Act 3

3.1 - The kings men are out in the open country with the storm coming up. The Gentleman tells
Kent that the King is running around in the storm like a lunatic swearing at it. Kent tells the
Gentleman to go to Dover to as the French are going to take advantage of this opportunity to
invade. He tells him that if he sees Cordelia (which he believes he will) to show her his ring to know
who he really is.
3.2 - Lear is cursing the world and the asking the storm to smite mankind. Kent convinces him to go
off to a little hovel to get out of the rain and he says he was turned away at Gloucesters house. The
Fool then makes a prophecy which Merlin will later make.
3.3 - Gloucester tells Edmund that he finds the Dukes insistence that he not help the King painful.
He further tells him that an army has landed and that they must take the Kings side. He begs
Edmund to distract the Duke while he goes to the King. Edmund will secretly tell the Duke all.
3.4 - Lear feels the pain in his heart is greater than the physical pain which would drive him to seek
shelter in a cattle shed. They find Edgar disguised as Tom inside and Lear keeps asking him if his
daughters are responsible for his condition. Gloucester arrives and asks them all to come inside
with him. He laments the loss of his son.
Upon seeing the cattle shed where Kent wants him to sleep, the King says that the pain in his mind at
that thought dulls any other pains which might drive him to seek such shelter. He comments that he
wished he had taken more care of the poor when he was in power as they have to suffer as he does
now.
50 - Edgar comes out disguised as a madman and Lear asks him if he gave all to his daughters -- Edgar
goes on as a madman -- Lear goes on about how it must have been his daughters which put Edgar into
such a state
80 - Edgar says he did all sorts of bad things
Lear tears off his clothes and Gloucester comes in with a torch -- he invites them all back to the house
3.5 - Edmund and Cornwall talk about the horrors that Gloucester was a traitor and helped France.
Edmund says he will help deal with him, and Cornwall calls HIM the Earl of Gloucester. He goes
off to find his father hoping that he will find him with the King to make the whole thing more
suspicious.
3.6 - Edgar, the Fool, and Lear talk like madmen with Lear calling them his wise advisors in a
mock trial of his daughters -- Edgar says in an aside that he is so saddened by this that he is having
a hard time acting -- 80 -- Gloucester comes in and tells them to flee to Dover in his coach as he has
just heard of a plan to kill the king.
3.7 - Cornwall tells them to seek Gloucester as a traitor and that he cant hang him without a trial,
but that he will punish him. He receives news that the King has escaped to Dover. They capture
Gloucester and Cornwall takes out one of his eyes -- a servant attacks Cornwall for this and
wounds him, Regan kills the servant and they take out the other eye.
Act 4
4.1 - Gloucester led by an Old Man finds Edgar as the madman Tom. Gloucester tells the old man
to leave him to Tom to. He then gives Tom his purse and tells him to lead him to Dover and to the
edge of a very tall cliff so he can jump off. Edgar is having a very hard time playing Tom in front of
his father.
Edgar laments his fall in fortune but notes that he can fall no further and so shall have nothing more to
fear
Gloucester enters lead by an old man -- he says he doesnt need any one to lead him now as he has
nowhere to go -- he says that even when he did have eyes he could not see as he got rid of the true son
They meet up with Edgar and identify him as mad Tom -- Gloucester asks to have Tom lead him to
Dover -- the old man protests that he is mad
55 - Edgar is having a very hard time playing the madman in front of his father
Gloucester gives Tom his purse and asks him to lead him to the very edge of a tall cliff and that from
there he will need no more guidance (as he will jump off)
4.2 - Oswald tells Goneril that her husband Albany has not responded well to the news of a French
invasion. She sends him to tell her sisters husband to prepare and that her husband is a coward.
Albany comes in and tells her that he is shocked by her behavior and blames her for Lears

madness. A servant then enters and tells them of Reans husbands death. At the end Albany says to
himself that he wishes to revenge the blinding of Gloucester.
