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.
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.
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.
Here is better than the open air; take i
All the power of his wits have given way to his impatience:—
the gods reward your kindness!
All the power of his wits have given way to his impatience:— the gods reward your kindness!
All the power of his wits have given way to his impatience:— the gods reward your kindness!
All the power of his wits have given way
Frateretto calls me; and tells me Nero is an angler in the lake
of darkness. Pray, innocent, and beware the foul fiend.
Frateretto calls me; and tells me Nero is an angler in the lake of darkness. Pray, innocent, and beware the foul fiend.
Frateretto calls me; and tells me Nero is an angler in the lake of darkness. Pray, innocent, and beware the foul fiend.
Frateretto calls me; and tells me Nero i
Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be a gentleman or a
yeoman.
Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be a gentleman or a yeoman.
Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be a gentleman or a yeoman.
Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madma
A king, a king!
A king, a king!
A king, a king!
A king, a king!
No, he’s a yeoman that has a gentleman to his son; for he’s a mad
yeoman that sees his son a gentleman before him.
No, he’s a yeoman that has a gentleman to his son; for he’s a mad yeoman that sees his son a gentleman before him.
No, he’s a yeoman that has a gentleman to his son; for he’s a mad yeoman that sees his son a gentleman before him.
No, he’s a yeoman that has a gentleman t
To have a thousand with red burning spits
Come hissing in upon ’em.
To have a thousand with red burning spits Come hissing in upon ’em.
To have a thousand with red burning spits Come hissing in upon ’em.
To have a thousand with red burning spit
The foul fiend bites my back.
The foul fiend bites my back.
The foul fiend bites my back.
The foul fiend bites my back.
He’s mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse’s health,
a boy’s love, or a whore’s oath.
He’s mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse’s health, a boy’s love, or a whore’s oath.
He’s mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse’s health, a boy’s love, or a whore’s oath.
He’s mad that trusts in the tameness of
The mock trial of Goneril and Regan is one of the most disturbing and moving sequences in all of Shakespeare. It is disturbing because a king has been reduced to playing court with a joint-stool; it is moving because the charges are true. Goneril and Regan have committed real wrongs. The law should address them. But the play has carefully dismantled every legal and social mechanism that might produce justice: Lear has surrendered his authority, Cornwall controls the kingdom, Edmund has betrayed Gloucester. There is no court. There is no remedy. So Lear enacts the proceeding in imagination, with a Fool and a pretend-madman as his judiciary. The scene is simultaneously the play's most explicit statement about the failure of justice and its most vivid image of what justice looks like when everything else has failed: it looks like a mad king talking to furniture.
It shall be done; I will arraign them straight.
It shall be done; I will arraign them straight.
It shall be done; I will arraign them straight.
It shall be done; I will arraign them st
Look, where he stands and glares! Want’st thou eyes at trial, madam?
Come o’er the bourn, Bessy, to me.
Look, where he stands and glares! Want’st thou eyes at trial, madam? Come o’er the bourn, Bessy, to me.
Look, where he stands and glares! Want’st thou eyes at trial, madam? Come o’er the bourn, Bessy, to me.
Look, where he stands and glares! Want’s
Her boat hath a leak,
And she must not speak
Why she dares not come over to thee.
Her boat hath a leak, And she must not speak Why she dares not come over to thee.
Her boat hath a leak, And she must not speak Why she dares not come over to thee.
Her boat hath a leak, And she must not s
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.
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.
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.
The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the vo
How do you, sir? Stand you not so amaz’d;
Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions?
How do you, sir? Stand you not so amaz’d; Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions?
How do you, sir? Stand you not so amaz’d; Will you lie down and rest upon the cushions?
How do you, sir? Stand you not so amaz’d
I’ll see their trial first. Bring in their evidence.
I’ll see their trial first. Bring in their evidence.
I’ll see their trial first. Bring in their evidence.
I’ll see their trial first. Bring in the
The Fool says 'And I'll go to bed at noon' and then is never seen again. No death scene, no explanation, no line from anyone else about what happened to him. This is not an oversight — it is a structural choice. The Fool exists to translate Lear's situation into bearable form: comedy, riddle, song. By Act 3, that function has become impossible. Genuine madness has overtaken the comic, and the Fool's professional tools — jokes, wordplay, songs — cannot process what is happening. He is not killed; he is made irrelevant. His disappearance registers in the play's emotional texture more than an explicit death scene would: he simply ceases to be there, just as the protective comic layer between Lear and his suffering ceases to exist. Some productions have the Fool and Cordelia played by the same actor, which makes Lear's dying cry 'And my poor fool is hanged' land with double force. The ambiguity of that line — is 'fool' the Fool or Cordelia? — is almost certainly deliberate.
