Lear. Because they are not eight.
Fool. Yes indeed. Thou wouldst make a good Fool. Lear. To take't again perforce!deg Monster ingratitude!
Fool. If thou wert my Fool, Nuncle, I'd have thee beaten for being old before thy time.
Lear. How's that?
Fool. Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.
20 on's of his
22 of on
32 horns (1) snail's horns (2) cuckold's horns
33 nature paternal instincts
36 seven stars the Pleiades
36 moe more
36 pretty apt
40 To ... perforce (1) of Goneril, who has forcibly taken away Lear's privileges; or (2) of Lear, who meditates a forcible resumption of authority
Lear. O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven! Keep me in temper;deg I would not be mad!
[Enter Gentleman.]
How now, are the horses ready?
Gentleman. Ready, my lord.
Lear. Come, boy.
Fool. She that's a maid now, and laughs at my departure, Shall not be a maid long, unless things be cut shorter.deg Exeunt
47 in temper sane
51-52 She ... shorter the maid who laughs, missing the tragic implications of this quarrel, will not have sense enough to preserve her virginity ("things" = penises)
ACT 2
Scene 1. [The Earl of Gloucester's castle.]
Enter Edmund and Curan, severally.deg
Edmund. Savedeg thee, Curan.
Curan. And you, sir. I have been with your father, and given him notice that the Duke of Cornwall and Regan his duchess will be here with him this night.
Edmund. How comes that?
Curan. Nay, I know not. You have heard of the news abroad? I mean the whispered ones, for they are yet but ear-kissing arguments.deg
Edmund. Not I. Pray you, what are they?
Curan. Have you heard of no likelydeg wars toward,deg 'twixt the Dukes of Cornwall and Albany?
Edmund. Not a word.
Curan. You may do, then, in time. Fare you well, sir. Exit.
Edmund. The Duke be here tonight? The better!deg best! 2.1.1 s.d severally separately (from different entrances on stage)
1 Save God save
9 ear-kissing arguments subjects whispered in the ear
11 likely probable
11 toward impending
16 The better so much the better
This weaves itself perforcedeg into my business.
My father hath set guard to take my brother,
And I have one thing of a queasy questiondeg
Which I must act. Briefnessdeg and Fortune, work!
Brother, a word; descend. Brother, I say!
Enter Edgar.
My father watches. O sir, fly this place.
Intelligencedeg is given where you are hid.
You have now the good advantage of the night.
Have you not spoken 'gainst the Duke of Cornwall?
He's coming hither, now i' th' night, i' th' haste,deg
And Regan with him. Have you nothing said
Upon his partydeg 'gainst the Duke of Albany?
Advise yourself.deg
Edgar. I am sure on't,deg not a word. Edmund. I hear my father coming. Pardon me:
In cunningdeg I must draw my sword upon you.
Draw, seem to defend yourself; now quit youdeg well.
Yield! Come before my father! Light ho, here!
Fly, brother. Torches, torches!--So farewell.
Exit Edgar.
Some blood drawn on me would beget opiniondeg
[Wounds his arm]
Of my more fierce endeavor. I have seen drunkards
Do more than this in sport. Father, father!
Stop, stop! No help?
Enter Gloucester, and Servants with torches.
Gloucester. Now, Edmund, where's the villain?
Edmund. Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out, Mumbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon
To stand auspicious mistress.
Gloucester. But where is he? 17 perforce necessarily
19 of a queasy question that requires delicate handling (to be "queasy" is to be on the point of vomiting)
20 Briefness speed
23 Intelligence information
26 i' th' haste in great haste
28 Upon his party censuring his enmity
29 Advise yourself reflect
29 on't of it
31 In cunning as a pretense
32 quit you acquit yourself
35 beget opinion create the impression
Edmund. Look, sir, I bleed.
Gloucester. Where is the villain, Edmund?
Edmund. Fled this way, sir, when by no means he
could--
Gloucester. Pursue him, ho! Go after.
[Exeunt some Servants.]
By no means what?
Edmund. Persuade me to the murder of your lordship; But that I told him the revenging gods
'Gainst parricides did all the thunder bend;deg
Spoke with how manifold and strong a bond
The child was bound to th' father. Sir, in fine,deg
Seeing how loathly oppositedeg I stood
To his unnatural purpose, in felldeg motiondeg
With his prepared sword he charges home
My unprovideddeg body, latcheddeg mine arm;
But when he saw my best alarumeddeg spirits
Bold in the quarrel's right,deg roused to th'
encounter,
Or whether gasteddeg by the noise I made,
Full suddenly he fled.
Gloucester. Let him fly far.
Not in this land shall he remain uncaught; And found--dispatch.deg The noble Duke my master,
My worthy archdeg and patron, comes tonight.
By his authority I will proclaim it,
That he which finds him shall deserve our thanks,
Bringing the murderous coward to the stake.
