Person employed to guard crops against crows, who 'would squat down clumsily' (Henn, p. 80).

88 **Draw . . . yard** i.e. draw the bow back as far as it will go; a cloth-yard was the rod for measuring cloth, which became established at 36 inches; 'only an archer of exceptional physique would be able to draw an arrow of a "clothier's yard" ' (Henn, pp. 80–1). It is applied to the arrow of the long bow in the old ballad of Chevy Chase: 'An arrow that a cloth yard was long | To th' hard steel halèd he' ( _OED, cloth-yard_ ; modernized from Percy's _Reliques_ , i. 31).

89 **do it** Presumably lure the (imaginary?) mouse.

90 **gauntlet** an armed glove; to throw one down is to offer a challenge.

**prove . . . giant** make good my claim even against a giant (let alone a mouse?)

90–1 **brown bills** (soldiers carrying)

'weapons somewhat shorter than the pike; its head being a hooked blade with projecting spikes of various patterns and painted to prevent rust . . . We may suppose that Lear imagines a special small squad of the "brown bills"; they would require more training of rustic recruits than the relatively simple pike, for their drill motions were more complicated' (Henn, p. 81).

91 **O . . . air** Imagining a hawk swooping on its prey, Lear utters 'applause' for its 'brilliant stoop' (Henn, p. 81). **word** password

92 **marjoram** It may be significant that, according to John Gerard in his _Herbal_ of 1597, the herb was 'a remedy against cold diseases of the brain and head' (p. 540, cited by Foakes).

95 **like a dog** i.e. as if they were dogs; Shakespeare often associates dogs with flattery (Spurgeon, p. 195).

96–7 **I had . . . there** i.e. I was wise before I even began to grow a beard

97–8 **To . . . divinity** to agree with everything I said was not wise. Perhaps influenced by 2 Corinthians 1: 18–19: 'Our word toward you was not yea and nay, for . . . Jesus Christ . . . was not yea and nay, but in him it was yea', or e.g. Matthew 5: 37: 'Let your communication be "Yea, yea, nay, nay", for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil' (Shaheen, p. 617).

98 **divinity** theology

98–101 **When . . . out** Lear recognizes that suffering has brought insight, seeing more clearly in his madness than when sane, as Gloucester does in his blindness.

GLOUCESTER

The trick of that voice I do well remember.

Is't not the King?

LEAR Ay, every inch a king. 105

 _Gloucester kneels_

When I do stare, see how the subject quakes!

I pardon that man's life. What was thy cause?

Adultery? Thou shalt not die for adultery.

No, the wren goes to't, and the small gilded fly

Does lecher in my sight. 110

Let copulation thrive, for Gloucester's bastard son

Was kinder to his father than my daughters

Got 'tween the lawful sheets. To't, luxury, pell-mell,

For I lack soldiers. Behold yon simp'ring dame,

Whose face between her forks presageth snow, 115

That minces virtue, and does shake the head

To hear of pleasure's name:

The fitchew nor the soilèd horse goes to't

103 ague-proof] F; argue-proofe Q 105 every] Q2, F; euer Q1 105.1 _Gloucester kneels_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q 108 die] Q; dye: dye F 110 Does] F (Do's); doe Q 116 does] F (do's); do Q 117 To] F; _not in_ Q 118 The] F; to Q

99 **me** i.e. my teeth

100 **peace** be silent

103 **ague-proof** immune to fever or shivering ( _ague_ is pronounced 'eh-gyoo')

104 **trick** distinctive tone

105 **every . . . king** The expression 'He is a man, every inch of him' was proverbial (Dent M161).

107 **cause** case you had to defend

108 **Adultery . . . adultery** Shaheen (p. 617) refers to several biblical injunctions against adultery (which Lear reverses).

109 **goes to't** copulates (Williams, _Glossary_ ) (in spite of being one of the smallest of birds) **gilded** having a gold-coloured sheen (like the bluebottle)

110 **lecher** fornicate

113 **Got** begotten

**luxury** lust, lechery

**pell-mell** promiscuously. Q (probably following the manuscript) prints in italics, suggesting that the expression, deriving from French and first recorded by _OED_ in 1579, was still not fully anglicized.

114 **lack soldiers** i.e. need more subjects to serve in my army

115 **face . . . snow** facial expression predicts snow (chastity, frigidity) between her thighs

**forks** legs, thighs ( _OED sb_. 12b, first instance of this sense)

116 **minces virtue** feigns virtue by her affected gait ( _minces_ , 'perform[s] or enact[s] mincingly', _OED v_. 6b)

117 **pleasure's name** the very name of (sexual) pleasure

118 **fitchew** polecat, used for a prostitute (Williams, _Glossary_ )

**soilèd** 'fed with fresh-cut green fodder' ( _OED_ , first instance) to encourage breeding, hence 'randy'

With a more riotous appetite. Down from the waist

They're centaurs, though women all above. 120

But to the girdle do the gods inherit;

Beneath is all the fiend's. There's hell, there's darkness,

There's the sulphury pit, burning, scalding,

Stench, consummation. Fie, fie, fie; pah, pah!

Give me an ounce of civet, good apothecary, 125

To sweeten my imagination.

There's money for thee.

GLOUCESTER O, let me kiss that hand!

LEAR Here, wipe it first; it smells of mortality.

GLOUCESTER

O ruined piece of nature! This great world

Should so wear out to naught. Do you know me? 130

LEAR I remember thy eyes well enough. Dost thou squiny on me?

No, do thy worst, blind Cupid, I'll not love.

Read thou that challenge. Mark the penning of 't.

GLOUCESTER

Were all the letters suns, I could not see one. 135

122 fiend's] Q (fiends) 130 Should] Q (should); Shall F 134 of't] Q (oft)

118 **horse** Used for a woman (Williams, _Glossary_ ).

120 **centaurs** In mythology, monsters, man above and beast below, notorious for lechery.

121 **But . . . girdle** only as far as the waist **inherit** have as their portion

122 **hell** Used of the vagina (Williams, _Glossary_ ), as in Sonnets 129 and 144.

123 **sulphury** sulphurous

124 **consummation** destruction, death

125 **civet** A substance obtained from the anal glands of the muskcat used in perfumery (see 11.95), and also to alleviate melancholy (Hoeniger, p. 257); hence perfume, but with an ironic tinge since civet is 'the very uncleanly flux of a cat' ( _As You Like It_ 3.2.66).

125 **apothecary** druggist (from whom perfume could be bought)

128 **Here, wipe** Q prints without punctuation; conceivably Lear offers his hand on _Here_ , then withdraws it. He may offer Gloucester a piece of cloth, perhaps part of what he is wearing.

129 **piece** could mean 'masterpiece', particularly in parallel with _great world_ , i.e. universe.

130 **Should** Oxford adopts F's 'Shall', but both HalioQ and Weis retain Q's 'should'.

131 **squiny** (the rare word used also at 11.106)

133 **Cupid** The god of love, traditionally represented as blind, and according to Benedick ( _Much Ado_ , 1.1.236–7) portrayed in brothel signs.

134 **Read . . . challenge** Lear hands Gloucester a real or imaginary paper.

**penning** style (Schmidt), or penmanship

EDGAR ( _aside_ )

I would not take this from report; it is,

And my heart breaks at it.

LEAR ( _to Gloucester_ ) Read.

GLOUCESTER What—with the case of eyes?

LEAR O ho, are you there with me? No eyes in your head, nor no money in your purse? Your eyes are in a heavy case, your purse in a light; yet you see how this world goes. 140

GLOUCESTER I see it feelingly.

LEAR What, art mad? A man may see how the world goes with no eyes; look with thy ears. See how yon justice rails upon yon simple thief. Hark in thy ear: handy-dandy, which is the thief, which is the justice? Thou hast seen a farmer's dog bark at a beggar? 145

GLOUCESTER Ay, sir. 150

LEAR An the creature run from the cur, there thou mightst behold the great image of authority. A dog's obeyed in office.

Thou rascal beadle, hold thy bloody hand.

Why dost thou lash that whore? Strip thine own back. 155

Thy blood as hotly lusts to use her in that kind

139 What—with] Q (~!~) eyes?] Q (~ ^) 141 purse?] Q2; ~, Q1 151 An] Q (And) cur,] Q1; ~? Q2; ~: F 152 dog's obeyed] F (Dogg's ^ obey'd); dogge, so bade Q 156 Thy blood as] OXFORD; thy bloud Q; thou F

136 **take . . . report** believe this if it were reported to me

139 **case of eyes** eyesockets only

140 **are . . . me?** Open to interpretation: 'so that's your excuse?' (Foakes); 'is that the point you are making?' (Hunter), perhaps even 'a match for me'.

141–2 **heavy case** bad way

144 **feelingly** 'by feeling or touch; with strong emotion, passionately' (Foakes)

147 **simple** humble, wretched (the word had a wide range of meanings)

147–8 **handy-dandy** 'choose which you please'; from a children's guessing game in which an object is hidden in one of two closed hands.

151 **An . . . there** if the beggar runs away from the dog. Most editors follow Theobald in interpreting 'And . . . cur? There' (so HalioQ and Weis).

151 **creature** human being (but often used of an animal)

152 **A dog** i.e. even a dog

154 **beadle** parish constable, who had the duty of whipping offenders **hold** restrain **bloody** bloodstained (from the lashing)

156 **Thy blood as** HalioQ and Weis retain Q's unmetrical 'Thy bloud' without comment. ' _As_ ' is often omitted in Shakespeare texts; 'The resulting line is a regular hexameter, of which Q _Lear_ contains dozens of examples' ( _TC_ ).

**blood** 'the fleshly nature of man' ( _OED_ 6, with only two citations, both from Shakespeare)

**kind** manner

For which thou whip'st her. The usurer hangs the cozener.

Through tattered rags small vices do appear;

Robes and furred gowns hides all. Get thee glass eyes,

And, like a scurvy politician, seem 160

To see the things thou dost not. No tears, now.

Pull off my boots. Harder, harder! So.

EDGAR ( _aside_ )

O, matter and impertinency mixed—

Reason in madness!

LEAR

If thou wilt weep my fortune, take my eyes. 165

I know thee well enough: thy name is Gloucester.

Thou must be patient. We came crying hither.

Thou know'st the first time that we smell the air

We wail and cry. I will preach to thee. Mark me.

GLOUCESTER Alack, alack, the day! 170

LEAR  _removing his crown of weeds_

When we are born, we cry that we are come

To this great stage of fools. This' a good block.

158 tattered] Q (tottered) 161 No tears, now] OXFORD ( _conj_. Blayney); no now Q; Now, now, now, now. F 164 madness!] Q (~.) 168 know'st] Q (knowest) 171 _removing . . . weeds_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q 172 This'] Q (this ^)

157 **usurer . . . cozener** moneylender condemns the trickster. An aphoristic way of saying 'one crook judges another', and related to the proverb 'The great thieves hang the little ones' (Dent T119). Usury had been illegal until 1571, and continued to meet disapproval, as is apparent in _Merchant_.

159 **Robes . . . gowns** As worn by e.g. judges and apparently usurers ( _Measure_ 3.1.275–7: 'of two usuries, the merriest was put down, and the worser allowed by order of law, a furred gown to keep him warm').

**glass eyes** spectacles (artificial eyes are of later invention)

160 **scurvy politician** worthless, contemptible intriguer (perhaps recalling Edmund's pretence of reading a letter from Edgar, 2.25ff., when Gloucester had said 'if it be nothing I shall not need spectacles')

161 **No . . . now** HalioQ and Weis follow Q, printing 'No; now,' and 'No. [ _Sits_ ] Now,' respectively. This produces a metrically defective line; we, following Blayney, suspect omission; the case for _no tears_ is argued in _TC_.

163 **matter and impertinency** sense and nonsense ( _OED_ 's first instance of _impertinency_ (and predating 'impertinence'))

165 **weep** beweep, shed tears over

166 **I . . . enough** Titus Andronicus, suspected of madness, utters the same words ( _Titus_ 5.2.21).

167–9 **We . . . cry** Varying the proverbial 'We weeping come into the world and weeping hence we go' (Dent W889), itself biblical in origin (Wisdom 7: 3).

171 Garrick took off his headgear on the grounds that Lear would not preach with his hat on (Rosenberg, p. 279).

172 **stage** The image of the world as a stage was commonplace (Dent W882).

**block** Properly a mould for a hat, here apparently used either for Lear's crown of weeds or for a real or imaginary hat on Gloucester's or Edgar's head—though 'The block could also be a mounting-block, by association with horses, or simply an imaginary tree-stump' (Foakes).

It were a delicate stratagem to shoe

A troop of horse with fell; and when I have stole upon

These son-in-laws, then kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill! 175

_Enter three Gentlemen_

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

O, here he is. Lay hands upon him, sirs.

( _To Lear_ ) Your most dear—

LEAR

No rescue? What, a prisoner? I am e'en

The natural fool of fortune. Use me well.

You shall have ransom. Let me have a surgeon; 180

I am cut to the brains.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN You shall have anything.

LEAR No seconds? All myself?

Why, this would make a man a man of salt,

To use his eyes for garden water-pots, 185

Ay, and laying autumn's dust.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN Good sir—

LEAR

I will die bravely, like a bridegroom.

What, I will be jovial. Come, come,

173 shoe] F; shoot Q 174 fell] Q; felt F 176, 182, 186, 190, 193, 198, 200, 204, 206  FIRST  GENTLEMAN] OXFORD; _Gent_. QF ( _see_ 8.0.1–2 _n_.) 177 dear—] Q (~ ^); deere Daughter— F 178 rescue?] Q (~,) prisoner?] Q2; ~, Q1 183 seconds?] Q (~,) myself?] Q (~,) 184 a man a man] F; a man Q 186  FIRST  GENTLEMAN Good sir—] Q2 ( _Gent_.); _not in_ Q1 188 What, I] Q2; ~? ~ Q1

173 **delicate stratagem** ingenious trick

174 **fell** animal skin, hide, as at 24.24. Oxford and HalioQ adopt F's 'felt', which was moulded on _blocks_ in making hats and could be thought of as muffling the sound of horses' hooves in a surprise attack, but Q (retained by Weis) makes good sense.

177 **dear—** F adds 'daughter', possibly accidentally omitted in Q. The Gentlemen restrain Lear.

179 **natural . . . fortune** born to be the dupe of fortune (like Romeo: 'O, I am fortune's fool!', _Romeo_ 3.1.136)

183 **seconds** supporters (as in a duel)

184 **make . . . salt** turn a man into a man of tears. Weis retains Q's 'make a man of salt'.

185 **use . . . for** i.e. to provide the water to fill **water-pots** Earthenware vessels with perforated bases used to water plants and to lay dust.

186 **laying** causing (the dust) to settle **Good sir—** The case for adding these words from Q2 is made in _Division_ , pp. 363–4.

187 **bravely** could mean 'handsomely', 'in fine clothes' as well as 'courageously'; in this context, _die_ may acquire the sense of 'reach sexual climax' (Williams, _Glossary_ ).

188 **jovial** majestic ( _OED_ 1, first recorded in this sense 1604), merry ( _OED_ 6), and perhaps, in the context of _die_ and _bridegroom_ , glancing at Jove's many sexual conquests.

I am a king, my masters, know you that?

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

You are a royal one, and we obey you. 190

LEAR Then there's life in't. Nay, an you get it, you shall get it with running.

_Exit running, pursued by two Gentlemen_

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

A sight most pitiful in the meanest wretch,

Past speaking in a king. Thou hast one daughter

Who redeems nature from the general curse 195

Which twain hath brought her to.

EDGAR Hail, gentle sir.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN Sir, speed you. What's your will?

EDGAR

Do you hear aught of a battle toward?

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

Most sure and vulgar, everyone hears that 200

That can distinguish sense.

EDGAR But, by your favour,

How near's the other army?

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

Near and on speedy foot, the main; descriers

Stands on the hourly thoughts.

EDGAR I thank you, sir. That's all. 205

189 that?] Q2; ~. Q1 192.1 _Exit . . . Gentlemen_ ] CAPELL ( _subs_.); _Exit King running_. Q 194 speaking] OXFORD; speaking of QF 199 aught] Q; ought (Sir) F 200 hears] Q (here's) 204 speedy foot] F; speed fort Q1; speed for't Q2 204 foot, the main; descriers] OXFORD; fort ^ the maine ^ descryes, Q1; for't, the maine ^ descries, Q2; foot: the maine ^ descry ^ F 205 Stands] F; Standst Q

190 **You . . . you** Their deference may be the cue for them to bow or kneel, dropping their guard in a way that makes it easier for Lear to escape.

191 **there's . . . in't** i.e. I needn't die yet! (proverbial: Dent L265)

193 **meanest** humblest

194 **speaking** speaking of (Q, F), describing (Schmidt 6); emended for the sake of the metre. HalioQ and Weis retain QF 'speaking of'.

195–6 **general . . . to** (a) general curse which two individuals—Gonoril and Regan—have brought upon her; (b) universal curse (of original sin) which Adam and Eve brought upon mankind

197 **gentle** noble

198 **speed you** (God) prosper you

199 **toward** in the offing

200 **vulgar** common knowledge

203 **other army** British forces

204–5 **Near . . . thoughts** 'the main part (of their army) is nearby and rapidly approaching; (their) scouts and spies already demand our hourly attention' ( _TC_ ). HalioQ follows F, Weis adopts Q's 'speed', Q2's 'for't', Q's 'main descries' and F 's 'stands' in this textually garbled passage, discussed at length in _TC_.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

Though that the Queen on special cause is here,

Her army is moved on.

EDGAR I thank you, sir.

_Exit Gentleman_

GLOUCESTER

You ever gentle gods, take my breath from me.

Let not my worser spirit tempt me again

To die before you please. 210

EDGAR Well pray you, father.

GLOUCESTER Now, good sir, what are you?

EDGAR

A most poor man, made lame by fortune's blows,

Who by the art of known and feeling sorrows

Am pregnant to good pity. Give me your hand, 215

I'll lead you to some biding.

GLOUCESTER  _rising_  Hearty thanks.

The bounty and the benison of heaven

To send thee boot to boot.

_Enter Oswald the steward_

OSWALD A proclaimed prize! Most happy!

That eyeless head of thine was first framed flesh

To raise my fortunes. Thou most unhappy traitor, 220

Briefly thyself remember. The sword is out

That must destroy thee.

207 _Exit Gentleman_ ] Q ( _Exit_.) 211 Well pray] Q2, F; ~, ~ Q1 216 _rising_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q 217 bounty] Qb, Q2, F; bornet Qa the benison] Qb, Q2, F; beniz Qa 218 send thee^] BLAYNEY; saue thee. Qa; _not in_ Qb, Q2, F boot to boot] Qb, Q2; _not in_ Qa; boot, and boot F _Oswald the_ ] _not in_ Q OSWALD] Q (' _Stew_.' _throughout the scene_ ) 219 first] Qb, Q2, F; _not in_ Qa

206 **on . . . cause** for a special purpose, i.e. to succour Lear

209 **worser spirit** evil angel (as in Sonnet 144: 'Two loves I have, of comfort and despair, | Which like two spirits do suggest me still. | The better angel is a man right fair, | The worser spirit a woman coloured ill.')

211 **father** old man (as at l. 72)

214–15 **art . . . pregnant** skill acquired by experiencing and suffering sorrows am receptive ( _OED_ , _pregnant_ , _a_.2 3d, 'chiefly in Shaks.').

216 **biding** habitation

217–18 **The . . . to boot** (I call upon) the generosity and the blessing ( _benison_ ) of heaven to send you reward, in addition (to my thanks). Blayney ( _Texts_ , pp. 250–2) argues the emendation (not adopted by HalioQ, Weis) at length.

218 **_Oswald_** He wears a sword (l. 221).

**proclaimed prize** outlaw for whose capture a reward is offered (as it has been at 19.37–8)

**happy** opportune

219 **framed flesh** created

221 **Briefly . . . remember** 'say thy last prayer, and make it short' (Hunter)

GLOUCESTER Now let thy friendly hand

Put strength enough to't.

OSWALD ( _to Edgar_ ) Wherefore, bold peasant,

Durst thou support a published traitor? Hence,

Lest the infection of his fortune take 225

Like hold on thee. Let go his arm.

EDGAR 'Chill not let go, sir, without 'cagion.

OSWALD Let go, slave, or thou diest.

EDGAR Good gentleman, go your gate. Let poor volk pass. An 'chud have been swaggered out of my life, it would not have been so long by a vortnight. Nay, come not near the old man. Keep out, 'che vor' ye, or I'll try whether your costard or my baton be the harder; I'll be plain with you. 230

OSWALD Out, dunghill! 235

_They fight_

226 arm.] Q2; ~? Q1 231 vortnight] Qb, Q2, F; fortnight Qa 233 costard] Qb, Q2, F; coster Qa baton] BLAYNEY ( _conj_. Furnivall); bat- | tero Qa; bat Qb, Q2; Ballow F

224 **published** proclaimed; _OED_ 's first instance.'Ironically, of course, Edgar is already himself _proclaimed_ on Gloucester's orders' (Weis).

227–37 **'Chill . . . foins** Edgar assumes the persona of a West Country yokel; Kittredge lists numerous plays with similar spellings indicative of dialectal pronunciation.

227 **'cagion** occasion, reason

229 **go . . . gate** be on your way

**volk** people

230 **An . . . life** if I could have been killed by blustering talk

230–1 **it . . . vortnight** it (my life) would have been shortened by a fortnight (Halio, approved by Foakes, interprets 'I would not have lasted a fortnight')

232 **'che vor'** I warn you (Johnson);

Kökeritz ('Elizabethan _che vore ye_ , "I warrant you" ', _MLN_ 57 (1942), 98–102) showed that elsewhere it means 'I warrant you', and _OED, warrant, v_. 10, gives one instance from 1631 of the meaning 'command'. Even the more usual sense, 'guarantee', could be justified as an elliptical way of saying 'I guarantee that you had better keep out'.

233 **costard** Literally, a large kind of apple; often used derisively or jocularly of the head.

233 **baton** club, cudgel. HalioQ adopts the emendation; Weis follows Qb while admitting that it may be 'a mere guess'. The club, or staff, was a traditional English weapon; using it, Edgar 'becomes a "popular champion . . . pitting his English techniques against the aristocratic rapier and the Italian technique of Oswald" ' (Edelman, p. 159, citing A. L. Soens, 'Cudgels and rapiers: the staging of the Edgar–Oswald fight in _Lear_ ', _S_. _St_. 5 (1969), pp. 149–58. This article is informative about fencing techniques.)

235.1 **_They fight_** Presumably Edgar fights with his staff, Oswald with his sword or rapier and dagger. George Silver, in his _Paradoxes of Defence_ (1599; Shakespeare Association Facsimiles 6, 1933, p. 38), notes that in such a fight 'the staff-man never striketh but at the head, and thrusteth presently under at the body; and if a blow be first made, a thrust followeth'; the aim that is, is to cause the opponent to protect his head and then swiftly to attack his body before he can bring his arms down.

EDGAR 'Chill pick your teeth, sir. Come, no matter for your foins.

 _Edgar knocks him down_

OSWALD

Slave, thou hast slain me. Villain, take my purse.

If ever thou wilt thrive, bury my body,

And give the letters which thou find'st about me 240

To Edmund, Earl of Gloucester. Seek him out

Upon the British party. O untimely death! Death!

_He dies_

EDGAR

I know thee well—a serviceable villain,

As duteous to the vices of thy mistress

As badness would desire. 245

GLOUCESTER What, is he dead?

EDGAR Sit you down, father. Rest you.

_GLOUCESTER sits_

Let's see his pockets. These letters that he speaks of

May be my friends. He's dead; I am only sorrow

He had no other deathsman. Let us see. 250

Leave, gentle wax; and manners, blame us not.

To know our enemies' minds we'd rip their hearts;

Their papers is more lawful.

_He reads a letter_

'Let your reciprocal vows be remembered. You have many opportunities to cut him off. If your will want not, time and place will be fruitfully offered. There is nothing 255

237.1 _Edgar . . . down_ ] ROWE; _not in_ Q 247.1 _Gloucester sits_ ] CAPELL ( _seating him at a distance_ ); _not in_ Q 249 sorrow] Q1; sorry Q2, F 253.1 _He reads_ ] _not in_ Q

236 **'Chill . . . teeth** i.e. I'll thrash you; Dent (T424.1) lists as a proverbial threat.

237 **foins** thrusts with your sword

243 **serviceable** diligent

248 **letters** The plural form could be used with singular meaning, as also at 5.1–2.

249 **sorrow** sorry. The idiom (inadequately treated in _OED_ ) occurs in _Cymbeline_ (5.6.298), Webster's _The White Devil_ (5.1.45), etc.

250 **deathsman** executioner

251 **Leave, gentle wax** by your leave, wax seal, permit me to tear you—'gentle' perhaps because 'sealed with a noble crest or coat of arms' (Weis). Malvolio says 'By your leave, wax' (Twelfth Night, 2.5.90–1).

252 **rip** could mean 'open up', 'lay bare' ( _OED v_.2 4a).

254 **vows** Exchanged at 16.19–25.

255 **him** Albany

**will want not** intention, desire (for me) be not lacking

256–7 **There . . . conqueror** nothing will have been accomplished if Albany comes back as a winner (or at all)

done if he return the conqueror; then am I the prisoner, and his bed my jail, from the loathed warmth whereof, deliver me, and supply the place for your labour.

Your—wife, so I would say—your affectionate servant, and for you her own for venture, 260

Gonoril.'

O indistinguished space of woman's wit—

A plot upon her virtuous husband's life,

And the exchange my brother!—Here in the sands 265

Thee I'll rake up, the post unsanctified

Of murderous lechers, and in the mature time

With this ungracious paper strike the sight

Of the death-practised Duke. For him 'tis well

That of thy death and business I can tell. 270

 _Exit with the body_

GLOUCESTER

The King is mad. How stiff is my vile sense,

That I stand up and have ingenious feeling

Of my huge sorrows! Better I were distraught;

So should my thoughts be fencèd from my griefs,

And woes by wrong imaginations lose 275

The knowledge of themselves.

_A drum afar off_.  _Enter Edgar_

257 conqueror;] POPE ( _subs_.); ~, Q 262 venture] RIDLEY; _Venter_ Q1; _not in_ Q2, F 265 brother!—Here] Q2 ( _subs_.); ~ ^ ~ Q1 270.1 _Exit . . . body_ ] CAPELL ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q 273 distraught] Q (distract) 276 _Enter Edgar_ ] CAPELL ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q

259 **for . . . labour** in return for your trouble; for your amorous work

261 **and . . . venture** Not in Q2 or F, and often omitted as inexplicable; perhaps 'and for you (to be) her own whatever the risk (or venture)' (Foakes, admitting that 'the repeated "for" is confusing'). R. Proudfoot (in Foakes) suggests emending to 'for you her own to venture', meaning 'ready to take responsibility for herself in the venture of love for you'. Q italicizes _Venter_ as if it were a proper (or foreign) noun.

263 **indistinguished** ( _OED_ 's first instance); 'implies extent beyond the range of sight' (Kittredge), i.e. unfathomable, imponderable.

**space . . . wit** depths of female cunning

265 **Here** i.e. hereby, near here

**sands** Perhaps for his father's sake Edgar continues to pretend that they are on a beach; 'or Shakespeare forgot' (Muir).

266 **rake up** bury

**post** messenger

267 **in . . . time** when the time is ripe

268 **ungracious** disgraceful

269 **death-practised** whose death has been plotted

271 **stiff** unyielding, stubborn

**vile sense** 'Gloucester calls his senses vile because they still allow him to be fully conscious of his sorrows, and do not give him the relief of insanity' (Muir).

272 **ingenious** intelligent, sensitive

274 **fencèd** kept apart, protected

275 **wrong imaginations** false delusions

EDGAR Give me your hand.

Far off methinks I hear the beaten drum.

Come, father, I'll bestow you with a friend.

_Exit Edgar guiding Gloucester_

**Sc. 21**  _Soft music_.  _Enter Queen Cordelia, and the Earl of Kent, disguised_

CORDELIA O thou good Kent,

How shall I live and work to match thy goodness?

My life will be too short, and every measure fail me.

KENT

To be acknowledged, madam, is o'erpaid.

All my reports go with the modest truth, 5

Nor more, nor clipped, but so.

CORDELIA Be better suited.

These weeds are memories of those worser hours.

I prithee put them off.

KENT Pardon me, dear madam.

Yet to be known shortens my made intent.

278.1 _Exit . . . Gloucester_ ] CAPELL ( _subs_.); _Exit_. Q

**21**.0.1 _Soft music_ ] DYCE ( _conj_. Capell); _not in_ Q 0.1–2 _and . . . disguised_ ] BLAYNEY; _Kent and Doctor_ Q; _Kent, Gentleman_ Fa; _Kent, and Gentleman_ Fb; _Kent, Doctor, and Gentleman_ CRAIG

278 **bestow** lodge

**21** This scene derives from _Leir_ , ll. 2297–2355, though the tone is very different (Introduction, p. 00). The action is essentially unlocalized. A chair or couch is needed for Lear's appearance.

0.1 **_Soft music_** _Louder the music there!_ (l. 23) implies that it has already sounded; HalioQ also places the direction here, Weis before l. 23.

0.1–2 **_Enter_ . . . _disguised_** It would be awkward for the Doctor to stand silently by during the opening dialogue; 'Q's entrance direction thus looks like an authorial anticipation of the format of a scene, rather than a precise instruction for the character to enter now' ( _TC_ ). HalioQ rather vaguely instructs ' _and after them_ , _a_ [gentleman] _and_ doctor', partly because 'the dialogue between Kent and the Gentleman at the end of the scene suggests that the Gentleman does not hear Cordelia identify Kent at the start of the scene but follows after them with the Doctor'. Weis adopts our arrangement, suggesting (somewhat novelistically) that the Gentleman is the same one 'who liaised between Kent and Cordelia, and who has now become a confidant of the royal pair to the extent that he is allowed to witness Cordelia's pitiful encounter with Lear'.

