307 untented woundings wounds too deep to be probed with a tent (a roll of lint)
308 fond foolish
309 Beweep if you weep over
310 loose (1) let loose (2) lose, as of no avail
311 temper mix with and soften
313 comfortable ready to comfort
316 shape i.e., kingly role
318-19 I cannot ... you i.e., even though my love inclines me to you, I must protest
322 Fool (1) the Fool himself (2) the epithet or character of “fool”
A fox, when one has caught her,
And such a daughter,
Should sure to the slaughter,
If my cap would buy a halter.°
So the Fool follows after.° Exit.
Goneril. This man hath had good counsel. A hundred knights!‘Tis politic° and safe to let him keep
At point° a hundred knights: yes, that on every
dream,
Each buzz,° each fancy, each complaint, dislike,
He may enguard° his dotage with their pow’rs
And hold our lives in mercy.° Oswald, I say!
Albany. Well, you may fear too far.
Goneril. Safer than trust too far.Let me still take away the harms I fear,
Not fear still to be taken.° I know his heart.
What he hath uttered I have writ my sister.
If she sustain him and his hundred knights,
When I have showed-th’ unfitness—
Enter Oswald.
How now, Oswald?
What, have you writ that letter to my sister?
Oswald. Ay, madam.
Goneril. Take you some company,° and away to horse.Inform her full of my particular° fear,
And thereto add such reasons of your own
As may compact° it more. Get you gone,
And hasten your return. [Exit Oswald.] No, no,
my lord,
This milky gentleness and course° of yours,
Though I condemn not,° yet under pardon,327-28 halter, after pronounced “hauter,” “auter”
330 politic good policy
331 At point armed
332 buzz rumor
333 enguard protect
334 in mercy at his mercy
337 Not ... taken rather than remain fearful of being overtaken by them
343 company escort 344 particular own
346 compact strengthen
348 milky ... course mild and gentle way (hendi- adys)
349 condemn not condemn it not
You are much more attasked° for want of wisdom
Than praised for harmful mildness.°
Albany. How far your eyes may pierce I cannot tell; Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.
Goneril. Nay then—
Albany. Well, well, th’ event.° Exeunt.
Scene 5. [Court before the same.]
Enter Lear, Kent, and Fool.
Lear. 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 afore you.
Kent. I will not sleep, my lord, till I have delivered your letter. Exit.
Fool. If a man’s brains were in’s heels, were‘t° not in danger of kibes?°
Lear. Ay, boy.
Fool. Then I prithee be merry. Thy wit shall not go slipshod.°
Lear. Ha, ha, ha.
Fool. Shalt° see thy other daughter will use thee kindly;° for though she’s as like this as a crab‘s° like an apple, yet I can tell what I can tell.
350 attasked taken to task, blamed
351 harmful mildness dangerous indulgence
355 th’ event i.e., we’ll see what happens
1.5.3-4 than ... letter than her reading of the letter brings her to ask
8 were’t i.e., the brains
9 kibes chilblains
11-12 Thy ... slipshod your brains shall not go in slippers (because you have no brains to be protected from chilblains)
14 Shalt thou shalt
15 kindly (1) affectionately (2) after her kind or nature
15 crab crab apple
Lear. Why, what canst thou tell, my boy?
Fool. She will taste as like this as a crab does to a crab. Thou canst tell why one’s nose stands i’ th’ middle on‘s° face?
Lear. No.
Fool. Why, to keep one’s eyes of° either side’s nose, that what a man cannot smell out, he may spy into.
Lear. I did her wrong.
Fool. Canst tell how an oyster makes his shell?
Lear. No.
Fool. Nor I neither; but I can tell why a snail has a house.
Lear. Why?
Fool. Why, to put ’s 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! Be my horses ready?
Fool. Thy asses are gone about ‘em. The reason why the seven stars° are no moe° than seven is a pretty° reason.
Lear. Because they are not eight.
Fool. Yes indeed. Thou wouldst make a good Fool. 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.
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;° 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.° 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.°
Edmund. Save° 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.°
Edmund. Not I. Pray you, what are they?
Curan. Have you heard of no likely° wars toward,° ‘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!° 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 perforce° into my business.
My father hath set guard to take my brother,
And I have one thing of a queasy question°
Which I must act. Briefness° and Fortune, work!
Brother, a word; descend. Brother, I say!
Enter Edgar.
My father watches. O sir, fly this place.
Intelligence° is given where you are hid.
You have now the good advantage of the night.
Have you not spoke
n ‘gainst the Duke of Cornwall?
He’s coming hither, now i’ th’ night, i’ th’ haste,°
And Regan with him. Have you nothing said
Upon his party° ’gainst the Duke of Albany?
Advise yourself.°
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.
Draw, seem to defend yourself; now quit you° well.
Yield! Come before my father! Light ho, here!
Fly, brother. Torches, torches!—So farewell.
Exit Edgar.
Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion°
[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;°
Spoke with how manifold and strong a bond
The child was bound to th’ father. Sir, in fine,°
Seeing how loathly opposite° I stood
To his unnatural purpose, in fell° motion°
With his prepared sword he charges home
My unprovided° body, latched° mine arm;
But when he saw my best alarumed° spirits
Bold in the quarrel’s right,° roused to th’
encounter,
Or whether gasted° 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.° The noble Duke my master,
My worthy arch° 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.°
Edmund. When I dissuaded him from his intent,And found him pight° to do it, with curst° speech
I threatened to discover° 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 unpossessing° bastard, dost thou think,
If I would stand against thee, would the reposal°
Of any trust, virtue, or worth in thee
Make thy words faithed?° No. What I should
deny—
As this I would, ay, though thou didst produce
My very character°—I’d turn it all
To thy suggestion,° plot, and damnèd practice.°
And thou must make a dullard of the world,°
If they not thought° the profits of my death
Were very pregnant° and potential spirits°
To make thee seek it.”
Gloucester. O strange and fastened° villain! Would he deny his letter, said he? I never got° him. Tucket° within. Hark, the Duke’s trumpets. I know not why he
comes.
All ports° 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 natural° boy, I’ll work the means
To make thee capable.°
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.°
Regan. No marvel then, though he were ill affected.°‘Tis they have put° him on the old man’s death,
To have th’ expense and waste° 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 childlike° office.
Edmund. It was my duty, sir.
Gloucester. He did bewray 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 moreBe 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;
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 doi
ng 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,°
Wherein we must have use of your advice.
Our father he hath writ, so hath our sister,
Of differences,° which° I best thought it fit
To answer from° our home. The several
messengers
From hence attend dispatch.° Our good old friend,
Lay comforts to your bosom,° and bestow
Your needful° counsel to our businesses,
Which craves the instant use.°
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 dawning° to thee, friend. Art of this house?°
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
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