king lear act 1 essay

by William Shakespeare

King lear summary and analysis of act i, act i summary:.

Gloucester and Kent, loyal to King Lear , objectively discuss his division of the kingdom (as Lear is preparing to step down) and to which dukes, Cornwall and Albany, they believe it will equally fall. Kent is introduced to Gloucester's illegitimate son, Edmund. Gloucester nonchalantly admits that the boy's breeding has been his charge ever since impregnating another woman soon after his legitimate son, Edgar, was born. Kent is pleased to meet Edmund. Gloucester mentions that Edmund has been nine years in military service and will return shortly.

Lear enters and sends Gloucester to find France and Burgundy, Cordelia's suitors. He then begins to discuss the partitioning of Britain he has devised to each of his three daughters and their husbands. Lear decides to ask each of his daughters to express how much they love him before he hands over their piece of the kingdom. As oldest, Goneril speaks first, expressing her love as all encompassing. Regan adds that she is enemy to other joys. Lear gives each their parcel, wishing them well. Cordelia, as the youngest and most liked daughter, is saved the choicest piece of land. However, she responds to her father's request by saying she has nothing to add. She loves only as much as her obligation entitles and will save some of her love for a husband. Lear is enraged and hurt. After giving her a few chances, he strips Cordelia of any title or relation. Kent intercedes on her behalf but he too is estranged by Lear. Kent cries that honesty will continue to be his guide in any kingdom.

Cordelia's suitors enter. Lear apprises them of Cordelia's new state of non-inheritance. Burgundy cannot accept her under the circumstances, but France finds her more appealing and takes her as his wife. Cordelia is not unhappy to leave her sisters and leaves with France. Goneril and Regan conspire to take rule away from Lear quickly as he is becoming more unreasonable.

The scene centers around Edmund, at first alone on stage, crying out against his position as bastard to the material world. He is envious of Edgar, the legitimate son, and wishes to gain what he has by forging a treasonous letter concerning Gloucester from Edgar. Gloucester enters, amazed at the events which have occurred during the last scene. He wishes to know why Edmund is hiding a letter and demands to see it. He shrewdly acts as if he is embarrassed to show it to Gloucester and continually makes excuses for Edgar's apparent behavior. Gloucester reads the letter detailing "Edgar's" call to Edmund to take their father's land from him. Edmund asks that he not make too quick a judgment before they talk to Edgar as perhaps he is simply testing Edmund. He suggests forming a meeting where Edmund can ask Edgar about his proposals while Gloucester listens in secret. Gloucester agrees, musing on the effects of nature and its predictions. He leaves directly before Edgar enters. Edmund brings up the astronomical predictions he had discussed with Gloucester and alerts Edgar that Gloucester is very upset with him, though he knows not why. Edmund offers to take Edgar back to his lodging until he can bring he and Gloucester together and advises him to go armed. Edgar leaves and Edmund notes that he will soon take his due through wit.

Scene iii reintroduces Goneril, as she is outraged by the offenses she contends Lear has been showing her since moving into her residence. He has struck Oswald for criticizing his fool, his knights are riotous and so on, she claims. Lear is out hunting. Goneril commands Oswald to allow her privacy from Lear and to treat Lear with "weary negligence". She does not want him to be happy, hoping that he will move to Regan's where she knows he will face the same contempt. She demands Oswald to treat his knights coldly as well. She leaves to write Regan.

Kent enters, disguised and hoping to serve in secret as a servant to Lear so that he can help him though he is condemned. Lear accepts to try him as a servant.Oswald comes in quickly before exiting again curtly. A knight tells Lear that Goneril is not well and that Oswald answered him curtly as well. The knight fears Lear is being treated wrongly. Lear had blamed himself for any coldness but agrees to look into a problem in Goneril's household. Lear's fool has hidden himself since Cordelia's departure so Lear sends the knight for him. Oswald reenters, showing Lear the negligence Goneril had suggested. Lear and Kent strike him, endearing Kent in Lear's eyes. Oswald exits as Fool enters. Fool persistently mocks and ridicules Lear for his actions in scene i, his mistreatment of Cordelia, trust in Goneril and Regan, and giving up of his authority. He calls Lear himself a fool, noting he has given away all other titles. The fool notes that he is punished by Lear if he lies, punished by the household if he speaks the truth, and often punished for staying silent.

Goneril harps on the trouble Lear and his retinue are causing, such as the insolence of Fool and the riotous behavior of the knights. She states that he is not showing her the proper respect and consideration by allowing these actions to occur. Lear is incredulous. Goneril continues by adding that as Lear's large, frenzied train cannot be controlled she will have to ask him to keep fewer than his hundred knights. Outraged, Lear admits that Goneril's offense makes Cordelia's seem small. As Albany enters, Lear curses Goneril with infertility or, in its stead, a thankless child. He then finds that his train has already been halved and again rages against the incredible impudence Goneril has shown him. He angrily leaves for Regan's residence. Albany does not approve of Goneril's behavior and is criticized by her for being weak. Goneril sends Oswald with a letter to her sister, detailing her fear that Lear is dangerous and should be curtailed as soon as possible.

