King Lear (Rolfe illustrated edition) by William Shakespeare, William James Rolfe
Notes - Act III
Scene I.
6. The main. The mainland. Elsewhere in S. it means the sea. Cf. Sonn. 64. 7: " the watery main; " K. John,\\. 1. 26: " England, hedg'd in with the main," etc. On curled waters, cf. 2 Hen. IV. iii. 1. 23: — " Who take the ruffian billows by the top, Curling their monstrous heads," etc.
8. Eyeless. Blind, undiscerning. Cf. the literal use in iii. 7. 96 below.
9. Make nothing of. Treat with contempt (as we still use the expression), not "annihilate," as some explain it.
10. His little world of man. Probably an allusion to the ancient notion of man as the microcosm, or little world, containing in miniature the elements of the macrocosm, or the universe. Cf. Rich. II. v. 5. 9: "And these same thoughts people this little world." See also L. C. 7.
12. Cub-drawn. Sucked dry by her cubs, and made hungry by it. Cf. A. Y. L. iv. 3. 115 : "A lioness, with udders all drawn dry;" and Id. iv. 3. 127: "the suck'd and hungry lioness."
14. Unbonneted. Cf. Oth. i. 2. 23; and for bonnet = cap, see Rich. II. i. 4. 31, etc.
15. Take all. Cf. M. W. i. 3. 84: "then Lucifer take all!" 2 Hen. VI. iii. 1. 307: " nay, then, a shame take all! " etc.
17. Heart-strook. See on ii. 4. 157 above.
18. Note. Observation, or knowledge. Cf. ii. I. 85 above.
23. Who seem no less. Who seem nothing else than servants, and not the spies that they really are.
24. Speculations. Close observers. Schmidt, in his lexicon (p. 1421), gives more than sixty instances in S. of this use of the abstract for the concrete; and Furness adds discretion in ii. 4. 146 below.
25. Intelligent. Giving information. Cf. iii. 5. 12 and iii. 7. 12 below. What hath been seen, etc.; that is, to note and report, etc.
26. Snuffs. Huffs, offence-taking. Cf. "taking it in snuff" (Z. L. L. v. 2. 22) and the play upon the expression in 1 Hen. IV. i. 3. 41. Packings = plottings. Cf. T. of S. v. 1. 121: "Here's packing, with a witness, to deceive us all! "
29. Furnishings. "Colours, external pretences " (Johnson).
30. Power. Army; as often, both in the singular and the plural, Cf. iii. 3. 13, iv. 2. 17, iv. 3. 50, iv. 4. 21, etc., below.
31. Scattered. "Divided, unsettled, disunited " (Johnson); not elsewhere used in this sense by S.
32. Feet. Footing, landing.
33. At point. See on i. 4. 332 above.
34. To show their open banner. To begin active hostilities.
36. To make. As to make. See on i. 4. 38 and ii. 4. 13 above.
39. Plain. Complain. Cf. Rich II. i. 3. 75, etc.
43. I will talk further with you. This implies a courteous postponement or dismissal of a request; hence Kent's reply (Delius).
45. Out-wall. Exterior. Cf. wall in T. N. i. 2. 48, and K. John, iii. 3. 20.
48. That. S. generally uses the possessive pronoun with fellow — companion.
52. To effect. As to effect, in importance.
53. Pain. Labour, effort {will be or lies being understood). S. uses both pain and pains in this sense; now we use only the latter.
Scene II.
2. Hurricanoes. Water spouts. Cf. T. and C. v. 2. 172 : — " the dreadful spout Which shipmen do the hurricano call." Nares quotes Drayton, Mooncalf, 168: — " And downe the shower impetuously doth fall, Like that which men the Hurricano call."
3. Cocks. That is, the weathercocks.
4. Thought-executing. Doing execution with the rapidity of thought.
5. Vaunt-couriers. Forerunners, precursors; originally "the foremost scouts of an army." Cf. Temp. i. 2. 201: — " Jove's lightnings, the precursors O' the dreadful thunder-claps."
8. Germens. Seeds; as in Macb. iv. 1. 59. Cf. W. T. iv. 4. 489: — " Let nature crush the sides o' the earth together, And mar the seeds within." Spill = destroy: Cf. Ham. iv. 5. 20: "It spills itself," etc. See also Spenser, F. Q. iii. 7. 54 : Badd her commaund my life to save or spill; " and Id. v. 10. 2: "As it is greater prayse to save then spill," etc.
10. Court holy-water. " Ray, among his proverbial phrases, mentions court holy-water to mean fair words. The French have the same phrase: Eau benite de cour" (Steevens). Cotgrave, Fr. Diet., has " Eau beniste de Cour. Court holy water; complements, faire words, flattering speeches," etc.
