87 subcontracted pledged by a contract which is called into question by the existence of a previous contract (Goneril's marriage)
88 contradict your banes forbid your announced intention to marry (by citing the precontract)
89 loves love-suits
90 bespoke already pledged
90 interlude play
94 pledge gage
94 make prove
97 medicine poison
98 exchange (technical term, denoting the glove Edmund throws down)
99 villain-like he lies (the lie direct, a challenge to mortal combat)
100 trumpet trumpeter
On him, on you--who not?--I will maintain
My truth and honor firmly.
Albany. A herald, ho!
Edmund. A herald, ho, a herald!
Albany. Trust to thy single virtue;deg for thy soldiers, All levied in my name, have in my name
Took their discharge.
Regan. My sickness grows upon me.
Albany. She is not well; convey her to my tent.
[Exit Regan, led.]
Enter a Herald.
Come hither, herald. Let the trumpet sound--And read out this.
Captain. Sound, trumpet!
A trumpet sounds.
Herald. (Reads.) "If any man of quality or degreedeg within the listsdeg of the army will maintain upon Edmund, supposed Earl of Gloucester, that he is a manifold traitor, let him appear by the third sound of the trumpet: he is bold in his defense."
Edmund. Sound! First trumpet.
Herald. Again! Second trumpet.
Herald. Again! Third trumpet.
Trumpet answers within. Enter Edgar, at the third sound, armed, a trumpet before him.deg
Albany. Ask him his purposes, why he appears Upon this call o' th' trumpet.
Herald. What are you? 104 single virtue unaided valor
III quality or degree rank or position
112 lists rolls
118 s.d. trumpet before him trumpeter preceding him
Your name, your quality,deg and why you answer This present summons?
Edgar. Know, my name is lost; By treason's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit:deg
Yet am I noble as the adversary
I come to cope.deg
Albany. Which is that adversary?
Edgar. What's he that speaks for Edmund, Earl of Gloucester?
Edmund. Himself: what say'st thou to him?
Edgar. Draw thy sword, That if my speech offend a noble heart,
Thy arm may do thee justice: here is mine.
Behold it is my privilege,
The privilege of mine honors,
My oath, and my profession.deg I protest,
Maugredeg thy strength, place, youth, and eminence,
Despite thy victor sword and fire-newdeg fortune,
Thy valor and thy heart,deg thou art a traitor,
False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father,
Conspirantdeg 'gainst this high illustrious prince,
And from th' extremest upwarddeg of thy head
To the descent and dust below thy foot,deg
A most toad-spotted traitor.deg Say thou "No,"
This sword, this arm and my best spirits are bentdeg
To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak,deg
Thou liest.
Edmund. In wisdomdeg I should ask thy name, But since thy outside looks so fair and warlike, 121 quality rank
123 canker-bit eaten by the caterpillar
125 cope encounter
130-32 it ... profession my knighthood entitles me to challenge you, and to have my challenge accepted
133 Maugre despite 134 fire-new fresh from the forge or mint
135 heart courage
137 Conspirant conspiring, a conspirator
138 extremest upward the very top
139 the ... foot your lowest part (sole) and the dust beneath it
140 toad-spotted traitor spotted with treason (and hence venomous, as the toad is allegedly marked with spots that exude venom)
141 bent directed
142 whereto I speak (Edgar speaks from the heart, and speaks to the heart of Edmund)
143 wisdom prudence (since he is not obliged to fight with one of lesser rank)
And that thy tongue some saydeg of breeding
breathes,
What safe and nicelydeg I might well delaydeg
By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn:
Back do I toss these treasonsdeg to thy head;
With the hell-hateddeg lie o'erwhelm thy heart;
Which for they yet glance by and scarcely bruise,
This sword of mine shall give them instant way,
Where they shall rest for ever.deg Trumpets, speak!
Alarums. [They] fight. [Edmund falls.]
Albany. Savedeg him, save him!
Goneril. This is practice,deg Gloucester: By th' law of war thou wast not bound to answer
An unknown opposite;deg thou are not vanquished,
But cozened and beguiled.
Albany. Shut your mouth, dame, Or with this paper shall I stop it. Hold, sir;deg
Thoudeg worse than any name, read thine own evil.
No tearing, lady; I perceive you know it.
Goneril. Say, if I do, the laws are mine, not thine: Who can arraign me for 't?
Albany. Most monstrous! O! Know'st thou this paper?
Goneril. Ask me not what I know.
Exit.
Albany. Go after her; she's desperate; governdeg her.
Edmund. What you have charged me with, that have I done; And more, much more; the time will bring it out.