Oswald tells Goneril that her husband has not responded well to the landing of an army -- she says it is
due to his inwardly cowardly nature and tells Edmund to go to her sisters husband and urge him to
prepare quickly and that she will take on her husbands role here
30 - Goneril comments that her husband only thinks he controls her -- he (Albany) enters and tells her
that he doesnt like her behavior towards her father, he blames her for his madness -- she calls him a
coward for not mustering troops against Frances landing
75 - a messenger brings news that Regans husband has died from the wound he received from
Gloucesters servant
95 - Albany says he wants to revenge Gloucesters blinding when he hears that Edmond was the one to
turn him in, he asks the messenger for more information.
4.3 - Kent hears that the King of France had to go back to France for some very urgent business -he also hears that the Queen cried when she read his letters. The Gentleman reports that the Queen
was not driven into a rage, but took the cruel news most calmly. Kent says that while the King is in
town and when sane understands what they are there for, he has so much shame that he will not
visit Cordelia.
4.4 - Cordelia is upset at how mad her father is and sends a Doctor to find him. Then a messenger
comes in with the news that the Engilish are on there way -- to which she responds that the plans
drawn up earlier will stand.
4.5 - Regan talks to Oswald about the message he brought from Goneril -- she finds out that Albany
is leading, but he is not as good a soldier as she is. She wants to read the message for Edmund and
insinuates that Goneril and Edmund are lovers. She tells him to tell Goneril that now that she
(Regan) is widowed, Edmund is a much better husband for her. She also tells Oswald to kill
Gloucester if he meets up with him.
4.6 - Edgar as Tom pretends to lead Gloucester to a cliff at Dover from which he can jump.
Gloucester jumps (no cliff, remember?) and faints. Edgar then pretends to be someone else finding
him as if he had survived a miraculous fall from a great height. Gloucester then agrees that the
Gods must have cared for him and that therefore he will take whatever they give him. Lear then
comes in mad, but he recognizes Gloucester and tells him to get glass eyes so he can pretend to see
and be just like everyone else. Gloucester then has Edgar lead him off and they Kill Oswald when
he attacks them. He is carrying a letter from Goneril to Edmund telling him to kill her husband
Albany and marry her.
Edgar leads Gloucester to the cliff at Dover -- Gloucester tells him that he thinks Edgars speech has
changed and improved -- Edgar denies it -- they get to the cliff and Gloucester gives him another bag
of money and tells him to leave him -- Gloucester lets himself fall forward, but Edgar had not brought
him to the cliff so he does not die but instead faints
50 - Edgar pretends to be someone else and that Gloucester has fallen off and somehow amazingly
survived -- Edgar says that he thought the person he saw with Gloucester at the top of the cliff was a
monster, and that the Gods must love him to have so preserved him -- 75 -- Gloucester says he will
suffer all he is given from now on
85 - Lear comes in fantastically dressed in a mad state of mind and goes off about his daughters -- he
says that even Gloucesters bastard son was more kind to Gloucester that his daughters were to him -Lear tells him that he should get glass eyes as he will then be able to pretend to see things as
politicians do
195 - The Gentleman comes in to bring Lear to his daughter, but he runs off
200 - Edgar agrees to have Gloucester lead him and they head off but are intercepted by Oswald who
is killed by Edgar when he tries to kill Gloucester. He tells them to deliver his letters to "Edmond earl
of Gloucester." -- the letter is from Goneril is writing to Edmund telling him to kill her husband
Albany so that they can get married
4.7 - Cordelia acknowledges Kents great deed of helping Lear, but he requests no reward but that
she keep his actions secret for a while longer, she agrees. They bring in Lear who has had a long
sleep and Cordelia awakes him -- he recognizes her but is nervous because he dosent know if he
has gone off to purgatory or hell or if he is still alive. He seems sane.