Impatient, Lear sends the disguised Kent to bring letters to Gloucester. The Fool wisely warns that Regan will likely act no better than her sister had. He criticizes Lear for giving away his own home and place, using examples such as a snail carrying his shell. Lear recognizes he will have to subdue his fatherly instincts toward Regan as well. Fool points out that Lear has gotten old before he is wise. Lear cries out, praying that he will not go mad.

Act I Analysis:

The kingdom's division as alluded to by Kent and Gloucester is strange in that it is not mentioned in the context of Lear's daughters. The seeming arbitrariness this sheds on Lear's enactment of the love test provides a contrast through which to view the misplaced importance Lear is placing on words, appearance, and position. We will soon learn that Kent and Gloucester are two of the only men who could provide Lear with sound, sincere advice, thus endowing their original take of the situation with a greater significance. They have no problem with Lear's decision to divide the kingdom as he is old and is attempting to escape greater conflict after his death. Thus Kent's revolt against Lear's actions arises not from Lear's initial undertaking but from his reaction to Cordelia. Notice too that he does not protest when Lear asks for an estimation/competition for love from his daughters or when Goneril and Regan respond in very coarse, superficial words. He only strikes against Lear's rule when Lear does not notice the sincerity of Cordelia's words and then moves to strip her of his love and titles. This is not only foolish but hurtful and unjust.

The love test was foolish but, on the surface, harmed little. Yet, Goneril and Regan likely knew that their sister would not compete with them if their were extravagant enough in their claims of love toward their father. Of course, they did not love him with their all, but in Lear's old and insecure state, they knew he would fall for their insincerity and Cordelia would refrain from competing on such a hypocritical level. Notice the sonorous quality of the sisters' names. The two oldest have very harsh, coarse sounding names, lacking in femininity or beauty. Cordelia's name is much more melodic and feminine. This is the first constructed quality which sets her apart from her sisters. Also pay attention to the inflated verse Goneril and Regan use when addressing their father as opposed to the much harsher prose they regress to upon his exit in scene i. Their true voices are symbolized by the harsh prose we receive from them when alone, just as their names reverberate with crudeness. Cordelia however often speaks in rhyming couplets, a much more elevated form than her sisters, which allows her to be further set apart from their hypocrisy. We also note that Kent will at times, especially in his defense of Cordelia, slip into rhyming couplets. Shakespeare stresses the elevation of language to symbolize the true nature of characters, highlighting Kent and Cordelia as honorable characters.

Cordelia frequently however understates her sincerity and true affections. She is aware that her sisters speak superficially, employing terms of value and worth in expressing their love, and refuses to echo their hypocrisy, thus responding more coldly than she likely otherwise would. Her asides to the audience give an unadulterated view into her thoughts, similar to the true voices of Goneril and Regan we meet at the end of scene i. Her response "Nothing" echoes these asides instead of disguising them and illustrates to the reader how Cordelia as a character is stripped of pretense and artifice. The idea is echoed literally and symbolically in Lear's comment of scene iv, "Nothing can be made out of nothing" (I.iv.126). In the very same scene that Lear admits he has overreacted toward Cordelia, though only at this point acknowledging that Goneril's offense is greater, he perceives that truth and sincerity cannot be represented by pretense. Regardless of how well Lear has been fooled by the artifice of his older daughters, he allows the Fool to counteract his elderly need for praise and love. Not surprisingly in Shakespeare's plays, the Fool is often the least foolish, directing the lead characters to their miscues in slightly comedic or condescending ways. His singing to Lear illustrates further the use of language and the presentation of language which Shakespeare employs to distinguish between different characters' qualities or the different intentions of single characters.

King Lear is a parable, encrusted with symbolic figures and actions toward a predicted and fabled end. Suspension of disbelief must be enacted on a level as many readers are moved to question Lear's decision making and early blindness toward truth and goodness. As one critic raises, how would Kent and France recognize Cordelia's sincerity and inner beauty when her own father cannot? On a realistic level, Lear has started to regress toward dementia and old age. We know by Kent and Gloucester's loyalty toward him, that he had once been more reasonable. On the figurative and more appropriate level, Lear is a allegorical figure in a parable and must move blindly toward this character demise in order to be resurrected to honesty and the goodness his fallen daughter represents in the end. He committed a fatal and selfish human error which cannot be mended without the journey and transformation he must undergo. The story of King Lear had been kicked around in old British literature and lore, but Shakespeare appears to be the first to allow it to end as tragically as the story's course first suggests. With this in mind, Lear's life is headed in an almost inevitable downward spiral. The plot centers more around how Lear will handle this spiral and his conquering of artifice and insincerity.