3 **My life** i.e. my entire life

**every . . . me** all I can do will be inadequate ( _measure_ here seems to mean 'plan or course of action' ( _OED sb_. 21, not recorded before 1698)

5–6 **All . . . so** all my reports (of Lear) accord with the unexaggerated truth, neither overstated nor diminished, but accurate ('go' could be subjunctive, i.e. 'May all . . .')

6 **suited** clothed

7 **weeds** clothes (in which he is disguised) **memories** reminders

9 **Yet . . . intent** to be revealed now would spoil the plan I have made (and the dramatic impact of Lear's reunion with Cordelia)

My boon I make it that you know me not 10

Till time and I think meet.

CORDELIA Then be't so, my good lord.

 _Enter the Doctor and First Gentleman_

How does the King?

DOCTOR Madam, sleeps still.

CORDELIA O you kind gods,

Cure this great breach in his abusèd nature;

The untuned and hurrying senses O wind up

Of this child-changèd father!

DOCTOR So please your majesty 15

That we may wake the King? He hath slept long.

CORDELIA

Be governed by your knowledge, and proceed

I'th' sway of your own will. Is he arrayed?

 FIRST GENTLEMAN

Ay, madam. In the heaviness of his sleep

We put fresh garments on him. 20

 DOCTOR

Good madam, be by when we do awake him.

I doubt not of his temperance.

CORDELIA Very well.

DOCTOR

Please you draw near. Louder the music there!

_King Lear is_  _discovered_  _asleep_

11.1 _Enter . . . Gentleman_ ] BLAYNEY; _not in_ QF 17–18 knowledge, . . . will.] Q2 ( _subs_.); ~, . . . ~ ^ Q1 19–21 FIRST GENTLEMAN . . . DOCTOR] CAPELL; _Doct . . . Gent_. Q 21 him.] Q2 (~,); ~ ^ Q1 23.1 _King . . . asleep_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q

10 **My . . . it** I ask this favour:

11 **meet** fit

13 **breach** wound

14 **untuned** slackened, like the string of a musical instrument

**hurrying** confused? Weis emends to F's 'jarring', which makes easier sense but is difficult to explain as a reading of whatever lay behind Q.

**wind up** tighten, tune up (the strings)

15 **child-changèd** changed into a child _or_ changed by the conduct of his children ( _OED, child, sb_. 22)

18 **I'th' . . . will** according to the dictates of your desire, as you see fit

**arrayed** (properly) clothed

19–22 HalioQ, but not Weis, accepts Q's allocation of these speeches. The Gentleman may be an afterthought—he is not named in Q's opening direction—but ll. 19–20 read like a reply to the Doctor's question and ll. 21–2 come more fittingly from the Doctor.

22 **temperance** self-control

23.1 **_King Lear_ . . . _asleep_** It seems likely that Lear is revealed, seated, behind a curtained opening in the tiring-house wall. F has him brought on in a chair but omits Q's 'Please you draw neere'. Granville Barker (p. 298) suggests that the chair deliberately recalls the throne of the opening scene.

CORDELIA

O my dear father, restoration hang

Thy medicine on my lips, and let this kiss 25

Repair those violent harms that my two sisters

Have in thy reverence made!

KENT Kind and dear princess!

CORDELIA

Had you not been their father, these white flakes

Had challenged pity of them. Was this a face

To be exposed against the warring winds, 30

To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder

In the most terrible and nimble stroke

Of quick cross-lightning, to watch—poor _perdu_ —

With this thin helm? Mine injurer's mean'st dog,

Though he had bit me, should have stood that night 35

Against my fire. And wast thou fain, poor father,

To hovel thee with swine and rogues forlorn

In short and musty straw? Alack, alack,

'Tis wonder that thy life and wits at once

33 _perdu_ ] THEOBALD; _Per du_ Q 34 injurer's] CAPELL; iniurious Q; Enemies F mean'st] OXFORD; _not in_ Q

24 **restoration** 'Perhaps personified as a goddess' (HalioF).

**hang** An odd choice of word; Schmidt defines 'attach, tie, adhere'.

25 **Thy medicine** 'the medicine which will cure you (Lear)'; or possibly 'restoration' is apostrophized: 'the medicine which you provide'.

27 **reverence** venerable condition

28 **flakes** locks of hair ( _OED sb_.2 8), with perhaps a hint of 'snowflakes'

29 **challenged . . . of** claimed . . . from

30 **warring** _OED_ 's first instance of the participial adjective.

31 **dread-bolted** hurling dreadful thunderbolts

32 **nimble** rapid

33 **cross-lightning** forked lightning

**watch** stand on guard

**_perdu_** sentinel (placed in mortal danger; _OED a. and sb_., B2, first use in this sense); Q prints in italics, indicating that the word, first recorded in 1591, could still be thought of as French.

34 **helm** covering (of hair)

34 **injurer's mean'st** Both HalioQ and Weis accept Q's 'iniurious', which is both metrically awkward and 'adds nothing to the following line ("Though he had bit me")'. ( _TC_ ). F reads 'Enemies' which 'confirms one's conviction that Q is inadequate' but 'is unlikely to be what stood in Q's copy'. Capell's emendation assumes an easy misreading and 'seems more appropriate' in that 'it emphasized the injury done to Cordelia herself, rather than presupposing a state of mutual hostility.' ( _TC_ ). Our addition of 'mean'st' is defended in _TC_.

36 **fain** obliged

37–8 **hovel . . . straw** Possibly influenced by the parable of the Prodigal Son, who was sent 'to feed swine; and he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine ate' (Luke 15: 15–16).

37 **hovel** shelter as in a hovel

**rogues forlorn** wretched outcasts

38 **short** broken up, over-used

**musty** damp and decaying

39 **at once** at one and the same time

Had not concluded all! ( _To the Doctor_ ) He wakes. Speak to him. 40

DOCTOR Madam, do you; 'tis fittest.

CORDELIA ( _to Lear_ )

How does my royal lord? How fares your majesty?

LEAR

You do me wrong to take me out o'th' grave.

Thou art a soul in bliss, but I am bound

Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears 45

Do scald like molten lead.

CORDELIA Sir, know me.

LEAR

You're a spirit, I know. Where did you die?

CORDELIA ( _to the Doctor_ ) Still, still far wide!

DOCTOR

He's scarce awake. Let him alone a while.

LEAR

Where have I been? Where am I? Fair daylight? 50

I am mightily abused. I should e'en die with pity

To see another thus. I know not what to say.

I will not swear these are my hands. Let's see:

I feel this pin prick. Would I were assured

Of my condition.

CORDELIA ( _kneeling_ ) O look upon me, sir, 55

And hold your hands in benediction o'er me.

No, sir, you must not kneel.

LEAR Pray do not mock.

I am a very foolish, fond old man,

40 all!] Q (~,) 46 know] Q1; know ye Q2; do you know F 50 daylight?] Q (~,) 55 _kneeling_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q

40 **all** altogether

**He wakes** Lear's awakening may be preceded by a long silence. 'Rossi took a full minute . . . to open his eyes, and begin to focus them' (Rosenberg, p. 284).

44 **bliss** heaven

44–5 **bound . . . fire** A complex image, recalling the classical figure of Ixion, condemned by Jove to be bound on an ever-whirling wheel. The relevance of Ixion to the play is discussed by Bate (pp. 194–6). See fig. 7.

45–6 **that . . . scald** with the result that my tears (heated by the fire) scald (what they fall on)

48 **wide** wide of the mark, delirious

51 **abused** The word had a range of meanings, including ill-treated and deluded.

54 **pin** Perhaps part of a jewel or fastening on Lear's or Cordelia's garments.

56 **benediction** blessing

57 **No . . . kneel** Foakes precedes this with the direction ' _She restrains him as he tries to kneel_ '.

58 **fond** had a range of meanings from 'foolish', 'doting', to 'mad'.

Fourscore and upward, and to deal plainly,

I fear I am not in my perfect mind. 60

Methinks I should know you, and know this man;

Yet I am doubtful, for I am mainly ignorant

What place this is; and all the skill I have

Remembers not these garments; nor I know not

Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me, 65

For as I am a man, I think this lady

To be my child, Cordelia.

CORDELIA And so I am.

LEAR

Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray, weep not.

If you have poison for me, I will drink it.

I know you do not love me; for your sisters 70

Have, as I do remember, done me wrong.

You have some cause; they have not.

CORDELIA No cause, no cause.

LEAR Am I in France?

KENT In your own kingdom, sir.

LEAR Do not abuse me. 75

DOCTOR

Be comforted, good madam. The great rage

You see is cured in him, and yet it is danger

To make him even o'er the time he has lost.

Desire him to go in; trouble him no more

Till further settling.

CORDELIA ( _to Lear_ ) Will't please your highness walk?

LEAR You must bear with me. 80

Pray now, forget and forgive. I am old

And foolish.

_Exeunt all but Kent and_  _First_  _Gentleman_

75 me.] Q2; ~? Q1 84 _all . . . Gentleman_ ] Q ( _Manet Kent and Gent_.)

61 **this man** Presumably Kent.

62 **mainly** entirely, absolutely

63 **skill** knowledge, brain power

73 **France** i.e. Cordelia's kingdom

75 **abuse me** (by suggesting that I still have a kingdom)

76 **rage** madness

78 **even o'er** fill up the gap in, go over in his mind

79 **Desire** ask

80 **settling** 'becoming quiet or composed' ( _OED vbl. sb_. 5a, first instance of this sense)

81 **Will't . . . walk** Peggy Ashcroft spoke these words with 'feigned courtliness' (T. C. Worsley, _The Fugitive Art_ (1952), p. 154).

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN Holds it true, sir, that the Duke

Of Cornwall was so slain?

KENT Most certain, sir. 85

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN

Who is conductor of his people?

KENT As 'tis said,

The bastard son of Gloucester.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN They say Edgar,

His banished son, is with the Earl of Kent

In Germany.

KENT Report is changeable.

'Tis time to look about. The powers of the kingdom 90

Approach apace.

 FIRST  GENTLEMAN The arbitrament is

Like to be bloody. Fare you well, sir. _Exit_

KENT

My point and period will be throughly wrought,

Or well or ill, as this day's battle's fought. _Exit_

**Sc. 22** _Enter Edmund, Regan_ , _and their powers_

EDMUND

Know of the Duke if his last purpose hold,

Or whether since he is advised by aught

To change the course. He's full of abdication

And self-reproving. Bring his constant pleasure.

_Exit one or more_

92 _Exit_ ] THEOBALD; _not in_ Q

**22**.1 EDMUND] Q (' _Bast.' throughout the scene_ ) 3 abdication] Qa; alteration Qb 4.1 _Exit . . . more_ ] _not in_ QF

86 **conductor** leader, commander ( _OED_ 4)

87–9 **They . . . Germany** It is obviously ironical that these words are spoken to Kent, whose laconic response may be consciously, even humorously, evasive. No more is heard of the suggestion.

90 **look about** be wary (as at _Romeo_ 3.5.40: 'be wary, look about')

91 **arbitrament** deciding of the dispute, decisive encounter

93 **My . . . wrought** the full stop and rounding off of my life will be wholly brought about, for better or for worse, by the outcome of today's battle. In style and rhyme, a highly formal, gnomic way of rounding off the scene, emphasizing to the audience the importance of Kent's concern with what is happening.

**22** The remainder of the action is imagined as taking place somewhere near Dover. Edgar carries a letter (l. 42) and Edmund a paper (l. 54).

1 **Duke** i.e. Albany

**last purpose hold** most recent intention (i.e. to fight) still obtains

2 **since . . . aught** in the meantime anything has warned him

3 **full of abdication** i.e. filled with, or obsessed by, desire to renounce his position. Both HalioQ and Weis accept Qb's 'alteration' without comment, though as Stone says (p. 251), this is less pointed than the original.

REGAN

Our sister's man is certainly miscarried. 5

EDMUND

'Tis to be doubted, madam.

REGAN Now, sweet lord,

You know the goodness I intend upon you.

Tell me but truly—but then speak the truth—

Do you not love my sister?

EDMUND Ay: honoured love.

REGAN

But have you never found my brother's way 10

To the forfended place?

EDMUND That thought abuses you.

REGAN I am doubtful

That you have been conjunct and bosomed with her,

As far as we call hers.

EDMUND No, by mine honour, madam. 15

REGAN

I never shall endure her. Dear my lord,

Be not familiar with her.

EDMUND Fear me not.

She and the Duke her husband.

_Enter the Duke of Albany and Gonoril with troops_

GONORIL ( _aside_ )

I had rather lose the battle than that sister 20

Should loosen him and me.

19 husband.] QF; ~—ROWE 19.1 _the Duke of_ ] _not in_ Q

4 **constant pleasure** (information about) his fixed intentions, final decision

5 **sister's man** Oswald, killed by Edgar at 20.242.

**miscarried** come to harm

6 **doubted** feared

7 **intend upon** mean to bestow upon

9 **honoured** honourable

10 **brother's** brother-in-law's (Albany's)

11 **forfended** forbidden (by the commandment against adultery)

12 **abuses** discredits, disgraces

13 **doubtful** apprehensive

14 **conjunct** united

**bosomed . . . her** received into her bosom, intimate with her ( _OED_ 's first instance of this sense)

15 **As . . . hers** An odd way of saying 'in the fullest sense of the word'.

17 **familiar** unduly intimate ( _OED a_. 2c)

19 **She . . . husband.** Oxford treats as an interrupted sentence, but it seems more likely that Edmund is simply drawing attention to the arrival of Albany and Gonoril, perhaps as a warning to Regan.

21 **loosen** loosen the ties, make a breach between ( _OED_ 3b, only instance of this sense)

ALBANY ( _to Regan_ )

Our very loving sister, well bemet,

For this I hear: the King is come to his daughter,

With others whom the rigour of our state

Forced to cry out. Where I could not be honest 25

I never yet was valiant. For this business,

It touches us as France invades our land;

Yet bold's the King, with others whom I fear.

Most just and heavy causes make oppose.

EDMUND

Sir, you speak nobly.

REGAN Why is this reasoned? 30

GONORIL

Combine together 'gainst the enemy;

For these domestic poor particulars

Are not to question here.

ALBANY

Let us then determine with the ensign of war

On our proceedings.

EDMUND I shall attend you 35

Presently at your tent.  _Exit with his powers_

REGAN Sister, you'll go with us?

GONORIL NO.

REGAN

'Tis most convenient. Pray you go with us.

28 Yet] BLAYNEY; Not Q bold's] Q (bolds) 32 poor] OXFORD ( _conj_. Collier); dore Q; deare MALONE _conj_. 34 ensign] Q (auntient) 36 _Exit . . . powers_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF

22 **bemet** met

23 **King** Albany acknowledges Lear's rank.

24 **rigour of our state** harshness of our government

25 **Forced . . . out** impelled to complain ( _OED, cry, v_. 21b) **honest** in admitting _the rigour of our state_?

27 **touches us as** concerns us (the royal plural?) in so far as

28 **bold's . . . fear** Lear, along with supporters whom I fear, is bold (in claiming his kingdom). HalioQ and Weis accept Q's 'Not bolds' (i.e. does not embolden).

29 **Most . . . oppose** 'Fair and serious causes are driven into opposition' (Norton). The syntax is difficult. Though _OED_ does not record _oppose_ as a noun, it seems to act as one here.

30 **Sir . . . nobly** (possibly ironical)

30 **reasoned** discussed ( _OED, reason, v_. 5a), brought up now

32–3 **poor . . . here** insignificant details are not worth discussing here. We assume foul case or a turned letter in emending 'dore' to 'pore' ( _poor_ ). HalioQ and Weis accept Q's 'domestique dore', Halio concurring with Steevens's gloss 'particulars at our very doors, close to us, and consequently fitted to be settled at home'.

34 **ensign** standard-bearer (thought of by Shakespeare as a general's third-in-command: _Shakespeare_ ' _s England_ (Oxford, 1916), i. 117, adding that Shakespeare's use of the term indicates 'no very profound acquaintance with the art of war')

35–6 **attend . . . Presently** wait upon you immediately

38 **convenient** proper

GONORIL  _aside_

O ho, I know the riddle! ( _To Regan_ ) I will go.

_Enter Edgar disguised as a peasant_

EDGAR ( _to Albany_ )

If e'er your grace had speech with man so poor, 40

Hear me one word.

ALBANY ( _to the others_ ) I'll overtake you.

_Exeunt all but Albany and Edgar_

Speak.

EDGAR

Before you fight the battle, ope this letter.

If you have victory, let the trumpet sound

For him that brought it. Wretched though I seem,

I can produce a champion that will prove 45

What is avouchèd there. If you miscarry,

Your business of the world hath so an end.

Fortune love you—

ALBANY Stay till I have read the letter.

EDGAR I was forbid it. 50

When time shall serve, let but the herald cry,

And I'll appear again.

ALBANY Why, fare thee well.

I will o'erlook the paper. _Exit Edgar_

_Enter Edmund_

EDMUND

The enemy's in view; draw up your powers. 55

_He_  _offers_  _Albany a paper_

39.1 _disguised . . . peasant_ ] THEOBALD ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q 41 _all . . . Edgar_ ] Q (' _Exeunt_.' _after_ 'word') 54 _Exit Edgar_ ] Q ( _after l_. 52) 55.1 _He . . . paper_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF

39 **know the riddle** can see through your little plan (to keep an eye on me)

42–6 **Before . . . there** 'When Edgar approaches Albany . . . he sets in motion a complex legal procedure, and Shakespeare, with allowances for condensing a long process into one dramatic scene, follows with surprising fidelity the tenets of the High Court of Chivalry, an Anglo-French institution established in the reign of Edward III as part of the neo-chivalric revival . . . The use of the word "champion", and . . . the instruction to "let the trumpet sound", indicate that Edgar will do more than produce a witness; he assumes that his accusation will have to be proved in trial by battle' (Edelman, p. 146).

42 **letter** (found on Oswald: 20.248–63)

46 **avouchèd** asserted (borne witness to?) **miscarry** lose

47 **Your . . . end** it will put an end to your traffic with the world, i.e. you will die

51 **cry** make his proclamation ( _OED v_. 5, only instance of the absolute use)

54 **o'erlook** read through. It is not clear whether he does.

55.1 **_He_ . . . _paper_** _Here_ (l. 56) seems to imply that he supplies the evidence (though Weis accepts Q's 'Hard', presumably interpreting 'even diligent (efforts at) discovery experience difficulty in guessing', which seems strained.) Albany does not necessarily take the paper. As an alternative to the emendation, we conjecture that a line may have been omitted after _forces_.

Here is the guess of their great strength and forces

By diligent discovery; but your haste

Is now urged on you.

ALBANY We will greet the time. _Exit_

EDMUND

To both these sisters have I sworn my love,

Each jealous of the other as the stung 60

Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take?—

Both?—one?—or neither? Neither can be enjoyed

If both remain alive. To take the widow

Exasperates, makes mad, her sister Gonoril,

And hardly shall I carry out my side, 65

Her husband being alive. Now then, we'll use

His countenance for the battle, which being done,

Let her that would be rid of him devise

His speedy taking off. As for his mercy

Which he intends to Lear and to Cordelia, 70

The battle done, and they within our power,

Shall never see his pardon; for my state

Stands on me to defend, not to debate. _Exit_

**Sc. 23** _Alarum. The powers of France pass over the stage_  _led by_  _Queen Cordelia with her father in her hand. Then enter Edgar disguised as a peasant, guiding the blind Earl of Gloucester_

56 Here] F; Hard Q the guess] Q2; thequesse Q1 59 sisters] Q2, F; sister Q1 60 stung] F; sting Q 62 Both . . . neither?] F (SUBS.); ~ ^~ ^ ~ ^ ~, Q

**23**.0.1–2 _The . . . hand_ ] Q ( _Enter the powers of France ouer the stage, Cordelia with her father in her hand_.) 0.2 _led by_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q 0.3–4 _Then . . . Gloucester_ ] Q ( _Enter Edgar and Gloster_.)

57 **discovery** investigation, reconnaissance ( _OED_ 3b, first instance of this sense)

58 **greet the time** embrace the occasion, take advantage of our opportunities

60 **jealous** suspicious

65 **hardly . . . side** it will be difficult for me to fulfil my side of the agreement (to satisfy Gonoril); or perhaps 'to become king'

67 **countenance** authority, support

69 **taking off** dispatch, murder

72 **Shall** i.e. they shall

**state** condition, success

73 **Stands on** requires

**23** Edelman (pp. 153–8) has a helpful discussion of the background to the combat between Edgar and Edmund, and of its practical requirements.

0.1 **_Alarum_** a trumpet summons to battle **_pass over the stage_** Probably entering from the door at one side, processing round the stage, and leaving by the door at the other side, perhaps before Edgar and his father enter, or possibly after l. 4, if their dialogue is presented as an interlude in the stylized battle.

EDGAR

Here, father, take the shadow of this bush

For your good host; pray that the right may thrive.

If ever I return to you again

I'll bring you comfort. _Exit_

GLOUCESTER Grace go with you, sir.

_Alarum and retreat. Enter Edgar_

EDGAR

Away, old man. Give me thy hand. Away. 5

King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en.

Give me thy hand. Come on.

GLOUCESTER

No farther, sir. A man may rot even here.

EDGAR

What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure

Their going hence even as their coming hither. 10

Ripeness is all. Come on. _Exit Edgar guiding Gloucester_

**Sc. 24** _Enter Edmund with King Lear and Queen Cordelia prisoners, a Captain_ , _and soldiers_

EDMUND

Some officers take them away. Good guard

4.1 _Enter Edgar_ ] Q2; _not in_ Q1 9 again? Men] Q2; ~ ^ ~ ^ Q1

**24.** 1–2 _Enter . . . soldiers_ ] F ( _subs_.); _Enter Edmund, with Lear and Cordelia prisoners_. Q1 EDMUND] Q (' _Bast_.' _subs. throughout the scene_ )

0.2 **_with_ . . . _hand_** holding her father by the hand

1 **bush** Probably represented by one of the pillars supporting the canopy over the Jacobean stage.

2 **For . . . host** i.e. as shelter

4.1 **_retreat_** A different trumpet call. The battle is represented in stylized form merely by sound effects.

6 **King . . . lost** Knowles (p. 46) takes this as evidence that Cordelia has ceded 'even her titular leadership of the army to Lear', but it would be natural to refer to the cause as Lear's without thinking of him as the active leader.

9–11 **Men . . . all** Recalling Hamlet's 'If it be now, 'tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all' (5.2.166–8).

11 **Ripeness** One of _OED_ 's definitions is 'maturity'.

**24** Edmund gives the Captain a note at l. 27, Albany and Edmund throw down gloves at ll. 89 and 95, Albany reveals a paper at l. 151, a Gentleman enters with a bloodstained knife at l. 218; biers might be used for the bodies of Gonoril and Regan at 233 (though they might simply be carried by actors); someone should presumably hand Lear a looking-glass at l. 257 and he probably needs a feather at l. 261.

Until their greater pleasures best be known

That are to censure them.

CORDELIA ( _to Lear_ ) We are not the first

Who with best meaning have incurred the worst.

For thee, oppressèd King, am I cast down, 5

Myself could else outfrown false fortune's frown.

Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters?

LEAR

No, no. Come, let's away to prison.

We two alone will sing like birds i'th' cage.

When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down 10

And ask of thee forgiveness; so we'll live,

And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh

At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues

Talk of court news, and we'll talk with them too—

Who loses and who wins, who's in, who's out, 15

And take upon 's the mystery of things

As if we were God's spies; and we'll wear out

In a walled prison packs and sects of great ones

That ebb and flow by th' moon.

EDMUND ( _to soldiers_ ) Take them away.

LEAR ( _to Cordelia_ )

Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia, 20

2–3 **their . . . them** i.e. the wishes are best known of the greater personages who are to pass judgement on them

4 **meaning** intentions

6 **outfrown** outdo in frowning, frown down; _OED_ 's first instance (of two).

9 **birds . . . cage** birds (even when they are) caged ( _cage_ could also mean 'prison'). The paradoxical image was proverbial (Dent B387.1).

10–11 **When . . . forgiveness** Recalling Sc. 21. 55–7 (and 'That scene in the old play' which 'haunted Shakespeare' (Granville Barker, p. 298)).

13 **butterflies** foppish courtiers (like Osric, in _Hamlet_ , described as a 'waterfly'); _OED_ 's first instance of the figurative sense ( _sb_. 2a), though Craig cites an example in Marston's _Antonio and Mellida, c_.1600.

16 **take upon's** take upon ourselves, assume understanding of. Schmidt defines _take upon_ here as 'to pretend to a quality or to a knowledge, to profess'.

16 **mystery** theologically, religious truth known only through divine revelation; also used for 'a matter unexplained or inexplicable; something beyond human knowledge or comprehension' ( _OED sb_.1 5a).

17 **God's** Printed without an apostrophe in early editions; could mean 'of the gods'—otherwise, the play's only direct reference to a Christian god. **wear out** outlast, outlive

18 **packs and sects** parties and cliques

19 **by th' moon** as the moon governs the tides. Sohmer finds Lear, 'who imposes himself on his daughters "by monthly course"' (1.123) 'evocatively self-referential' here (paragraph 1).

20 **sacrifices** may allude to the sacrifices Cordelia has made for Lear, or to their joint loss of freedom (Foakes); draws on the biblical tradition of sacrifice as a tribute to the gods, as in the story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22: 1–19).

The gods themselves throw incense. Have I caught thee?

He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven

And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes.

The goodyear shall devour 'em, flesh and fell,

Ere they shall make us weep. We'll see 'em starve first.

Come. _Exeunt all but Edmund and the Captain_ 25

EDMUND Come hither, captain. Hark.

Take thou this note. Go follow them to prison.

One step I have advanced thee; if thou dost

As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way

To noble fortunes. Know thou this: that men 30

Are as the time is. To be tender-minded

Does not become a sword. Thy great employment

Will not bear question. Either say thou'lt do't,

Or thrive by other means.

CAPTAIN I'll do't, my lord.

24 goodyear] OXFORD; good Q; good yeares F; gore crows stone _conj_. 25 _Exeunt . . . Captain_ ] Q2, F ( _Exit_.); _not in_ Q1 28 One] Q ( _text_ ); And ( _catchword_ )

21 **throw incense** (like priests performing a ritual)

**Have . . . thee** Philip Brockbank suggests that Lear 'takes Cordelia in his arms . . . there is an advantage in having Lear leave the stage with Cordelia live but relaxed in his arms, later to return with her dead' (' _Upon Such Sacrifices_ ', British Academy Annual Shakespeare Lecture, 1976, p. 16).

22 **shall bring** i.e. will have to do something as drastic as bringing

**brand** burning torch

23 **like foxes** Explained, and perhaps influenced, by Harsnet: 'as men smoke out a fox out of his burrow' (p. 278). There may also be biblical influence: 'Samson went out and took three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned them tail to tail, and put a fire-brand in the midst between the two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire he sent them out into the standing corn' (Judges 15: 4–5).

24 **goodyear** From its use in the phrase 'What the goodyear?', 'goodyear' (or 'good year') came to be used for 'devil', or more generally for any inimical forces ( _OED_ ). This reading is explained in _Division_ , p. 489. An alternative explanation is offered by Shaheen, p. 619, who remarks that 'Lear's words appear to allude to Pharaoh's dream of seven "good" years of plenty followed by seven years of famine' (Genesis 41: 1–36). 'Lear tells Cordelia that although their enemies have won the day, even in their "good yeeres" (Gen. 41. 35), her sisters will not enjoy their victory, but will starve and be "deuoured" (Gen. 41. 7, 24) as if living in the seven years of famine.' Q's unmetrical 'good' is accepted by Weis; HalioQ follows F.

24 **flesh and fell** 'the whole substance of the body' ( _OED, flesh, sb_. 1c), entirely ( _fell_ , skin)

25 **starve** die (not necessarily of hunger)

27 **note** It turns out to be the death warrant for Lear and Cordelia: see ll. 248–51.

29–30 **dost . . . fortunes** will be nobly advanced (perhaps 'to the ranks of the nobility')

31 **Are . . . is** reflect the issues of the time, fluctuate according to circumstances. 'Times change and we with them' was proverbial (Dent T343).

32 **a sword** i.e. a sword-bearer, soldier

33 **bear question** admit argument

EDMUND

About it, and write 'happy' when thou hast done. 35

Mark, I say, instantly, and carry it so

As I have set it down.

CAPTAIN I cannot draw a cart,

Nor eat dried oats. If it be man's work, I'll do't. _Exit_

_Enter the Duke of Albany, the two ladies Gonoril and Regan_ ,  _another Captain_ ,  _and others_

ALBANY ( _to Edmund_ )

Sir, you have showed today your valiant strain,

And fortune led you well. You have the captives 40

That were the opposites of this day's strife.

We do require then of you, so to use them

As we shall find their merits and our safety

May equally determine.

EDMUND Sir, I thought it fit

To send the old and miserable King 45

To some retention and appointed guard,

Whose age has charms in it, whose title more,

To pluck the common bosom on his side

And turn our impressed lances in our eyes

Which do command them. With him I sent the Queen, 50

38 _Exit_ ] F ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q 38.1–2 _Enter . . . others_ ] Q ( _Enter Duke, the two Ladies, and others_.) 38.2 _another Captain_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF 42 then] Q; them F 45 send] Qb, Q2, F; saue Qa 46 and appointed guard,] Qb, Q2; _not in_ Qa, F 48 common] Qb; coren Qa on] F; of Q

35 **write 'happy'** write yourself down a happy (fortunate) man

36 **Mark** attend

**carry it so** manage it in such a way (to look as if Cordelia has hanged herself: ll. 250–1)

37–8 **I . . . do't** A cryptic utterance. Muir interprets 'I'm not a horse. I don't want to be driven by necessity after the war to be an agricultural labourer.' This may be over-specific. There is a vague resemblance to a speech by the villainous messenger in _Leir_ : 'if I fail in anything, tie me to a dung cart, and make a scavenger's horse of me, and whip me, so long as I have any skin on my back' (ll. 1015–17).