Let us deal justly.
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.
Purr! the cat is grey.
Let us deal justly. 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. Purr! the cat is grey.
Let us deal justly. 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. Purr! the cat is grey.
Let us deal justly. Sleepest or wakest t
Arraign her first; ’tis Goneril. I here take my oath before
this honourable assembly, she kicked the poor King her father.
Arraign her first; ’tis Goneril. I here take my oath before this honourable assembly, she kicked the poor King her father.
Arraign her first; ’tis Goneril. I here take my oath before this honourable assembly, she kicked the poor King her father.
Arraign her first; ’tis Goneril. I here
Come hither, mistress. Is your name Goneril?
Come hither, mistress. Is your name Goneril?
Come hither, mistress. Is your name Goneril?
Come hither, mistress. Is your name Gone
She cannot deny it.
She cannot deny it.
She cannot deny it.
She cannot deny it.
Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint-stool.
Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint-stool.
Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint-stool.
Cry you mercy, I took you for a joint-st
And here’s another, whose warp’d looks proclaim
What store her heart is made on. Stop her there!
Arms, arms! sword! fire! Corruption in the place!
False justicer, why hast thou let her ’scape?
And here’s another, whose warp’d looks proclaim What store her heart is made on. Stop her there! Arms, arms! sword! fire! Corruption in the place! False justicer, why hast thou let her ’scape?
And here’s another, whose warp’d looks proclaim What store her heart is made on. Stop her there! Arms, arms! sword! fire! Corruption in the place! False justicer, why hast thou let her ’scape?
And here’s another, whose warp’d looks p
Bless thy five wits!
Bless thy five wits!
Bless thy five wits!
Bless thy five wits!
O pity! Sir, where is the patience now
That you so oft have boasted to retain?
O pity! Sir, where is the patience now That you so oft have boasted to retain?
O pity! Sir, where is the patience now That you so oft have boasted to retain?
O pity! Sir, where is the patience now T
They mar my counterfeiting.
They mar my counterfeiting.
They mar my counterfeiting.
They mar my counterfeiting.
The little dogs and all,
Trey, Blanch, and Sweetheart, see, they bark at me.
The little dogs and all, Trey, Blanch, and Sweetheart, see, they bark at me.
The little dogs and all, Trey, Blanch, and Sweetheart, see, they bark at me.
The little dogs and all, Trey, Blanch, a
Tom will throw his head at them. Avaunt, you curs!
Be thy mouth or black or white,
Tooth that poisons if it bite;
Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim,
Hound or spaniel, brach or him,
Or bobtail tike or trundle-tail,
Tom will make them weep and wail;
For, with throwing thus my head,
Dogs leap the hatch, and all are fled.
Do, de, de, de. Sessa! Come, march to wakes and fairs and market towns.
Poor Tom, thy horn is dry.
Tom will throw his head at them. Avaunt, you curs! Be thy mouth or black or white, Tooth that poisons if it bite; Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim, Hound or spaniel, brach or him, Or bobtail tike or trundle-tail, Tom will make them weep and wail; For, with throwing thus my head, Dogs leap the hatch,
Tom will throw his head at them. Avaunt, you curs! Be thy mouth or black or white, Tooth that poisons if it bite; Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim, Hound or spaniel, brach or him, Or bobtail tike or trundle-tail, Tom will make them weep and wail; For, with throwing thus my head, Dogs leap the hatch,
Tom will throw his head at them. Avaunt,
Edgar's soliloquy at the close of 3-6 makes explicit what the play's structure has been implying since Act 1: Lear's tragedy and Gloucester's tragedy are the same tragedy, told twice. Both involve a parent deceived by a child and a loyal child betrayed. Both involve a figure of authority (a king, an earl) stripped of everything through the ingratitude and manipulation of those closest to them. 'He childed as I fathered' is the play's double plot compressed to five words. The symmetry is not accidental — it is Shakespeare's method for making the catastrophe feel like more than personal misfortune. This is not one bad family; this is how the world has gone wrong. The double plot escalates everything: when Lear suffers, Gloucester also suffers, and each suffering illuminates the other.