13. Pities. For the ellipsis of the relative, cf. i. 4. 62 above.
15. Fire. A dissyllable; as in Rich. II. i. 3. 294, ii. 1. 34, v. 1. 48, etc.
18. Subscription. Submission, obedience; the only instance of the noun in S. Cf. the use of the verb in i. 2. 19 above and iii. 7. 65 below.
23. High-engender'd. High — in the heavens; as in high-judging, ii. 4. 226 above. Battles = battalions; as in J. C. v. i. 4. etc.
27. That makes his toe, etc. Makes that his last object which should be his first (Capell). Furness paraphrases the quatrain thus: " A man who prefers or cherishes a mean member in place of a vital one shall suffer enduring pain where others would suffer merely a twinge. Lear had preferred Regan and Goneril to Cordelia."
31. For there was never yet, etc. "This is the Fool's way of diverting attention after he has said something a little too pointed; the idea of a very pretty woman making faces in a looking-glass raises a smile" (Furness). For made mouths, cf. Ham. ii. 2. 381, iv. 4. 50, etc.
39. Gallow. Affright; the only instance of the word in S. According to Nares, the word in the corrupt form of gaily is still used in the West of England.
43. Carry. Bear, sustain. Cf. R. and J. iv. 5. 120 : "I will carry no crotchets."
44. Affliction. Used for "any painful sensation" (Schmidt).
45. Pudder. The folio spelling, followed by Furness and some other editors; but the majority read "pother," as Furness notes. Charles Lamb preferred pudder, and uses it in his remarks on this play. Cf. Cor. ii. 1. 234, where the old eds. have " poother."
49. Simular. Simulator; the only instance of the noun in S. The adjective occurs in Cymb. v. 5. 200: "with simular proof enough" (that is, pretended, counterfeited).
52. Has. One of many examples of the verb in the third person with a relative whose antecedent is of the first or second person. Practised on = plotted against. Cf. the noun in i. 2. 180 above.
53. Continents. That which contains or encloses; the original sense of the word, and the usual one in S. Cf. Ham. iv. 4. 64, etc. Concealing continents — l* shrouds of secrecy" (Herford). Cry grace = cry for grace or pardon. Cf. cry you mercy (M. W. iii. 5. 27) and cry you pardon {Oth. v. 1. 93).
54. Summoners. The officers that summon offenders before a tribunal.
56. Gracious my lord. Cf. iii. 4. I below.
59. More harder. See on i. I. 73 above.
60. Demanding. Inquiring, asking. Cf. v. 3. 63 below.
62-68. My wits begin to turn, etc. Dr. Bucknill remarks: "The import of this must be weighed with iv. 6. 100-104, when Lear is incoherent and full of delusion. Insanity arising from mental and moral causes often continues in a certain state of imperfect development; ... a state of exaggerated and perverted emotion, accompanied by violent and irregular conduct, but unconnected with intellectual aberration, until some physical shock is incurred,— bodily illness, or accident, or exposure to physical suffering; and then the imperfect type of mental disease is converted into perfect lunacy, characterized by more or less profound affection of the intellect, by delusion or incoherence. This is evidently the case in Lear, and although we have never seen the point referred to by any writer, and have again and again read the play without perceiving it, we cannot doubt from these passages, and especially from the second, in which the poor madman's imperfect memory refers to his suffering in the storm, that S. contemplated this exposure and physical suffering as the cause of the first crisis in the malady. Our wonder at his profound knowledge of mental disease increases, the more carefully we study his works; here and elsewhere he displays with prolific carelessness a knowledge of principles, half of which would make the reputation of a modern psychologist."
65. The art. " The alchemy or transforming power " (Moberly).
69. He that has and, etc. Cf. T. A7", v. I. 398 fol. "This may have been the same song, but changed by the Fool to suit the occasion" (Furness).
74. I'll speak a prophecy, etc. The whole of this speech is probably an interpolation. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 42: " And let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them," etc. The prophecy is an imitation of one formerly ascribed to Chaucer, but now regarded as spurious.
87. Merlin. Cf. I Hen. IV. iii. 1. 150: "the dreamer Merlin and his prophecies."
Scene III.
5. Neither . . . or. For the use with more than two particulars, cf. M.for M. iv. 2. 108: "neither in time, matter, or other circumstance," etc.
13. Ho?ne. Fully. See on ii. 1. 53 above, and cf. iii. 4. 16 below.
14. Footed. On foot; or perhaps = " landed," which is the quarto reading. Cf. iii. 7. 45 below. look = look for, " seek " (the quarto reading). Cf. A. Y. I. ii. 5. 34: "He hath been all this day to look you."