'Tis past, and so am I. But what art thou 145 say assay (i.e., touch, sign)
146 safe and nicely cautiously and punctiliously 146 delay i.e., avoid
148 treasons accusations of treason 149 hell-bated hated like hell
150-52 Which... ever which accusations of treason, since as yet they do no harm, even though I have hurled them back, I now thrust upon you still more forcibly, with my sword, so that they may remain with you permanently
153 Save spare
153 practice trickery
155 opposite opponent
157 Hold, sir (to Edmund: "Just a moment!")
158 Thou (probably Goneril)
163 govern control
That hast this fortune ondeg me? If thou 'rt noble,
I do forgive thee.
Edgar. Let's exchange charity.deg I am no less in blooddeg than thou art, Edmund;
If more,deg the more th' hast wronged me.
My name is Edgar, and thy father's son.
The gods are just, and of our pleasantdeg vices
Make instruments to plague us:
The dark and vicious placedeg where thee he gotdeg
Cost him his eyes.
Edmund. Th' hast spoken right, 'tis true; The wheel is come full circle; I am here.deg
Albany. Methought thy very gait did prophesydeg A royal nobleness: I must embrace thee:
Let sorrow split my heart, if ever I
Did hate thee or thy father!
Edgar. Worthydeg Prince, I know 't.
Albany. Where have you hid yourself? How have you known the miseries of your father?
Edgar. By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale; And when 'tis told, O, that my heart would burst!
The bloody proclamation to escapedeg
That followed me so near--0, our lives' sweetness,
That we the pain of death would hourly die
Rather than die at once!deg--taught me to shift
Into a madman's rags, t' assume a semblance
That very dogs disdained: and in this habitdeg
Met I my father with his bleeding rings,deg
Their precious stones new lost; became his guide,
Led him, begged for him, saved him from despair; 167 fortune on victory over
168 charity forgiveness and love
169 blood lineage
170 If more if I am more noble (since legitimate)
172 of our pleasant out of our pleasurable
174 place i.e.. the adulterous bed
174 got begot
176 Wheel ... here i.e., Fortune's wheel, on which Edmund ascended, has now, in its downward turning, deposited him at the bottom, whence he began
177 gait did prophesy carriage did promise
180 Worthy honorable
185 to escape (my wish) to escape the sentence of death
186-88 O ... once how sweet is life, that we choose to suffer death every hour rather than make an end at once
190 habit attire
191 rings sockets
Never--O fault!--revealed myself unto him,
Until some half-hour past, when I was armed,
Not sure, though hoping, of this good success,
I asked his blessing, and from first to last
Told him our pilgrimage.deg But his flaweddeg heart--
Alack, too weak the conflict to support--
'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief,
Burst smilingly.
Edmund. This speech of yours hath moved me, And shall perchance do good: but speak you on; You look as you had something more to say.
Albany. If there be more, more woeful, hold it in; For I am almost ready to dissolve,deg Hearing of this.
Edgar. This would have seemed a perioddeg To such as love not sorrow; but another,
To amplify too much, would make much more,
And top extremity. deg
Whilst I was big in clamor,deg came there in a man,
Who, having seen me in my worst estate, deg
Shunned my abhorreddeg society; but then, finding
Who 'twas that so endured, with his strong arms
He fastened on my neck, and bellowed out
As he'd burst heaven; threw him on my father;
Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him
That ever ear received: which in recounting
His grief grew puissant,deg and the strings of life
Began to crack: twice then the trumpets sounded,
And there I left him tranced.deg
Albany. But who was this?
Edgar. Kent, sir, the banished Kent; who in disguise Followed his enemydeg king, and did him service Improper for a slave.
198 our pilgrimage of our (purgatorial) journey
198 flawed cracked
05 dissolve i.e., into tears
206 period limit
207-09 but ... extremity just one woe more, described too fully, would go beyond the extreme limit
210 big in clamor loud in lamentation
211 estate condition
212 abhorred abhorrent
218 puissant overmastering
220 tranced insensible
222 enemy hostile
Enter a Gentleman, with a bloody knife.
Gentleman. Help, help, O, help!
Edgar. What kind of help?
Albany. Speak, man.
Edgar. What means this bloody knife?
Gentleman. 'Tis hot, it smokes;deg It came even from the heart of--0, she's dead!
Albany. Who dead? Speak, man.
Gentleman. Your lady, sir, your lady: and her sister By her is poisoned; she confesses it.
Edmund. I was contracteddeg to them both: all three Now marrydeg in an instant.
Edgar. Here comes Kent.
Albany. Produce the bodies, be they alive or dead. [Exit Gentleman.] This judgment of the heavens, that makes us
tremble,
Touches us not with pity.
Enter Kent.
O, is this he?
The time will not allow the complimentdeg
Which very mannersdeg urges.
Kent. I am come To bid my king and master ayedeg good night: Is he not here?