Blindness is one of the most frequently employed metaphors in King Lear. Blindness will become a physical problem for Gloucester later in the play, but its metaphoric weight is used to foreshadow and heighten this development. Lear is blind to the blatant hypocrisy of his two oldest daughters from the first moment we meet him. However, unlike the implication that he was once a more noble man since he has the support of seemingly noble subcharacters, Kent and Gloucester, we are not given the impression that he ever knew well enough to previously suspect Goneril or Regan of ingratitude or dishonesty. They have obviously shown their true colors at some point before though since Cordelia responds in such a manner to alert us that she will not sink as low in hypocrisy as her sisters will. For instance, she comments, "A still-soliciting eye, and such a tongue/ That I am glad I have not, though not to have it/ Hath lost me in your liking" (I.i.231-233).

Thus, although Lear has obviously favored Cordelia, he has been blind to the inherent ingratitude of his two other daughters and is foolish enough to trust them with his livelihood after more foolishly disinheriting Cordelia and exiling Kent. A good example of this is presented in the very first scene. Lear cries to Kent, "Out of my sight!" to which Kent retorts, "See better, Lear, and let me still remain/ The true blank of thine eye" (I.i.158-159). He wishes to be allowed to remain the one who could center Lear's focus. Yet even when Kent reenters the play disguised, he cannot alter the course that Lear has begun. Lear becomes increasingly blind to the truth around him. Sight, or the lack of it, is referenced a few scenes later more explicitly when Lear himself notices that he has lost sight of what is important, so to say. He cries, "Does any here know me? This is not Lear./ Does Lear walk thus? speak thus? Where are his eyes?" (I.iv.216-217). Kent cannot become his eyes as the tragic plot and subplot move toward blindness and disillusion.

The subplot of child betraying sibling and father eerily and intentionally mirrors the plot of children betraying father and father betraying child. Shakespeare's method of juxtaposing the two plots through the interspersing of a scene relating to the plot with a scene centered around Edmund's sinister conspiracy allows the audience to have a heightened awareness of the actions of one through the other. In both, the strong, honorable patriarch is undone by the ingratitude of at least one of his children. Both patriarchs seem to have contributed slightly to the misdeeds of their children. Gloucester directly separates his sons as legitimate and illegitimate and mentions it frequently. He also notes that he sent Edmund away, likely because of his illegitimacy, for a long period of time and plans to do so again. Stripped of property and title, one is less surprised by Edmund's move to undo his destiny. However, Shakespeare creates in the characters of Edgar and Gloucester hearts which seem honorable and trusting, making Edmund's plot to betray them more disgusting. Note that Gloucester immediately believes the letter which Edmund shows him, not at once questioning Edmund's honesty although it would be doubtful that Gloucester had any previous reason to suspect or distrust Edgar. Similarly, Edgar immediately believes Edmund when he tells him he should worry about his safety and his relationship with his father. The audience gains from these interactions that Edmund has done nothing in the past to arouse suspicion. Instead it seems that he has been waiting patiently to upset the familial balance and now hurries to do so when threatened with further military service.

But remember, we must also keep in mind that an attempt to make sense out of every encounter and character intention is not the purpose of the play. Instead, we must explore the character flaws and relationship developments as they are entwined within the parable Shakespeare is constructing and expanding. The parable's breadth is exaggerated and amplified by the doubling of themes in the plot and subplot. The demise of the father's position through betrayal by his own children was considered to be one of the cruelest, harshest offenses imaginable. This reflection of plot, for which the seeds are planted in Act I, magnifies the horrors of the tragedy. In this manner, blindness is one of the main symbolic and physical vehicles through which Shakespeare describes the horrors of ingratitude, insincerity, and hypocrisy.

Goneril is represented to the audience as one of the most evil participants in the familial crimes taking place. This character description is illustrated through the contrast Shakespeare establishes between her and her husband. Woman as the most evil of characters is not a new experiment for Shakespeare. Shortly before writing King Lear, he created a Lady Macbeth who expressed the need to sacrifice one's own children if necessary to gain more power and who urged her more weakhearted husband to kill the kindhearted King. Though in the end of Macbeth Lady Macbeth is suffering from her evil, she was still the instigator who brought about the continued evils by urging her husband to yearn for more and more power. Here, Goneril also yearns for power but does not feel the need to aim indirectly for it. Albany is basically told to stay out of her way as he is too weak to know what is best. She places more trust in her servant Oswald, it seems, as she sends him off to run her important letter to Regan whereas she pushes Albany off to the side. She manipulates how her sister will act and the manner in which they will strip Lear of his property and authority. The stories she creates of Lear's riotous knights and so on are supported by nothing in Shakespeare's text. The characters in Lear's train who speak to him are well behaved, polite, and honorable. They try to protect him and Lear himself is shown well when he places the blame for Goneril's coldness on himself instead of her and her household. Thus we exit the first Act with the knowledge of Cordelia's goodness, Lear's previous goodness and impending madness, Fool's truth telling, Edmund's plotting, and Goneril's evil. The parable is well in place.

King Lear Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for King Lear is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

"Themes of King Lear are skilfully presented through imagery and symbolism"

King Lear is rife with animal imagery, as the play is known for interrogating whether mankind is anything "more" than animal after all. Most often, animal imagery appears in the form of savage or carnivorous beasts, usually associated with Goneril...