38.2 **_another Captain_** He could alternatively come on with the Herald at l. 106. The trumpeter also might enter here, but is a natural attendant for a herald.

39 **strain** lineage. 'Albany implies that Edmund has shown himself worthy of being a legitimate son of Gloucester' (Kittredge).

41 **opposites** opponents

42 **then** next, besides ( _OED_ 3b), in those circumstances (4a). HalioQ (but not Weis) adopts F's 'them', without comment.

43 **merits** deserts

44 **equally** equitably, justly

46 **retention** detention ( _OED_ 4a)

47 **Whose** i.e. the King's

48 **pluck . . . on** draw the sympathy of the common people on to

49–50 **turn . . . them** turn the weapons of our conscripted soldiers into the eyes of us who command them. OED's first instance of _impressed_ as a participial adjective.

My reason all the same, and they are ready

Tomorrow, or at further space, to appear

Where you shall hold your session. At this time

We sweat and bleed. The friend hath lost his friend,

And the best quarrels in the heat are cursed 55

By those that feel their sharpness.

The question of Cordelia and her father

Requires a fitter place.

ALBANY Sir, by your patience,

I hold you but a subject of this war,

Not as a brother.

REGAN That's as we list to grace him. 60

Methinks our pleasure should have been demanded

Ere you had spoke so far. He led our powers,

Bore the commission of my place and person,

The which immediate may well stand up

And call itself your brother.

GONORIL Not so hot. 65

In his own grace he doth exalt himself

More than in your advancement.

REGAN In my right

By me invested, he compeers the best.

GONORIL

That were the most if he should husband you.

REGAN

Jesters do oft prove prophets.

GONORIL Holla, holla— 70

That eye that told you so looked but asquint.

53 session. At] THEOBALD; Q (~ ^ ~) 54 We] Qb (wee); mee Qa 56 sharpness] Qb (sharp-nes); sharpes Qa

53 **session** sitting of your court of justice

55–6 **And . . . sharpness** Perhaps because he is playing for time, Edmund starts to pontificate in vague generalization. Hunter paraphrases 'even good arguments [ _quarrels_ ] are hateful at this moment of passionate involvement, when we are all suffering the pains and losses of battle'.

59 **subject of** subordinate in

60 **we list** (royal plural) I please

63 **commission . . . place** authority of my rank

64–5 **The . . . brother** The language is contorted; she seems to be saying that the immediacy (F's word; _OED_ does not support the substantive use of 'immediate' in this sense) of Edmund's relationship to her may well confer on him the right to call himself Albany's brother.

68 **invested** endowed

**compeers** equals. _OED_ 's first instance of a rare word (but Muir (p. 236) says that it occurs in Florio's _Montaigne_ ).

69 **were the most** would be most true

70 **Jesters . . . prophets** Proverbial (Dent W772: 'There is many a true word spoken in jest').

**Holla** often meant 'stop', 'cease', i.e. 'Whoa there!', or 'mind what you're saying!'

REGAN

Lady, I am not well, else I should answer

From a full-flowing stomach. ( _To Edmund_ ) General,

Take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony.

Witness the world that I create thee here 75

My lord and master.

GONORIL Mean you to enjoy him, then?

ALBANY

The let-alone lies not in your good will.

EDMUND

Nor in thine, lord.

ALBANY Half-blooded fellow, yes.

EDMUND

Let the drum strike and prove my title good.

ALBANY

Stay yet, hear reason. Edmund, I arrest thee 80

On capital treason, and in thine attaint

This gilded serpent. ( _To Regan_ ) For your claim, fair sister,

I bar it in the interest of my wife.

'Tis she is subcontracted to this lord,

And I, her husband, contradict the banns. 85

If you will marry, make your love to me.

My lady is bespoke.—Thou art armed, Gloucester.

If none appear to prove upon thy head

Thy heinous, manifest, and many treasons,

 _He throws down a glove_

There is my pledge. I'll prove it on thy heart, 90

79 EDMUND . . . good] Q ( _Bast_. . . .); _Reg_ < _an_ >. . . . thine F 83 bar] QF (bare) 85 banns] QF (banes) 89.1 _He . . . glove_ ] MALONE ( _subs., after_ 'pledge', _l_. 90; _not in_ Q

71 **asquint** awry

73 **full-flowing stomach** heart full of anger ('stomach' was used for 'the inward seat of passion, emotion . . . feelings' ( _OED sb_. 6a))

77 **let-alone** power to say yea or nay

78 **Half-blooded** 'of superior blood . . . by one parent only' ( _OED_ , first of two instances cited)

79 **Let . . . strike** i.e. prepare for battle (Edelman, p. 155)

80 **thee** The change to the second person singular indicates Albany's contempt.

81 **in thine attaint** in, i.e. along with, your impeachment, accusation of treason

84 **subcontracted** betrothed for a second time ( _OED_ ; first use of the verb, and only instance in this sense; no other uses recorded before 1842)

87 **bespoke** already spoken for

89 **heinous** wicked, atrocious

90 **pledge** gage, glove thrown down as a challenge. Albany offers 'proof in the appropriate manner should no other appellant appear' (Edelman, p. 146).

Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less

Than I have here proclaimed thee.

REGAN Sick, O sick!

GONORIL ( _aside_ ) If not, I'll ne'er trust poison.

EDMUND ( _to Albany_ ,  _throwing down a glove_  )

There's my exchange. What in the world he is 95

That names me traitor, villain-like he lies.

Call by thy trumpet. He that dares, approach;

On him, on you—who not?—I will maintain

My truth and honour firmly.

ALBANY A herald, ho! 100

EDMUND A herald, ho, a herald!

ALBANY

Trust to thy single virtue, for thy soldiers,

All levied in my name, have in my name

Took their discharge.

REGAN This sickness grows upon me.

ALBANY

She is not well. Convey her to my tent. 105

_Exit one or more with Regan_

 _Enter a Herald and a trumpeter_

Come hither, herald. Let the trumpet sound,

And read out this.

SECOND CAPTAIN Sound, trumpet!

_Trumpeter sounds_

HERALD ( _reads_ ) 'If any man of quality or degree in the host of the army will maintain upon Edmund, supposed Earl of Gloucester, that he's a manifold traitor, let him appear at the third sound of the trumpet. He is bold in his defence.' 110

95 _throwing . . . glove_ ] MALONE ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q 105.1 _Exit . . . Regan_ ] THEOBALD ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q 105.2 _Enter . . . trumpeter_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q; _Enter a Herald_ HANMER 108.1, 114 _Trumpeter sounds_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q

91 **in nothing** in no way less guilty

95 **exchange** i.e. my glove in return for yours

**What** whoever

97 **Call** summon

102 **single virtue** unaided valour

105.2 **_Herald_** 'The heralds wore tabards emblazoned on back and front, and on the elbow-length sleeves, with their Sovereign's arms. They were thus clearly recognizable' (C. W. Scott-Giles, _Shakespeare_ ' _s Heraldry_ (1950), p. 120).

109 **quality or degree** high birth or rank

112 **third . . . trumpet** Edelman, p. 153, quotes Thomas of Woodstock's account of how the marshal was required to call at the four corners of the lists ' **Oyez** , oyez, oyez, defendant [here, appellant] come to your journey'; if he did not appear at the third call, it was assumed he would not honour his pledge to appear.

EDMUND Sound! ( _Trumpeter sounds_ ) Again!

_Enter Edgar, armed, at the third sound, a trumpeter before him_

ALBANY ( _to the Herald_ )

Ask him his purposes, why he appears 115

Upon this call o'th' trumpet.

HERALD ( _to Edgar_ ) What are you?

Your name and quality, and why you answer

This present summons?

EDGAR O, know my name is lost,

By treason's tooth baregnawn and canker-bit.

Yet ere I move't, where is the adversary 120

I come to cope withal?

ALBANY Which is that adversary?

EDGAR

What's he that speaks for Edmund, Earl of Gloucester?

EDMUND

Himself. What sayst thou to him?

EDGAR Draw thy sword,

That if my speech offend a noble heart

Thy arm may do thee justice. Here is mine. 125

_He draws his sword_

Behold, it is the privilege of my tongue,

My oath, and my profession. I protest,

114 Sound!] Q (~?) Again!] Q (~?) 114.1 _armed_ ] F; _not in_ Q _trumpeter_ ] Q ( _trumpet_ ) 119 tooth] THEOBALD; ~. Q1; ~: Q2, F 120 ere] Q (are) 125.1 _He . . . sword_ ] HUNTER; _not in_ Q 127 profession.] Q2; ~, Q1

114.1 **_armed_** Edgar needs to wear a helmet 'as "closed" as is practical to allow speech while hiding his identity'; his 'armour, at best, would have to be without a covering gown or other colourful insignia, and would therefore look drab compared with that of the Duke of Gloucester' (Edelman, pp. 147, 154).

119 **canker-bit** eaten by canker-worms, ruined

120 **ere I move't** before I state my case.

HalioQ, following Duthie, oddly adopts and adapts F to read 'am I noble'; 'are' is a well-attested spelling of 'ere'.

121 **cope withal** encounter, enter into combat with ( _OED, cope, v_. 2; now obsolete sense)

126 **tongue** Foakes says that _tongue_ ('hon-ours' in F) 'seems unrelated to Edgar's act of drawing his sword'. Perhaps it means 'my native tongue'; Weis suggests 'report', 'reputation', or 'well-bred accent'.

127 **oath . . . profession** oath sworn on becoming a knight, and the profession of knighthood itself

Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and eminence,

Despite thy victor-sword and fire-new fortune,

Thy valour and thy heart, thou art a traitor, 130

False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father,

Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious prince,

And from th'extremest upward of thy head

To the descent and dust beneath thy feet

A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou no, 135

This sword, this arm, and my best spirits are bent

To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak,

Thou liest.

EDMUND In wisdom I should ask thy name,

But since thy outside looks so fair and warlike,

And that thy tongue some say of breeding breathes, 140

My right of knighthood I disdain and spurn.

Here do I toss those treasons to thy head,

With the hell-hated lie o'erturn thy heart,

Which, for they yet glance by and scarcely bruise,

This sword of mine shall give them instant way 145

129 victor-sword] Q (~, ~) fortune] F; fortun'd Q 132 Conspirant] F; Conspicuate Q; Conspirate capell 136 are] F; As Q1 ( _as first word of verse line_ ); Is Q2 140 tongue] F; being Q 141 My] OXFORD ( _conj_. BL2); By Q 143 hell-hated lie] F; hell hatedly Q o'erturn] OXFORD; oreturnd Q; oer-whelme F; returnd BLAYNEY

128 **Maugre** in spite of

**place . . . eminence** high rank and status

129 **victor-sword** victorious sword

**fire-new** fresh from the fire or furnace, brand-new (first recorded in _Richard III_ , 1.3.254)

**fortune** i.e. success in victory, and promotion

132 **Conspirant** conspiring, or a conspirator ( _OED_ 's only two instances before 1880 are from Harsnet and here)

133 **upward** top part, crown ( _OED_ 's only instance)

134 **descent** lowest part (recorded by _OED_ as a nonce-use)

135 **toad-spotted** spotted with evil as a toad (regarded as especially obnoxious) bears spots believed to be poisonous

**Say . . . no** if you deny it

138 **In wisdom** (because according to the laws of chivalry he could refuse to fight a man of lower rank, as Gonoril says at ll. 148–9)

140 **tongue** Weis (but not HalioQ) retains Q's 'being' while admitting that _tongue_ may be the stronger reading.

**say** assay, i.e. evidence, taste

141 **My** Weis retains Q's 'By' without comment. HalioQ accepts the emendation, regarded as 'obvious' by Stone (pp. 69–70), commenting 'Edmund is saying that he waives his right, by the rules of trial by combat, to know the identity of his appellant (Edgar)'.

143 **With** Perhaps 'at the same time as' rather than 'by means of' ( _TC_ ).

**hell-hated** hated as much as hell

**o'erturn** HalioQ accepts our emendation, explained in _TC_.

144 **Which** i.e. Edgar's alleged treasons and lie **by** off

145–6 **give . . . ever** make an immediate passage for them to the place where they shall find their eternal home (i.e. in your dead body)

Where they shall rest for ever. Trumpets, speak!

 _Flourish_.  _They fight. Edmund is vanquished_

 ALL

Save him, save him!

GONORIL This is mere practice, Gloucester.

By the law of arms thou art not bound to answer

An unknown opposite. Thou art not vanquished,

But cozened and beguiled.

ALBANY Stop your mouth, dame, 150

Or with this paper shall I stopple it.

Thou worse than anything, read thine own evil.

Nay, no tearing, lady. I perceive you know't.

GONORIL

Say if I do, the laws are mine, not thine.

Who shall arraign me for't?

ALBANY Most monstrous! 155

Know'st thou this paper?

GONORIL Ask me not what I know.

_Exit_

ALBANY

Go after her. She's desperate. Govern her.

_Exit one or more_

EDMUND

What you have charged me with, that have I done,

And more, much more. The time will bring it out.

'Tis past, and so am I. ( _To Edgar_ ) But what art thou, 160

That hast this fortune on me? If thou beest noble,

I do forgive thee.

146.1 _Flourish_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q; _Alarums_. F ( _after the following speech_ ) _They fight_ ] F (' _Fights_.', _after_ 'him!', _l_. 147; _not in_ Q _Edmund is vanquished_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF; _Edmund falls_ HANMER 147 ALL] BLAYNEY ( _conj_. Van Dam); _Alb_. QF 155 monstrous!] Q (~ ^) 156.1 _Exit_ ] Q ( _Exit. Gonorill_.) 157.1 _Exit . . . more_ ] CAPELL ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q

147 **ALL** HalioQ and Weis retain Q's

' _Alb_ [ _any_ ]', though HalioF admits that ' _Alb_.' could be a 'misreading of _All_ , which could also make sense dramatically'. Edelman (pp. 156–7), pointing out that interference with a battle of chivalry was strictly forbidden, is 'led to agree' with Theobald's suggestion that 'the words are meant to be spoken by' Gonoril since it is logical for her 'emotionally to beseech her soldiers to step in at a moment when Edmund appears to be in danger'.

147 **practice** trickery

150 **cozened and beguiled** tricked and deceived

151 **stopple** close with a stopper or bung; first recorded as a verb _c_.1795.

155 **arraign me** bring me to trial

157 **Govern** control, restrain

161 **fortune on** good fortune, victory, over

EDGAR2 Let's exchange charity.

I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund.

If more, the more ignobly thou hast wronged me.

 _He takes off his helmet_

My name is Edgar, and thy father's son. 165

The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices

Make instruments to scourge us.

The dark and vicious place where thee he got

Cost him his eyes.

EDMUND Thou hast spoken truth.

The wheel is come full circled. I am here. 170

ALBANY ( _to Edgar_ )

Methought thy very gait did prophesy

A royal nobleness. I must embrace thee.

Let sorrow split my heart if I did ever hate

Thee or thy father.

EDGAR Worthy prince, I know't. 175

ALBANY Where have you hid yourself?

How have you known the miseries of your father?

EDGAR

By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale,

And when 'tis told, O that my heart would burst!

The bloody proclamation to escape 180

That followed me so near—O, our lives' sweetness,

That with the pain of death would hourly die

Rather than die at once!—taught me to shift

164 ignobly] OXFORD ( _conj_. Blayney); _not in_ Q 164.1 _He . . . helmet_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ Q 166 vices^] F; vertues. Q 170 circled] Q; circle F 179–80 burst! | The] Q2 ( _subs_.); ~ ^ ~) Q1 182 with] Q; we F

164 **If more** (in being legitimate)

**more ignobly thou** HalioQ and Weis retain Q's unmetrical 'more thou'. Our addition is defended in _TC_.

166 **pleasant** pleasurable

168 **dark . . . place** Either the vagina or the brothel.

**got** begot

170 **The wheel . . . circled** the wheel has become completely rounded, i.e. 'I am punished for the events that I set in train'. (Or perhaps, as Kittredge annotates F's '. . . full circle', 'I began life at the very lowest point on Fortune's wheel . . . Now its revolution is completed, and here I am—at the very bottom, where I was at the beginning.' The expression 'Fortune's wheel is ever turning' was proverbial (Dent W 617). Though F's reading may seem more natural, _come_ may easily mean 'become' ( _OED v_. 24a), and _OED_ records _circled_ as 'Rounded; circular'.

171 **gait** bearing, demeanour

172 **royal** regal, befitting royalty (though Edgar is not royal, he is Lear's godson)

178 **List** listen to

180 **bloody proclamation** sentence of death (7.166–70)

182–3 **with . . . die** i.e. would suffer the pains of death hour after hour. Weis also follows Q; HalioQ adopts F's 'we . . .'

Into a madman's rags, to assume a semblance

That very dogs disdained; and in this habit 185

Met I my father with his bleeding rings,

The precious stones new-lost; became his guide,

Led him, begged for him, saved him from despair;

Never—O father!—revealed myself unto him

Until some half hour past, when I was armed. 190

Not sure, though hoping, of this good success,

I asked his blessing, and from first to last

Told him my pilgrimage; but his flawed heart—

Alack, too weak the conflict to support—

'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief, 195

Burst smilingly.

EDMUND This speech of yours hath moved me,

And shall perchance do good. But speak you on—

You look as you had something more to say.

ALBANY

If there be more, more woeful, hold it in,

For I am almost ready to dissolve, 200

Hearing of this.

EDGAR This would have seemed a period

To such as love not sorrow; but another

To amplify, too much would make much more,

And top extremity.

Whilst I was big in clamour came there in a man 205

Who, having seen me in my worst estate,

Shunned my abhorred society; but then, finding

Who 'twas that so endured, with his strong arms

He fastened on my neck and bellowed out

187 new-lost; became] Q2 ( _subs_.); (~ ^ ~) Q1 196 smilingly] Q (smillingly) 203 amplify, too much ^] OXFORD; ~ ^ ~ ~, Q 205 there in] Q; there THEOBALD

184 **semblance** outward appearance

186 **rings** i.e. eye-sockets

191 **success** outcome, victory

193 **pilgrimage** pious journey **flawed** cracked. _OED_ 's first instance of a verbal usage.

200 **dissolve** faint away, melt into tears ( _OED v_. 15, first instance of the figurative sense)

201 **period** closing point

202–3 **another . . . more** to enlarge upon another sorrow (Kent's fate) would make what is already excessive much greater, and exceed all limits. HalioQ punctuates 'another | To amplify too much would make much more'.

205 **big** loud ( _OED a_. 6)

**clamour** expression of grief

206 **estate** condition

208 **so endured** i.e. had suffered through the role of Poor Tom

As he'd burst heaven; threw him on my father, 210

Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him

That ever ear received, which in recounting

His grief grew puissant and the strings of life

Began to crack. Twice then the trumpets sounded,

And there I left him tranced.

ALBANY But who was this? 215

EDGAR

Kent, sir, the banished Kent, who in disguise

Followed his enemy king, and did him service

Improper for a slave.

_Enter_  _Second_  _Gentleman with a bloody knife_

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN Help, help!

ALBANY What kind of help?

What means that bloody knife?

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN It's hot, it smokes.

It came even from the heart of—

ALBANY Who, man? Speak. 220

 SECOND  GENTLEMAN

Your lady, sir, your lady; and her sister

By her is poisonèd—she hath confessed it.

EDMUND

I was contracted to them both; all three

Now marry in an instant.

ALBANY

Produce their bodies, be they alive or dead. 225

This justice of the heavens, that makes us tremble,

Touches us not with pity.

_Enter Kent as himself_

210 him] THEOBALD; me Q 214 crack. Twice] THEOBALD ( _subs_ ); ~ ^ ~ Q 218  _Second_  _Gentleman_ ] OXFORD; _one_ Q 227 _Enter . . . himself_ ] Q (' _Enter Kent_ ', _after l_. 228)

210 **As** as if

**my father** i.e. Gloucester's body

213 **puissant** overpowering

**strings of life** heart strings

215 **tranced** in a trance, unconscious ( _OED_ 's first instance of the past participle adjective)

218 **Improper** unfitting

219 **smokes** steams (with the heat of blood)

226–7 **This . . . pity** These lines invoke the Aristotelian notion of catharsis through terror and pity: 'The death of the cruel daughters produces fear ("makes us tremble") at the spectacle of divine justice, but because it is just . . . it does not produce pity. The tragedy has not yet reached its "promised end . . ."' (L. Danson, _Shakespeare_ ' _s Dramatic Genres_ (Oxford, 2000), p. 26).

EDGAR Here comes Kent, sir.

ALBANY

O, 'tis he; the time will not allow

The compliment that very manners urges.

KENT I am come 230

To bid my king and master aye good night.

Is he not here?

ALBANY Great thing of us forgot!—

Speak, Edmund; where's the King, and where's Cordelia?

_The bodies of Gonoril and Regan are brought in_

Seest thou this object, Kent?

KENT Alack, why thus? 235

EDMUND Yet Edmund was beloved.

The one the other poisoned for my sake,

And after slew herself.

ALBANY Even so.—Cover their faces.

EDMUND

I pant for life. Some good I mean to do,

Despite of my own nature. Quickly send, 240

Be brief in't, to th' castle; for my writ

Is on the life of Lear and on Cordelia.

Nay, send in time.

ALBANY Run, run, O run!

EDGAR

To who, my lord? Who hath the office? Send

Thy token of reprieve. 245

EDMUND

Well thought on! Take my sword. The captain,

Give it the captain.

232 ALBANY] Q (' _Duke_.' _here and throughout the rest of the scene_ ) 241 brief in't] F; ~, ~ Q

229 **compliment** formal greeting

**very manners urges** simple good manners call for

231 **aye** for ever

234 **Seest . . . Kent?** Noting awkwardness in Albany's quick shift of attention from Lear and Cordelia to 'the sight of the dead sisters', D. Senes proposes that these words should be spoken by Edmund ('A Proposed Emendation for _King Lear_ , V. iii. 237', _N & Q_ 242 (1997), 64–7).

234 **object** spectacle

238 **Cover . . . faces** Presumably attendants should obey.

241 **writ** warrant of execution

244 **office** authority, responsibility

246 **Take my sword** i.e. as the 'token of reprieve'. 'Give it to the captain', along with Albany's instruction 'Bear him hence a while', implies that Edmund is incapacitated.

ALBANY Haste thee for thy life.

_Exit_  _Second Captain_

EDMUND

He hath commission from thy wife and me

To hang Cordelia in the prison, and

To lay the blame upon her own despair, 250

That she fordid herself.

ALBANY

The gods defend her!—Bear him hence a while.

_Exeunt some with Edmund_

_Enter King Lear with Queen Cordelia in his arms_ ,

 _followed by the Second Captain_

LEAR

Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones.

Had I your tongues and eyes, I would use them so

That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever. 255

I know when one is dead and when one lives.

She's dead as earth.

 _He lays her down_

Lend me a looking-glass.

If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,

Why, then she lives.

KENT Is this the promised end?

247.1 _Exit_  _Second Captain_  ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF; _Exit Edgar_ malone 252.1 _Exeunt . . . Edmund_ ] THEOBALD ( _subs_.); _not in_ Q 252.2 _King_ ] _not in_ Q _Queen_ ] _not in_ Q 252.3 _followed by the Second Captain_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF 257 _He lays her down_ ] OXFORD; _not in_ QF

251 **fordid** killed

253 **Howl . . . howl!** The words are heard as both a cry of anguish and a command to others to join him in mourning.

**men of stones** like statues

255 **heaven's . . . crack** (as if rent by thunder from tongues and lightning from eyes)

257 **looking-glass** Possibly an on-stage character has a looking-glass ready to hand: 'in the seventeenth century hand-mirrors were worn decoratively at the waist or elsewhere by many women and even men' (Herbert Grabes, trans. Gordon Collier, _The Mutable Glass: Mirror-imagery in titles and texts of the Middle Ages and the English Renaissance_ (Cambridge, 1982), p. 71). J. C. Meagher, in the article cited at 7.33, reproduces (Plate 1) a Hollar engraving of a woman with a pendant mirror, suggesting that this is a symptom of Gonoril's vanity; in this case the glass might be brought from her body. On the other hand, there is nothing to indicate that Lear's request is granted. (In _Richard II_ , attendants are sent off to bring a looking-glass for the King (4.1.255–66).)

258 **stone** reflector; more usually 'specular stone', a transparent or semi-transparent substance such as mica, selenite, or talc, which could be used as a reflector ( _OED_ , _specular_ , 1).

259 **promised end** A suggestive phrase which Edgar takes to refer to the end of the world, the Day of Judgement, and which could also refer to the outcome of the events set in train by Lear's abdication.

EDGAR

Or image of that horror?

ALBANY Fall and cease. 260

LEAR

This feather stirs. She lives. If it be so,

It is a chance which does redeem all sorrows

That ever I have felt.

KENT  _kneeling_  Ah, my good master!

LEAR

Prithee, away.

EDGAR 'Tis noble Kent, your friend.

LEAR

A plague upon you, murderous traitors all. 265

I might have saved her; now she's gone for ever.—

Cordelia, Cordelia: stay a little. Ha?

What is't thou sayst?—Her voice was ever soft,

Gentle, and low, an excellent thing in women.—

I killed the slave that was a-hanging thee. 270

 SECOND  CAPTAIN

'Tis true, my lords, he did.

LEAR Did I not, fellow?

I have seen the day with my good biting falchion

261 stirs. . . . If] Q (stirs she liues, if), F (stirs, she liues: if) 263 _kneeling_ ] THEOBALD; _not in_ Q 265 you] Q2, F; your Q1 267 Ha?] Q (~,) 271 second  captain] OXFORD; _Cap_. Q

260 **image . . . horror** recalls 2.157:'image and horror'

**image** exact likeness, as Macduff calls the dead Duncan 'This great doom's image' ( _Macbeth_ 2.3.78)

**Fall and cease** may be taken as a plea for Lear to be granted the peace of death, or for the world to disintegrate and cease to be. In, e.g., Trevor Nunn's 1968 RSC production, Albany directed these lines, with violence and scorn, to the heavens.

261 **This . . . stirs** Prince Harry uses the same test for death (with an inaccurate result) in _2 Henry IV_ , 4.3.162–5: 'By his gates of breath | There lies a downy feather which stirs not. | Did he suspire, that light and weightless down | Perforce must move.' Lear might pick a feather from the ground, from clothing or a hat (Teague, p. 135), or even from an arrowhead; or it might be imagined. Q has no punctuation before _she lives_. F has a comma. Either text might be interpreted as indicating that in his excitement, Lear runs together two positive statements, or as conditional: 'if this feather stirs, she is alive'. Either interpretation is open to the actor.

268 **What . . . sayst?** Halio (in the article cited at 1.35) proposes that Cordelia may give 'some last fleeting indication of life' (p. 106).

272 **I . . . falchion** A formulaic expression (Dent D81.1), varied at e.g. _Merry Wives_ 2.1.213–15: 'I have seen the time with my long sword I would have made you four tall fellows skip like rats', and _Othello_ 5.2.268–70: 'I have seen the day | That, with this little arm and this good sword, | I have made my way . . .'

**good biting falchion** good, keen, or well-cutting, sharp broadsword. A _falchion_ was 'a short sword with a curved, sharpened edge, thicker towards the point, a cutting rather than a thrusting weapon' (Edelman, p. 26).

I would have made them skip. I am old now,

And these same crosses spoil me. ( _To Kent_ ) Who are you?

Mine eyes are not o' the best, I'll tell you straight. 275

KENT

If fortune bragged of two she loved or hated,

One of them we behold.

LEAR Are not you Kent?

KENT

The same, your servant Kent. Where is your servant Caius?

LEAR

He's a good fellow, I can tell you that.

He'll strike, and quickly too. He's dead and rotten. 280

KENT

No, my good lord, I am the very man—

LEAR I'll see that straight.

KENT

That from your first of difference and decay

Have followed your sad steps.

LEAR You're welcome hither.

KENT

Nor no man else. All's cheerless, dark, and deadly. 285

Your eldest daughters have fordone themselves,

279 you] F; _not in_ Q 283 first] F; life Q 286 fordone] F; foredoome Q1; fore-doom'd Q2

274 **crosses** troubles, frustrations (caused by his being 'old')

**spoil me** 'i.e. as a swordsman' (Muir)

275 **Mine . . . best** A sign of approaching death (Hoeniger, p. 96).

276–7 **If . . . behold** A cryptic utterance. Perhaps the general meaning is 'if there were ever two people whom Fortune might boast that she had supremely favoured or ill-treated, one of them—Lear (or Cordelia?), the object of her hatred—is here.

278 **Caius** We are left to deduce that this was Kent's disguise name.

282 **see . . . straight** look into that in a moment. 'Lear resists being distracted from Cordelia' (Foakes).

283 **first . . . decay** from the beginning of your period of difference and decay. HalioQ also emends; Weis retains Q, saying it 'is elliptical and requires "the beginning of" to be understood'. Foakes considers that Q makes good sense. Possibly 'the error lies in Q's preposition: perhaps "from" was substituted for "in"' ( _TC_ ).

**difference** change of fortune

285 **Nor . . . else** 'This completes his preceding sentence . . . but also begins his reply to Lear's _welcome_ ("I am not welcome, nor is anyone else . . .")' (Hunter).

286 **fordone** ruined ( _OED, fordo_ , 3; may mean 'killed', but Regan has not committed suicide). Weis adopts Q2's 'fore-doom'd' while allowing that Q's 'foredoome''may be a misreading of _foredone_ '.

And desperately are dead.

LEAR So think I, too.

ALBANY

He knows not what he sees; and vain it is

That we present us to him.

EDGAR Very bootless.

_Enter another Captain_

 THIRD  CAPTAIN ( _to Albany_ )

Edmund is dead, my lord.

ALBANY That's but a trifle here.— 290

You lords and noble friends, know our intent.

What comfort to this great decay may come

Shall be applied; for us, we will resign

During the life of this old majesty

To him our absolute power; ( _to Edgar and Kent_ ) you to your rights, 295

With boot and such addition as your honours

Have more than merited. All friends shall taste

The wages of their virtue, and all foes

The cup of their deservings.—O see, see!