Act 5

5.1 - Edmund and Regan are talking about Edmunds relationship with Goneril -- Regan implies
that they have had sex, Edmund denies it. Goneril comes in and says in an aside that she would
rather lose the battle than have Regan pull Edmond away from her more. Albany says that they
have two enemies -- the people who are legitimately pissed off at their rule and the French. They
agree this is obvious. Edgar enters and gives Albany a letter to read and then leaves. In his
soliloquy Edmond says that he has promised his love to both sisters and that if Goneril wants him to
marry her she will have to be rid of Albany. He also mentions that he will not give a pardon to
Cordeila or Lear when the battle is over as he must insure the safety of his own state.
5.2 - Edgar leaves Gloucester by a tree and goes to the battle. He returns to say that they have lost
and that Lear and Cordelia were taken. He takes Gloucester away.
5.3 - Edmund brings in Lear and Cordelia and sends them off. He sends a captain
after them with secret orders to kill them both. Albany then enters and the sisters
quarrel over marrying Edmund. Albany then arrests Edmund as a traitor and calls
for the trumpet to be blown as Edgar had said when he delivered his letter. Edgar
arrives and challenges Edmund but will not give his name. He defeats him and tells
him who he is. Albany then sends for Lear and Cordelia quickly as Edmund tells
him he had ordered their executions. Goneril and Regan have killed themselves.
Lear comes in wounded after killing Cordelias executioner with the dead Cordeila.
Kent reveals himself and Lear dies. Albany tells Edgar to take over.
Edmund parades in Lear and Cordelia -- they say they will be happy in prison talking
30 - Edmund gives a captain a letter and tells him to go do this deed immediately without questions
and he agrees
45 - Albany asks Edmund for the King and Cordelia -- he tells him that he had them sent off until the
next day -- Albany says that he is in charge and that he wants them now -- Regan says that Edmund led
the battle and that he ought to be in charge and that Albany should have asked her what she wanted
70 - Goneril and Regan argue over if Regan wants to marry Edmund -- she announces it -- Albany
interrupts ordering the arrest of Edmund on high treason and annuls the marriage announcement -- he
declares that a trumpet be blown and the one who will declare Edmunds treachery will appear (as
Edgar had said when he delivered the letter) -- Regan gets sick and leaves
110 - Edgar arrives at the sound of the trumpet -- he challenges Edmund but will not give his name -he defeats him and Albany charges Goneril and Edmund with the letter he has -- Edmund asks who
Edgar is as he did not give his name -- Edgar tells who he is and Edmund admits that the wheel of
fortune has indeed come around Albany embraces him -- Edmund tells his story including the end
when he told Gloucester of who he was and he died (happily) of a heart attack
220 - the Gentleman comes in and says that Goneril is dead and her sister Regan is poisoned -- they
are killing eachother
245 - Edmund says to go quickly to save Cordelia and Lear as he had ordered their execution in such a
way that it would look like Cordelia had hung herself
270 - Enter Lear carrying the dead Cordelia he was injured when killing the man who was hanging
Cordelia -- Kent introduces himself as Kent -- he welcomes him -- Albany restores their power and
then Lear dies with Cordelia in his arms
Albany tells Kent and Edgar to rule, Kent says he is too old
Lear Class Notes
Lecture 1, Wednesday November 15, 1999
office hours early this afternoon, 2-4 and tomorrow 2-4
Pain
This is probably the most painful thing Shakespeare wrote
This play can have enormous physical pain -- mutilation (drawn out), naked raving lunatics, hideous
humiliation
Not only physical pain but also emotional -- Shakespeare wrote to make us feel as well as think -- it is
emotionally anguishing to watch Lear bargain for love and to watch him curse Goneril to sterility in

front of her husband -- blinding of Gloucester is painful, but it is proceeded by Regan plucking his
beard
Even in the scenes which are supposed to be warm are not: Lear coming to his senses in front of
Cordelia, do not mock me
Lear to Cordelia -- "Better thou hast not been born than to not please me better." -- one of the worst
things a father can say to a daughter
You cant understand this play until you have old parents so you can understand loving them but
having them be difficult
There is such a fall here -- Lear is absolutely in control at the beginning: the land is at peace, foreign