A tragic hero moves the reader to pity,since his misfortune is greater than he deserves,and also creates fear,since his tragedy might easily befall one of us.To what extent does Lear fit the definition of a tragic hero?

Check this out:

http://bailieborocslibrary.weebly.com/blog/lear-develops-more-as-a-tragic-hero-than-gloucester-discuss

Edmund's "Up With Bastards" soliloquy in King Lear

The repetition makes Edmund sound harsh and angry.

Study Guide for King Lear

King Lear study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Essays for King Lear

King Lear literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of King Lear.

• The Heroines of Crime and Punishment, King Lear, and To the Lighthouse
• Folly of the Fool
• Sight and Consciousness: An Interpretive Study in King Lear
• An Examination of the Inverse Tropes of Sight and Blindness in King Lear
• Gender, Power, and Economics in King Lear

Lesson Plan for King Lear

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King Lear Shakescleare Translation

King Lear Translation Act 1, Scene 1

Enter KENT, GLOUCESTER, and EDMUND

KENT, GLOUCESTER, and EDMUND enter.

I thought the king had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall.

I thought the king liked the Duke of Albany more than the Duke of Cornwall.

It did always seem so to us. But now in the division of the kingdom, it appears not which of the dukes he values most, for equalities are so weighed that curiosity in neither can make choice of either’s moiety.

It always seemed like that to me, too. But now that he has divided the kingdom, no one can tell which duke he prefers the most. He's divided the kingdom so evenly that not even the closest scrutiny reveals any favoritism to either one.

[indicating EDMUND ] Is not this your son, my lord?

[Pointing to EDMUND] Isn't this your son, my lord?

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His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge. I have so often blushed to acknowledge him that now I am brazed to it.

Well, his education has certainly been at my expense. I used to be embarrassed to acknowledge him as my son, but I've done it so many times now that I can do it without blushing.

I cannot conceive you.

I can't conceive of what you mean by that.

Sir, this young fellow’s mother could, whereupon she grew round-wombed, and had indeed, sir, a son for her cradle ere she had a husband for her bed. Do you smell a fault?

Well, sir, this young fellow's mother certainly could conceive—she conceived him . She got pregnant and had a son for her crib before she had a husband in her bed. Do you perceive a sin in this?

I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of it being so proper.

Well, I can't wish to undo the sin, since its result—your son—turned out so well.

But I have, sir, a son by order of law, some year older than this, who yet is no dearer in my account. Though this knave came something saucily to the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair, there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged.— Do you know this noble gentleman, Edmund?

I also have a legitimate son, sir, a few years older than this one, though he's not more valuable to me than Edmund. This rascal Edmund may have come into this world somewhat rudely, and before he was meant to, but his mother was beautiful, we had a good time making him, and I must now acknowledge the bastard as my son. [To EDMUND] Do you know this noble gentleman, Edmund?

No, my lord.

My lord of Kent. Remember him hereafter as my honorable friend.

This is Lord Kent. Remember him from now on, as he is my honorable friend.

My services to your lordship.

I'm at your service, my lord.

I must love you and sue to know you better.

I sincerely look forward to knowing you better.

Sir, I shall study deserving.

Sir, I'll try to earn your approval.

He hath been out nine years, and away he shall again.

He's been abroad for nine years, and he's soon leaving again.

A trumpet call announces the arrival of the king.

The king is coming.

Enter one bearing a coronet, then King LEAR, then the Dukes of CORNWALL and ALBANY, next GONERIL, REGAN, CORDELIA, and attendants

A man enters bearing a crown, followed by KING LEAR; then the Dukes of CORNWALL and ALBANY; then GONERIL, REGAN, CORDELIA, and attendants.

Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.

Go attend to the rulers of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.

I shall, my lord.

I will, my lord.

Exit GLOUCESTER

GLOUCESTER and EDMUND exit.

Meantime we shall express our darker purpose.— Give me the map there.— Know that we have divided In three our kingdom, and ’tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age, Conferring them on younger strengths while we Unburdened crawl toward death.— Our son of Cornwall, And you, our no less loving son of Albany, We have this hour a constant will to publish Our daughters' several dowers, that future strife May be prevented now. The two great princes, France and Burgundy, Great rivals in our youngest daughter’s love, Long in our court have made their amorous sojourn, And here are to be answered.— Tell me, my daughters, (Since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state) Which of you shall we say doth love us most That we our largest bounty may extend Where nature doth with merit challenge?— G oneril, Our eldest born, speak first.

In the meantime I will discuss my more secret plan. Give me that map there. I now declare that I have divided my kingdom into three parts, which will be handed over to my sons-in-law. It's my firm intention to free myself from all worry and business in my old age, so that I can crawl unburdened towards death. To you, my son-in-law Cornwall, and to you, my equally loving son-in-law Albany, at this time I want to publicly announce what each of my daughters will inherit from me, so as to prevent quarreling after I die. The two great rulers of France and Burgundy—who are rivals in pursuing my youngest daughter Cordelia's love— have stayed at my court for a long time. And they will soon have their answer. Now tell me, my daughters, (since I'm about to give up my throne, my lands, and the worries and stress of being a ruler), tell me which one of you loves me the most. Then I can give my greatest gifts to the one who best deserves them. Goneril, my oldest, you speak first.