LEAR

And my poor fool is hanged. No, no life. 300

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life,

289.1 _another_ ] _not in_ Q 290  third  captain] oxford; _Capt_. Q 292 great] F; _not in_ Q 296 honours] Q2, F; honor Q1 301 have] Q2, F; of Q1

287 **desperately** in despair

289 **bootless** useless

291 **our** Albany, now head of state, assumes the royal plural.

292 **decay** ruined remains ( _OED sb_. 3b), i.e. Lear. HalioQ also adopts F 's 'great'; 'as an alternative one might suggest "dark"' ( _TC_ ).

295 **you to your** i.e. 'our intent' is that you should have

296 **boot** advantage, reward

**addition** titles, distinctions

**honours** honourable deeds (in battle)

299 **cup** painful experience ( _OED sb_ 9; biblical in origin; Shaheen, p. 620, cites examples)

**O see, see!** Something turns his attention to Lear.

300 **fool** The word was 'Used as a term of endearment or pity' ( _OED sb_. 1c) and the primary referent here must be Cordelia, but inevitably the Fool is recalled (especially if the roles are doubled). He was last seen helping to carry Lear off stage in Scene 13, and is not known to have died. Conceivably the dying Lear conflates the two characters, both dear to him, but the effect is confusing. S. Booth, in the article cited in Introduction, p. 39 n. 3, writes: 'The context that dictates that "fool" refers to Cordelia—Lear's position over her body, the pronoun "thou", her death by hanging, and the echo of two earlier cycles of grief and hope—coexists with the context provided by a play in which one character is a fool, a professional clown, who has vanished noiselessly during Act II [ _for_ III], and by a scene punctuated with six reports of off-stage deaths; moreover, the syntactic habit of the word "and" is to introduce material relatively extraneous to what precedes it. One sentence, "And my poor fool is hanged," makes—and cannot be reasoned out of making—two distinct and yet inseparable statements' (p. 129).

And thou no breath at all? O, thou wilt come no more.

Never, never, never.—Pray you, undo

This button. Thank you, sir. O, O, O, O!

EDGAR He faints. ( _To Lear_ ) My lord, my lord! 305

LEAR Break, heart, I prithee break.

EDGAR Look up, my lord.

KENT

Vex not his ghost. O, let him pass. He hates him

That would upon the rack of this tough world

Stretch him out longer.

 _Lear dies_

EDGAR O, he is gone indeed. 310

KENT

The wonder is he hath endured so long.

He but usurped his life.

ALBANY ( _to attendants_ )

Bear them from hence. Our present business

Is to general woe. ( _To Kent and Edgar_ ) Friends of my soul, you twain

Rule in this kingdom, and the gored state sustain. 315

310 _Lear dies_ ] ridley; _not in_ Q

302 **O, thou . . . more** Shaheen, p. 620, compares Job 7: 9–10: 'He that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more.'

303–4 **Pray . . . button** It is not clear to whom these words are addressed; Edgar or Kent seems most likely. Lear may be seeking relief from another attack of the _mother_ (7.224) or asking for a button on his or Cordelia's costume to be undone. L. Thomson takes _undo_ as a starting point for a discussion of this scene, '"Pray you, undo this button"; Implications of "Un-" in _King Lear_ ', _SS 45_ (1993), 79–88, and P. C. McGuire examines theatrical options and their interpretational implications in Chapter 5, 'Open Silences and the Ending(s) of _King Lear_ ', of his _Speech-less Dialect: Shakespeare_ ' _s Open Silences_ (Berkeley, 1985).

307 **Look up** perhaps 'take courage' ( _OED_ , _look, v_. 45c, all three instances from Shakespeare)

308 **ghost** spirit

309 **rack** The instrument of torture on which victims were fastened by their limbs and stretched at risk of death.

310 **longer** In both time and extent.

**_Lear dies_** Rosenberg, pp. 319–22, records a variety of ways in which actors have portrayed Lear's death.

312 **usurped** stole, clung on to (beyond the normal term)

314 **to . . . woe** An odd construction:

'directed towards the expression of general mourning'. HalioQ, following F, omits 'to'.

315 **Rule** It is not clear whether Albany is inviting Kent and Edgar to share the rule with him (perhaps as members of his council), or to resume their feudal roles.

**gored** severely wounded, bloody

KENT

I have a journey, sir, shortly to go:

My master calls, and I must not say no.

ALBANY

The weight of this sad time we must obey,

Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. 320

The oldest have borne most. We that are young

Shall never see so much, nor live so long.

_Exeunt carrying the bodies_

321.1 _Exeunt . . . bodies_ ] oxford; _Exeunt with a dead March_. F

318 **obey** submit to

319 **Speak . . . say** (as Cordelia did in the opening scene)

320 **borne** experienced, suffered

## **THE BALLAD OF KING LEAR AND HIS THREE DAUGHTERS**

A BALLAD about King Lear dating from no later than 1620 has long been known, but is ignored by the play's recent editors. It is worth reprinting here both because it reflects early interest in the story and, more importantly, may be based in part on memories of the play in performance. Ballad versions of plays, 'meant to be sung and sold in the streets', are not uncommon in the period, and specimens relating to _Titus Andronicus, The Taming of the Shrew_ , and _The Merchant of Venice_ as well as to _King Lear_ have survived. The first known appearance in print of the Lear ballad is in a volume described on its title-page as 'The Golden Garland of Princely Pleasures and Delicate Delights, wherein is contained the histories of many of the kings, queens, princes, lords, ladies, knights and gentlewomen of this kingdom. Being most pleasant songs and sonnets to sundry new tunes now most in use; the third time imprinted, enlarged and corrected by Rich[ard]. Johnson.' The volume, of which only one copy is known to survive, is dated 1620. Johnson was probably the compiler rather than the author. There is no trace of a first or second edition; equally, there is no reason to believe that they did not exist, so the ballad very probably dates from earlier than 1620. Indeed, it might well have already appeared as a broadsheet.

Richard Johnson (1573–1659?) was a prolific and popular writer, best known for his prose romance _The Seven Champions of Christendom_ (1596–7), which went on being reprinted and adapted into the nineteenth century. He had published a collection of ballads, _A Crown Garland of Golden Roses_ , in 1612; it was frequently reprinted. Although he is not known to have had any direct association with the theatre, _The Golden Garland_ contains other ballads related to plays, including 'Titus Andronicus' Complaint', which may be the one entered on the Stationers' Register along with the play in 1594, and which Bullough (who reprints it as an analogue) and Jonathan Bate (in his Arden 3 edition, p. 83) regard as a derivative from the play. A 'thirteenth edition' of _The Golden Garland_ appeared in 1690; intervening editions were presumably read to pieces.

The ballad of King Lear was anthologized in _A Collection of Old Ballads_ (3 vols., 1723–5) edited anonymously, conjecturally by Ambrose Phillips (ii. 12–17), with changes probably designed as improvements, of which the most significant is the alteration of the name 'Cordela' to 'Cordelia'. Mrs Charlotte Lennox, in her _Shakespear Illustrated_ (3 vols., 1753–4), reprints the ballad from this collection, quoting its editor as saying 'I cannot be certain directly as to the time when this ballad was written; but that it was some years before the play of Shakespeare appears from several circumstances which to mention would swell my Introduction too far beyond its usual length.' To which Mrs Lennox responds, with pardonable exasperation,

It is to be wished that this writer, since he was resolved not to exceed a certain length in his Introduction, had omitted some part of it in order to introduce those circumstances that were of infinitely more consequence than anything else he has said on the subject of that old ballad: if it was really written before Shakespeare's play, that great poet did not disdain to consult it, but has copied it more closely than either the chronicle or Sidney. From thence—for 'tis mentioned nowhere else—he took the hint of Lear's madness, and the extravagant and wanton cruelty his daughters exercised on him. The death of King Lear is also exactly copied. (iii. 301–2)

Shortly after this, Thomas Percy printed the ballad in his _Reliques of Ancient English Poetry_ (3 vols., 1765; i. 211–19) in a section containing 'ballads that illustrate Shakespeare' which also includes the ballads of 'Gernutus the Jew of Venice'—a version (regarded by Bullough as 'probably pre-Shakespearean') of the Shylock story—and of Titus Andronicus. Percy claims to print the ballad from 'an ancient copy in the "Golden Garland"' but gives no date, and seems also to have used Phillips's or, more probably, Lennox's text. In his headnote he concurs with the 'sensible female critic' Mrs Lennox that Shakespeare must have copied the ballad 'if it were certain that it was written before the tragedy' but offers no personal opinion on the subject. In the 1886 reprint (itself reprinted by Dover Books, New York, in 1966) Percy's editor, Henry B. Wheatley, offers no further relevant comment. In stating that 'The Cordella of the [old] play is softened in the ballad to Cordelia' he is misled by the change introduced by Phillips.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the ballad was extensively discussed as a possible source of the play. In the New Variorum edition of _King Lear_ (1880, repr. 1963), H. H. Furness reprints it avowedly from Percy, and discusses the question of priority, concurring with Halliwell-Phillipps that the ballad was probably written 'in consequence of the popularity of the tragedy'. The most rigorous discussion of the ballad and of the scholarship surrounding it, however, comes in Perrett, published in 1904 but written earlier, before Furness's edition appeared. Perrett convincingly argues not merely that the ballad was written after the play, but that its author 'did not read the play' but saw it performed (p. 139). There is no question that the ballad-maker also consulted another source, because he calls the King of France Aganippus, a name that does not occur in Shakespeare but is in Holinshed, whose account Perrett believed the writer consulted. Other variants, such as causing Cordela to die in battle, and reversing the relative ages of the Gonoril and Regan characters, probably arise from the need to simplify and perhaps from faulty memory.

Perrett shows touching affection for the ballad, indicating that it must have retained popular currency well into the nineteenth century:

this ballad made a lasting impression on me before I could read, so that I remember the circumstances when I first heard it. And to thousands of children it tells Cordelia's pathetic story when Shakespeare is a mere name, and conveys some inkling of a different morality from that which is inculcated by the customary materialism of a golden crown to reward the Beautiful. The writer of the ballad, it seems to me, learnt the lesson of _King Lear_ , and some credit is due for his reflection of something of that supreme calm of the final scene . . . (p. 141)

In the twentieth century, interest in the ballad dwindled, partly no doubt because it was no longer thought of as a possible source, and also, I suspect, because some authorities did not know, or give, the date of the first edition, with consequent obscuring of the fact that it must have been in existence no later than 1620, may well have been written several years before that date, and probably gives us the only eyewitness account of a performance of the play in Shakespeare's time, albeit both popularized and conflated with memories of Holinshed. So C. J. Sisson, in a passing reference: 'One need not, I think, hesitate to imagine that the writer of the ballad . . . had actually been present at the Globe before he wrote it . . .' The passages most likely to reflect performance are the description of Lear in his madness (ll. 137–44) and the account of his death over Cordela's body (ll. 169–76), in which the play, as Perrett says, 'differs utterly from all other versions' (p. 126). In later productions of the play, Lear has died in many different ways (Rosenberg, pp. 319–22). The ballad may afford a glimpse of how Burbage himself expired over the body of the boy actor playing Cordelia.

An echo in the ballad's account of Lear's madness of lines found only in the Quarto opens up the possibility that the ballad dates from before performances of the Folio revision. In the penultimate stanza, the statement that Cordela 'died indeed for love | Of her dear father, in whose cause | She did this battle move' recalls her words 'O dear father, | It is thy business that I go about' (18. 24–5). The balladeer's use of Holinshed, too, may offer a shred of evidence that the ballad was composed before the Quarto appeared: if, wishing to supplement memories of performance, he had been able to consult the Quarto he might not have felt impelled to resort to the bulky volume of _Chronicles_.

The tune, identical with that called 'Chevy Chase', is given by William Chappell, _Popular Music of the Olden Time_ (2 vols., 1855–9), pp. 198–9, who describes it as one 'to which a large number of ballads have been written'.

The ballad is reprinted here in a text modernized from a microfilm of the 1620 edition.

_A Lamentable Song of the Death of King Lear and his Three Daughters_

TO THE TUNE OF 'WHEN FLYING FAME'

King Lear once rulèd in this land

With princely power and peace,

And had all things with heart's content

That might his joys increase.

Amongst those gifts that nature gave 5

Three daughters fair had he,

So princely-seeming beautiful

As fairer could not be.

So on a time it pleased the king

A question thus to move: 10

Which of his daughters to his grace

Could show the dearest love;

'For to my age you bring content,'

Quoth he, 'then let me hear

Which of you three in plighted troth 15

The kindest will appear.'

To whom the eldest thus began:

'Dear father mine,' quoth she,

'Before your face to do you good

My blood shall tendered be. 20

And for your sake my bleeding heart

Shall here be cut in twain

Ere that I see your reverend age

The smallest grief sustain.'

'And so will I,' the second said, 25

'Dear father, for your sake

The worst of all extremities

I'll gently undertake,

And serve your highness night and day

With diligence and love, 30

That sweet content and quietness

Discomforts may remove.'

'In doing so you glad my soul,'

The agèd king replied;

'But what sayst thou, my youngest girl, 35

How is thy love allied?'

'My love,' quoth young Cordela then,

'Which to your grace I owe,

Shall be the duty of a child,

And that is all I'll show.' 40

'And wilt thou show no more,' quoth he,

'Than doth thy duty bind?

I well perceive thy love is small

Whenas no more I find.

Henceforth I banish thee my court, 45

Thou art no child of mine,

Nor any part of this my realm

By favour shall be thine.

'Thy elder sisters' loves are more

Than well I can demand, 50

To whom I equally bestow

My kingdom and my land,

My pompal state and all my goods,

That lovingly I may

With these thy sisters be maintained 55

Until my dying day.'

Thus flattering speeches won renown

By these two sisters here;

The third had causeless banishment,

Yet was her love more dear. 60

For poor Cordela patiently

Went wand'ring up and down,

Unhelped, unpitied, gentle maid,

Through many an English town,

Until at last in famous France 65

She gentler fortunes found,

Though poor and bare, yet was she deemed

44 **Whenas** seeing that

53 **pompal** splendid, showy; first rec. 1650; rare

67 **bare** destitute; defenceless

The fairest on the ground.

Where when the king her virtues heard,

And his fair lady seen, 70

With full consent of all his court

He made his wife and queen.

Her father, old King Lear, this while,

With his two daughters stayed.

Forgetful of their promised loves, 75

Full soon the same denayed,

And living in Queen Ragan's court,

The elder of the twain,

She took from him his chiefest means,

And most of all, his train. 80

For whereas twenty men were wont

To wait with bended knee,

She gave allowance but to ten,

And after scarce to three.

Nay, one she thought too much for him, 85

So took she all away,

In hope that in her court, good king,

He would no longer stay.

'Am I rewarded thus?' quoth he,

'In giving all I have 90

Unto my children, and to beg

For what I lately gave?

I'll go unto my Gonorel;

My second child, I know,

Will be more kind and pitiful 95

And will relieve my woe.'

Full fast he hies then to her court,

Where when she heard his moan,

Returned him answer that she grieved

That all his means were gone, 100

But no way could relieve his wants,

Yet if that he would stay

Within her kitchen, he should have

What scullions gave away.

When he had heard with bitter tears, 105

He made his answer then,

76 **denayed** renounced

104 **scullions** kitchen-servants, skivvies

'In what I did let me be made

Example to all men.

I will return again,' quoth he,

'Unto my Ragan's court, 110

She will not use me thus, I hope,

But in a kinder sort.'

Where when he came, she gave command

To drive him thence away.

When he was well within her court 115

She said he could not stay.

Then back again to Gonorel

The woeful king did hie,

That in her kitchen he might have

What scullion boys set by. 120

But there of that he was denied

Which she had promised late;

For one refusing he should not

Come after to her gate.

Thus twixt his daughters for relief 125

He wandered up and down,

Being glad to feed on beggars' food,

That lately wore a crown.

And calling to remembrance then

His youngest daughter's words, 130

That said the duty of a child

Had all that love affords,

But doubting to repair to her

Whom he had banished so,

Grew frantic mad, for in his mind 135

He bore the wounds of woe.

Which made him rend his milk-white locks

And tresses from his head,

And all with blood bestain his cheeks,

With age and honour spread, 140

To hills and woods and wat'ry founts

He made his hourly moan,

112 **sort** manner

123 **one** The change to 'once', first found in Phillips, may be correct.

133 **doubting** hesitating, fearing

136 Perrett compares 'I am cut to the brains' (20.181).

138 This passage recalls lines found only in the Quarto text of the play: the Gentleman's statement that Lear 'tears his white hair, | Which the impetuous blasts, with eyeless rage, | Catch in their fury and make nothing of' (8.6–8).

Till hills and woods and senseless things

Did seem to sigh and groan.

Even thus possessed with discontents 145

He passèd o'er to France,

In hope from fair Cordela there

To find some gentler chance.

Most virtuous dame, where when she heard

Of this her father's grief, 150

As duty bound, she quickly sent

Him comfort and relief.

And by a train of noble peers

In brave and gallant sort,

She gave in charge he should be brought 155

To Aganippus' court,

Her royal king, whose noble mind

So freely gave consent

To muster up his knights at arms,

To fame and courage bent. 160

And so to England came with speed

To repossess King Lear,

And drive his daughters from their thrones

By his Cordela dear.

Where she, true-hearted noble queen, 165

Was in the battle slain,

Yet he, good king, in his old days

Possessed his crown again.

But when he heard Cordela dead,

Who died indeed for love 170

Of her dear father, in whose cause

She did this battle move,

He swooning fell upon her breast,

From whence he never parted,

But on her bosom left his life, 175

That was so truly-hearted.

The lords and nobles when they saw

The end of these events,

The other sisters unto death

They doomèd by consents, 180

156 The name of the French king in Holinshed and other versions of the story.

172 **move** instigate

176 **That** i.e. Cordela

180 **doomèd . . . consents** condemned by general agreement

And being dead, their crowns were left

Unto the next of kin.

Thus have you heard the fall of pride

And disobedient sin.

[FINIS]

## **OFFSHOOTS OF _KING LEAR_**

THE Introduction mentions a few of the writings and other works of art deriving from the play. It may be helpful here to note works of reference providing additional information, and to supply a brief guide to the criticism and scholarship on the play most likely to be useful to students.

### _Bibliographies of Criticism and Scholarship_

Larry S. Champion, _King Lear: An Annotated Bibliography_ , 2 vols. (New York, 1980) covers writings from 1940 to 1978, with some earlier material. All items, which include 'books, chapters, articles, reviews, notices of stage productions of _Lear_ itself, and accounts of writers and works directly influenced by the tragedy', are summarized. The Introduction provides a valuable analysis of a wide range of criticism and scholarship.

Harmer, James L., ed., _The World Shakespeare Bibliography on CD-ROM_ (Cambridge, 1996; to be updated so that it runs from 1900 to the present)

Muir, Kenneth, ' _King Lear_ ', in _Shakespeare: A Bibliographical Guide_ , ed. S. Wells (Oxford, 1990)

Additional information may be sought in the review sections and the annual bibliographies published in _Shakespeare Quarterly_ , and in the review articles of _Shakespeare Survey_.

### _A Selective List of Scholarship and Criticism_

Barker, Harley Granville, _Preface_ to _King Lear_ (1927, revised 1935, variously reprinted)

Bickersteth, G. L., _The Golden World of_ ' _King Lear_ ' (British Academy Lecture, 1946)

Blayney, Peter W. M., _The Texts of King Lear and their Origins: Vol. 1: Nicholas Okes and the First Quarto_ (Cambridge, 1982)

Bonheim, H., _The King Lear Perplex_ (San Francisco, 1960)

Booth, Stephen, _King Lear, Macbeth, Indefinition and Tragedy_ (New Haven, 1983)

Bradley, A. C., _Shakespearean Tragedy_ (1904; often reprinted)

Brooke, Nicholas, 'The Ending of _King Lear_ ', in _Shakespeare 1564–1964_ , ed. E. A. Bloom (Providence, RI, 1964), pp. 71–87

—— _Shakespeare: King Lear_ , Arnold's Studies in English Literature, 15 (1963)

Brownlow, F. W., _Shakespeare, Harsnett, and the Devils of Denham_ (Newark, NJ, 1993)

Bullough, Geoffrey, _Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare_ , vol. vii, Major Tragedies (1975)

——' _King Lear_ and the Annesley Case', in _Festschrift Rudolf Stamm_ , ed. E. Kolb and J. Hasler (Bern and Munich, 1969), 43–50

Campbell, Lily B., _Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes_ (Cambridge, 1930)

Carroll, William C., _Fat Beggar, Lean King: Representations of Poverty in the Age of Shakespeare_ (Ithaca and London, 1996)

Cavell, Stanley, 'The Avoidance of Love', in _Must We Mean What We Say?_ (New York, 1969, repr. Cambridge, 1987), pp. 39–23

Chambers, R. W., _King Lear_ , W. P. Ker Memorial Lecture (Glasgow, 1940)

Clemen, W. H., _The Development of Shakespeare's Imagery_ (1951)

Coleridge, S. T., _Lectures on Literature 1808–19_ , ed. R. A. Foakes, in _The Collected Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge_ , vol. v. 2 vols. (Princeton, 1987)

Colie, Rosalie L., and F. T. Flahiff, eds., _Some Facets of_ ' _King Lear': Essays in Prismatic Criticism_ (Toronto and London, 1974)

Cox, Brian, _The Lear Diaries_ : _The Story of the Royal National Theatre's Productions of Shakespeare's_ ' _Richard III' and_ ' _King Lear_ ' (1992)

Danby, J. F., _Shakespeare's Doctrine of Nature_ (1949)

Danson, Lawrence, ed., _King Lear_ (Princeton, 1981; original essays by Alvin Kernan, Michael Goldman, G. E. Bentley, Theodore Weiss, Thomas McFarland, Lawrence Danson, Thomas P. Roche Jr., and Daniel Seltzer)

Dollimore, Jonathan, _Radical Tragedy: Religion, Ideology and Power in the Drama of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries_ (1984; 2nd edn., 1989)

Elton, W. R., _King Lear and the Gods_ (San Marino, 1966; repr. Lexington, Ky., 1988)

Empson, W., _The Structure of Complex Words_ (1951)

Everett, Barbara, 'The New King Lear', _Critical Quarterly_ , 2 (1960), 325–39

Foakes, R. A., _Hamlet versus Lear: Cultural Politics and Shakespeare's Art_ (Cambridge, 1993)

Fraser, Russell, _Shakespeare's Poetics in Relation to_ ' _King Lear_ ' (1962)

Frost, William, 'Shakespeare's Rituals and the Opening of _King Lear_ ', _Hudson Review_ , 10 (1958), 577–85

Gardner, Helen, _King Lear_ , John Coffin Memorial Lecture (1967)

Goldberg, S. L., _An Essay on_ ' _King Lear_ ' (Cambridge, 1974)

Goldsmith, R. H., _Wise Fools in Shakespeare_ (East Lansing, Mich., and Liverpool, 1955)

Greenblatt, Stephen, _Shakespearean Negotiations_ (Oxford, 1988)

Greenfield, Thelma, 'The Clothing Motif in _King Lear_ ', _SQ_ 5 (1954), 281–6

Greg, W. W., 'The Date of _King Lear_ and Shakespeare's Use of Earlier Versions of the Story', _The Library_ , 20 (1940), 377–400

Hawkes, Terence, _Shakespeare and the Reason_ (1964)

—— _King Lear_ , Writers and Their Work (1995)

Heilman, R. B., _This Great Stage_ (Baton Rouge, La., 1948)

Henderson, W. B. Drayton, 'Montaigne's _Apologie of Raymond Sebonde_ , and _King Lear_ ', _Shakespeare Association Bulletin_ , 14 (1939), 209–15, and 15 (1940), 40–54

Holloway, John, _The Story of the Night: Studies in Shakespeare's Major Tragedies_ (1961)

James, D. G., _The Dream of Learning: An Essay on_ ' _The Advancement of Learning_ ', ' _Hamlet_ ', _and_ ' _King Lear_ ' (Oxford, 1931)

Johnson, Samuel, _Johnson on Shakespeare_ , ed. Arthur Sherbo, 2 vols. (New Haven and London, 1968); notes on _King Lear_ , ii. 659–705; also _Samuel Johnson on Shakespeare_ , ed. Henry Woudhuysen (Harmondsworth, 1989)

Jones, Emrys, _Scenic Form in Shakespeare_ (Oxford, 1971)

Jorgensen, Paul, _Lear's Self-Discovery_ (Berkeley, 1967)

Kermode, Frank, ed., _Shakespeare:_ ' _King Lear_ ', _A Casebook_ (1969) (includes selections from early criticism along with essays and selections from books by Maynard Mack, A. C. Bradley, G. Wilson Knight, Enid Welsford, George Orwell, Robert Heilman, Terence Hawkes, Barbara Everett, John Holloway, C. J. Sisson, W. R. Elton, Northrop Frye, and Jan Kott)

Knight, G. Wilson, _The Wheel of Fire: Interpretations of Shakespearian Tragedy_ (1930; revised edn., 1949)

Kott, Jan, _Shakespeare our Contemporary_ (1964)

Kozintsev, Grigori, _King Lear: The Space of Tragedy_ (1977)

Lamb, Charles, 'On the Tragedies of Shakespeare' (1811), in e.g. Jonathan Bate, ed., _The Romantics on Shakespeare_ , New Penguin Shakespeare Library (Harmondsworth, 1992)

Leggatt, Alexander, _King Lear_ , Harvester New Critical Introductions (Hemel Hempstead, 1988)

—— _King Lear_ , Shakespeare in Performance series (Manchester, 1991)

Mack, Maynard, _King Lear in Our Time_ (Berkeley, 1965; London, 1966)

McGuire, Philip C., _Speechless Dialect: Shakespeare's Open Silences_ (Berkeley, 1985)

Marcus, Leah, _Puzzling Shakespeare: Local Reading and its Discontents_ (Berkeley, etc., 1988); reprinted in part in Ryan, _New Casebook_ , pp. 114–29

Marowitz, Charles, ' _Lear Log_ ', in _Peter Brook: A Theatrical Casebook_ , ed. David Williams (1988, revised 1991), 6–22

Mooney, Michael F., '"Edgar I nothing am": _Figurenposition_ in _King Lear_ ', _SS 38_ (1985), 153–66

Mueller, Martin, 'From Leir to Lear', _PQ_ , 73 (1994), 195–217

Muir, Kenneth, _King Lear: A Critical Study_ (Harmondsworth, 1986)

——'Samuel Harsnett and _King Lear_ ', _RES_ , NS 2 (1951), 11–21

Nowottny, Winifred, 'Lear's Questions', _SS 10_ (1957), 90–7

——'Some Aspects of the Style of _King Lear_ ', _SS 13_ (1960), 45–57

Ogden, James and Arthur H. Scouten, eds., ' _Lear' from Study to Stage: Essays in Criticism_ (Madison, 1997)

Ornstein, Robert, _The Moral Vision of Jacobean Tragedy_ (Madison, 1960)

Orwell, George, 'Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool', in _Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays_ (New York, 1945), 32–52

Perrett, Wilfrid, _The Story of King Lear from Geoffrey of Monmouth to Shakespeare_ (Berlin, 1904)

Reibetanz, John, _The_ ' _Lear' World: A Study of_ ' _King Lear' in its Dramatic Context_ (Toronto, 1977)

Rosenberg, Marvin, _The Masks of King Lear_ (Berkeley, 1982)

Ryan, Kiernan, ed., _New Casebooks: King Lear: Contemporary Critical Essays_ (1993) (includes essays and extracts from books by Arnold Kettle, Howard Felperin, Kathleen McLuskie, Leonard Tennenhouse, Kiernan Ryan, Terry Eagleton, Coppélia Kahn, Leah Marcus, Annabel Patterson, Jonathan Goldberg, and Stephen Greenblatt)

Salgādo, G., ed., _King Lear_ , Text and Performance series (1984)

Salingar, Leo, ' _King Lear_ , Montaigne and Harsnett', in his _Dramatic Form in Shakespeare and the Jacobeans_ (Cambridge, 1986), pp. 107–39

Shickman, Allan R., 'The Fool's Mirror in _King Lear_ ', _ELR_ 21 (1991), 75–86

Snyder, Susan, _The Comic Matrix of Shakespeare's Tragedies_ (Princeton, 1979)

Speaight, Robert, _Nature in Shakespearian Tragedy_ (1955)

Spurgeon, Caroline F. E., _Shakespeare's Imagery and What it Tells Us_ (Cambridge, 1935)

Stone, P. W. K., _The Textual History of_ ' _King Lear_ ' (1980)

Taylor, Gary, and Michael Warren, eds., _The Division of the Kingdoms: Shakespeare's Two Versions of_ ' _King Lear_ ' (Oxford, 1983, 1986)

Taylor, Gary, _Moment by Moment by Shakespeare_ (1985)

Thompson, Ann, _King Lear_ , The Critics Debate series (1988)

Urkowitz, Steven, _Shakespeare's Revision of_ ' _King Lear_ ' (Princeton, 1980)

Vickers, Brian, _The Artistry of Shakespeare's Prose_ (1968)

——' _King Lear_ and Renaissance Paradoxes', _MLR_ 63 (1968), 305–14

Wiles, David, _Shakespeare's Clown_ (Cambridge, 1987)

Wilson, Richard, 'A constant will to publish; Shakespeare's dead hand', in his _Will Power_ (1993), 184–237

Zimmerman, Susan, ed., _Shakespeare's Tragedies_ , New Casebooks (1998) (includes 'Perspectives: Dover Cliff and the Conditions of Representation', by Jonathan Goldberg, and 'The Ideology of Superfluous Things: _King Lear_ as Period Piece', by Margreta de Grazia)

### _Film and Television adaptations_

Rothwell, Kenneth, and Annabelle Henkin Melzer, _Shakespeare on Screen: An International Filmography_ (New York, 1990); 'a guide to the major share of films and videos based on Shakespeare's plays' from 1899 to 1989, with detailed information about each. There are 42 entries for _King Lear_.