He that conceals him, death.deg
Edmund. When I dissuaded him from his intent, And found him pightdeg to do it, with curstdeg speech
I threatened to discoverdeg him. He replied, 48 bend aim
50 In fine finally
51 loathly opposite bitterly opposed
52 fell deadly
52 motion thrust (a term from fencing)
54 unprovided unprotected
54 latched wounded (lanced)
55 best alarumed wholly aroused
56 Bold ... right confident in the tightness of my cause
57 gasted struck aghast
60 dispatch i.e., he will be killed
61 arch chief
65 death (the same elliptical form that characterizes "dispatch," 1.60)
67 pight determined
67 curst angry
68 discover expose
"Thou unpossessingdeg bastard, dost thou think,
If I would stand against thee, would the reposaldeg
Of any trust, virtue, or worth in thee
Make thy words faithed?deg No. What I should
deny--
As this I would, ay, though thou didst produce
My very characterdeg--I'd turn it all
To thy suggestion,deg plot, and damned practice.deg
And thou must make a dullard of the world,deg
If they not thoughtdeg the profits of my death
Were very pregnantdeg and potential spiritsdeg
To make thee seek it."
Gloucester. O strange and fasteneddeg villain! Would he deny his letter, said he? I never gotdeg him. Tucketdeg within. Hark, the Duke's trumpets. I know not why he
comes.
All portsdeg I'll bar; the villain shall not 'scape;
The Duke must grant me that. Besides, his picture I
will send far and near, that all the kingdom
May have due note of him; and of my land,
Loyal and naturaldeg boy, I'll work the means
To make thee capable.deg
Enter Cornwall, Regan, and Attendants.
Cornwall. How now, my noble friend! Since I came hither, Which I can call but now, I have heard strange news.
Regan. If it be true, all vengeance comes too short Which can pursue th' offender. How dost, my lord?
Gloucester. O madam, my old heart is cracked, it's cracked.
69 unpossessing beggarly (landless)
70 reposal placing
72 faithed believed
74 character handwriting
75 suggestion instigation
75 practice device
76 make ... world think everyone stupid
77 not thought did not think
78 pregnant teeming with incitement
78 potential spirits powerful evil spirits
79 fastened hardened
80 got begot
80 s.d. Tucket (Cornwall's special trumpet call)
82 ports exits, of whatever sort
86 natural (1) kind (filial) (2) illegitimate
87 capable able to inherit
Regan. What, did my father's godson seek your life? He whom my father named, your Edgar?
Gloucester. O lady, lady, shame would have it hid.
Regan. Was he not companion with the riotous knights That tended upon my father?
Gloucester. I know not, madam. 'Tis too bad, too bad.
Edmund Yes, madam, he was of that consort.deg
Regan. No marvel then, though he were ill affected.deg 'Tis they have putdeg him on the old man's death,
To have th' expense and wastedeg of his revenues.
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 hear that you have shown your father A childlikedeg office.
Edmund. It was my duty, sir.
Gloucester. He did bewray his practice,deg 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 Be feared of doingdeg harm. Make your own purpose,
How in my strength you please.deg For you, Edmund,
Whose virtue and obediencedeg doth this instant
So much commend itself, you shall be ours.
Natures of such deep trust we shall much need;
You we first seize on.
Edmund. I shall serve you, sir, Truly, however else.
Gloucester. For him I thank your Grace.
99 consort company
100 ill affected disposed to evil
101 put set
102 expense and waste squandering
108 childlike filial
110 bewray his practice disclose his plot
114 of doing because he might do
114-15 Make ... please use my power freely, in carrying out your plans for his capture
116 virtue and obedience virtuous obedience
Cornwall. You know not why we came to visit you? Regan. Thus out of season, threading dark-eyed night. Occasions, noble Gloucester, of some prize,deg
Wherein we must have use of your advice.
Our father he hath writ, so hath our sister,
Of differences,deg whichdeg I best thought it fit
To answer fromdeg our home. The several
messengers
From hence attend dispatch.deg Our good old friend,
Lay comforts to your bosom,deg and bestow
Your needfuldeg counsel to our businesses,
Which craves the instant use.deg
Gloucester. I serve you, madam.
Your Graces are right welcome.
Exeunt. Flourish.
Scene 2. [Before Gloucester's castle.]
Enter Kent and Oswald, severally.
Oswald. Good dawningdeg to thee, friend. Art of this house?deg
Kent. Ay.
Oswald. Where may we set our horses?
Kent. I' th' mire.
Oswald. Prithee, if thou lov'st me, tell me.
Kent. I love thee not.
122 prize importance
125 differences quarrels
125 which (referring not to "differences," but to the letter Lear has written)
126 from away from
127 attend dispatch are waiting to be sent off
128 Lay ... bosom console yourself (about Edgar's supposed treason)
129 needful needed
131 craves the instant use demands immediate transaction
2.2.1 dawning (dawn is impending, but not yet arrived)
1-2 Art of this house i.e., do you live here
Oswald. Why then, I care not for thee.
Kent. If I had thee in Lipsbury Pinfold,deg I would make thee care for me.
Oswald. Why dost thou use me thus? I know thee not. Kent. Fellow, I know thee.
Oswald. What dost thou know me for?