Sir, I do love you more than words can wield the matter, Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty, Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare, No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor, As much as child e'er loved or father found— A love that makes breath poor and speech unable. Beyond all manner of so much I love you.

Sir, I love you more than words can express, more dearly than eyesight, space, and liberty, beyond all wealth, no matter how valuable or precious. I love you as much as life itself, and I love you with all my grace, health, beauty, and honor, as much as any daughter ever loved, or any father ever received. My love is so great that it makes my voice weak and my words fail. I love you beyond any comparison I could ever make.

[Aside] What shall Cordelia speak? Love, and be silent.

[To herself] What will I do when it's my turn to speak? I can only love, and be silent.

Of all these bounds, even from this line to this, With shadowy forests and with champains riched, With plenteous rivers and wide-skirted meads, We make thee lady. To thine and Albany’s issue Be this perpetual.—What says our second daughter, Our dearest Regan, wife of Cornwall? Speak.

[To GONERIL] I now give you all this land, from this line to that one, containing dark forests, fertile plains, bountiful rivers, and wide meadows. This land will forever belong to you and Albany's descendants. Now what does my second daughter, my dear Regan, Cornwall's wife, have to say? Speak.

Sir, I am made of that self mettle as my sister, And prize me at her worth. In my true heart, I find she names my very deed of love— Only she comes too short, that I profess Myself an enemy to all other joys, Which the most precious square of sense possesses. And find I am alone felicitate In your dear highness' love.

Sir, I am made of the same materials as my sister, and I consider myself her equal in my love for you. Truly, she has described my feelings for you exactly— but she fell a little short. I reject any joy whatsoever except my love for you, which is everything I need in life, and I find that the only thing that makes me truly happy is your dear Highness's love.

[Aside] Then poor Cordelia! And yet not so, since I am sure my love’s More ponderous than my tongue.

[To herself] And now it's poor Cordelia's turn! And yet I'm not poor at all, since I know my love is weightier and more sincere than my words.

To thee and thine hereditary ever Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom, No less in space, validity, and pleasure Than that conferred on Goneril.— But now, our joy, Although our last and least, to whose young love The vines of France and milk of Burgundy Strive to be interessed. What can you say to draw A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak.

[ To REGAN] To you and your heirs I now give this large third of my fair kingdom, which is no less in area, value, or beauty than the land I gave to Goneril. But now for Cordelia, the joy of my life—though the youngest of my daughters— who has been courted so seriously by the rulers of fertile France and Burgundy. What can you tell me that will earn a larger portion of my kingdom than your sisters?

Nothing, my lord.

How? Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again.

What is this? "Nothing" will earn you nothing. Speak again.

Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty According to my bond, no more nor less.

I am unlucky, for I can't put my heart's emotions into words. I love your Majesty as a daughter should love her father, no more and no less.

How, how, Cordelia? Mend your speech a little, Lest you may mar your fortunes.

What is this, Cordelia? Fix your speech a little, or you may damage your future.

Good my lord, You have begot me, bred me, loved me. I Return those duties back as are right fit— Obey you, love you, and most honor you. Why have my sisters husbands if they say They love you all? Haply when I shall wed That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry Half my love with him, half my care and duty. Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters, To love my father all.

My good lord, you fathered me, raised me, and loved me. In return, I am dutiful to you, as I should be. I obey you, love you, and honor you. Why do my sisters have husbands if they claim that they love only you? I hope that when I get married, my husband will take half of my love, and half of my care and sense of duty. Surely I'll never get married like my sisters are married—loving only their father.

But goes thy heart with this?

But do you really mean this?

Ay, good my lord.

Yes, my good lord.

So young and so untender?

So young and so heartless?

So young, my lord, and true.

So young, my lord, and honest.

Let it be so. Thy truth then be thy dower. For by the sacred radiance of the sun, The mysteries of Hecate and the night, By all the operation of the orbs From whom we do exist and cease to be— Here I disclaim all my paternal care, Propinquity, and property of blood, And as a stranger to my heart and me Hold thee from this for ever. The barbarous Scythian, Or he that makes his generation messes To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom Be as well neighbored, pitied, and relieved As thou my sometime daughter.

Then this is how it will be: your truth will be your only inheritance. For now I swear by the holy light of the sun, the mysteries of witchcraft and the night, and by all the stars whose movements control our lives— I hereby disown you as my daughter. I give up all my duties as a father and dissolve all family ties between us. From now on you will be a stranger to me. Even a foreign barbarian who eats his own children will be as close to my heart, pitied, and helped during difficult times as you were, my former daughter.