Terris, Olwen and Luke McKernan, _Walking Shadows: Shakespeare in the National Film and Television Archive_ (1994); includes 14 items related to _King Lear_.

Rothwell, Kenneth S., _A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century of Film and Television_ (Cambridge, 1999)

### _Music_

_A Shakespeare Music Catalogue_ , by Bryan N. S. Gooch and David Thatcher, 5 vols. (Oxford, 1991), lists over five hundred items relating to _King Lear_ , including incidental music (much of it unpublished), operas, non-theatrical vocal music, and non-theatrical instrumental music. Detailed information is provided about each item. Works listed include incidental music by Milii Balakirev (1837–1910), composed 1858–61, revised 1902–5; Dimitri Shostakovitch (1906–75), Opus 58, 1941, for a production by Grigori Kozintsev, and Opus 137, 1970, for Kozintsev's film; and an unpublished score by Virgil Thomson (1896–1989), 1953, for an adaptation directed by Peter Brook with Orson Welles as Lear. The best-known opera based on the play is by Aribert Reimann (b. 1936), first performed in Munich, 1978, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Lear, recorded by Deutsche Gramophon. In addition, Ernest Bloch (1880–1959), Benjamin Britten (1913–76), Henri Duparc (1848–1933), Edward Elgar (1857–1934), Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945), possibly Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), and Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) all contemplated operas on the theme; a ballet, with music by Vincent Persichetti (1915–87), was performed by the Martha Graham Company in 1949. Probably the best-known orchestral work based on the play is the _Grande Ouverture du Roi Léar_ , Opus 4, by Hector Berlioz (1803–69) composed in 1831 and revised _c_.1840; it has been frequently recorded, and was arranged for piano by Franz Liszt (1811–86).

### _Theatre_

Avery, E. L., _et al_. (eds.), _The London Stage: A Calendar of Plays, Entertainments and Afterpieces, 1660–1800_ , 11 vols. (Carbondale, 1960–5); a comprehensive catalogue.

Hogan, C. B., _Shakespeare in the Theatre: A Record of Performances in London, 1701–1800_ (Oxford, 1952–7); partially superseded by the above, but includes detailed information about versions used, along with cast lists.

Odell, G. C. D., _Shakespeare from Betterton to Irving_ , 2 vols. (New York, 1920); a discursive account, outdated in some respects, but still useful.

Rosenberg, M., _The Masks of King Lear_ (Berkeley, 1971); an extensive critical study based on the play's theatre history.

Shattuck, C. H., _The Shakespeare Promptbooks: A Descriptive Catalogue_ (Urbana, 1965)

Trewin, J. C., _Shakespeare on the English Stage 1900–1964_ (1964); critical assessments along with lists of performance dates.

### _Visual Art_

There is no comprehensive catalogue. Artists who have produced distinguished work inspired by the play include James Barry (1741–1806); William Blake (1757–1827); Ford Madox Brown (1821–93); William Dyce (1806–64); Johann Heinrich Fuseli (1741–1825); Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–92); George Romney (1734–1802); John Runciman (1744–68); Robert Smirke (1752–1845); Peter van Bleeck (1697–1764); Benjamin West (1738–1820), and Benjamin Wilson (1721–88). Useful information and discussion is provided in works on individual artists and by:

Friedman, Winifred H., _Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery_ (New York and London, 1976)

Merchant, W. Moelwyn, _Shakespeare and the Artist_ (1959; includes information on stage designs)

Pape, Walter, and Frederick Burwick, eds., _The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery_ (Bottrop, 1996)

Pressly, William L., _A Catalogue of Paintings in the Folger Shakespeare Library_ (New Haven and London, 1993)

_Shakespeare in Western Art_ (exhibition catalogue, Tokyo, 1992)

### _Literary and Dramatic Texts_

Along with those mentioned on pp. 78–80, Foakes discusses literary, dramatic and cinematic offshoots in his Arden edition, pp. 85–9, and others are mentioned in Ruby Cohn's _Modern Shakespeare Offshoots_ (Princeton, 1976).

The final section (ii. 309–60) of Larry Champion's _Annotated Bibliography_ (listed above) is devoted to 'Adaptations, Influence, and Synopses'.

## **ALTERATIONS TO LINEATION**

QI OFTEN sets manifest verse as prose, and sometimes prose as verse. From the printing of Q2 onwards, editors have attempted to regularize the typographical distinction between the two media. It is, however, often difficult to tell which was intended by either the compositors or the author. Inevitably, therefore, any attempt to introduce regularity is governed by personal judgement, and readers seriously concerned with the topic would be well advised to consult facsimiles of the early editions.

The following list aims to record all changes from the lineation of Q1 (referred to here as Q except when Q1 is needed to distinguish it from Q2). Some of these changes were first made in Q2, and many in F, but the issue is complicated by the many verbal differences in F. An attempt has been made to attribute other changes to the edition in which they first appeared.

Quotations to the left of the square bracket are from this edition; words quoted to the right of the bracket are modernized from the text quoted; an upright line (|) indicates a line ending.

**1.** 62–3 | Sir . . . is] RIDLEY; _1 line_ Q

---|---

65–7 | I find . . . joys] F; _2 lines_ Q: short |

69–70 | And . . . love] F; _1 line_ Q

70–2 | Then . . . tongue] F; _2 lines_ Q: sure |

82–4 | Unhappy . . . less] F; _prose_ Q

90–4 | Why . . . sisters] F; all | hand | him | never | Q

135–8 | Let . . . speak] F; _5 lines_ Q: rather | heart | mad | duty |

139 | When . . . bound] _2 lines_ QF: bows |

140–2 | When . . . judgement] F; _4 lines_ Q: folly | consideration | life |

178–82 | My . . . love] F; _4 lines_ Q: you | daughter | present |

182–4 | Royal . . . less] F; _2 lines_ Q: what |

184–8 | Right . . . pieced] F; _4 lines_ Q: us | fallen | little |

194–5 | Pardon . . . conditions] F; up | Q

207–9 | So . . . degree] F; _2 lines_ Q: favour |

224–5 | Go . . . better] OXFORD; born | Q

227–30 | That often . . . stands] F; _3 lines_ Q: do | lady |

232–5 | Royal . . . Burgundy] F; _3 lines_ Q: portion | Cordelia |

252–4 | Thou . . . see] F; thine | Q

255–6 | Without . . . Burgundy] F; _1 line_ Q

257–60 | The . . . father] F; our father | are | faults | Q

266–8 | Let . . . scanted] F; lord | alms | Q

273–5 | Sister . . . tonight] CAPELL; _verse_ QF: say | both |

**2.** 1–8 | Thou . . . true] F; _prose_ Q

9–10 | As . . . bastardy] BLAYNEY; _prose_ Q

11–12 | Who . . . Quality] F; _prose_ Q

13–14 | Than . . . fops] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

15–17 | Got . . . Edmund] F; _prose_ Q

18–21 | As . . . bastards] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

22–5 | Kent . . . news] F; _prose_ Q

**3**.1–2 | Did . . . fool] OXFORD; _prose_ QF

3–4 | By . . . other] F; me | Q

12–15 | Put . . . one] F; _prose_ Q

16–20 | Not . . . abused] THEOBALD; _prose_ Q

21 | Remember . . . you] F; _prose_ Q

22–3 | And . . . so] CAPELL; _prose_ QF

24–6 | I . . . dinner] HANMER; _prose_ QF

**4.** 1–5 | If . . . condemned] F; _prose_ Q

6 | Thy . . . labour] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

112–21 | Have . . . score] F; _prose_ Q

133–40 | That . . . there] CAPELL; _4 lines_ Q: land | stand | appear |

166 | Then . . . weep] THEOBALD; prose QF

167–9 | And . . . among] F; _prose_ Q

188–9 | Mum . . . crumb] CAMBRIDGE; _1 line_ QF

190–1 | Weary . . . peascod] CAPELL; _1 line_ QF

192–4 | Not . . . forth] F; _prose_ Q

195–6 | In . . . you] OXFORD; _prose_ Q; Sir | F

197–205 | To . . . proceedings] F; _prose_ Q

207–8 | The hedge-sparrow . . . young] _prose_ QF

211–14 | Come . . . are] F; _prose_ Q

217–19 | Doth . . . discernings] F ( _4 lines, dividing l_ . 217 _at_ ' _me_ '); _prose_ Q; 5 _lines_ BLAYNEY: me | walk | speak thus | notion |

220–1 | Are . . . so] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

222 | Who . . . am] F; _prose_ Q

223–5 | Lear's . . . daughters] POPE; _prose_ Q

227 | Come, sir] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

228–34 | This . . . manners] F; _prose_ Q

235–6 | Shows . . . brothel] BLAYNEY; _prose_ Q; lust | F

247–8 | You . . . betters] F ( _prose_?); _prose_ Q

249–52 | We . . . child] F ( _subs_.); _prose_ Q

253 | Than . . . liest] BLAYNEY; _prose_ Q

254–63 | My train . . . people] F; _prose_ Q

265–7 | It . . . fruitful] BLAYNEY; _prose_ Q; _4 lines_ F: lord | goddess [ hear] | intend |

268–77 | Into . . . feel] F; _prose_ Q

278 | That she may feel] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

279–80 | How . . . people] F; _prose_ Q

282–4 | Never . . . it] F; _prose_ Q

285–6 | What . . . fortnight] F; _prose_ Q

287 | I'll . . . ashamed] ROWE; _prose_ Q; _2 lines_ F: thee |

288–9 | That . . . perforce] F; _prose_ Q

290 | And . . . upon thee] ROWE; _prose_ Q; _2 lines_ F: | blasts

291–4 | Untented . . . make] F; _prose_ Q

295–6 | To . . . this] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

296–301 | Yet . . . ever] F; _prose_ Q

302–4 | Do . . . you—] F; _prose_ Q

304–5 | Come . . . master] BLAYNEY; _prose_ Q

308–12 | A . . . after] F; _prose_ Q

317–25 | Take . . . mildness] F; _prose_ Q

326–7 | How . . . well] F; _prose_ Q

328–9 | Nay . . . event] F; _1 type-line_ Q

**5.** 30–1 | I . . . ready] OXFORD; _prose_ QF

42–5 | O . . . ready] OXFORD; _prose_ QF

**6.** 14–27 | The Duke . . . you—] F; _prose_ Q

28–9 | I . . . you] F; _prose_ Q

30 | Seem . . . well] CAPELL; _prose_ Q; _2 lines_ F: [Draw,] seem . . . yourself |

31–3 | Yield . . . opinion] F; _prose_ Q

34–6 | Of . . . help] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

37–9 | Here . . . mistress] F; _prose_ Q

39 | GLOUCESTER But . . . he] F; _same type-line as the end of the preceding speech_ Q

43–54 | Persuade . . . made] F; _prose_ Q

56 | But . . . fled] F; _prose_ Q

56–63 | Let . . . death] F; _prose_ Q

64–77 | When . . . it] F; _prose_ Q

77–85 | Strong . . . capable] F; _prose_ Q

86–7 | How . . . news] F; _prose_ Q

88–9 | If . . . lord] F; _prose_ Q

91–2 | What . . . Edgar] F; _prose_ Q

94–5 | Was . . . father] F; _prose_ Q

103–4 | That . . . there] F; _1 line_ Q

104–6 | Nor . . . office] F; _prose_ Q

110–16 | If . . . on] F; _prose_ Q

116–17 | I . . . else] JENNENS; _1 line_ QF

126–8 | Lay . . . use] F; _2 lines_ Q: counsel |

129–30 | I . . . welcome] F; _1 line_ Q

**7.** 2–3 | KENT . . . horses] F; _1 type-line_ Q

4–5 | KENT . . . tell me] F; _1 type-line_ Q

6–7 | KENT . . . for thee] F; _1 type-line_ Q

39 | OSWALD . . . murder, help] F; _on the same type-line as the end of the preceding speech_ Q

70–1 | That . . . twain] OXFORD; these | QF

77–9 | Knowing . . . fool] Q2, F; _2 lines_ Q1: epileptic |

84–5 | Why . . . offence] F; _1 line_ Q

90–9 | This . . . nicely] F; _9 lines_ Q: praised | roughness | nature | plain | so | know | craft | silly-ducking |

109–11 | I . . . misconstruction] F; _2 lines_ Q: master |

118–19 | None . . . fool] F; _1 line_ Q

121–3 | I . . . you] F; _2 lines_ Q: me |

126–7 | Fetch . . . noon] F; honour | Q

129–30 | Why . . . so] F; _prose_ Q

136–8 | Is . . . with] POPE; _2 lines_ Q: pilf' rings|

138–40 | The King . . . restrained] F; _2 lines_ Q: valued |

188–90 | As . . . remove] F; _2 lines_ Q: was |

192–5 | Ha . . . nether-stocks] F; _verse_ Q: garters | bears | men | at legs |

196–7 | What's . . . here] ROWE; _prose_ Q

197–8 | It . . . daughter] F; _1 line_ Q

198 | LEAR No . . . Yes] OXFORD; _1 type-line_ Q

198–9 | LEAR No, I . . . yea] OXFORD; _1 type-line_ Q

199 | LEAR No, no . . . have] OXFORD; _1 type-line_ Q

214–15 | Commanded . . . looks] F; leisure | Q

256–9 | My . . . course] F; _prose_ Q

259 | Vengeance . . . confusion] F; _prose_ Q

260–1 | What . . . wife] OXFORD; _prose_ Q; Gloucester, Gloucester | F

267–70 | Infirmity . . . forbear] F; _3 lines_ Q: health | oppressed |

272–3 | To . . . man] F; _1 line_ Q

273–4 | Death . . . here] OXFORD; _1 line_ Q

274–5 | This . . . her] F; _1 line_ Q

280–1 | I . . . you] OXFORD; _1 line_ QF

304–8 | Nature . . . return] F; _4 lines_ Q: confine | discretion | yourself |

319–21 | All . . . lameness] F; _2 lines_ Q: top|

325–6 | O . . . mood] F; me | Q

328–32 | Thy . . . train] F; _3 lines_ Q: o'er | burn |

347–9 | If you . . . part] F; Allow | cause | Q

369–70 | Why . . . brought] F; dowerless | Q

381–2 | A . . . thee] F; my | Q

388–91 | Not . . . passion] F; yet | welcome | those | Q

441–2 | No . . . flaws] JENNENS; _2 lines_ QF: weeping |

447–8 | 'Tis . . . folly] OXFORD; rest | QF

457–8 | Do . . . bush] F; _1 line_ Q

**8.** 1–2 | One . . . unquietly] OXFORD; _1 line_ QF

22–6 | Into . . . far] POPE; _4 lines_ Q: negligence | ports | banner |

32–3 | And . . . you] JOHNSON; assurance | Q

42–3 | Give . . . say] F; _1 line_ Q

43–4 | Few . . . King] OXFORD; yet | QF

45–6 | I'll . . . other] OXFORD; lights | Q; him | F

**9.** 2–9 | You . . . man] F; drenched | and | to | head | flat | nature's | make | Q

10–13 | O . . . fool] F; _verse_ Q: house | door | blessing|

18–24 | You . . . foul] F; _6 lines_ Q: pleasure | and | servile | joined | white |

25–36 | He . . . glass] CAPELL; _prose_ Q

42–9 | Alas . . . force] F; _9 lines_ Q: here | these | of the | caves | fire | groans of | remember | carry |

49–56 | Let . . . covert] F; _7 lines_ Q: dreadful | now | thee | justice | and | incestuous |

56–8 | and . . . guilts] OXFORD; _2 lines_ Q: life |; _2 lines_ F: seeming |

61–8 | Alack . . . courtesy] F; _prose_ Q

71–3 | The . . . heart] F; can | Poor | Q

75–8 | He . . . day] F; _prose_ Q

**10.** 8–19 | Go . . . careful] F; _verse_ Q: Dukes | received | spoken | injuries | home | landed | and | talk | him | gone | me | is |

20–4 | This . . . fall] F; _4 lines_ Q: know | deserving | less |

**11.** 1–3 | Here . . . endure] F; _prose_ Q

3–4 | LEAR Let . . . enter] CRAIG; _1 type-line_ Q

18–21 | In . . . that] F; this | father | lies | Q

43–4 | Hast . . . this] OXFORD; _prose_ QF

67–8 | Judicious . . . daughters] F; flesh | Q

107–11 | Swithin . . . witch, aroint thee] CAPELL; _prose_ Q

123 | Horse . . . wear] F; _prose_ Q

129–30 | The Prince . . . Mahu] OXFORD; _prose_ QF

131–2 | Our . . . gets it] POPE; _prose_ QF

133–8 | Go . . . ready] F; _prose_ Q

140–2 | My . . . house] OXFORD; _1 line_ Q

142–3 | I'll . . . study] F; _prose_ Q

146–7 | Importune . . . unsettle] F; _1 line_ Q

155–6 | The . . . grace] F; wits | Q

156–7 | O . . . company] F; _1 line_ Q

159–60 | With . . . philosopher] F; _1 line_ Q

**13.** 11–12 | A king, a . . . them] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

21 | Come . . . me] CAPELL ; _prose_ Q

22–3 | Her . . . speak] CAPELL; _1 line_ Q

25–7 | The foul . . . herring] Q2; _verse_ Q1: nightingale |

27–8 | Croak . . . thee] _1 verse line_ Q; _not in_ F

29–30 | How . . . cushions] THEOBALD; _prose_ Q

31–5 | I'll . . . too] POPE; _prose_ Q

37–40 | Sleepest . . . harm] THEOBALD; _prose_ Q

58–9 | Tom . . . curs] F ( _ambiguously verse or prose)_ ; _1 verse line_ Q

60–5 | Be . . . wail] F ('Curres, be'); _3 lines_ Q: bite | him |

66–9 | For . . . dry] F; _prose_ Q ( _though_ 'For' _is capitalized at the beginning of the line, after a comma_ )

70–5 | Then . . . changed] F; _verse_ Q: her | hardness | hundred | say|

83–5 | There . . . master] F; _2 lines_ Q: friend |

86–9 | If . . . provision] F; _3 lines_ Q: thine | loss |

92–4 | Which . . . behind] THEOBALD; _2 lines_ Q: cure |

95–6 | When . . . foes] Q2; _prose_ Q1

**14.** 1–3 | Post . . . Gloucester] BLAYNEY; _2 lines_ Q: letter | ; _prose_ f

4–5 | Leave . . . company] BLAYNEY; _1 line_ Q1; _prose_ Q2, F

6–9 | The . . . like] Q2; _verse_ Q1: father | going |

9–10 | Our . . . us] _prose_ F; _1 verse line_ Q

14–18 | Some . . . friends] F; _prose_ Q ( _though_ 'Some' _is capitalized at the beginning of a line, after a comma_ )

25–6 | Shall . . . traitor] F ( _setting_ 'Who's . . . traitor?' on a separate line, _after the direction_ ; blame | Q

33–4 | By . . . beard] F; _prose_ Q

35 | REGAN . . . traitor] _same type-line as the end of the preceding speech_ Q

36–7 | Naughty . . . chin] F; _1 line_ Q

43–4 | And . . . kingdom] ROWE; _prose_ QF

44–5 | To . . . Speak] F; _prose_ Q

49 | CORNWALL . . . Dover] FURNESS; _1 type-line_ Q

72–3 | But . . . hold] F; _1 line_ Q

74–5 | If . . . mean] F; _prose_ Q

79–80 | O . . . O] F; _prose_ Q

84–5 | Edmund . . . act] F; _1 line_ Q

85–8 | Out . . . thee] F; _prose_ Q

91–2 | Go . . . you] F ( _setting_ 'How . . . you?' _on a separate line after the direction_ ); _prose_ Q

94–6 | Turn . . . arm] F; upon | untimely | Q

98–100 | If she . . . monsters] THEOBALD; _prose_ Q

104–5 | Go . . . him] THEOBALD; _prose_ Q

**15.** 9–11 | O . . . fourscore] JOHNSON; _prose_ Q

36–8 | How . . . master] F; _prose_ Q

54–6 | Both . . . fiend] F; _3 verse lines_ Q: footpath | wits |

56–61 | Five . . . master] POPE; _6 verse lines_ Q: once | dumbness | Flibbertigibbet of | chambermaids |

63–4 | Have . . . still] F; thee | Q

75–6 | With . . . need] F; me | Q

77–8 | Give . . . thee] F; _1 line_ Q

**16.** 3–11 | Madam . . . offensive] F; _prose_ Q

26–7 | My . . . due] F; _1 line_ Q

29–30 | O . . . wind] F; _1 line_ Q

46–7 | Send . . . come] MALONE; _1 line_ Q

48–9 | Humanity . . . deep] POPE; _1 line_ Q

51–2 | Who . . . know'st] F; _2 lines_ Q: honour |

52–5 | that . . . land] THEOBALD; _3 lines_ Q: pity| mischief |

58–60 | See . . . woman] F; _prose_ Q

69–71 | O . . . Gloucester] F; _prose_ Q

77–80 | This . . . eye] F; _3 lines_ Q: justicers | venge |

80–1 | Both . . . answer] F; _1 line_ Q

85–6 | Upon . . . answer] F; took | Q

93–4 | Gloucester . . . King] F; _1 line_ Q

**17.** 3–7 | Something . . . necessary] STEEVENS; _prose_ Q ( _but reading_ 'So' _after a comma, at the beginning of a type-line_ )

14–16 | Her . . . o'er her] POPE; _2 lines_ Q: passion |

33–4 | It . . . conditions] THEOBALD; _1 line_ Q

41–2 | What . . . daughter] POPE; _1 line_ Q

46–8 | To . . . Cordelia] JOHNSON; _2 lines_ Q: mind |

55–6 | Lending . . . me] JENNENS; _1 line_ Q

**18.** 9–10 | In . . . him] OXFORD; _1 line_ QF

16–17 | All . . . earth] F; _1 line_ Q

21–2 | News . . . hitherward] F; _1 line_ Q

25–6 | It . . . France] JOHNSON; _1 line_ Q

**19**.2–3 | Madam . . . soldier] F; _1 line_ Q

12–14 | In . . . army] F; _2 lines_ Q: life |

12–13 | In . . . life] BLAYNEY; _1 line_ Q. F _treats_ 'His . . . descry' _as one line_

17–18 | I . . . business] F; _prose_ Q

35–6 | I . . . farewell] F; _1 line_ Q

**20.** 3–4 | Horrible . . . sea] F; _1 line_ Q

33–4 | Why . . . it] F; _1 line_ Q

41–8 | Gone . . . sir]F; _prose_ Q

81–2 | The . . . thus] F; _1 line_ Q

83–4 | No . . . himself ] _prose_ Q2, F; _1 verse line_ Q1; _2 verse lines_ BLAYNEY: I |

104–5 | The . . . King] F; _prose_ Q

105–9 | Ay . . . fly] F; _prose_ Q

110–12 | Does . . . daughters] _prose_ Q; thrive | father | F

113–14 | Got . . . dame] _prose_ Q; _3 lines_ F: sheets | soldiers |

115–27 | Whose . . . thee] CAPELL; _prose_ QF

129 | O . . . world] F; _prose_ Q

130 | Should . . . me] _prose_ Q; _2 lines_ F: naught |

133–4 | No . . . of't] MUIR; _prose_ QF

136–7 | I . . . it] _prose_ Q; report | F

137–9 | And . . . eyes] Q, _which sets Edgar_ ' _s speech as prose, sets_ 'breaks . . . case' _on one type-line_ .

154–7 | Thou . . . cozener] POPE; _prose_ QF

158–60 | Through . . . seem] ROWE; _prose_ QF

161–2 | To . . . So] CAPELL; _prose_ QF

163–4 | O . . . madness] F; _1 line_ Q

165–9 | If . . . me] F; _prose_ Q

171–3 | When . . . shoe] F; _prose_ Q

174–5 | A . . . kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill] OXFORD; _prose_ Q; F _adds_ 'I'll put't in proof' _after_ 'felt', _and divides after_ 'proof' _and_ 'son-in-laws'

176–7 | O . . . dear] F; _1 line_ Q

178–81 | No . . . brains] F; _prose_ Q

183–4 | No . . . salt] F; _prose_ Q

185 | To . . . water-pots] JENNENS; _prose_ Q

187–9 | I . . . that] OXFORD; _prose_ Q; what | king | POPE

193–6 | A . . . to] F; _prose_ Q

202–3 | But . . . army] F; _1 line_ Q

216–18 | Hearty . . . boot] F; _prose_ Q ( _though_ Qb _divides after_ 'heaven')

218–22 | A . . . thee] F; _prose_ Q

222–3 | Now . . . to't] F; _1 line_ Q

223–6 | Wherefore . . . arm] F; _prose_ Q

241–2 | To . . . death! Death] F; upon | Q

244–5 | As . . . desire] Q2, F; _1 line_ Q

247–51 | Sit . . . not] F; _4 lines_ Q: pockets | friends | deathsman |

276–7 | Give . . . drum] Q2, F; _1 line_ Q1

**21.** 1–2 | O . . . goodness] Q2; _1 line_ Q1

6–8 | Be . . . off ] Q2, F; _2 lines_ Q1: those |

11–12 | Then . . . King] F; _1 line_ Q

12–13 | O . . . nature] Q2, F; _1 line_ Q1

15–16 | So . . . long] F; king | Q

24–6 | O . . . sisters] F; _2 lines_ Q: lips |

54–5 | I feel . . . condition] F; _1 line_ Q

55–7 | O . . . kneel] Q2, F; _prose_ Q1

76–7 | Be . . . in him] F; _prose_ Q

77–80 | and yet . . . settling] THEOBALD; _prose_ Q

82–4 | You . . . foolish] OXFORD; Q1 _divides after_ 'forgive' ( _it is unclear whether verse or prose is intended)_ ; Q2 _and_ F _divide after_ 'me' _and_ 'forgive'.

