Scené vi. In a farmhouse. Lear in his madness holds a fantastic trial of his daughters, in which the Fool and Edgar join. Gloucester enters to warn them to flee to Dover.

Scene vri. Regan and Cornwall have Gloucester's eyes plucked out. Cornwall is killed by a servant who tries to interfere.

The action during these seven scenes occupies one night, but shifts from place to place.

Act IV. This act deals with the kindness shown to the two fathers by the good children. Lear is brought to Dover, and after a time cured of his madness. He wakes to find Cordelia weeping over him. The blind Gloucester is led to Dover by Edgar, who prevents him from casting himself over the cliff. New interests are now developed by the preparations for battle against Cordelia by Albany, Goneril, Regan, and Edmund, and by the intrigues of Goneril and Regan, who both plan to marry Edmund at all costs. Their plots are prevented by Albany, who severely blames Goneril for her conduct toward Lear; and by the discovery of Goneril's letter by Edgar, who kills her messenger Oswald. The act thus provides much diversified stage action.

Scene i. Edgar becomes the guide of Gloucester to Dover.

Scene ii. Goneril parts lovingly from Edmund and is met by Albany, who blames her for her conduct.

Scene iii. Kent and a gentleman discuss Lear's reception by Cordelia. A brief expository scene, like I, iii, and III, i.

Scene iv. Drums and the army. Cordelia talks with a doctor about her father. Another brief expository scene.

Scene v. Regan seeks in vain to induce Oswald to betray his mistress, but succeeds in inciting him to kill Gloucester.

Scene vi. A long scene, full of action. Gloucester attempts to cast himself over Dover Cliff, and is persuaded by Edgar that he has fallen but has been miraculously preserved. Lear, still mad, encounters Gloucester. Later, Oswald, attacking Gloucester, is killed by Edgar, who finds Goneril's letter disclosing her plots. Edgar still neglects to reveal himself to his father.

Scene vir. Lear awakes from a sleep, feeble but sane, and receives Cordelia's loving forgiveness.

In this act the scene is constantly shifting, and little effort is made to indicate the time exaotly.

Act V. This brings all the stories to a conclusion. Lear and Cordelia are defeated and taken prisoners, and their murder is ordered by Edmund. Edmund is accused by Albany and by Edgar, now in armor, who mortally wounds him in a trial by combat. Regan is poisoned by Goneril, who commits suicide. Edmund confesses, but too late to save Cordelia. Gloucester's death is reported, and Kent and Edgar reveal

themselves, but only in time to witness Lear's dying anguish over his murdered child.

Scene i. A martial scene. Drums and colors. Preparations by Edmund and Albany for battle.

Scene ii. A battle scene. Between alarums, Edgar bids farewell to Gloucester.

Scene iii. The conclusion. All the actions come to an end in an amazingly condensed scene. In 320 lines, Lear and Cordelia go happily to prison; Edmund hires a captain to kill them; the two wicked sisters quarrel; Albany accuses Edmund; a trial by combat is announced; Edmund and Edgar exchange defiances and fight; Edmund is wounded; Edgar discloses himself; Edmund confesses ; the deaths of Goneril and Regan are reported; their bodies are brought in; Kent appears; Edmund dies directing them to hasten to Cordelia ; Lear comes bearing the murdered Cordelia ; and the play ends with his grief and death.

Nearly everything in this complicated course of events appears as directly related to the characters of the persons involved. We can trace the results of Lear's folly, Gloucester's indulgence, the wickedness of Goneril, Regan, and Edmund; to some extent, of Edgar's credulousness and Cordelia's reticence. And the Relation of events are not only the results of the charCharacters. acters of the persons, they in turn produce their effects on the characters. In the sub-plot, each scene marks a new result of Gloucester's folly and also a new step in the transformation of his character. At first, amiable but lacking in force, he yields hastilyand credulously to Edmund's accusations against Edgar; but this supposed treachery of Edgar strengthens his pity for Lear and leads him to risk all in loyal service to the King. After his dreadful punishment, his despair is tempered by his kindness to all to the old man (IV, i) and to the supposed Bedlam who guides him. After the failure of his attempt at suicide, he becomes reconciled to fate, grieves for Lear