Good my liege—

But your Majesty—

Peace, Kent. Come not between the dragon and his wrath. I loved her most and thought to set my rest On her kind nursery. [To CORDELIA] Hence, and avoid my sight!— So be my grave my peace as here I give Her father’s heart from her.— Call France. Who stirs? Call Burgundy.—

Quiet, Kent. Don't come between the dragon and its anger. I loved Cordelia most of all, and had hoped to spend my old age in her loving care.  [To CORDELIA] Now go away, and get out of my sight! I'll only have peace when I'm dead, now that I've decided to stop loving her.  [To his servants] Call the King of France. Will someone go? Call the Duke of Burgundy.

Exeunt several attendants

Several attendants exit.

Cornwall and Albany, With my two daughters' dowers digest this third. Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her. I do invest you jointly with my power, Preeminence, and all the large effects That troop with majesty. Ourself, by monthly course, With reservation of an hundred knights By you to be sustained, shall our abode Make with you by due turns. Only shall we retain The name, and all th' additions to a king. The sway, revenue, execution of the rest, Belovèd sons, be yours; which to confirm, This coronet part between you. [Gives CORNWALL and ALBANY the coronet]

Cornwall and Albany, you divide Cornelia's third of my kingdom between you. Let her marry her pride, which she calls "honesty." I now give the two of you all my power, privileges, and the riches that come with kingship. For myself I will keep an entourage of a hundred knights, and I will live with one of you one month, and the other the next month. I'll keep the title of king and its accompanying honors, but everything else—the power, responsibility, and income—is now yours, my beloved sons-in-law. To confirm this, take this crown and share it between you. [He gives CORNWALL and ALBANY the crown]

Royal Lear, Whom I have ever honored as my king, Loved as my father, as my master followed, As my great patron thought on in my prayers—

Royal Lear, I've always honored you as my king, loved you as my father, followed you as my master, and thanked you as my benefactor in my prayers—

The bow is bent and drawn. Make from the shaft.

I've already bent my bow and taken aim. Get out of the way of the arrow.

Let it fall rather, though the fork invade The region of my heart. Be Kent unmannerly When Lear is mad. What wouldst thou do, old man? Think’st thou that duty shall have dread to speak When power to flattery bows? To plainness honor’s bound When majesty falls to folly. Reserve thy state, And in thy best consideration check This hideous rashness. Answer my life my judgment, Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least, Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sound Reverbs no hollowness.

Let it strike me, no matter what, even if the arrow strikes my heart. Kent must be rude when Lear is acting madly. What are you doing, old man? Do you think that loyal men will be afraid to speak when a king gives in to flattery? If I consider myself honorable, then I'm obligated to speak bluntly when majesty turns to foolishness. Use your best judgment and rethink this rash, horrible decision. I swear on my life that your youngest daughter doesn't love you the least— just because her words don't echo hollowly, it doesn't mean her heart is unloving.

Kent, on thy life, no more.

Kent, if you value your life, say nothing more.

My life I never held but as a pawn To wage against thy enemies , nor fear to lose it, Thy safety being motive.

I've never valued my life except as a tool you could use against your enemies. I don't fear to lose my life if it will help preserve your safety.

Out of my sight!

Get out of my sight!

See better, Lear, and let me still remain The true blank of thine eye.

Lear, if it will help you see better, let me stay here and always be the target of your angry looks.

Now, by Apollo—

Now, I swear by Apollo —

Now, by Apollo, King, Thou swear’st thy gods in vain.

You swear by Apollo, King? Now you're taking the names of the gods in vain.

O vassal! Miscreant!

You peasant! Villain!

ALBANY, CORNWALL

Dear sir, forbear!

Dear sir, please stop!

Do, kill thy physician, and the fee bestow Upon thy foul disease. Revoke thy gift, Or whilst I can vent clamor from my throat, I’ll tell thee thou dost evil.

Go ahead, kill your doctor and pay the medical bill to your foul disease. Take back your gift to Albany and Cornwall, or as long as I can make a fuss, I'll keep telling you that you've done an evil thing.

Hear me, recreant! On thine allegiance hear me. That thou hast sought to make us break our vows, Which we durst never yet, and with strained pride To come betwixt our sentence and our power, Which nor our nature nor our place can bear, Our potency made good, take thy reward: Five days we do allot thee for provision To shield thee from diseases of the world. And on the sixth to turn thy hated back Upon our kingdom. If on the next day following Thy banished trunk be found in our dominions, The moment is thy death. Away! By Jupiter, This shall not be revoked.

Listen to me, you traitor! If you still show me allegiance as my subject, hear me. You've tried to make me break my promise to Cornwall and Albany, and I've never broken a promise yet. You tried to overturn my sentence of judgment on Cordelia, and neither my personality nor my role as king can accept such disrespect of power. To prove my authority, here is the reward for your actions: you have five days to gather whatever you need to survive the misfortunes of the world. And on the sixth day you must turn your hated back on my kingdom. If your banished self is found here after that day, you will be immediately killed. Now go away! I swear by Jupiter I'll never take back what I've promised to do.

Why, fare thee well, King. Sith thus thou wilt appear, Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here. [To CORDELIA] The gods to their dear shelter take thee, maid, That justly think’st and hast most rightly said! [To REGAN and GONERIL] And your large speeches may your deeds approve, That good effects may spring from words of love.— Thus Kent, O princes, bids you all adieu. He’ll shape his old course in a country new.