Kings are wooing his youngest daughter, the dowry for the other two daughters have yet to be paid
(amazing control) -- it is a story of absolute majesty which is absolutely ruined
Repetition
In Hamlet one of the chief effects is variety (pirates, kings, players, and Hamlet) -- in Lear the key is
repetition: banishes Cordelia and then Kent; mistreated by Goneril, then Regan; Gloucester has one
then both eyes put out
(Act 4) -- Edgar says things could only get better from here -- for a moment you feel better about
things -- only it doesnt work: the next thing that happens is his old blinded father walks on the stage -he says he didnt think that could happen -- he says as long as you can speak you can have worse
the speech: "nothing" and "never, never, never" and "kill, kill, kill" -- how should we respond? Lear
suggest howling -- what happens if you actually try to cope with it
Coping with it -- examples from the play -- Evasion
Shakespeare knows this is hard to take so a lot of the play is about responses to coping with this
Gloucester
p. 2488 (1.2.71) - Gloucester dealing with the news that Edgar is planning against him
Gut response: rage; but it doesnt last -- 87 -- now he is not sure "he cannot be such a monster to his
father" -- the second response is not to believe, denial
Moving from feeling to mind: got to think what it means -- find an explanation -- 96 -- talks about the
eclipse -- supernatural forces are responsible -- our destiny is controlled by the stars -- this is a very
poor explanation -- Shakespeare dose not take astrology as an explanation -- here we are immediately
encouraged to think this is a bad explanation as Edmund then goes on to say alone that Gloucesters
explanation is absurd and that when we are old and impotent we blame our problems on the star -Gloucester is evading the truth of our nature
Glocester is evading: the fact that people are vile of their own nature -- he goes through the first part of
this play not noticing that people are behaving badly -- he tries to sooth Cornwall and Lear -- it takes
him a while to realize that this is not solvable
He also evades the fact that we are responsible for these -- Edmund is the product of Gloucesters
nature -- if we blame the Gods we are not taking our own responsibility
Most people in the audience see Gloucesters evasion as just that -- the habit of mind that Gloucester
reveals in jumping to the stars for an explanation is characteristic of the people in the play -- they all
try to come up with some philosophical explanation
What he is being told is not true (wrong son) but one of the sons is plotting against them -- both he and
Lear chose the wrong child
The emotional strength of this play comes from the realization that children can hate their parents
Lear has the same responses to Cordelia in the first scene, but this is analogous action -- the play is
about two old men: everything that happens in the main plot is mirrored in the sub-plot
Gods in the Play
(4.1) Gloucester is going on about what he saw in the storm -- "as flies to wanton boys are we to the
Gods; they kill us for sport" -- this may sum up the play -- this is a further evasion -- it helps
Gloucester preserve his sanity for the time being -- it does contain at least a hypothetical truth -- if
there are Gods in the universe of King Lear they must be willing to let these things happen, but they
dont do it: Regan and Cornwall do
Lear insists that humans are vile, Gloucester says it is the Gods
What kind of Gods in this pre-christian play? Roman Gods are mentioned.
Near the end of Act 5, Edgar makes an opposite statement about the Gods (p. 2549, 5.3.165) -- "the
Gods are just" -- the ultimate just result of Gloucesters blinding was his adultery -- the causal

relationship is right, but it is an evasion -- this doesnt make the Gods just -- an eye for a casual sin of
the flesh -- what about Cordelia?
Albany has the lines calling for the Gods to defend her
We want the idea of justice -- an unjust world is very scary -- if there is justice we can say its not fair
with some idea that that protest will be heard in some court (human or divine) and that things will be
set right
There is evasion everywhere -- even Edmond evades: his response to Gloucesters astrology response
-- "I should have been that I am should the maidenliest star twinkled on" -- a psychological
determinism -- he believes he has a fixed nature which he can not change -- he finds out at the end as
he is moved by Gloucesters suffering and he tries to save Cordelia and Lear --