84–5 | Holds . . . slain] OXFORD; _1 line_ Q

86–7 | As . . . Gloucester] CAPELL; _1 line_ Q

87–9 | They . . . Germany] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

89–91 | Report . . . apace] OXFORD; _2 lines_ Q: about|

91–2 | The . . . sir] OXFORD; _1 line_ Q

**22.** 13–15 | I . . . hers] OXFORD; _prose_ Q1; _2 lines_ Q2: conjunct |

16–17 | I . . . her] F; _1 line_ Q

18–19 | Fear . . . husband] CAPELL; _1 line_ QF

20–1 | I . . . me] THEOBALD; _prose_ Q

34–5 | Let . . . proceedings] F; _prose_ Q1; determine | Q2

35–6 | EDMUND . . . tent] OXFORD; _same type-line as the end of the preceding speech_ Q

50–2 | I . . . again] Q2, F; _prose_ Q1

57–8 | By . . . you] F; _1 line_ Q

60–2 | Each . . . enjoyed] F; _2 lines_ Q: adder |

**23.** 3–4 | If . . . comfort] Q2, F; _1 line_ Q1

**24.** 3–5 | We . . . down] Q2, F; _2 lines_ Q1: incurred |

37–8 | I . . . do't] OXFORD; oats | Q

45–6 | To . . . guard] Q2; _1 line_ Q1

51–3 | My . . . session] F; tomorrow | hold | Q

53–6 | At . . . sharpness] THEOBALD; _3 lines_ Q: bleed | quarrels |

59–60 | I . . . brother] F; _1 line_ Q

65–6 | Not . . . himself ] F; _prose_ Q

67–8 | In . . . best] F; _1 line_ Q

70–1 | Holla . . . asquint] F; _1 line_ Q

103–4 | All . . . discharge] F; _1 line_ Q

116–18 | What . . . summons] F; _2 lines_ Q: Quality |

119 | By . . . canker-bit] Q2, F; _2 lines_ Q: tooth |

120–1 | Yet . . . withal] F; move't | Q

124–5 | That . . . mine] F; arm | Q

136–8 | This . . . liest] F; _2 lines_ Q: spirits |

147–50 | This . . . beguiled] F; _3 lines_ Q: arms | opposite |

150–3 | Stop . . . know't] F; _prose_ Q

154–5 | Say . . . for't] F; _1 line_ Q

155–6 | Most . . . paper] CAPELL; _1 line_ QF

167–9 | Make . . . eyes] F; _2 lines_ Q: vicious |

169–70 | Thou . . . here] Q2, F; _prose_ Q1

173–4 | Let . . . father] OXFORD; _1 line_ Q

178–86 | By . . . rings] F; lord | told | proclamation | near | death | once | rags | disdained | Q

200–1 | For . . . this] Q2, F; _1 line_ Q1

201–4 | This . . . extremity] THEOBALD; _3 lines_ Q: such | much |

218–19 | What kind . . . knife] F; _1 line_ Q

219–20 | It's . . . of ] STEEVENS; _1 line_ Q

230–1 | I . . . night] F; _1 line_ Q

249–50 | To . . . despair] F; lay | Q

271–3 | Did . . . now] F; day | would | Q

290–6 | That's . . . honours] F; _prose_ Q ( _but capitalizing_ 'Know' _at the beginning of its second prose line_ )

297–8 | Have . . . foes] POPE; _prose_ Q

299 | The . . . see, see] F; _prose_ Q

300–2 | And . . . more] F; _prose_ Q

303–4 | Never . . . O, O, O, O] OXFORD; _prose_ Q

308–10 | Vex . . . longer] F; pass | rack | Q

313–15 | Bear . . . sustain] QF; _4 lines_ OXFORD _conj_ .: hence | woe | kingdom |

## INDEX

This is a selective guide to words and expressions annotated and to names in the Introduction and 'The Ballad of King Lear'. Asterisks identify entries that supplement the information given in the _Oxford English Dictionary_.

a good 7.150

a lo . . . lo 11.69

abated 7.316

abatement 4.56

abdication, full of 22.3

abuse me 21.75

abused 14.89; 21.51

abusèd 15.20

abuses 22.12

accommodate 20.81

acknow 1.217

act of darkness 11.78

action-taking 7.15–16

Addison, Joseph p. 63

addition 1.127; 7.22; 24.296

adieu 1.175

admiration 4.228

adulterers 2.116

adultery 20.108

advancement 7.357

advise you 6.27

affected 1.1, 6.98

age, at perfect 2.71

ague-proof 20.103

a-height 20.58

aidant 18.18

Ajax . . . fool 7.119

Albany, Duke of 1.33.2

a-length 20.53

allegiance, on thy 1.156

all-licensed 4.192

all o'er-read 2.37

Allen, Woody p. 77

allowance 4.200

allowance . . . aspect 7.101

allows . . . anything 14.103

altogether fool 4.144

anatomize 13.70

anchoring 20.18

ancient love 15.42

angel, black 13.27

anger . . . privilege 7.67

*ang'ring 15.38

Annesley, Sir Brian p. 30

anointed 14.56

anon 2.159

answer 3.10; 7.140; 11.91

answer . . . judgement 1.142

answered 1.44

answerer 14.42

Antoine, André p. 71

apace 14.95

Apollo 1.150

apothecary 20.125

apprehend 2.76–7

approve 1.173; 7.153; 340; 12.9–10

arbitrament 21.91

arch 6.59

are as the time is 24.31

argument 1.204

arguments, ear-bussing 6.8

Armin, Robert pp. 39–40

aroint thee 11.111

arraign me 24.155

arraign them straight 13.16

array, proud 11.73

arrayed 21.18

art 8.17, 9.71, 20.214–5

_As You Like It_ pp. 11, 12, 15, 35, 40

Ashcroft, Dame Peggy p. 73

Ashe, G. p. 14

asquint 24.71

assay 2.44

asses 5.32

assurance 8.32

assurance, auricular 2.89–90

Astington, J. p. 5

astronomical, sectary 2.140

at a clap 4.285

at . . . banner 8.24–5

at peril 14.50

at suit of 7.60

Athenian 11.164

attaint, in thine 24.81

attasked 4.324

attempting 7.116

attend 1.34

attend dispatch 6.125

attend my taking 7.170

attend . . . presently 22.35–6

authorities 3.17

avouch it 7.394

avouchèd 22.46

balmed 13.91

Balzac, Honoré de p. 80

bandy looks 4.79

bans 7.184

barber-monger 7.30

bare _Ballad_ 67

Barker, Harley Granville pp. 7, 46, 48, 71–4, 77

barque 20.18

Barry, James p. 1

Barry, Spranger p. 64

Bate, Henry p. 64

Bate, Jonathan pp. 2, 32, 277

baton 20.233

battle 9.23

beacon 7.156

beadle 20.154

Beale, Simon Russell p. 25

bear question 24.33

bearing 13.100

bear'st . . . wrongs 16.50

Beckett, Samuel pp. 51, 55, 74

becomes the house 7.310

Bedlam 2.126–7; 7.179; 14.101

beget . . . endeavour 6.33–4

begot . . . bred 1.87

beguile 20.63

belike 19.20

Bell, John p. 61

bemadding 8.29

bemet 22.22

bemonster 16.62

bench 13.34

bending 15.71; 16.73–4

benediction 21.56

benefacted 16.44

benison 1.255; 20.217

Berenger, Richard p. 64

Bergman, Ingmar p. 77

Berry, Ralph pp. 35, 72

beseech 1.199

besort 4.242

bespoke 24.87

bestow 20.278

bestowed 7.447

Bethell, S. L. p. 35

bethought 7.171

betray . . . practice 6.107

better aught 4.327

better, best 6.14

Betterton, Thomas p. 62

beweep 4.293

beyond . . . much 1.55

_Bible, The_ pp. 29, 87

biblical parallels 1.82–3, 89, 240, 271; 2.104–7; 4.13, 279, 292–4; 7.233–4; 8.4–5; 11.71–3; 13.74; 15.32; 16.34–6, 36, 50, 77–9; 18.24–5; 20.73–4, 85, 97–8, 108, 167–9; 21.37–8; 24.20, 23, 24, 299, 302

biding 20.216

bids . . . all 8.14

big 24.205

biggin threats, flaxen 16.56

bills, brown 20.90–1

Billy, Himbert de p. 13

Binns, J. H. p. 17

birds i'th' cage 24.9

Birkett, Michael (Lord) p. 78

bites my back 13.13

blame 7.447

blank 1.150

blanket 7.175; 11.58

Blayney, P. W. M. pp. 81, 83, 86

Bleeck, Peter van p. 1

bless 11.52

bless . . . master 15.38

bless thy five wits 11.51

bliss 21.44

block 20.172

blood 12.21; 20.156

blood, corrupted 7.382

bloody 20.154

blot, vicious 1.218

blow . . . cocks! 9.1–3

blown 18.28

bluntness 7.91

bold 4.233

bold . . . rights 6.53

bold's . . . fear 22.28

Bond, Edward p. 79

bond 1.84

bones, young 7.320

boon, I make it my 21.10

Boose, L. p. 77

boot 20.218; 24.296

Booth, Edwin p. 69

Booth, S. p. 39

bootless 24.289

bordered 16.33

borne 24.320

bosom, of her 19.26

bosomed . . . her 22.14

bosoms, professèd 1.261

Bottomley, Gordon p. 79

bound . . . fire 21.44–5

bourn 20.57

bowed 14.57

brach 13.63

Bradley, A. C. pp. 2, 59, 71, 72

Bradley, David (actor) p. 44

Bradley, David (scholar) pp. 38, 43

brains . . . heels 5.7

brand 24.22

Bratton, J. S. p. 72

bravely 20.187

brazed 1.10

breach 21.13

breath . . . lawyer 4.123

bred 16.72

breed . . . speak 3.24–5

breeding 1.8

bring . . . fire 7.74

Brook, Peter pp. 74–5, 76, 78

Brooke, Frances pp. 63–4

brother 16.15

brother's 22.10

Brownlow, F. W. pp. 29, 87

Bullen, A. H. p. 60

Bullough, Geoffrey pp. 11–12, 19, 20, 27, 30, 277, 278

buoyed 14.58

Burbage, Richard pp. 38, 56, 279

burdocks 18.4

Burgtheater (Vienna) p. 69

Burgundy, Duke of 1.41

Burnett, Mark Thornton p. 25

Burt, R. p. 77

bush 23.1

business 1.39

Butler, F. G. p. 13

Butter, Nathaniel p. 81

buttered . . . hay 7.286

butterflies 24.13

cadent 4.275

'cagion 20.227

caitiff 6.62, 9.55

call 7.383; 24.97

Camelot 7.81

canker-bit 24.119

capable 6.85

carbonado 7.34

carbuncle 7.381

Carlson, Marvin p. 70

carp 4.194

carry 9.48

carry . . . bears 1.293

carry . . . issue 4.3

carry it so 24.36

case 5.29, 20.141–2

case of eyes 20.139

casement . . . closet 2.59–60

Casson, Sir Lewis p. 73

casualties, foreign 17.45

cat . . . perfume 11.95

cataracts and hurricanoes 9.2

catastrophe of the old comedy 2.125

catch cold 4.95–6

cause 17.52; 20.107

cause, on special 20.206

cease 8.6

censured 12.2

centaurs 20.120

centuries send forth 18.6

challenge 1.47

challenged . . . of 21.29

chambermaids . . . waiting women 15.60

Chambers, Sir E. K. p. 14

change arms 16.17

Chapman, George p. 13

Chappell, William p. 280

character 2.61; 6.72

charge, at my 1.8

charge . . . danger 7.396

charged my duty 19.18

'che vor' 20.232

check 7.135

Chester, Allan G. p. 277

child-changèd 21.15

childed . . . fathered 13.103

childhood 7.335

'chill . . . teeth 20.236

choice 4.254

choler 2.22

Chothia, Jean p. 71

choughs 20.13

Cibber, Susanna p. 1

Cibber, Theophilus p. 64

civet 20.125

clamour 17.32; 24.205

clearest 20.73

close pent-up 9.58

closet 10.11

clotpoll 4.44

clovest . . . middle 4.152–3

cock 9.3, 20.19

cock, first 11.104

cockney 7.282

codpiece 9.27

Cohn, Albert p. 56

coining 20.83

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor pp. 2, 32

Colie, Rosalie L. pp. 29, 51

Colman, George p. 64

come in question 3.13

come your ways 7.35

_Comedy of Errors, The_ pp. 14, 47

comfortable 4.297; 7.157

comforting 12.18

commend 7.206

commend . . . thing 8.18

commission, o'th' 13.34

commission . . . place 24.63

commit 11.72

compact 2.7; 4.320

compeers 24.68

compliment 1.291; 24.229

composition 7.19

compounded 2.120

con 5.15

conceive 1.11; 16.24

conception 4.62

conduct 16.16

conductor 21.86

confine 2.24; 7.305

confirming 1.40

conjunct 7.112; 22.14

conjuring 6.38

conspirant 24.132

constrains 7.92

consummation 20.124

contemnèd 7.136

contemns it origin 16.32

contentious 11.6

convenient 19.31; 22.38

converse 4.13

convey 2.99

cope withal 24.121

Cordelia 1.33.3

_Coriolanus_ p. 49

corky 14.27

Cornwall, Duke of 1.33.2

coronet 1.33.1

correction, low 7.135

costard 20.233

couch 8.11

countenance 4.25; 22.67

course 4.322; 11.50

court holy water 9.10

Covent Garden pp. 64, 69

covered with 1.193

cowish 16.12

coxcomb 4.90; 7.283–4

cozened and beguiled 24.150

crab 5.14

craft 7.97

Craig, W. J. p. 59

craves the instant use 6.128

creaking . . . silks 11.85

creating 2.14

creature 20.151

croak 13.27

crosses 24.274

_crossing the stage_ 4.72.1

cross-lightning 21.33

crow-keeper 20.87–8

crown, bald 4.155

crowned . . . weeds 18.3–5

crownet 1.130

cruel 7.192

cruels I'll subscribe, all 14.63

Cruikshank, Andrew p. 73

cry 22.51

cry . . . grace 9.59

cry you mercy 11.156

cub-drawn 8.11

cuckoo-flowers 18.4

cue, my 2.126

cullionly 7.30

cup 24.299

Cupid 20.133

Curan 6.0.1

curfew 11.104

curiosity 2.4; 4.64

curst 6.65

curtains 13.77

dally 13.86

dance it 15.50

dark . . . place 24.168

darker 1.36

darkling 4.209

darnel 18.5

Davenant, Sir William p. 63

De Grazia, Margreta p. 53

dearth 2.135

death-practised 20.269

deathsman 20.250

decay 24.292

deed 1.65

deep, confinèd 15.72

deer 11.124

deficient . . . headlong 20.23–4

defy 16.10

delicate 11.12

demand out of 5.3

demanding after 9.66

denayed _Ballad_ 76

denied me 9.67

Dent, R. W. pp. 30, 87

deny 7.253

*depend 4.241

dependants 4.56

depositaries 7.409

deprive 2.4

dern 14.61

derogate 4.270

descent 24.134

descry 19.13

deserving 10.22

desire 21.79

desperate 7.461

desperately 24.287

Devine, George p. 35

dialect 7.104

Dibdin, Charles p. 69

difference 4.85; 6.123, 7.47; 24.283

diffidences 2.137

diffuse 4.2

digest 1.119

dimensions 2.7

disbranch 16.34

discern 13.5

discerning . . . suffering 16.51–2

discernings 4.219

discerns your state 7.306

disclaims in 7.51

discommend 7.104

discover 6.66

discovery 22.57

dis-eases 1.163

dishonoured 1.219

dislocate 16.64

dismantle 1.207

disnatured 4.273

disordered 4.233, 247

disorders 7.356

dispatch 2.32

displayed so saucily 7.219

dispositions 4.213

disquantity 4.240

dissipation of cohorts 2.138

dissolve 24.200

dissuaded 6.64

distaff 16.17

ditch-dog 11.118

divinity 20.98

division 2.127; 8.18

Dobson, M. p. 63

dog, like a 20.95

Dolphin 11.89

doom 1.140

doomèd . . . consents _Ballad_ 180

dotage 4.284

doubted 22.6

doubtful 22.13

doubting _Ballad_ 133

Dover 8.27

dower 1.181, 232

dowerless 1.246

Downes, John p. 61

Dragon's tail, the 2.120–1

draw me 10.22

draw . . . yard 20.88

dread-bolted 21.31

dreadful 20.15

drew 7.220

drive 13.84

Dryden, John p. 63

Ducis, J.-F. p. 68

dull-eyed 2.13

durst 1.158

Duthie, G. I. p. 13

duty 1.138; 7.208; 11.133

earnest of 4.89

eat 4.151

eat no fish 4.14–15

Edelman, Charles p. 34

Edgar 2.124.1

Edmund 1.0.2

eels 7.282

effects 1.122; 7.336

elder 1.19

election 1.195

element 7.226; 8.3

elf 7.175

Elliott, Michael pp. 35, 78

Elton, W. R. p. 34

embossèd 7.381

end, promised 24.259

endured, so 24.208

engine 4.259

enridgèd 20.71

ensign 22.34

entertain you 13.72

entertained 4.54

entire, the 1.231

entrenched 7.72

epicurism 4.235

epileptic 7.78

equalities . . . moiety 1.5–6

equally 24.44

ere I move't 24.120

esperance 15.4

estate 24.206

even o'er 21.78

event, the 4.329

every . . . me 21.3

Ewbank, Inga-Stina (Ekeblad) p. 12

excellent 2.110

exchange 24.95

extremity 11.92

eyeless 8.7

eyes, glass 20.159

eyesight, space, or liberty 1.50

Eyre, Sir Richard pp. 25, 77

fain 2.63; 21.36

fairies 20.29

faithed 6.70

falchion, good biting 24.272

fall and cease 24.260

falls off 2.104

familiar 22.17

fastened 6.77

father 20.72, 211

father, friend 1.53

fathom 20.50

favours . . . ruffle 14.39–40

feared 6.111

feather stirs, this 24.261

feature 16.62

feel 2.85; 15.67

feelingly 20.144

Feinstein, Elaine p. 79

felicitate 1.69

fell 20.54, 174

fellow 8.40

Felperin, Howard p. 45

Felver, C. S. p. 39

fencèd 20.274

Ferro, Giovanni p. 54

festinate 14.8

field, wild 11.100

fiend 20.72

fiends, five 15.56

Findlay, Alison p. 25

fire 9.46; 11.100

fire-new 24.129

first 1.38

first . . . decay 24.283

Fisch, Harold p. 29

Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich p. 1

fitchew 20.118

fitly like 1.189

Fitzgerald, Percy p. 64

fixed 4.260, 11.8

Flahiff, F. T. p. 29

flakes 21.28

flattering his 7.112

flattery 1.139

flawed 24.193

flaws 7.443

flax . . . eggs 14.104

flesh 7.42

flesh and blood 11.131

flesh and fell 24.24

flesh, framed 20.219

fleshment 7.117

Flibbertigibbet 11.103

flickering 7.103

Florio, John pp. 10, 27, 29

flying off 7.255

Foakes, R. A. pp. 5, 10, 13, 31, 37, 56

fogs, fen-sucking 7.324

foins 20.237

follow 4.38; 7.420

following . . . affairs 7.143

folly 1.140

fond 4.292; 21.58

Fontane, Theodor p. 70

food of 15.20

fool 4.147; 24.300

fool . . . knave 9.73

fool of fortune, natural 20.179

fools . . . mischief 16.53–4

foot . . . body 16.28

football 4.81

Foote, Samuel p. 63

footed 11.107

foppery 2.110

foppish 4.159

fops 2.14

for that 2.5

*force 9.49

forced . . . out 22.25

fordid 24.251

fordone 24.286

fore-vouched 1.210

forfended 22.11

fork 1.135

forked 11.97

forks 20.115

form 7.244

form of justice 14.24

forsooth 4.186

Forster, John pp. 69–70

fortune 24.129, 161

fortune's alms, at 1.268

four-inched 11.50

frame . . . after 2.96

frame of nature 4.259

France 1.41

frank 11.19

Frateretto 13.6

fraught 4.212

free 7.168; 11.11; 20.80

*fretful 8.3

Freud, Sigmund p. 16

_from hunting_ 4.6.1

frontlet 4.181

frown 4.182

full 4.318

fumitor, rank 18.3

Furness, H. H. pp. 13, 60, 278

furrow-weeds 18.3

fut! 2.122

gad, upon the 2.25

'gainst . . . aught 6.23

gait 24.171

gale and vary 7.76

gall 4.108; 4.261

gallow 9.44

Gambon, Sir Michael pp. 42, 43

Garrick, David pp. 37, 55, 61, 63–6, 69, 79

gasted 6.54

gate 4.262

gather more 19.32

gauntlet 20.90

_Genealogy of the Kings of England, The_ p. 18

general . . . to 20.195–6

generation 1.109

generous 2.8

gentle 20.197

gentleman 3.0.1; 8.31; 13.10

Geoffrey of Monmouth pp. 17–19; 1.245

George III, King p. 68

germens 9.8

ghost 24.308

Gielgud, Sir John pp. 35, 73, 78

gilded 20.109

girdle 20.121

glass-gazing 7.16

globe, under 7.156

Globe Theatre pp. 4, 10, 14, 31, 35, 57, 279

Gloucester, Earl of 1.0.1

go to 1.85

goatish 2.119

Godard, Jean-Luc p. 77

God's 24.17

godson 6.91

goes 1.96

goes to't 20.109

goest 4.115

Goldberg, Jonathan p. 34

Golder, John p. 68

Goldman, Michael p. 36

Goldsmith, R. H. p. 39

Gonoril 1.33.2

Goodbody, Buzz p. 74

good-brother 16.43

goodliest 17.18

goodman 15.56

goodman boy 7.41

goodyear 24.24

goose 7.80

gored 24.315

got 2.15; 6.78; 20.113; 24.168

govern 24.157

grace 1.262; 7.125, 343; 9.40

Greenblatt, Stephen pp. 29, 59

greet the time 22.58

Greg, Sir Walter pp. 11, 12, 81, 83

groom 7.373

gross 1.281; 20.14

grows of 3.23

grumble 11.38

guard 7.169

guessingly set down 14.46

halcyon 7.75

half-blooded 24.78

Halio, Jay L. pp. 5, 7, 9, 13, 56, 85, 86

Hall, Sir Peter p. 77

Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O. p. 278

Halstead, William P. pp. 55, 61, 63

halter 4.311; 11.48

_Hamlet_ pp. 7, 12, 15, 34, 44–5, 49, 57

handy-dandy 20.147–8

hang 21.24

haply 1.91

happy 7.167; 20.218

harbour 7.97

Hardy, Robert p. 73

harelip 11.105

Harrison, Thomas P. p. 14

Harrison, William p. 56

Harsnet, Samuel pp. 10, 14, 27, 28–9, 87

Hart, Alfred p. 50

Harvey, John p. 13

Harwood, Ronald p. 40

hatch 13.67

having more man than wit 7.220

Haymarket Theatre p. 71

head-lugged 16.41

heart-struck 8.16

heave . . . mouth 1.82–3

heavens 7.346; 15.64

Hecate 1.102

hedge-sparrow 4.207–8

heigh no nonny 11.89

heinous 24.89

hell 20.122

hell-hated 24.143

helm 21.34

hemlock 18.4

hence 1.115

_2 Henry IV_ p. 49

_Henry VI_ pp. 14–5

_1 Henry VI_ p. 49

Henry VIII, King p. 39

Henslowe, Philip p. 10

here 20.265

hereditary 1.73

Hibbard, G. R. p. 7

Higgins, John p. 19

high engendered 9.23

high-judging 7.385

_histerica passio_ 7.224–5

hit 1.292

hog . . . prey 11.83–4

hold 20.154

hold amity 7.399

Holderness, Graham p. 7

Holinshed, Raphael pp. 18–9, 34, 279

holla 24.70

Holland, Peter pp. 25, 63, 75, 76

Holm, Sir Ian p. 77

home 10.12

honest 2.9; 22.25

Honigmann, E. A. J. p. 84

honour 1.139; 24.296

honoured 22.9

Hoppedance 13.26

Hordern, Sir Michael p. 78

horrible 20.3

horrid 9.46; 14.85

horse 20.118

horse's health, whore's oath 13.15

horseway 15.54

Horton, Priscilla pp. 41, 69

host, for your good 23.2

hot-blood 7.369

Hotson, Leslie pp. 39, 40

house 9.25, 9.27

hovel 21.37–8

how now 6.86

Howard, Skiles p. 38

Howard, Tony p. 78

howe'er 16.65

however else 6.117

Hughes, A. p. 71

humanity . . . deep 16.48–9

humbled . . . strokes 15.63

hundred 13.73

hundred-pound 7.14

Hunter, Kathryn p. 77

hurrying 21.14

Hyde, Jonathan p. 36

Hytner, Nicholas pp. 48, 75

idle 18.5

idle and fond 2.47–8

if . . . behold 24.276–7

if more 24.164

if . . . myself 4.156

if . . . want 1.215

ignorance 19.9

image 7.255; 24.260

image and horror 2.157

image . . . horror 24.260

imaginations, wrong 20.275

impatience 13.4–5

imperfect 17.3

impetuous 8.7

import 19.6

important 18.27

imports 17.5

improper 24.218

in-a-door 4.119

in all 11.134

in cunning 6.29

in fine 6.47

in sport 6.35

in temper 5.44

in the least 1.180

in the mature time 20.267

in the most exact regard 4.256

incense, throw 24.21

incline to 10.13

indiscretion . . . so 7.353–4

indistinguished 20.263

infirmities . . . owes 1.191

infirmity . . . bound 7.267–8

inflamed 1.245

influence 7.102

ingenious 20.272

Ingleby, C.M. p. 56

inherit 20.121

injurer's mean'st 21.34

insulted 7.113

intelligence 6.21; 14.9–10

intend upon 22.7

intent, good 4.2

invention 2.19

invested 24.68

Irving, Sir Henry pp. 55, 61, 70–1, 78

issue 1.16

it 16.32

it head . . . it 4.208

i' th' haste 6.24

i' th' heat 1.296

i'th' . . . will 21.18

Jaggard, William p. 81

jakes 7.64

James, D. G. p. 58

James, Henry p. 70

James I, King pp. 4, 38

jealous 22.60

jesters . . . prophets 24.70

jewel 20.28

Johnson, Richard p. 277

Johnson, Samuel p. 67

join-stool 13.47

jolly 13.37

Jones, Emrys pp. 14, 15, 32, 35

Jonson, Ben p. 13

Jove 7.385

jovial 20.188

Joyce, James p. 53

judgement 4.14

_Julius Caesar_ p. 15

Jupiter 1.167; 7.200

justicer 13.17; 16.78

Kaut-Howson, Helena p. 76

Kean, Charles p. 61

Kean, Edmund p. 69

Keats, John pp. 57–8

keep honest counsel 4.30

keep still 11.160

Kemble, John Philip p. 69

Kennedy, Dennis pp. 71, 73

Kent, Earl of 1.0.1

Kermode, Sir Frank pp. 32–3

kibes 5.8

kin, what 4.173

kind 20.156

kindly 5.13

King, T. J. p. 38

_King John_ pp. 15, 25

_King Leir_ pp. 10–12, 16, 20–4, 26, 27, 32, 38, 39, 47, 49, 55, 56, 62; 1.0.1, 33.2, 33.3, 82–3, 145, 176.1; 4.133–4; 7.72, 320, 407; 11.68; 16.34–6, 77–9; 21; 24.37–8

kingdoms 1.4

King's Men p. 3

kite 4.253

Kleber, Pia p. 41

knave 1.20, 4.40, 7.130, 7.249–50

knee 7.371

Knight, G. Wilson pp. 24, 46, 59, 66

know the riddle 22.39

Knowles, R. p. 47

Komisarjevsky, Theodore pp. 35, 72

Kott, Jan pp. 55, 74

Kozintsev, Grigori p. 79

Kurosawa, Akira p. 79

labour, for your 20.259

lack soldiers 20.114

Lacy, T. H. p. 69

lad 4.132

lady 19.40

Lady the brach 4.106

lag of 2.6

Lamb, Charles pp. 2, 59, 72

lanced 6.51

lances, impressed 24.49

largest 1.46

Lascelles, Mary p. 30

late 2.101; 14.41; 19.24

late footed 14.44

laying 20.186

leak 13.22

Lear 1.33.1

leave, gentle wax 20.251

lecher 20.110

Leggatt, Alexander pp. 75, 78

Leicester Haymarket Theatre p. 76

lender's 11.87

lendings 11.98

Lennox, Charlotte p. 278

let-alone 24.77

lethargied 4.220

letters 5.1–2; 7.206; 20.248

Levenson, Jill p. 52

liege 1.35

life afoot, base 7.372

life, my 21.3

light of ear 11.83

lights on 8.46

lily-livered 7.15

Lincoln's Inn Fields p. 63

Lindblad, I. p. 77

Lipsbury pinfold 7.8

list 24.60, 24.178

list, we

litter 13.83

little seeming 1.187

loathèd . . . nature 20.39

Lodge, Thomas pp. 40–1

long-engrafted 1.286

look up 24.307

looking-glass 24.257

looped 11.28

loosen 22.21

Lord Chamberlain's Men pp. 3, 12

lost me in 1.224

Loti, Pierre p. 71

loudla, doodla 13.68

louse 9.29

_Love's Labour's Lost_ p. 49

lubber 4.86

lurk, lurk 13.108

lust-dieted 15.65

luxury 20.113

Lyceum Theatre p. 61

_Macbeth_ p. 63

McCowen, Alec p. 42

Mack, Maynard pp. 14, 25, 76

MacLean, Sally-Beth pp. 12, 38

McMillin, Scott pp. 12, 38

Macready, William Charles pp. 35, 41, 61, 69

madded 16.42

made good 1.161

Maguire, N. K. p. 63

maidenliest 2.123

main 8.5

mainly 21.62

majesty 1.140

make more like 4.236

makes breath poor 1.54

maledictions 2.136

Malone, Edmond p. 59

man, in contempt of 7.173

manifold 6.46

manners urges, very 24.229

mantle 11.119

Manvell, R. p. 78

Marcus, Leah S. pp. 25, 37–8

mare 11.108

*Maréchal 17.9

marjoram 20.92

mark 24.36

Marowitz, Charles p. 76

Marston, John p. 13

material 16.35

matter 12.13

matter and impertinency 20.163

matter, worse 10.9

maugre 24.128

meads, wide-skirted 1.58

meanest 20.193

meaning 24.4

meats, broken 7.13

medicine, thy 21.25

meet 2.88; 21.11

meet . . . death 14.99

meiny 7.213

memories 21.7

men of stones 24.253

mend 7.386

Merchant, W. Moelwyn p. 66

_Merchant of Venice, The_ pp. 12, 277

merits 24.43

messes 1.110

methinks 4.182

methoughts 20.69

mettle 1.63

mew 16.67

Michie, Donald M. p. 20

_Midsummer Night's Dream, A_ p. 51

Mikalachki, Jodi pp. 33–4

mildews 11.105

milk-livered 16.49

milky 4.322

Miller, Jonathan pp. 55, 78

Milward, Peter p. 29

minces virtue 20.116

mingle . . . passion 7.391

minikin 13.39

ministers 9.21

_Mirror for Magistrates_ p. 19

miscarried 22.5

miscarry 22.46

mischief on him 14.80

mistress 16.21

mistress, auspicious 6.39

modest 7.203

mocking 15.59

Modo . . . Mahu 11.130

monsters 1.210

Montaigne, Michel de pp. 10, 27–8, 29

moon, by th' 24.19

Mooney, Michael E. p. 39

moonshines 2.5

moral 16.57

more 1.72

more corrupter 7.97

more worse 7.141

mortified 7.180

most poorest 7.172

mother 7.224–5, 7.292

motion, fell 6.49

motley 4.139

mourning 18.27

Mowat, Barbara p. 56

mowing 15.59

_Much Ado About Nothing_ pp. 12, 25, 49

Mueller, M. pp. 12, 15, 35

Muir, Kenneth pp. 11, 12, 27, 29, 56, 59, 86

mum, mum 4.188

must ask briefness 6.18

musters 16.16

musty 21.38

mutinies 2.105

mysteries 1.102

mystery 24.16

naked 11.25

Nashe, Thomas p. 39

National Theatre pp. 37, 77; _see also_ Royal National Theatre

nativity 2.121

nature 2.1; 12.2

nature . . . confine 7.304–5

nature . . . nature 7.424

nature . . . respect 20.86

nature's mould 9.8

naught 7.295

naughty 11.99; 14.36

nearly 1.274

neat 7.37

neighboured 1.111

Nero 13.6

nether 16.78

nether-stocks 7.195

next 1.165

Nicholl, Charles p. 13

night 1.102; 11.2

'nighted 19.13

nimble 21.32

Noble, Adrian pp. 25, 36, 41, 42, 44, 74

Noguchi, Isamu pp. 35, 60

noiseless 16.55

nor . . . else 24.285

nor . . . nor 1.160

Norris, Peter p. 73

North, Sir Thomas p. 15

nothing 2.31; 7.186

nothing . . . misery 7.158–9

nothing . . . nothing 1.81

notion 4.219

Nouryel, A. J. p. 77

Novy, Marianne L. pp. 25–6, 50

Nowottny, Winifred p. 52

nuncle 4.99

Nunn, Trevor p. 41

nursery, kind 1.115

obey 24.318

obey . . . array 11.71–3

obey . . . love . . . honour 1.89

object 1.204; 7.182; 24.234

obscurèd 7.161

observants 7.98

Odell, G. C. D. p. 69

oeillades 19.25

o'erlook 22.54

office 8.33; 24.244

office, childlike 6.106

offices of nature 7.335

Ogden, James pp. 40, 60

Okes, Nicholas pp. 81, 83

Old Vic pp. 55, 73, 77, 78

Olivier, Laurence (Lord) pp. 35, 78–9

on thy life no more 1.145

one-trunk-inheriting 7.17

on's 11.101

on't 4.146

operation of the orbs 1.103

operative 18.15

oppose the bolt 7.333

opposed against 16.73

opposeless 20.38

opposite, loathly 6.48

opposites 24.41

or ere 7.444

or . . . or 13.60

order of law, by 1.18

ordinary 4.32

Orwell, George p. 32

Oswald 3.0.1

_Othello_ pp. 12–3, 15, 57

out 1.31; 2.125; 4.146

out at heels 7.150

outfrown 24.6

outjest 8.15

outlawed . . . blood 11.152

out-paramoured 11.82

outscorn 8.9

out-wall 8.37

over-lusty at legs 7.194–5

overwatched 7.163

owest 4.114

overture 14.87

Ovid 4.253

pack 7.245

packs and sects 24.18

pantingly 17.27

pardie 7.250

pared 4.178

'parel 15.48

parings 4.180

Parr, Johnstone p. 13

partial . . . to 4.303–4

particular 4.255; 7.449

parti-eyed 15.7

party, upon his 6.26

pass 11.56

pass . . . life 14.23

passion who 17.15

paste 7.283

Pasternak, Boris p. 79

paternal 1.105

Patterson, Annabel p. 38

Pavier, Thomas p. 81

pawn down 2.84

pawn . . . wage 1.146–7

peace 4.176; 20.100

peascod, shelled 4.191

pebble, idle 20.21

pelican 11.68

pell-mell 20.113

pelting 7.183; 11.26

pendulous 11.60

penning 20.134

Percy, Thomas p. 278

perdu 21.33

perforce 6.15

_Pericles_ p. 56

period 24.201

pernicious 9.22

Perrello, Tony p. 34

Perrett, Wilfrid pp. 16, 277, 278–9

Persian 13.74

Phelps, Samuel p. 70

Phillips, Ambrose pp. 277, 278

philosopher 11.139

Phoebus' front 7.103

physic 11.30

Piccolo, Ottavia p. 41

picture 6.81

piece 20.129

piece out 13.2

pieced 1.188

pierce 17.10

pilgrimage 24.193

pillicock . . . hill 11.69

pin 21.54

pinion . . . thief 14.22

Pinter, Harold p. 51

pitched 6.65

pity 10.3

place 1.160; 7.196

place . . . eminence 24.128

place or notice 7.406

placket 11.87

plain 7.87; 7.95; 8.30

plainness 1.120; 1.139

Platter, Thomas p. 37

play bo-peep 4.168

pleasant 24.166

pleasure, constant 22.4

pleasure's name 20.117

pledge 24.90

plight 1.92

Plutarch p. 15

pocket 2.33

Poel, William p. 71

poise 6.120

poisons 13.61

policy of age 2.45

politician, scurvy 20.160

Pollard, A. W. p. 81

*pompal _Ballad_ 53

Ponticus, Virunius p. 17

poor Tom's a-cold 15.50

Pope, Alexander p. 6

port 6.80; 7.168

portable 13.101

portion 1.233

post 7.208; 14.1, 9; 20.266

potage 11.49

pother 9.50

power 1.139; 8.21; 10.13; 14.24

practice 2.164; 7.276; 24.147

practised on 9.57

precipitating 20.50

predominance, by spherical 2.115

prefer 1.263

preparation 14.8; 18.23

preparèd 6.50

presented 7.176

presently 2.99; 7.212, 278

Pressly, William L. p. 1

press-money 20.87

pretence 2.86; 4.65; 6.73

pretty 4.183

prevent 11.144

pricks 7.181

pride, easy-borrowed 7.342

Prince of Darkness 11.129

prithee 4.127

privily 10.14

prize me 1.64

prize, proclaimed 20.218

proclaimed 7.166

proclamation, bloody 24.180

profess 4.10

profits of 6.75

proof 7.178

proper 1.17

proper . . . woman 16.59–60

property of blood 1.106

propinquity 1.106

prove effects 16.15

prove . . . giant 20.90

proverbial expressions p. 30; 1.56, 81, 145, 270, 296; 2.34–5; 3.19; 4.112–21, 123, 158, 164–5, 215, 327; 5.7, 14, 14–5, 26–9; 7.51–2, 67, 74, 75–6, 154–5, 166, 435; 9.10, 31–2; 10.24; 11.41–2, 93–5; 13.15, 47; 15.6; 16.29, 48–9; 20.39, 105, 157, 167–9, 191, 236; 24.9, 31, 70, 170