Well, farewell then, King. Since this is how you insist on acting, freedom has left this kingdom and been replaced by banishment.  [To CORDELIA]  Lady, may the gods shelter you, for you've thought with justice and spoken correctly. [To REGAN and GONERIL] And may your actions live up to your grand words, so that we can see good deeds spring from words of love. And so Kent bids you all farewell, you princes. He'll go be his same old self in a new country.

KENT exits.

Flourish. Enter GLOUCESTER with the King of FRANCE, the Duke of BURGUNDY, and attendants

Trumpets play. GLOUCESTER, the King of FRANCE, the Duke of BURGUNDY, and attendants enter.

Here’s France and Burgundy, my noble lord.

The rulers of France and Burgundy are here, my noble lord.

My lord of Burgundy. We first address towards you, who with this king Hath rivaled for our daughter. What in the least Will you require in present dower with her Or cease your quest of love?

My lord of Burgundy, I'll address you first. You've been a rival to this king in pursuing my daughter. What is the least amount you will accept as her dowry  before you give up seeking her love?

Most royal majesty, I crave no more than hath your highness offered. Nor will you tender less.

Your most royal Majesty, I want nothing more than what your Highness has already offered, and I know you won't offer less than that.

Right noble Burgundy, When she was dear to us we did hold her so, But now her price is fallen. Sir, there she stands. If aught within that little seeming substance, Or all of it, with our displeasure pieced And nothing more, may fitly like your grace, She’s there, and she is yours.

Noble Burgundy, when my love for Cordelia was great, I considered her worth to be great too. But now her price has fallen. There she is, sir. If there's anything your Grace like about that small, worthless creature, who is now inseparable from my anger, then there she is—she's yours.

I know no answer.

I don't know what to say.

Sir, will you, with those infirmities she owes— Unfriended, new adopted to our hate, Dowered with our curse and strangered with our oath— Take her or leave her?

Sir, now that you know her flaws—that she is friendless and just now hated by her father, and that her only dowry is my curse—will you take her or leave her?

Pardon me, royal sir. Election makes not up in such conditions.

Forgive me, royal sir. It's impossible to choose in such a situation.

Then leave her, sir, for by the power that made me, I tell you all her wealth. [To FRANCE] For you, great King, I would not from your love make such a stray To match you where I hate. Therefore beseech you T' avert your liking a more worthier way Than on a wretch whom Nature is ashamed Almost t' acknowledge hers.

Then leave her, sir, for I swear to God that I've described to you all the value she has.  [To FRANCE] And you, great King: I would never want to alienate you by making you marry someone I hate. So please look elsewhere for a wife and forget this worthless girl, who can barely be called human.

This is most strange, That she that even but now was your best object— The argument of your praise, balm of your age, Most best, most dearest— should in this trice of time Commit a thing so monstrous to dismantle So many folds of favor. Sure, her offense Must be of such unnatural degree That monsters it (or your fore-vouched affection Fall into taint), which to believe of her Must be a faith that reason without miracle Could never plant in me.

This is very strange. How could Cordelia—who until just now was your favorite, the object of all your praise, your comfort in your old age, and your best and dearest— have done something so monstrous that she suddenly stripped away the many layers of your love and favor? Surely she must have committed an atrocious crime to make your formerly strong affection for her turn rotten. But it would take a miracle to make me believe that she could do something like that.

[To LEAR] I yet beseech your majesty, If for I want that glib and oily art To speak and purpose not— since what I well intend, I’ll do ’t before I speak— that you make known It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness, No unchaste action or dishonored step That hath deprived me of your grace and favor, But even for want of that for which I am richer: A still-soliciting eye and such a tongue As I am glad I have not, though not to have it Hath lost me in your liking.

[To LEAR]  Please, your Majesty, I lack the glib art of flattery and empty words. When I want to do something, I just do it instead of talking about it. So let it be known that it wasn't because I committed an act of murder, lust, or dishonor that I lost your love and favor. It was because I lack a flattering tongue and a greedy eye. I'm a richer person even without these things. And I'm glad that I don't have them, although lacking them has lost me your love.

Go to, go to. Better thou Hadst not been born than not t' have pleased me better.

Enough, go away. It would've been better for you to have never been born than to have displeased me like you did.

Is it no more but this—a tardiness in nature Which often leaves the history unspoke That it intends to do?— My lord of Burgundy, What say you to the lady? Love’s not love When it is mingled with regards that stands Aloof from th' entire point. Will you have her? She is herself a dowry.

Is that all? You're banishing her because she has a quiet nature that makes her act without telling the world about her actions? My lord of Burgundy, what do you have to say to the lady? Love is not love when it mingles with irrelevant matters. Will you marry her? She is a valuable dowry in and of herself.

[To LEAR] Royal King, Give but that portion which yourself proposed, And here I take Cordelia by the hand, Duchess of Burgundy.