Plot to

more than for himself, and dies smilingly 6 'twixt joy and grief.” In a similar way the events reflect a transformation and chastening of Lear's character. At first, violent, hasty, selfish, thinking only of the affection which he craves for himself, he is unjust to others, and most of all to those who love him best. After Goneril's falseness is shown, he is still violent and unjust, but also questioning, humiliated, bewildered. In the interview with Regan (II, iv) he seeks excuses for her, shuns further cursing, and even as he is cast out into the storm, he cries not for revenge but for patience and self-control. In the sufferings on the heath, as his reason begins to break, he thinks of others, of poor naked wretches everywhere, of the faithful Fool by his side. After his madness is cured, he is humble, repentant, clinging to Cordelia and hoping only for “her kind nursery,” when his life ends in terrible grief over her death.

The plot, indeed, had its chief interest for Shakespeare in the opportunities which it offered for the representation of human nature. Men's motives are all conceived with an extraordinary intensity. Ambition, cruelty, lust, loyalty, unselfishness war with one another in a tremendous conflict that tears men's souls in its painful convulsions. We seem to be witnessing a battle of naked passions. And yet these passions, intense and puissant though they be, are ever akin to those we experience, and their frightful results are akin to those that we know too often mar the peace of parent and child. None of us may have known a Regan or a Cordelia, but every one has known persons like them in some particular. And each of the persons is not

parallels & opposites in

in mort encrything

only lifelike, but distinguished clearly from the others. Each has a distinct individuality. Gloucester and Lear have parallel experiences, but how different the two natures! Even in the wreck of his mind Lear's powers of intellect and will are still apparent, but we are never impressed by either in Gloucester. Goneril and Edmund are both forceful and venomous, but she is direct, outspoken, while he is subtle and insinuating. Kent and Oswald are both examples of faithfulness, but Oswald is spruce and affected, Kent blunt and quick-tempered. The tragedy of human suffering appears

in

persons who are almost superhuman in passional intensity, yet clearly differentiated and individualized as in life.

For us, as for Shakespeare himself, the chief interest in the play is in the characters. Our study of the Our Stady play is naturally directed largely to underCharacters. standing them. As we read we find aur. selves desirous of knowing them better ; we 5 ourselves in their places; we leave for a time or immediate surroundings, and take part in their life. And after we have read the play, we retain from their histories some meaning for ourselves. We bring the persons of the play back into our places and ask what they have to say of importance for our daily thought and conduct. It is through this process of a double identification with the actors of a drama or a novel — first putting ourselves in their places, and then putting them in our places — that we derive some of our most pleasurable experiences with literature. And we can derive little pleasure from any piece of literature unless we are willing thus to identify ourselves with its life.

Difficulties

The study of Shakespeare's characters, however, offers some difficulties, of which especial note may well be taken. There is, in the first place, a difficulty arising from the dramatic form. Each actor is presented to us only in a few speeches and a few deeds. A novel would give many more speeches and deeds and then add much in the way of description of Dramatic and interpretation, telling of the appear- ization. ance of each person, of his temperament, motives, and the impressions made by him upon others; but there is no room for all this in a play. On the stage the play has some advantages over the novel, through the aids of costume, gesture, and impersonation generally, but these aids are denied to the reader. The play may for him indicate the impressions made by one person on another, and to a slight extent employ description, but in the main its presentation of character must be accomplished by means of a few speeches. Thus, Cordelia speaks less than eight hạndred words in the play, and on these we must mainly rely for our knowledge of her. In general, the characterization in a dramą exacts closer and more thorough attention from the reader than does that of a novel.

Again, there are some difficulties arising from Shakespeare's methods. As we have seen, he began with an old story, retaining many of its incidents and persons. While he gave new life and meaning to these, yet they inevitably affected his whole treatment of character. They are sometimes responsible for Inconsistinconsistencies. As has already been hinted, Characters, Gloucester's long journey to Dover for the sole purpose of committing suicide there, altogether forgetful of