published 20.224

puissant 24.213

puns, quibbles and other ambiguities 1.8, 15, 185, 269; 2.1, 20, 21; 7.119, 249–50

purport 4.65

purpose hold, last 22.1

purpose of his remove 7.189

Purr 13.41

put him on 6.99

put it on 4.199

put on 3.12

put up 2.27

qualified 2.150

quality 7.257

quality or degree 24.109

Quayle, Sir Anthony p. 73

Queen's Men pp. 10, 12

questants 14.15

quicken 14.38

quit 6.30

quite 14.85

rack 24.309

racked 18.2

rage 18.20, 21.76

rake up 20.266

rapier 7.39.1

rash 14.56

ravish 14.37

razed my likeness 4.4

reason without miracle 1.212

reasoned 22.30

rebel 7.73

recreant 1.152

redress, safe 4.197

reeking 7.208

Regan 1.33.2

Reibetanz, John pp. 25, 47

Reimann, Aribert p. 1

Reinhardt, Max p. 71

remediate 18.18

rememberest 4.62

remorse 16.72

remotion 7.275

Renaissance Theatre Company p. 73

renege 7.75

rent of 4.127

repair 15.74

reposure 6.68

reservation 1.124; 7.410

reserved 11.58

resolve 7.203

respect, upon 7.202

respects 1.230, 238

restoration 21.24

restrained 7.140

retention 24.46

return . . . fit 1.88

revengive 6.44

revenue 1.128

*reverbs . . . hollowness 1.145

reverence 21.27

reverend 4.231, 7.120

Rhys, Paul p. 25

_Richard II_ pp. 12, 69

_Richard III_ pp. 11, 12, 51

Richman, David p. 75

Ricketts, Charles p. 71

Ridley, M. R. p. 7

rigour of our state 22.24

Ringler, W. P. J. pp. 39–40

rings 24.186

rip 20.252

ripeness 23.11

rivalled 1.180

rive . . . centres 9.58

robèd 13.32

robes . . . gowns 20.159

rogues forlorn 21.37

roguish 14.102

_Romeo and Juliet_ p. 15, 30

Romney, George pp. 65–6

_Roscius Anglicanus_ p. 61

Rose Theatre p. 10

Rosenberg, Marvin pp. 41–2, 279

Rossi, Ernesto p. 70

Rothwell, Kenneth S. p. 78

*rotundity, thick 9.7

roughness 7.92

roundest 4.50

Rowe, Nicholas pp. 6, 59–60, 85

royal 24.172

Royal National Theatre p. 76; _see also_ National Theatre

Royal Shakespeare Company pp. 36, 41–3, 44, 48

rubbed 7.147

rude 16.30

rule 24.315

run . . . course 2.81

Runciman, Alexander pp. 67, 68

Runciman, John pp. 66–7

sacrifices 24.20

Sadler's Wells p. 70

safer 20.81

Salingar, Leo pp. 27–8

Salkeld, Duncan p. 44

Salvini, Tommaso p. 70

samphire 20.15

sapient 13.18

Sarum Plain 7.80

Satin, Joseph p. 20

satisfaction 2.90

saucily 1.20, 15.72

saucy 7.92

save thee 6.1

savour 4.228; 16.38

Savoy Theatre p. 71

say 7.153; 24.140

say thou no 24.135

scant my sizes 7.332

scanted 1.268; 9.68

scape 7.170

scattered 8.22

Schanzer, Ernest p. 37

Schreyvogel, Josef p. 69

Schröder, Friedrich p. 68

Scofield, Paul pp. 42, 76

Scouten, Arthur H. pp. 40, 60

scullions _Ballad_ 104

Scythian 1.108

sea-monster 4.253

seconds 20.183

see that straight 24.282

see . . . touch 15.21

seeming 9.56

seize upon 1.242

self-subdued, was 7.116

_Selimus_ p. 12

semblance 24.184

sennet 1.32.1

sense, vile 20.271

sepulchring 7.293

sequent 2.104

serpent 7.318

serviceable 20.243

services 16.27

servile 9.21

servingman 11.76

session 24.53

set my rest 1.114

set . . . throwest 4.117

settling 21.80

seven stars 5.33

Shaheen, Naseeb pp. 29, 87

Shakespeare Memorial Theatre p. 73

shall bring 24.22

shall to 2.20

shame 4.237

shape 4.300; 7.172

shape his old course 1.176

Sharpham, Edward p. 14

Shattuck, Charles H. pp. 60, 69

Sher, Antony pp. 41, 42–3

Shickman, Allan R. p. 41

shivered 20.51

shoot 7.384

short 21.38

show 20.14

shrill-gorged 20.58

shrine 7.292

side-piercing 20.85

Sidney, Sir Philip pp. 26–7, 43

silly-ducking 7.98

simple 14.42; 20.147

simples 18.15

simular . . . of 9.54

sinews, broken 13.91

singing 4.35

sir 7.243

_Sir Thomas More_ pp. 84, 86

Sisson, C. J. pp. 56, 279

sister 7.132; 14.5

sith that 7.396

skill 21.63

Skillan, George p. 61

Skura, M. A. p. 12

slack you 7.402

slept in 11.80

sliver 16.34

Smallwood, Robert pp. 25, 77

smell a fault 1.15

smile 7.79

smilets 17.20

Smiley, Jane pp. 79–80

Smirke, Robert p. 1

smite 9.7

Smith, Bruce R. p. 277

smokes 24.219

smolking 11.126

smooth 7.72

snail . . . case 5.26–9

snuff, my 20.39

Snyder, Susan pp. 29, 46

so please you 4.43

Sohmer, Steve pp. 31, 34

soilèd 20.118

some discretion that 7.306

something fears 12.3

something yet, that's 7.186

sometime 1.112

Sommers, Will p. 39

sooth 7.100; 11.161

sop . . . moonshine 7.29

sophisticated 11.95

*sorrow 7.225; 20.249

sort _Ballad_ 112

sot 16.8

sounded 2.68

sovereign 17.43

Speaight, Robert p. 71

speak 4.237

speaking 20.194

spectacles 2.35

speed 2.19, 8.27

speed you 20.198

Spenser, Edmund pp. 19–20, 32

spill 9.8

spirit, worser 20.209

spirits, best alarumed 6.52

spirits, visible 16.45

spite of intermission 7.211

spleen 4.272

spoil me 24.274

spurs 6.76

square of sense 1.68

squinies 11.105

squiny 20.131

squire-like 7.371

stage 20.172

stand 7.37

stand . . . cure 13.93

stand . . . custom 2.3

stand up 14.78

stand up for 2.21

stands on 22.73

stands . . . ordinance 15.66

stand's 6.39

star-blasting 11.52

starts, unconstant 1.289

starve 24.25

state 1.39; 7.273; 22.72

state, enormous 7.162

Stationers' Register pp. 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 46, 277