Albany. Great thing ofdeg us forgot! Speak, Edmund, where's the King? and where's
Cordelia?
Seest thou this object,deg Kent?
The bodies of Goneril and Regan are brought in.
Kent. Alack, why thus?
225 smokes steams 230 contracted betrothed 231 marry i.e., unite in death 235 compliment ceremony 236 very manners ordinary civility 237 aye forever 238 thing of matter by 240 object sight (the bodies of Goneril and Regan)
Edmund. Yetdeg Edmund was beloved: The one the other poisoned for my sake, And after slew herself.
Albany: Even so. Cover their faces.
Edmund. I pant for life:deg some good I mean to do, Despite of mine own nature. Quickly send,
Be brief in it, to th' castle; for my writdeg
Is on the life of Lear and on Cordelia:
Nay, send in time.
Albany. Run, run, O, run!
Edgar. To who, my lord? Who has the office?deg Send Thy token of reprieve.deg
Edmund. Well thought on: take my sword, Give it the captain.
Edgar. Haste thee, for thy life.
[Exit Messenger.]
Edmund. 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 fordiddeg herself.
Albany. The gods defend her! Bear him hence awhile. [Edmund is borne off.] Enter Lear, with Cordelia in his arms [Gentleman, and others following].
Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones: Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so
That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for
ever.
I know when one is dead and when one lives;
She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass;
If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,deg
Why, then she lives.
241 Yet in spite of all
245 pant for life gasp for breath
247 writ command (ordering the execution)
250 office commission
251 token of reprieve sign that they are reprieved
257 fordid destroyed
264 stone i.e., the surface of the crystal looking glass
Kent. Is this the promised end?deg
Edgar. Or imagedeg of that horror?
Albany. Fall and cease.deg
Lear. This feather stirs; she lives. If it be so, It is a chance which does redeemdeg all sorrows
That ever I have felt.
Kent. O my good master.
Lear. Prithee, away.
Edgar. 'Tis noble Kent, your friend.
Lear. A plague upon you, murderers, traitors all! I might have saved her; now she's gone for ever.
Cordelia, Cordelia, stay a little. Ha,
What is 't thou say'st? Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman.
I killed the slave that was a-hanging thee.
Gentleman: 'Tis true, my lords, he did.
Lear. Did I not, fellow? I have seen the day, with my good biting falchiondeg
I would have made them skip: I am old now,
And these same crossesdeg spoil me.deg Who are you?
Mine eyes are not o' th' best: I'll tell you straight.deg
Kent. If Fortune brag of twodeg she loved and hated, One of them we behold.
Lear. This is a dull sight.deg Are you not Kent?
Kent. The same, Your servant Kent. Where is your servant Caius?deg
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.
265 promised end Doomsday
266 image exact likeness
266 Fall and cease i.e., let the heavens fall, and all things finish
268 redeem make good 278 falchion small curved sword
280 crosses troubles
280 spoil me i.e., my prowess as a swordsman
281 tell you straight recognize you straightway
282 two i.e., Lear, and some hypothetical second, who is also a prime example of Fortune's inconstancy ("loved and
hated")
284 dull sight (I) melancholy spectacle (2) faulty eyesight (Lear's own, clouded by weeping)
285 Caius (Kent's name, in disguise)
Lear. I'll see that straight.deg
Kent. That from your first of difference and decaydeg Have followed your sad steps.
Lear. You are welcome hither.
Kent. Nor no man else:deg all's cheerless, dark and deadly Your eldest daughters have fordonedeg themselves, And desperatelydeg are dead.
Lear. Ay, so I think.
Albany. He knows not what he says, and vain is it That we present us to him.
Edgar. Very bootless.deg
Enter a Messenger.
Messenger. Edmund is dead, my lord.
Albany. That's but a trifle here. You lords and noble friends, know our intent.
What comfort to this great decay may comedeg
Shall be applied. For us, wedeg will resign,
During the life of this old majesty,
To him our absolute power: [To Edgar and Kent]
you, to your rights;
With boot,deg and such additiondeg as your honors
Have more than merited. All friends shall taste
The wages of their virtue, and all foes
The cup of their deservings. O, see, see!
Lear. And my poor fooldeg is hanged: no, no, no life? Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, 289 see that straight attend to that in a moment
290 your ... decay beginning of your decline in fortune
292 Nor no man else no, I am not wel- . come, nor is anyone else
293 fordone destroyed
294 desperately in despair
296 bootless fruitless
299 What ... come whatever aid may present itself to this great ruined man
300 us, we (the royal "we")
303 boot good measure 303 addition additional titles and rights
307 fool Cordelia ("fool" being a term of endearment. But it is perfectly possible to take the word as referring also to the Fool)
King Lear (Folger Shakespeare Library) Page 22