Kent. A knave, a rascal, an eater of broken meats;deg a base, proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited,deg hundred-pound,deg filthy worsted-stockingdeg knave; a lily-livered, action-taking,deg whoreson, glass-gazing, deg superserviceable,deg finicaldeg rogue; one-trunk-inheritingdeg slave; one that wouldst be a bawd in way of good service,deg and art nothing but the compositiondeg of a knave, beggar, coward, pander, and the son and heir of a mongrel bitch; one whom I will beat into clamorous whining if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition.deg
Oswald. Why, what a monstrous fellow art thou, thus to rail on one that is neither known of thee nor knows thee!
Kent. What a brazen-faced varlet art thou to deny thou knowest me! Is it two days since I tripped up thy heels and beat thee before the King? [Drawing his sword] Draw, you rogue, for though it be night, yet the moon shines. I'll make a sop o' th' moonshinedeg of you. You whoreson cullionly barbermonger,deg draw!
9 Lipsbury Pinfold a pound or pen in which strayed animals are enclosed ("Lipsbury" may denote a particular place, or may be slang for "between my teeth")
14 broken meats scraps of food
15 three-suited (the wardrobe permitted to a servant or "knave")
16 hundred-pound (the extent of Oswald's wealth, and thus a sneer at his aspiring to gentility)
16 worsted-stocking (worn by servants)
17 action-taking one who refuses a fight and goes to law instead
17-18 glass-gazing conceited 18 superserviceable sycophantic, serving without principle.
18 finical overfastidious
18-19 one-trunk-inheriting possessing only a trunkful of goods
19-20 bawd ... service pimp, to please his master
20-21 composition compound
24 addition titles
33 sop o' th' moonshine i.e., Oswald will admit the moonlight, and so sop it up, through the open wounds Kent is preparing to give him
34 cuillonly barbermonger base patron of hairdressers (effeminate man)
Oswald. Away, I have nothing to do with thee.
Kent. Draw, you rascal. You come with letters against the King, and take Vanity the puppet'sdeg part against the royalty of her father. Draw, you rogue, or I'll so carbonadodeg your shanks. Draw, you rascal. Come your ways!deg
Oswald. Help, ho! Murder! Help!
Kent. Strike, you slave! Stand, rogue! Stand, you neatdeg slave! Strike! [Beating him]
Oswald. Help, ho! Murder, murder! Enter Edmund, with his rapier drawn, Cornwall,
Regan, Gloucester, Servants.
Edmund. How now? What's the matter? Part!
Kent. With you,deg goodman boy,deg if you please! Come, I'll fleshdeg ye, come on, young master.
Gloucester. Weapons? Arms? What's the matter here?
Cornwall. Keep peace, upon your lives. He dies that strikes again. What is the matter?
Regan. The messengers from our sister and the King.
Cornwall. What is your
difference?deg Speak.
Oswald. I am scarce in breath, my lord.
Kent. No marvel, you have so bestirreddeg your valor. You cowardly rascal, nature disclaims in thee.deg A tailor made thee.deg
Cornwall. Thou art a strange fellow. A tailor make a man?
Kent. A tailor, sir. A stonecutter or a painter could 37 Vanity the puppet's Goneril, here identified with one of the personified characters in the morality plays, which were sometimes put on as puppet shows
39 carbonado cut across, like a piece of meat before cooking
40 Come your ways get along
42 neat (1) foppish (2) unmixed, as in "neat
wine"
46 With you i.e., the quarrel is with you
46 goodman boy young man (peasants are "goodmen"; "boy" is a term of contempt)
47 flesh introduce to blood (term from hunting)
52 difference quarrel
54 bestirred exercised
55 nature disclaims in thee nature renounces any part in you
55-56 A tailor made thee (from the proverb "The tailor makes the man")
not have made him so ill, though they had been but two years o' th' trade.
Cornwall. Speak yet, how grew your quarrel?
Oswald. This ancient ruffian, sir, whose life I have spared at suit ofdeg his gray beard--
Kent. Thou whoreson zed,deg thou unnecessary letter! My lord, if you will give me leave, I will tread this unbolteddeg villain into mortar and daub the wall of a jakesdeg with him. Spare my gray beard, you wagtail! deg
Cornwall. Peace, sirrah! You beastlydeg knave, know you no reverence?
Kent. Yes, sir, but anger hath a privilege.
Cornwall. Why art thou angry?
Kent. That such a slave as this should wear a sword, Who wears no honesty. Such smiling rogues as
these,
Like rats, oft bite the holy cordsdeg atwain
Which are too intrincedeg t' unloose; smoothdeg
every passion
That in the natures of their lords rebel,
Being oil to fire, snow to the colder moods;
Renege,deg affirm, and turn their halcyon beaksdeg
With every gale and varydeg of their masters,
Knowing naught, like dogs, but following.
A plague upon your epilepticdeg visage!
Smile youdeg my speeches, as I were a fool? 64 at suit of out of pity for
65 zed the letter Z, generally omitted in contemporary dictionaries
67 unbolted unsifted, i.e., altogether a villain 68 jakes privy
68-69 wagtail a bird that bobs its tail up and down, and thus suggests obsequiousness
King Lear (Folger Shakespeare Library) Page 12