[To LEAR]  Royal king, if you'll only give me the dowry that you offered me originally, then I'll marry Cordelia right away and make her the Duchess of Burgundy.

Nothing. I have sworn. I am firm.

I'll give nothing. I have sworn. I'll stand firm.

[To CORDELIA] I am sorry then. You have so lost a father That you must lose a husband.

[To CORDELIA]  I am sorry then. In losing the king as a father, you've also lost me as a husband.

Peace be with Burgundy. Since that respects and fortunes are his love, I shall not be his wife.

Peace be with you, Burgundy. Since your real love is money, I won't be your wife.

Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being poor, Most choice forsaken, and most loved despised! Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon, Be it lawful I take up what’s cast away. Gods, gods! 'Tis strange that from their cold’st neglect My love should kindle to inflamed respect.— Thy dowerless daughter, King, thrown to my chance, Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France. Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy Can buy this unprized precious maid of me.— Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind. Thou losest here, a better where to find.

Fairest Cordelia—in being poor you have become most rich; in being abandoned you are valuable; and in being hated you are loved! I accept you and your virtues right away, if it's legal to pick up and keep something that has been cast away by another man. Gods, gods! It's strange that in treating you so coldly, they've fanned the flames of my love and made me respect you as well. King, your daughter without a dowry, whom you've rejected and thrown to me by chance, will now become the Queen of France and of my heart. No duke of watered-down Burgundy could buy this priceless, precious girl from me. Cordelia, bid them farewell, even though they've been unkind to you. You've lost your life here to find a better life elsewhere.

Thou hast her, France. Let her be thine, for we Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see That face of hers again. [To CORDELIA] Therefore be gone Without our grace, our love, our benison.— Come, noble Burgundy.

You can take her, King of France. Let her be your wife, for she's no daughter of mine, and I'll never see that face of hers again.  [To CORDELIA]  So go away, and leave without any love or blessing from me. Come, noble Burgundy.

Trumpets play.

Exeunt all but FRANCE, GONERIL, REGAN, and CORDELIA

Everyone except the King of FRANCE, GONERIL, REGAN, and CORDELIA exits.

Bid farewell to your sisters.

Say goodbye to your sisters.

The jewels of our father, with washed eyes Cordelia leaves you. I know you what you are, And like a sister am most loath to call Your faults as they are named. Love well our father. To your professèd bosoms I commit him. But yet, alas, stood I within his grace, I would prefer him to a better place. So farewell to you both.

Sisters, you jewels of our father's love, I leave you now with tears in my eyes. I know what you really are, but as a sister I am reluctant to criticize your faults and call them by their true names. Love our father and take care of him. I leave him to you who have claimed to love him so dearly. But, oh, I wish I were still in his favor, so I could recommend him to better caretakers. So farewell to you both.

Prescribe not us our duty.

Don't tell us what our duty is.

Let your study Be to content your lord, who hath received you At fortune’s alms. You have obedience scanted, And well are worth the want that you have wanted.

You should focus on pleasing your lord and husband, who has accepted you out of charity. You have failed to be obedient to our father, and you deserve to lose the love that you yourself have lacked.

Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides, Who covers faults at last with shame derides. Well may you prosper.

Time will reveal what you're hiding under your cunning flattery. Those who cover their faults always end up being shamed by them. May you have prosperous lives.

Come, my fair Cordelia.

Come along, my fair Cordelia.

Exeunt FRANCE and CORDELIA

The King of FRANCE and CORDELIA exit.

Sister, it is not a little I have to say of what most nearly appertains to us both. I think our father will hence tonight.

Sister, I have much to say about things that concern us both. I think our father will leave tonight.

That’s most certain, and with you. Next month with us.

Certainly, and he'll go to stay with you. Next month he'll stay with us.

You see how full of changes his age is. The observation we have made of it hath not been little. He always loved our sister most, and with what poor judgment he hath now cast her off appears too grossly.

I know you see how moody and fickle he's gotten in his old age, as we've both been observing him so closely. He always loved our sister the most, and his poor judgment in banishing her now seems obvious.

'Tis the infirmity of his age. Yet he hath ever but slenderly known himself.

It's the sickness of his old age. But even when he was younger, he never understood himself very well.

The best and soundest of his time hath been but rash. Then must we look from his age to receive not alone the imperfections of long-engrafted condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with them.

Even in the prime of his life he was impulsive. Now that he's old, we must deal not only with his deeply-rooted bad habits, but also with the unpredictable bad temper that comes with old age and senility.

Such unconstant starts are we like to have from him as this of Kent’s banishment.

We're likely to see more unpredictable outbursts from him, like his banishment of Kent.

There is further compliment of leave-taking between France and him. Pray you, let’s sit together. If our father carry authority with such dispositions as he bears, this last surrender of his will but offend us.

There is still going to be a farewell ceremony between the King of France and our father. Please, let's sit together and come up with a plan. If our father continues to wield his authority in such a fickle way, then his recent surrender to his passions will only hurt us.

We shall further think on ’t.

We must think more about it.

We must do something, and i' th' heat.

We have to do something, and should strike while the iron is hot.

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