Then let them anatomize Regan; see what breeds about her
heart. Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard
hearts? [_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; but let them be changed.
Then let them anatomize Regan; see what breeds about her heart. Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts? [_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; but let them be changed.
Then let them anatomize Regan; see what breeds about her heart. Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts? [_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; but let them be changed.
Then let them anatomize Regan; see what
Now, good my lord, lie here and rest awhile.
Now, good my lord, lie here and rest awhile.
Now, good my lord, lie here and rest awhile.
Now, good my lord, lie here and rest awh
Make no noise, make no noise; draw the curtains.
So, so. We’ll go to supper i’ the morning.
Make no noise, make no noise; draw the curtains. So, so. We’ll go to supper i’ the morning.
Make no noise, make no noise; draw the curtains. So, so. We’ll go to supper i’ the morning.
Make no noise, make no noise; draw the c
And I’ll go to bed at noon.
And I’ll go to bed at noon.
And I’ll go to bed at noon.
And I’ll go to bed at noon.
Come hither, friend;
Where is the King my master?
Come hither, friend; Where is the King my master?
Come hither, friend; Where is the King my master?
Come hither, friend; Where is the King m
Here, sir; but trouble him not, his wits are gone.
Here, sir; but trouble him not, his wits are gone.
Here, sir; but trouble him not, his wits are gone.
Here, sir; but trouble him not, his wits
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;
If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life,
With thine, and all that offer to defend him,
Stand in assured loss. Take up, take up;
And follow me, that will to some provision
Give thee quick conduct.
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; If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life, With thine, and all th
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; If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life, With thine, and all th
Good friend, I prithee, take him in thy
Oppressed nature sleeps.
This rest might yet have balm’d thy broken sinews,
Which, if convenience will not allow,
Stand in hard cure. Come, help to bear thy master;
Oppressed nature sleeps. This rest might yet have balm’d thy broken sinews, Which, if convenience will not allow, Stand in hard cure. Come, help to bear thy master;
Oppressed nature sleeps. This rest might yet have balm’d thy broken sinews, Which, if convenience will not allow, Stand in hard cure. Come, help to bear thy master;
Oppressed nature sleeps. This rest might
Come, come, away!
Come, come, away!
Come, come, away!
Come, come, away!
When we our betters see bearing our woes,
We scarcely think our miseries our foes.
Who alone suffers, suffers most i’ the mind,
Leaving free things and happy shows behind:
But then the mind much sufferance doth o’erskip
When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship.
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,
In thy just proof repeals and reconciles thee.
What will hap more tonight, safe ’scape the King!
Lurk, lurk.
When we our betters see bearing our woes, We scarcely think our miseries our foes. Who alone suffers, suffers most i’ the mind, Leaving free things and happy shows behind: But then the mind much sufferance doth o’erskip When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship. How light and portable my pain se
When we our betters see bearing our woes, We scarcely think our miseries our foes. Who alone suffers, suffers most i’ the mind, Leaving free things and happy shows behind: But then the mind much sufferance doth o’erskip When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship. How light and portable my pain se
When we our betters see bearing our woes
The Reckoning
This is one of Shakespeare's most devastating inventions. Lear, past the edge of sanity, conducts a formal trial of his absent daughters using a joint-stool as Goneril and the other as Regan. The Fool plays a court official; Poor Tom is a 'robed man of justice.' The scene is mad and also, in its own way, exactly right: the daughters should be tried. The charges are real. The injustice was real. But there is no court, no law, no remedy — only a mad king playing out the process that the actual world has denied him. Edgar and Kent watch and can barely sustain it. 'I scarce can speak to thee' (Kent); Edgar's aside 'My tears begin to take his part so much, / They mar my counterfeiting.' The Fool has his last lines here. Then Lear is put to sleep, Gloucester arrives to say they must flee, and the little company of suffering people picks itself up and heads toward Dover. The Fool says something — and then is gone. No exit, no farewell.
If this happened today…
A person who has been catastrophically wronged and is having a breakdown sets up a mock trial of the people who hurt them. With chairs standing in for the accused. Friends watch, unable to stop it, unable to help. One of them, disguised and miserable, is so moved he can barely keep his cover. The trial has no power to produce justice. But it is the only thing available.