stealth, lusty 2.11

Steevens, George p. 85

stellèd 14.59

Stephens, Sir Robert pp. 44, 74

steward 4.41.1

stiff 20.271

still-soliciting 1.222

stinking 7.236–7

stock-punished 11.120

stomach, full-flowing 24.73

Stone, G. W. p. 63

stone 24.258

*stopple 24.151

store 13.49

storm within 7.441.1

Strachey, William p. 14

strain 24.39

strangered with 1.193

stratagem, delicate 20.173

stray 1.198

strayed 1.158

Strehler, Giorgio p. 41

stretch . . . air 16.23

stretch . . . nicely 7.99

Strříbrný, Zdeněk p. 79

strings of life 24.213

struck 7.317

study 1.266; 11.143

study deserving 1.30

stuff 12.18

subcontracted 24.84

subdued 11.63

subject of 24.59

subscribed 2.23

subscription 9.18

succeed unhappily 2.133–4

success 24.191

sue 1.29

sufferance 13.99

suffered 2.49

suggestion 6.73

suited 21.6

sulphury 20.123

summoners 9.59

sumpter 7.373

*superfinical 7.16

superfluous 7.423; 15.65

superflux 11.32

sure 11.16

surfeit 2.111

surge 20.20

surrender . . . offend 1.294

Sussex's Men p. 10

sustain 10.6

sustaining 18.6

Suzuki, Tadashi p. 77

sway 1.128

swear'st 1.151

sweet heart 11.73

swell 8.5

Swithin 11.107

sword 7.69, 24.32

tailor 7.51–2

taint 1.211

take 6.16

take . . . anger 14.77

take . . . for 7.272–3

take . . . hand 1.234

take . . . quality 2.11–12

take . . . report 20.136

take up, take up 13.88

take upon's 24.16

take't . . . perforce 5.36

taking 7.321; 11.52

taking off 22.69

Talbot, Ian p. 42

_Taming of the Shrew, The_ pp. 12, 277

tardiness in nature 1.226

task . . . with 9.16

taste 2.44; 7.448

Tate, Nahum pp. 1, 39, 41, 47, 59–60, 61–4, 67–9, 77

Taylor, Gary pp. 4, 5, 12, 13, 87

Teague, Frances p. 31

tear 11.15

teem 4.271

tell 1.197

temper clay 4.295

temperance 21.22

_Tempest, The_ pp. 47, 63

ten . . . altitude 20.53

tender 1.184

tender-hested 7.328

tender of 4.202

tends 7.264

*terrible 2.32

text is foolish, the 16.36

Théâtre Antoine p. 71

Theban 11.142

Theobald, Lewis pp. 6, 29

there's life in't 20.191

therewithal 1.286–7

thing, self-covered 16.61

things 8.6; 13.98

Thomas, Dylan p. 53

Thompson, Aaron p. 17

thought-executing 9.4

thralled with 16.72

*three-suited 7.14

through . . . wind 11.40–1

throw . . . dunghill 14.94–5

throw his head 13.58

thrown . . . chance 1.246

thrusting on, divine 2.117–18

thunder-bearer 7.384

thunders bend 6.45

thus much 19.34

thwart 4.273

thyself bewray 13.104

tied . . . course 14.52

Tilley, M. P. p. 87

times, best of our 2.46

time's plague 15.45

_Timon of Athens_ p. 49

tithing 11.120

_Titus Andronicus_ pp. 12, 14, 55, 277, 278

to blame 2.41

to effect 8.43

to kennel 4.105

to-and-fro-conflicting 8.10

toad-spotted 24.135

to th' purpose 7.338

Tolstoy, Leo p. 32

_Tom o'Lincoln_ p. 57

tongue 24.126

tonight 7.254

too late 4.198

took 7.152; 16.86

top 7.320

touch 20.83

touches us as 22.27

toward 10.19, 20.199

towards 6.10

town 11.165

trade 15.37

traitorous 14.6

traitors 14.43

tranced 24.215

Tray . . . Sweetheart 13.57

treacherers 2.115

trespass, this 7.222

Trewin, J. C. p. 36

trice 1.206

trick 20.104

trilled 17.13

troth plight 11.110

trotting-horse, bay 11.49–50

trow 4.206

trowest 4.116

true 14.31

trundle-tail 13.64

trunk 1.166

Tuelygod 7.185

tune 17.40

Turgenev, Ivan p. 79

turn 6.72

_Twelfth Night_ pp. 15, 40

_Two Gentlemen of Verona, The_ pp. 15–6, 49

_Two Noble Kinsmen, The_ p. 63

tyke, bobtail 13.64

Tynan, Kenneth p. 76

unable 1.54

unaccommodated 11.96

unbonneted 8.13

unboulted 7.63

undertake 16.13

undivulgèd 9.52

undo 15.68

ungracious 20.267

unkind 1.250; 11.64

unnecessary 7.61

unnumbered 20.21

unpossessing 6.67

unprized 1.249

unprovided 6.51

unpublished 18.17

unsightly 7.314

unstate . . . resolution 2.97–8

untented 4.291

untuned 21.14

unwhipped 9.53

upon respect 7.202

upright 20.27

upward 24.133

Urkowitz, Steven p. 6

use 7.10

use . . . for 20.185

used . . . abused 3.19–20

used it 4.163

usurer . . . cozener 20.157

usurped 24.312

validity 1.75

vanity the puppet 7.33

vantage 7.164

vassal 1.152

vaunt-couriers 9.5

venge 16.79

vengeance, wingèd 14.64

vent 1.154

venture 20.261

verge 7.304

Vergil, Polydore p. 19

verity 7.100

Vickers, Brian pp. 49, 50, 51–2, 64

victor-sword 24.129

villein 14.76

virtue, single 24.102

virtues 18.17

volk 20.229

vulgar 20.200

vulture 7.296

wagtail 7.65

wake 2.15

wakes 13.68

wall-newt 11.116

wanderers 9.44

want some 4.190

wanton 15.35

wantons 7.284

wants . . . means 18.21

want'st . . . troll-madam 13.19–20

warbling of 6.38

Warner, Deborah pp. 37, 76

Warner, William p. 19

warring 21.30

washed 1.257

watch 21.33

watches 6.20

water 11.116

water-drops 7.435

water-pots 20.185

wat'rish 1.248

way, a better 17.20

way, one 16.82

weal, wholesome 4.202

weapon to wear 11.123

wear out 24.17

web and the pin 11.104–5

Webster, Margaret p. 71

weeds 21.7

weep 20.165

Weis, René pp. 7, 9

well favoured 7.414

Welles, Orson p. 78

Wells, Stanley pp. 55, 59, 87

Welsford, Enid p. 39

were best 4.92

were the most 24.69

what 1.51; 13.107; 24.95

what kin 4.173

wheat, white 11.106

Wheatley, Henry B. p. 278

wheel 7.166

wheel . . . circled 24.170

whelked 20.71

whenas _Ballad_ 44

where 1.251, 2.81

which 4.226

which . . . home 6.123–4

whip 4.104

whipped 11.119

whipped . . . so 4.156

whirlypool 11.46–7

whistling 16.29

white 13.27

White, R. S. p. 58

Whitehall pp. 4–5, 9–10

who stirs? 1.117

whoop . . . thee 4.216

whoremaster 2.118

whoreson 1.22

wide 21.48

wield 1.49

Wiles, David p. 40

Wilkes, Thomas p. 66

Wilkins, George p. 13

will 7.453

will want not 20.255

Williams, Michael p. 41

Williams, Simon pp. 68, 69

Wilson, Richard p. 30

wind . . . main 8.4–5

wind me into him 2.96

wind up 21.14

windowed 11.28

wing 20.13

_Winter's Tale, The_ pp. 15, 49

wisdom bids fear 7.463

wisdom, in 24.138

wisdom . . . yet nature 2.102–3

wise . . . negligence 8.23

wishes . . . way 16.14

wit 2.165, 4.155, 4.178

with 7.461, 18.18, 24.143

with reservation . . . sustained 1.124–5

withal 2.100

within 3.10.1

wits, five 11.51

woe, to general 24.314

wold 11.107

Wolfit, Sir Donald pp. 40, 60, 76

women's weapons 7.435

word 11.72, 19.20, 20.91

wore . . . cap 11.77

world of man, little 8.9

worm 11.94, 15.32

worships . . . name 4.257

Worsley, T. C. pp. 73–4

worsted-stocking 7.15

worth, outward 18.11

worth the worst 1.269

would . . . lie 4.171

wouldst . . . service 7.17–8

writ 24.241

write 'happy' 24.35

wrote 2.85

Wroughton, Richard p. 69

yokefellow of equity 13.33

Zadek, Peter p. 77
 There is no comprehensive study. William L. Pressly, in _A Catalogue of Paintings in the Folger Shakespeare Library_ (New Haven and London, 1993), notes that the play proved popular with artists for over a hundred years, beginning in the 1760s. He reproduces (fig. 58) Robert Smirke's fine oil of the reunion scene. Some works, such as Peter Van Bleeck's painting of Susanna Cibber of 1755, are clearly derived from the theatre, others, such as James Barry's 'King Lear and Cordelia' (Pressly's fig. 2) represent scenes not performed during the period, when Tate's adaptation held the stage, and still others may be either purely imaginary or only obliquely influenced by stage practice.
 _The Shakespeare Music Catalogue_ , ed. B. N. S. Gooch and D. Thatcher, 5 vols. (Oxford, 1991), is noted on p. 290 below.
 Probably the most successful operatic version is that by Aribert Reimann, published in 1978 and written for Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who performed and recorded it. A number of great composers have contemplated operas on the theme without actually writing them (p. 290 below).
 Reference works listing film and television versions are noted on p. 290 below.
 Many of these writings are referred to in the remainder of this Introduction; surveys of scholarship and criticism are noted on p. 286 below.
 Coleridge's remarks are conveniently reprinted in Bate, _Romantics_ ; the quotation is from p. 393.
 Lamb's essay 'On the Tragedies of Shakspeare, considered with reference to their fitness for stage representation' (1811), is excerpted in Bate, _Romantics_ , pp. 111–27; the quotation is from p. 123.
 Arguments for the date of the revision printed in the Folio are summarized in _TC_ , p. 131; they are presented in detail in 'The Date and Authorship of the Folio Revision', by Gary Taylor, _Division_ , pp. 351–451.
 The Great Chamber was made ready 'for the plaies' in December 1606 (Malone Society, _Collections_ , vol. 6 (Oxford, 1961 (1962), p. 101); preparations for a masque performed on Twelfth Night may have precluded use of the Hall. The wooden-floored Chamber was 'a rectangular room roughly sixty feet long by thirty feet wide', with two points of entry and 'a large bay window looking out to the west', and 'heated with a fireplace, in the centre of the eastern wall' (J. Astington, _English Court Theatre, 1558–1642_ (Cambridge, 1999), p. 51). Adaptation of the text may have been necessary, at least for Edgar's descent at 6.19.1, since there was no upper level.
 The thorny question of the copy used for the Folio is discussed by Gary Taylor, 'Folio Compositors and Folio Copy: _King Lear_ and its Context', _Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America_ , 79 (1985), 17–74. Further discussion is offered in HalioF (pp. 63–8) and Foakes (pp. 123–8), who concur that, though 'The evidence . . . is very difficult to interpret . . . there is at present a consensus that the text in F has a significant relation with Q2, and no direct link with Q1' (Foakes, p. 124).
 The only exceptions are in facsimile editions normally designed for scholarly purposes. Treatment of the text by eighteenth-century editors is charted by Steven Urkowitz, 'The Base Shall to th' Legitimate: The Growth of an Editorial Tradition', _Division_ , pp. 23–43.
 An exception is M. R. Ridley, in his lightly annotated New Temple edition of 1936, who anticipated later scholars in stating that 'the "accepted" text of the play is a conflation which makes the worst of both worlds and has no authority whatever' (p. xi). He may have been influenced by Granville Barker (p. 72 below). Ridley's text, based on the Quarto, adds Folio-only passages in brackets.
 It is also, of course, theoretically possible that some of the Folio changes record performance decisions made at various points after the initial performances based on the Quarto, but before the major revision, but since there seems no way of identifying such changes, the question is incapable of resolution.
 Florio's translation had been entered in 1595 and may well have circulated in whole or in part in manuscript.
 Philip Henslowe, _Henslowe's Diary_ , ed. R. A. Foakes and R. T. Rickert (Cambridge, 1961), p. 21.
 W. W. Greg, 'The Date of _King Lear_ and Shakespeare's Use of Earlier Versions of the Story', _The Library_ , Fourth Series, 20 (1940), 377–99. Greg does not consider the possibility that Shakespeare performed in the play.
 The principal support for this theory is the Stationers' Register entry of the play as a 'Tragedie' (altered to 'Tragecall historie'), whereas it is more properly described as a tragicomedy. Bullough discusses the matter, pp. 269–70.
 Greg, in the article cited in n. 1 above, and Bullough note verbal and other parallels. The commentary to this edition notes parallels only when they help to explain the text.
 Scholars who study _Leir_ only in relation to _Lear_ ignore its apparent influence on earlier plays by Shakespeare. There is no comprehensive study, but M. A. Skura brings together some of the evidence for the play's influence on e.g. _Titus_ and _Richard II_ in her _Shakespeare the Actor and the Purpose of Playing_ (Chicago, 1993), pp. 285–6, and M. Mueller, noting parallels with _Richard III, Merchant, AYLI_ and _Hamlet_ , writes suggestively on 'the pervasive presence of the Leir play in Shakespeare's memory' as 'evidence of a long-standing intention to write a play about Lear' ('From _Leir_ to _Lear_ ', _PQ_ 73 (1994), 195–217; quotation from p. 213). Shakespeare's familiarity with the old play from long before it was published adds substance to Muir's suggestion (p. xxix) that he may have acted in it, and reinforces the idea (discussed in _The Queen's Men and their Plays_ , by Scott McMillin and Sally-Beth MacLean (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 160–6) that he was a member of the Queen's Men before he joined the Chamberlain's Men in 1594.
 McMillin and MacLean discuss the play's provenance, p. 88.
 The parallels, of 'situations and ideas, pointing to a recollection not from a printed page but from the theatre', are discussed in '"King Lear" and "Selimus" ', by Inga-Stina Ekeblad (Ewbank), _N & Q_, NS 4 (1957), pp. 193–4.
 'The Date of _King Lear_ ', p. 377.
 F. G. Butler, 'Novas, Eclipses and the English Stage, 1598–1608', _Shakespeare in South Africa_ , vol. 10 (1997), 33–43.
 Cited by Furness, p. 379.
 Johnstone Parr, 'A Note on the "Late Eclipses" in _King Lear', Shakespeare Association Bulletin_ , 20 (1945), 46–8.
 Introduction to the Cambridge edition, p. xiv.
 The evidence is set out in Gary Taylor's article, 'A New Source and an Old Date for _King Lear', RES_ 132 (1982), 396–413. HalioF does not deny the possibility of influence; Foakes (p. 108) finds the argument 'not convincing'. Charles Nicholl briefly discusses affinities between the plays in _The Chemical Theatre_ (1980), p. 182.
 I discount G. Ashe's suggestion ( _N & Q_ 195 (1950), 508–11) that Shakespeare was influenced by William Strachey's sonnet 'On _Sejanus_ ' (reprinted by Muir, p. xx), printed after 6 August 1605; this depends mainly on the parallel between Lear's 'Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts' (9.5) and Strachey's use of the word 'vaunt-curring' in conjunction with lightning; but, as _OED_ makes clear, the word 'vaunt-courier' was in common use at the time (indeed, it appears in Harsnet, p. 213), so the resemblance may well be coincidental. Chambers argues ( _William Shakespeare: A Study of Facts and Problems_ , 2 vols. (Oxford, 1930), i. 468) that a scene in Edward Sharpham's play _The Fleire_ (registered 13 May 1606) is influenced by _Lear_ , but the parallel does not necessarily indicate influence in either direction.
 _Lear_ 's affinities with earlier plays are discussed by e.g. Emrys Jones in _Scenic Form in Shakespeare_ (Oxford, 1971), 163–94, and Mack, pp. 51–6, etc.
 Affinities with _Titus_ are discussed by Thomas P. Harrison, '"Titus Andronicus" and "King Lear": A Study in Continuity', in _Shakespearean Essays_ , ed. Alwin Thaler and Norman Sanders (Knoxville, Tenn., 1964), pp. 121–30.
 Jones, pp. 167–9.
 M. Mueller (in the article cited in p. 12 n. 1) discusses ' _As You Like It_ as Anti-Lear', pp. 198–202.
 Sigmund Freud, in 'The Theme of the Three Caskets' (in _The Penguin Freud Library_ , Vol. 14: Art and Literature (Harmondsworth, 1985), pp. 235–47), proposes that the opening scene is based on an ancient myth of a man's having to choose among three women, the third of whom represents death.
 The still-standard work is _The Story of King Lear from Geoffrey of Monmouth to Shakespeare_ by Wilfrid Perrett (Berlin, 1904), summarized in e.g. Bullough.
 A heavily abridged version, still in Latin, by Virunius Ponticus, was printed in 1585; it is mentioned by J. H. Binns in his _Intellectual Culture in Elizabethan and Jacobean England: The Latin Writings of the Age_ (Leeds, 1990), who tells me that it names Leir only in passing.
 Summarized from the translation by Aaron Thompson published in 1718 and excerpted in Bullough, pp. 311–16.
 It is reprinted in for instance the Malone Society Reprints (Oxford, 1907), in Joseph Satin's _Shakespeare and his Sources_ (Boston, 1966; a modernized, lightly annotated text) and, most accessibly, in Bullough's collection of Shakespeare's narrative and dramatic sources. An edition by Donald M. Michie (New York, 1991) includes a section on the relationship between the two plays, arguing that Shakespeare read _Leir_ in manuscript, that his play 'was completed and on stage early in 1605' (p. 26), and that this led to the publication of _Leir_.
 G. Wilson Knight opens his classic essay 'The Lear Universe' ( _The Wheel of Fire_ , 1930, pp. 194–226) with 'It has been remarked to me that all the persons in _King Lear_ are either very good or very bad', and explores this theme in the rest of the essay.
 Mack (pp. 56–63) writes on the play's affinities with the morality tradition. Marcus (p. 152) considers the Quarto text 'closer . . . to the structure of a traditional morality play' than the Folio.
 Mark Thornton Burnett, _Masters and Servants in English Renaissance Drama and Culture_ (Basingstoke, 1997), p. 83.
 John Reibetanz, _The_ ' _Lear_ ' _World: A Study of_ ' _King Lear_ ' _in its Dramatic Context_ (Toronto, 1977), p. 45.
 Alison Findlay, _Illegitimate Power: Bastards in Renaissance Drama_ (Manchester, 1994), remarking on 'the form of conspiratorial confidence, characteristic of bastard villains who follow on the tradition of the Vice character' (p. 225), notes that 'Edmund begins to lose touch with the audience when he is legitimised as a "Loyal and natural boy" [6.84]' (p. 219).
 Holland, p. 170.
 Robert Smallwood, 'Shakespeare Performances in England', _SS 51_ (1998), 219–55; p. 251.
 Marianne L. Novy, _Love's Argument: Gender Relations in Shakespeare_ (Chapel Hill, 1984), p. 153.
 Bullough, pp. 408–11. The chief resemblances are with Shakespeare's Scenes 2 and 6.
 Muir (p. 236) prints a list of 96 words, which he admits 'should be received with caution', many of them in common use at the time.
 Leo Salingar, ' _King Lear_ , Montaigne and Harsnett', in his _Dramatic Form in Shakespeare and the Jacobeans_ (Cambridge, 1986), pp. 107–39; p. 113. This essay offers an excellent discussion of philosophical links between Montaigne and _King Lear_.
 Recognition of Harsnet's influence on _Lear_ extends back to Theobald, but was greatly extended by Kenneth Muir's essay 'Samuel Harsnett and _King Lear_ ', _RES_ , NS 2 (1951), 11–21, reworked in his Arden edition and his book _The Sources of Shakespeare's Plays_ (1977). In _Shakespeare, Harsnett, and the Devils of Denham_ (Newark, London and Toronto, 1993) F. W. Brownlow offers a thorough study of Harsnet, including consideration of the relationship of his work to Shakespeare, along with an edition of the _Declaration_. Harsnet also figures in Stephen Greenblatt's eloquent 'Shakespeare and the Exorcists', in his _Shakespearean Negotiations_ (Oxford, 1988).
 These and other analogues are discussed by e.g. Rosalie L. Colie, 'The Energies of Endurance: Biblical Echo in _King Lear_ ', in Colie and Flahiff, pp. 117–44, Susan Snyder, ' _King Lear_ and the Prodigal Son', _SQ_ 17 (1966), 361–9, and Harold Fisch, Chapter 4 of _The Biblical Presence in Shakespeare, Milton and Blake_ (Oxford, 1999). More generally, Naseeb Shaheen identifies specific parallels in his _Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays_ (Newark, Del., 1999, superseding his _Biblical References in Shakespeare's Tragedies_ (1987)), and Peter Milward finds numerous biblical echoes, some rather faint, in his determinedly Christian _Biblical Influences in Shakespeare's Great Tragedies_ (Bloomington, 1987).
 Dent, pp. 3–4.
 The theme is explored, with special reference to nakedness and 'Lear's preoccupation with Judgement', in ' _King Lear_ and Doomsday', by Mary Lascelles, _SS 26_ (1973), pp. 69–79.
 Geoffrey Bullough studied the case in ' _King Lear_ and the Annesley Case: A Reconsideration', _Festschrift Rudolf Stamm_ , ed. E. Kolb and J. Hasler (Berne, 1969), pp. 43–50. Richard Wilson offers a revisionary account in his _Will Power_ (1993), surmising that 'the name of Kent, substituted for Perillus, was suggested by the county where the modern Lear was persecuted and tormented' (p. 49).
 Use of properties is studied in Frances Teague's _Shakespeare's Speaking Properties_ (Lewisburg, 1991); Foakes (p. 5) points out that her list is incomplete.
 Sohmer, stating that 'Shakespeare certainly knew the Roman festal calendar included an important rite of purification of their war trumpets', suggests that the 'elaborate rite of trumpets and martial combat' of the final scene 'not only leads to Edmund's death but seems to depurate him as well' (paragraphs 20, 21).
 _The Faerie Queene_ , Book 2, Canto 10, 32.2.
 More obviously in the Folio, where he says he will 'Unburdened crawl toward death' (1.1.41), than in the Quarto, but implicit there in his statement that he intends 'To shake all cares and business off our state | Confirming them on younger years' (1.40–1).
 Emrys Jones, _Scenic Form in Shakespeare_ (Oxford, 1971), p. 158. Jones offers an excellent analysis of the play's structure.
 Bate, _Romantics_ , p. 389.
 'Shakespeare and the Drama', in _Tolstoy on Shakespeare_ (n.d. [1904], 7–81): 'the whole of [ _King Leir_ ] . . . is incomparably and in every respect superior to Shakespeare's adaptation', p. 43. George Orwell discusses resemblances between Tolstoy and Lear in 'Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool', in _Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays_ (New York, 1945), pp. 32–52.
 Riverside, p. 1250.
 Jonathan Goldberg, 'Perspectives: Dover Cliff and the Conditions of Representation', in _Shakespeare and Deconstruction_ , ed. G. D. Atkins and D. Bergeron (New York, 1988), pp. 245–65.
 Sohmer, paragraph 2.
 Links between _Lear_ and the story of King Edgar are explored in 'Anglo-Saxon Elements of the Gloucester Sub-plot in _King Lear_ ', by Tony Perrello, _English Language Notes_ , 35 (1997), 10–14.
 S. L. Bethell, for instance, wrote 'may we not at least suspect Shakespeare of deliberately intending to present a world without revelation, in order to determine how far human nature could penetrate its mysteries and achieve religious and moral order apart from the gift of supernatural grace' ( _Shakespeare and the Popular Dramatic Tradition_ (1944), p. 54). Bethell also offers an analysis of Cordelia's associations 'with theological terminology and Christian symbol', pp. 59–60.
 Mueller, in the article referred to in p. 12 n. 1, discusses ' _As You Like It_ as Anti-Lear', pp. 198–202. Emrys Jones has suggestive remarks on the comedy as a source for the tragedy ( _Scenic Form_ , pp. 171–3).
 Ralph Berry, 'Komisarjevsky at Stratford-upon-Avon', _SS 36_ (1983), 73–84; p. 78.
 J. C. Trewin, _Shakespeare on the English Stage 1900–1964_ (1964), p. 221.
 Michael Goldman, _Shakespeare and the Energies of Drama_ (Princeton, 1972), p. 97.
 Ernest Schanzer, 'Thomas Platter's Observations on the Elizabethan Stage', _N & Q_, NS 3 (1956), 465–7; p. 466.
 Foakes, p. 13.
 _Shakespeare and the Popular Voice_ (Oxford, 1989), pp. 106, 107, 108.
 McMillin and MacLean, p. 191; David Bradley ( _From Text to Performance in the Elizabethan Theatre_ (Cambridge, 1992), p. 232), using a slightly different method of calculation, estimates a minimum cast of thirteen or more, with a probable sixteen, including five or six boys.
 This is David Bradley's figure (p. 237); he estimates from three to five boys, presumably allowing for the possibility that the Fool and one other role might have been played by a boy. T. J. King's estimate is nine men and three boys, with extras for the minor roles ( _Casting Shakespeare's Plays_ (Cambridge, 1992), pp. 223–4). In 'Attendants and Others in Shakespeare's Margins: Doubling in the two texts of _King Lear_ ' ( _Theatre Survey_ , 32 (1991), 187–213), Skiles Howard finds that the Quarto text 'can be performed throughout without exceeding the number of players [i.e. 14] in the opening scene', and distributes the roles on this basis.
 The complexities of Edgar's role are illuminatingly examined by Michael E. Mooney in '"Edgar I Nothing am": _Figurenposition_ in _King Lear_ ', _SS 38_ (1985), 153–66.
 The pioneering study is Enid Welsford's _The Fool: His Social and Literary History_ (1935, etc.). Later criticism includes R. H. Goldsmith, _Wise Fools in Shakespeare_ (East Lancing, Mich., 1955), pp. 60–7, 95–9.
 The case for Armin having played the Fool is argued by e.g. Leslie Hotson, _Shakespeare's Motley_ (1952), Chapter 7, and C. S. Felver, _Robert Armin, Shakespeare's Fool_ (Kent, Ohio, 1961). S. Booth argues for doubling the roles in modern productions, without noting that this would require the Fool to be played by a female (or Cordelia by a male) actor: 'Speculations on Doubling in Shakespeare's Plays', in _Shakespeare: the Theatrical Dimension_ , ed. P. C. McGuire and D. A. Samuelson (New York, 1979), pp. 103–31. Armin's writings are reprinted in facsimile in _The Collected Works of Robert Armin_ , with introductions by J. P. Feather, 2 vols. (New York, 1992).
 Ogden and Scouten, pp. 129–32.
 Whereas Leslie Hotson considered that Lear's Fool 'belonged to the contemporary scene' ( _Shakespeare's Motley_ (1952), p. 100), David Wiles (p. 190) regards Shakespeare's use of the traditional fool's appurtenances as deliberately historicizing; 'Lear's fool belongs to a vanished world, and not to the social reality of 1605'.
 Donald Wolfit's performance is reconstructed by Ronald Harwood in his _Sir Donald Wolfit: His Life and Work in the Unfashionable Theatre_ (1971), pp. 160–4; repr. in Wells, _Theatre_ , pp. 224–30.
 Quoted by Shickman, p. 76.
 e.g. Ottavia Piccolo (another woman) in Giorgio Strehler's 1972 Italian production (discussed by Pia Kleber in _Foreign Shakespeare_ , ed. D. Kennedy (Cambridge, 1993), pp. 152–3), and Antony Sher in Adrian Noble's 1982 RSC production.
 e.g. Michael Williams in Trevor Nunn's RSC production of 1976.
 A. Sher, 'The Fool in _King Lear_ ', in _Players of Shakespeare 2: Further Essays in Shakespearean Performance by Players with the Royal Shakespeare Company_ , ed. R. Jackson and R. Smallwood (Cambridge, 1988), pp. 151–66; pp. 154–5.
 D. Bradley, work cited in p. 38, n. 2, p. 34.
 D. Bradley states 'It is really a misnomer . . . to speak of "sub-plots" or "double-plots" in Elizabethan plays', pointing to 'the Gloucester family . . . whose history is fully explored and whose life-lines are interwoven, both in actuality and in the tightest thematic way, with those of the main characters' (p. 35).
 Duncan Salkeld, _Madness and Drama in the Age of Shakespeare_ (Manchester, 1993), p. 103.
 Howard Felperin writes 'Edgar's "madness", as a role based upon a wholly traditional and external view of madness as demonic possession, is actually the antithesis of the true madness of Lear, since the latter arises from the breakdown of roles whereas the former is itself a role and therefore a protection against a maddening overperception' ( _Shakespearean Representation: Mimesis and Modernity in Elizabethan Tragedy_ (Princeton, 1977), p. 101).
 Felperin takes a contrary view: Gloucester 'naïvely wishes he could go mad like Lear, mistaking madness for a protection against pain when it is in fact an exposure to it' (p. 101).
 Described by Granville Barker as, 'as far as the mere march of the action is concerned', a 'wholly unjustifiable scene' (p. 275).
 The seminal study is G. Wilson Knight's essay ' _King Lear_ and the Comedy of the Grotesque', in _The Wheel of Fire_ (1930), pp. 160–76. Susan Snyder develops the theme in _The Comic Matrix of Shakespeare_ ' _s Tragedies_ (Princeton, 1979), pp. 137–79.
 Reibetanz writes suggestively on the play's links with romance (article cited in p. 25 n. 3, pp. 116–17).
 Shakespeare leaves vague Cordelia's motives for her return to England and its place in the play's time scheme. R. Knowles discusses the topic in 'Cordelia's Return' ( _SQ_ 51 (1999), 33–50), arguing for deliberate indeterminacy 'carefully calculated so as not to raise questions in the audiences' minds about the event's verisimilitude while allowing for maximum dramatic effect, particularly in preserving the integrity and intensity of Lear's madness and in propelling the action to its denouement' (p. 50).
 Almost all Shakespeare's plays end with a rhymed couplet, followed in _Hamlet, Timon, Coriolanus_ , and _2 Henry IV_ by a half-line of command or interrogation, and occasionally by a rhymed song or a prose epilogue. The exceptions are _Two Gentlemen, 1 Henry VI, LLL, Much Ado_ , and _Winter_ ' _s Tale_.
 Vickers, _Prose_ , pp. 351–71, offers a fine study of the play's use of prose.
 Marianne L. Novy, _Love_ ' _s Argument_ (cited in p. 26 n. 1), p. 154.
 Vickers, _Prose_ , table on p. 433, based on Alfred Hart, 'The Number of Lines in Shakespeare's plays', _RES_ 8 (1932), 19–28.
 Vickers, p. 352.
 Rosalie L. Colie writes on paradoxes in _King Lear_ in her _Pseudodoxica Academica_ (Princeton, 1966), pp. 461–81. Brian Vickers offers a critical investigation of Shakespeare's reading in collections of paradoxes in ' _King Lear_ and Renaissance Paradoxes', _MLR_ 63 (1968), 305–14.
 Winifred M. T. Nowottny, 'Some Aspects of the Style of _King Lear_ ', _SS 13_ (1960), 49–57.
 'Lear's Questions', _SS 10_ (1957), 90–7; p. 90.
 Use on the text of a computer search facility brings home the fact that many words are repeated throughout; so for example 'father' occurs 78 times in the dialogue, 'man' and 'men' 73 (and 'gentleman' 8), 'see' and its cognates 68, 'love' 65, 'king' 64, 'speak' 63, 'eye' 56, 'fool' and 'folly' 56, 'daughter' 55, 'nature', 'natural' and 'unnatural' 48, 'old' 46, 'night' and 'tonight' 39, 'nothing' 27, 'lady' 23, 'fiend' 21, 'wise' and 'wisdom' 19, 'feel' 17, 'wind' 15, 'dog' 13, 'rain' 10, and 'thunder' 9.
 Jill Levenson writes on silence in the play in 'What the Silence Said: Still Points in _King Lear_ ', in _Shakespeare 1971: Proceedings of the World Shakespeare Congress in Vancouver, August 1971_ , ed. C. Leech and J. M. R. Margeson (Toronto, 1972), pp. 215–29.
 'The Ideology of Superfluous Things; _King Lear_ as Period Piece', in _Subject and Object in Renaissance Culture_ , ed. M. de Grazia _et al_. (Cambridge, 1996), 17–42; reprinted in _Shakespeare_ ' _s Tragedies_ , ed. S. Zimmerman, New Casebooks (1998), 255–84; p. 282.
 Notably by Jan Kott in _Shakespeare our Contemporary_ (1964), ' _King Lear_ or _Endgame_ ', pp. 101–37.
 I discuss this and similar episodes in 'The Integration of Violent Action in _Titus Andronicus_ ', in _Shakespearean Continuities: Essays in Honour of E. A. J. Honigmann_ , ed. J. Batchelor, T. Cain, and C. Lamont (1997), pp. 206–37.
 Halstead, xiii. 486.
 At the Old Vic in 1989, discussed in S. Wells, 'Shakespeare Production in England in 1989', _SS 43_ (1991), pp. 188–9.
 Cited in C. M. Ingleby _et al., The Shakspere Allusion-Book_ , revised version, 2 vols. (Oxford, 1932), p. 272.
 Sisson mentions the case briefly in his _Lost Plays of Shakespeare's Age_ (Cambridge, 1936), p. 4, and discusses it at greater length in 'Shakespeare Quartos as Prompt-copies', _RES_ 18 (1942), 129–43. Sisson writes 'There is no good reason for suspecting that it might have been the old Chronicle History of _King Leir_ ', but produces no real arguments on either side of the question. Among those who similarly assume that the play was Shakespeare's are Muir (p. xl), Foakes (p. 90) and Halio (F, p. 34) in their editions, and Barbara Mowat in her fine essay 'The Theater and Literary Culture', in _A New History of Early English Drama_ , ed. J. D. Cox and D. S. Kastan (New York, 1997), pp. 213–48. It is true that a comic actor, William Harrison, said in evidence that he had played the clown's, or fool's, part in both _Pericles_ and the _Lear_ play, but this might apply as well to the role of Mumford in _Leir_ as to the Fool in _Lear_.
 Albert Cohn, _Shakespeare in Germany in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries_ (1865), p. cxvi.
 _The Shakspere Allusion-Book_ —admittedly imperfect—lists only four allusions before 1640. Echoes of _Lear_ —whether derived from text or performance—in the anonymous, manuscript play _Tom o' Lincoln_ ( _c_.1611; Oxford, Malone Society Reprints, 1992), known only since 1973, bear witness to the contemporary impact of Lear's sufferings.
 'On Sitting Down to Read _King Lear_ Once Again' (1818). Keats's letters, too, bear witness to the profundity of his response to the play. The significance of his sonnet in relation to his development as a poet is discussed in R. S. White's _Keats as a Reader of Shakespeare_ (1987), pp. 23–30. A broader study is D. G. James's 'Keats and _King Lear_ ', _SS 13_ (1960), 58–68.
 Some editors, however, continue the practice in their notes, e.g. Riverside, second edition (1997), and Norton (1997). It seems reasonable to do so when a location for the action is clearly implied, and provided it is understood that this need not be, and in Shakespeare's theatre would not have been, realistically represented. This and related topics are discussed in S. Wells, 'To Read a Play', in _Reading Plays: Interpretation and Reception_ , ed. P. Holland and H. Scolnicov (Cambridge, 1991), pp. 30–55.
 A heath appears to have been represented by a stock piece of scenery in Tate's adaptation, and to have entered the editorial tradition via Tate through Rowe. James Ogden discusses the effect of the tradition in 'Lear's Blasted Heath', Ogden and Scouten, 135–45.
 The standard reference work on English-language prompt books to 1961 is Charles H. Shattuck's _The Shakespeare Promptbooks: A Descriptive Catalogue_ (Urbana, 1965), which describes 116 items for _Lear_ and lists others.
 Much detailed information about changes made both to Tate's text and to Shakespeare's in a large number of English and American prompt books and acting editions up to 1974 is given in Halstead, vols. 11 (unpaginated) and 13, pp. 463–91. Chaotically organized and far from reliable, this work may nevertheless be useful for initial guidance.
 _Roscius Anglicanus_ (1708), ed. J. Milhous and R. D. Hume (Society for Theatre Research, 1987), p. 72. The date is more firmly established by a journal entry quoted in _The London Stage, 1600–1800_ , Part 1, 1660–1700 (Carbondale, 1965), ed. W. van Lennep _et al_., p. 75.
 Tate's _Lear_ has been frequently reprinted, e.g. in _Shakespeare Made Fit: Restoration Adaptations of Shakespeare_ , ed. S. Clark (Everyman, 1997). The most thoroughly edited text is in Christopher Spencer, ed., _Five Restoration Adaptations of Shakespeare_ (Urbana, 1965); there is a helpful edition by A. J. Black, Regents Restoration Drama series, 1975.
 N. K. Maguire studies and defends the play as 'part of the Tory counter-propaganda campaign' in reaction to the 1678–83 Exclusion crisis in 'Nahum Tate's _King Lear_. "the king's blest restoration" ', in _The Appropriation of Shakespeare_ , ed. J. Marsden (Hemel Hempstead, 1991), pp. 29–42; M. Dobson supports this view in his _The Making of the National Poet: Shakespeare, Adaptation and Authorship_ (Oxford, 1992), esp. pp. 80–6.
 _Spectator_ , 41 (16 April 1711).
 Garrick's successive changes are summarized in _The Plays of David Garrick_ , vol. 3, ed. H. W. Pedicord and F. L. Bergmann (Carbondale, 1981), pp. 447–50. According to Halstead Garrick 'played 1567 lines of Shakespeare compared to Tate's 1116'. His production is discussed by G. W. Stone, 'Garrick's Production of _King Lear_ , A Study in the Temper of the Eighteenth-Century Mind', _Studies in Philology_ , 45 (1948), 89–103, and Peter Holland writes on Garrick's evolving view of the role in _Shakespeare: An Illustrated Stage History_ , ed. J. Bate and R. Jackson (Oxford, 1996), pp. 82–6.
 Cited in B. Vickers, _Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage_ , vol. 4 (1976), pp. 247–9.
 Percy Fitzgerald ( _The Life of David Garrick_ (1899)) ascribes the first epigram to Richard Berenger (d. 1782), and quotes the second anonymously, saying that Theophilus Cibber maliciously pretended to believe that Garrick wrote it himself.
 Henry Bate in _The Morning Post_ , 22 May 1776, repr. in Wells, _Theatre_ , pp. 28–9. No doubt the response was provoked in part by the audience's knowledge that this was a farewell performance.
 _A General View of the Stage_ (1759), pp. 234–5.
 W. Moelwyn Merchant, _Shakespeare and the Artist_ (Oxford, 1959), pp. 190–8; quotations from pp. 191, 193, 196.
 From Johnson's notes on the play, conveniently reprinted in _Samuel Johnson on Shakespeare_ (Harmondsworth, 1989), ed. H. Woudhuysen.
 There is a full account and analysis of the adaptation in _Shakespeare for the Age of Reason: the earliest stage adaptations of Jean-François Ducis, 1769–1792_ , by John Golder (Oxford, 1992), pp. 112–53. Golder writes 'it is hard to believe that audiences failed to identify in Léar the hapless Louis XVI' (p. 153), rather as in England somewhat later parallels were drawn between Lear and the supposedly mad King George III.
 Simon Williams, _Shakespeare on the German Stage: Volume 1_ , _1586–1914_ (Cambridge, 1990), p. 83.
 Vol. 3, pp. 320–6; cited by Carlisle, pp. 270–1.
 Odell, ii. 52.
 From 1814 to 1819, Kean, playing in Wroughton's adaptation of _Richard II_ , had what must have been the galling experience of hearing Lear's words over the dead Cordelia spoken by the Queen over himself (Odell, ii. 74–5).
 C. J. Shattuck, _Shakespeare on the American Stage_ , vol. 2 (Cranbury, NJ, 1987), p. 33.
 Williams (p. 68 n. 2), p. 116.
 Odell describes Macready's text, ii. 195–7, and the staging, ii. 210–11. Lacy's acting edition shows that on his first entry on the vast stage, Lear was accompanied by some sixty extras.
 Forster's appreciative review (often mistakenly ascribed to Charles Dickens), which pays especial attention to the role of the Fool, is reprinted in e.g. Wells, _Theatre_ , pp. 72–7.
 Theodor Fontane, _Shakespeare in the London Theatre, 1855–8_ , translated by R. Jackson (1999), p. 102.
 The performance is described in _The Italian Shakespearians_ , by Marvin Carlson (Washington, DC, 1985), pp. 101–8; Henry James's review of a performance in Boston in 1883 is reprinted in his _The Scenic Art_ , ed. A. Wade (1949), pp. 178–80. Carlson also writes on Ernesto Rossi's Lear, which he toured from the 1870s to 1896, occasionally speaking a few lines, sometimes even the whole of the last act, in English.
 _The Idler_ and _The Illustrated London News_ , cited by A. Hughes, _Henry Irving_ , _Shakespearean_ (Cambridge, 1981), p. 118. Similar criticism continued to appear; as late as 1955, Margaret Webster expressed disbelief that _Lear_ 'ever was or ever will be a good play in the sense of a theater piece' ( _Shakespeare Without Tears_ (Cleveland), pp. 214–23), cited Carlisle, p. 278.
 Hughes, pp. 118–19.
 The production is described in _André Antoine_ , by Jean Chothia (Cambridge, 1991), pp. 134–43. According to Robert Speaight ( _Shakespeare on the Stage_ (1973) pp. 183) it was the first Paris production of a complete Shakespeare play.
 Dennis Kennedy, _Granville Barker and the Dream of Theatre_ (Cambridge, 1985), p. 152; Bratton, p. 43.
 Lamb's essay, also referred to in p. 2 n. 2, is an eloquent tribute to the play for all its anti-theatrical bias.
 Bradley, p. 269.
 p. 266. Bratton describes successive stagings of the storm, pp. 26–30.
 Ralph Berry, 'Komisarjevsky at Stratford-upon-Avon', _SS 36_ (1983), 73–84; p. 79.
 Unfortunately Barker's theatre text appears not to have survived. Gielgud writes briefly about the production in his _Stage Directions_ (1965), pp. 51–5, and prints rehearsal notes along with letters from Barker, pp. 121–33. Dennis Kennedy discusses the production in _Granville Barker and the Dream of Theatre_ , pp. 156–8, drawing on an unpublished account by Hallam Fordham, with notes by Gielgud, housed in the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington. Gielgud, who had already played Lear at the Old Vic in 1931, at the age of 27, did so again at Stratford in 1950 and 1955; he recorded it for radio and audio cassette (Random House, ISBN 1–85686–202–X) in a Renaissance Theatre Company production celebrating his ninetieth birthday in 1994.
 _The Fugitive Art_ (1952), pp. 152–5.
 At Stratford-upon-Avon the New Temple, and later the New Penguin, editions have been popular, mainly no doubt because they offer a clean page. In recent years directors have sometimes made statements about textual policy; for example Adrian Noble's Stratford production of 1993, with Robert Stephens as Lear, stated in its programme that about four hundred lines were cut, while leaving the reader to assume that this was from the conflated version. In 1974 Buzz Goodbody directed a two-and-a-half hour studio production, entitled simply _Lear_ , which was explicitly described as 'a cut version . . . devised for schools and public performances'; it featured an original Prologue concerned with social injustice.
 The roles of the Fool and Edgar, especially in his persona of Poor Tom, have often been abbreviated, doubtless on grounds of comprehensibility.
 Whether Brook was, as some assumed, actively trying to put Kott's interpretation into practice is disputed: Leggatt, p. 46.
 The prompt book shows that Brook adjusted the final scene to go straight from Kent's 'Is he not here?' (24.232) to 'Howl, howl, howl . . .' (24. 253), omitting the carrying on of Goneril's and Regan's bodies. Maynard Mack is strongly critical of Brook's interpretation and the way it was achieved: pp. 30–2, 38–41. Alexander Leggatt, who (like me) was present at the first performance, offers a full, balanced, and appreciative account of the production, which he (like many others of his generation) found revelatory, and of the varying reactions that it evoked. Although in Brook's film based on this production the text is very heavily cut, the comforting of Gloucester is restored to the extent that a servant is seen to break an egg and apply its contents to Gloucester's eye-socket.
 David Richman, 'The _King Lear_ Quarto in Rehearsal and Performance', _SQ_ 37 (1986), 374–82.
 Peter Holland discusses the production in _English Shakespeares_ , pp. 37–44.
 'Lear's knights literally demolished the set, throwing plates and tankards, up-ending the heavy table on which presumably the king's dinner was soon to be served, and behaving in general like boors—as if the visible courtesy of their spokesman earlier, Albany's significant unawareness of what Goneril is complaining about, and Lear's explicit description of his knights . . . had no existence in the play.' (Mack, pp. 30–1.)
 The opening sentence of a review, originally printed in _The Observer_ , reprinted in _Peter Brook: A Theatrical Casebook_ , ed. David Williams (1988, revised 1991), pp. 23–7. This volume also includes 'Lear Log' by Charles Marowitz (pp. 6–22), a revealing account of rehearsals for the production based on his experience as Assistant Director.
 Holland, p. 48.
 Quotations are from Robert Smallwood's review, _SS 51_ (1998), 219–55; p. 246.
 Bergman's production is reviewed by I. Lindblad, _SQ_ 36 (1985), 458–60.
 A. J. Nouryel, 'Shakespeare and the Japanese Stage', in _Foreign Shakespeare_ (cited in p. 41 n. 2); quoted from p. 265.
 L. Boose and R. Burt, 'Totally Clueless? Shakespeare goes Hollywood in the 1990s', in _Shakespeare the Movie_ , ed. L. Boose and R. Burt (1997), pp. 8–22; p. 9.
 Smallwood, p. 251.
 Screen versions from 1909 onwards are studied in Kenneth S. Rothwell's _A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century of Film and Television_ (Cambridge, 1999).
 Michael Birkett, who produced the film, made in Denmark, discusses the transition from stage to screen in an interview printed in R. Manvell's _Shakespeare and the Film_ (1971), pp. 136–43. Leggatt offers a critical appreciation, pp. 95–106, and also of other film and television adaptations. Brook had directed Orson Welles in a 73-minute American television film made in 1953, discussed by Tony Howard, 'When Peter Met Orson: The 1953 CBS _King Lear_ ', in _Shakespeare the Movie_ , pp. 121–34.
 _Shakespeare on Television_ , ed. J. C. Bulman and H. R. Coursen (Hanover, New Hampshire, and London, 1988), includes essays comparing the Elliott–Olivier version with the production directed for BBC television by Jonathan Miller, with Michael Hordern as Lear, along with selections from reviews of these and other televised productions.
 Kozintsev writes powerfully about play and film in _King Lear: The Space of Tragedy: The Diary of a Film Director_ (1977). Context as well as appreciation is provided in _Shakespeare in Eastern Europe_ , by Zdeněk Stříbrný (Oxford, 2000), who also discusses a number of East European productions and adaptations of the play.
 Smiley writes about the creation of her novel in 'Shakespeare in Iceland', _Shakespeare and the Twentieth Century_ , ed. J. Bate _et al_. (Newark, NJ, 1998), pp. 41–59.
 _King Lear_ is No. 265 in W. W. Greg's _Bibliography of the English Printed Drama to the Restoration_ , 4 vols. (1970), i. 264–6.
 _TC_ , p. 49.
 _The Texts of_ ' _King Lear_ ' _and Their Origins, Vol. 1, Nicholas Okes and the First Quarto_ (Cambridge, 1982)—surely one of the most impressive works of scholarship and of scholarly printing ever published. (Vol. 2 has not appeared.)
 The classic study is W. W. Greg's _The Variants in the First Quarto of_ ' _King Lear_ ' (1940).
 There is a myth, circulated even among textual scholars, that the Oxford edition wilfully follows Q when that edition could easily and certainly be corrected from F. So for example E. A. J. Honigmann writes 'Why . . . refuse help from the alternative version, which may supply the uncorrupted reading?' (review of the Norton edition, _N & Q_ 244 (1999), p. 114). In fact the Oxford text based on the Quarto adopts around 120 readings from F in the dialogue, along with others in stage directions. Not all these readings are accepted in the present edition.
 Perrett, p. 136.
 Allan G. Chester, 'Richard Johnson's _Golden Garland_ ' ( _Modern Language Quarterly_ , 10 (1949), 61–7), p. 66.
 'Of the 4,000 ballads likely published before 1600, only about 260 sheets survive, including fragments and duplicates' (Bruce R. Smith, _The Acoustic World of Early Modern England_ (Chicago, 1999), p. 170).
 Perrett, p. 139.
 _Lost Plays of Shakespeare_ ' _s Age_ (Cambridge, 1936), p. 120.

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