Edm. He hath commission from thy wife and me To hang Cordelia in the prison, and To lay the blame upon her own despair, That she fordid herself. 255 Alb. The gods defend her! Bear him hence awhile. [Edmund is borne off Re-enter LEAR, with CORDELIA dead in his arms; EDGAR, Captain, and others following Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones: Had I your tongues and eyes, I'ld use them so That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever! Kent. Fall, and cease! Kent. [Kneeling] O my good master! Lear. Prithee, away. Edg. 'Tis noble Kent, your friend. What is 't thou say'st? Her voice was ever soft, Lear. Did I not, fellow? I have seen the day, with my good biting falchion 260 265 270 276 280 The same, Lear. This is a dull sight. Are you not Kent? 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. 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 follow'd your sad steps. 285 Lear. You are welcome hither. Kent. Nor no man else: all's cheerless, dark, and deadly. Your eldest daughters have fordone themselves, And desperately are dead. Lear. Ay, so I think. Alb. He knows not what he says: and vain it is That we present us to him. 291 Edg. Very bootless. Enter a Captain That's but a trifle here. 296 Capt. Edmund is dead, my lord. You lords and noble friends, know our intent. During the life of this old majesty, To him our absolute power: [To Edgar and Kent] you, to your rights; 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! 300 Lear. And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life! 305 Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou no breath at all? Thou 'lt come no more, Never, never, never, never, never! Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir. Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips, 3IC [Dies Edg. He faints! My lord, my lord! Edg. Look up, my lord. Kent. Vex not his ghost: O, let him pass! he hates him much That would upon the rack of this tough world Edg. He is gone, indeed. Kent. The wonder is, he hath endured so long: He but usurp'd his life. Alb. Bear them from hence. Our present business 315 Is general woe. [To Kent and Edgar] Friends of my soul, you twain Rule in this realm, and the gored state sustain. 320 Kent. I have a journey, sir, shortly to go; My master calls me, I must not say no. Edg. The weight of this sad time we must obey; 325 [Exeunt, with a dead march Dramatis Personæ. This list is not in the Quartos (1608) or Folios (1623, &c.). It was first given by Rowe (1709). The division into acts and scenes is not marked in the Quartos. Act I-Scene 1 The first scene of King Lear is of unusual importance. It both enacts the events on which the whole play is founded and brings out prominently the characters of all the principal actors. As a general rule the first scene is confined to giving information necessary for the understanding of the story; or it may, as in Macbeth, symbolize the drama. But in King Lear we are introduced at once, without any preparation, to the circumstance on which the story turns. The play as a whole is the representation of the effects of its opening incidents. Goethe considered this scene "irrational" in its want of preparation. 1. affected, had affection for, favoured: the common meaning in Shakespeare. Cf. Twelfth Night, ii. 5. 28, "Maria once told me she did affect me". SO 5. equalities are so weighed, &c.; their shares are balanced that close scrutiny will not show one to be better than the other. For curiosity see Glossary. 10. brazed, hardened. Cf. 'brazen-faced'. 12. proper, handsome: as frequently in E. E. 13. some year, a year or so, about a year. See i. 2. 5. 24. deserving, i.e. to be better known by you. |