20. Toward. At hand. • See on ii. I. II above.
21. Forbid thee. Forbidden thee; the usual form of the participle in S. Cf. v. 1. 47 below.
Scene IV.
6. Think''si 'tis much. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 252 : " Thou dost, and think'st it much to tread the ooze," etc.
7. Invades. See on i. 1. 139 above.
15. As. As if. Cf. v. 3. 203 below.
16. Home. See on ii. 1. 53 and iii. 3. 13 above.
26. Poverty. The abstract for the concrete. See on iii. I. 24 above.
31. loop'd. Full of holes. For loop = hole, see I Hen. IV. iv. 1. 71: " all sight-holes, every loop," etc.
35. Super/lux. Superfluity; which is the word S. uses elsewhere.
37. Fathom and half, etc. Probably Steevens is right in supposing that Edgar talks as if taking soundings at sea.
54. Knives under his pillow, etc. That is, to tempt him to suicide. Steevens quotes Dr. Faustus, 1604: — " Swords, poisons, halters, and envenom'd steel, Are laid before me to dispatch myself."
57. Four-inched bridges. The old bridges of a single beam 01 plank across small streams, intended for pedestrians but sometimes used by horsemen.
58. Thy five wits. Cf. T. N. iv. 2. 92: " Alas, sir, how fell you besides your five wits? "
59. Do de, do de, do de is " perhaps intended to express the teethchattering sound emitted by one who shivers with cold" (Clarke).
60. Star-blasting. Cf. Ham. i. 1. 162: " then no planets strike," etc. For taking, see on ii. 4. 161 above.
62. Now, and there, etc. " He catches at the fiend, as he would at flies" (Moberly).
68. Pendulous. Impending, overhanging. Cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 108: — " Be as a planetary plague when Jove Will o'er some high-vic'd city hang his poison In the sick air." Schmidt quotes The Birth of Merlin (which has been attributed to S.), iv. I: "Knowest thou what pendulous mischief roofs thy head?"
72. Lowness = abject condition. In A. and C. ii. 7. 22 it is used literally (= small elevation), and in Id. hi. II. 63 it is = meanness. Unkind is accented on the first syllable, as usual before a noun. See on i. I. 254 above.
74. Should have, etc. This probably refers to the sticking of pins into the arms. In Edwin Booth's Prompt-book there is a stage-direction: "Draws a thorn, or wooden spike, from Edgar's arm, and tries to thrust it into his own; " and after line 76 : " Edgar seizes Lear's hand and takes away the thorn" (Furness).
75. Judicious. Wise, or just.
76. Pelican. Alluding to the fable that the young of the pelican were fed with blood from its own breast. Cf. Rich. II. ii. 1. 126 and Ham. iv. 5. 146.
77. Pillicock. Suggested by pelican. In Ritson's Gammer Gurtorts Garland we find the nursery rhyme : — " Pillycock, Pillycock sat on a hill; If he's not gone, he sits there still." The word was often used as a term of endearment. Dyce quotes Florio: " Pinchino, a prime-cocke, a pillicocke, a darlin, a beloued lad."
78. Loo, loo! Craig says that this is " a cry to excite dogs " which he has heard in Cardigan. Cf. T. and C. v. 7. 10: "Now, bull! now, dog! Loo, Paris, loo! " Schmidt explains it in the same way.
82. Commit. The word seems to have been applied particularly to incontinence (Malone). Schmidt compares Oth. iv. 2. 72 fol.
87. Curled my hair. Curling the hair seems to have been the mark of a swaggerer, for in Harsnet's Declaration we are told that the devil was said to appear " sometimes like a Ruffian, with curled haire." Cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 160 : "Make curl'd-pate ruffians bald." Gloves in my cap; that is, as the favour of a mistress. Cf. Rich. II. v. 3. 17: — " And from the common'st creature pluck a glove, And wear it as a favour." See also T. and C. iv. 4. 73, v. 2. 79, etc.
92. Light of ear. " Foolishly credulous" (Schmidt).
93. Hog in sloth, etc. In the Ancren Riwle, the seven deadly sins are typified by seven wild animals; the lion being the type of pride, the serpent of envy, the unicorn of wrath, the bear of sloth, the fox of covetousness, the swine of greediness, and the scorpion of lust.
99. Suum, mun, nonny. The nonsensical burden of a song. Cf. Ham. iv. 5. 165 and Much Ado, ii. 3. 76. Dolphin my boy is probably a quotation from a song. Farmer quotes Ben Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v. 3 : " he shall be Dauphin my boy."
100. For sessa (a word of doubtful origin and meaning) cf. T. of S. ind. 1. 6: "let the world slide; sessa! "
101. Thou wert better. See on i. 4. 102 above. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. i. 2. 245 : " I were better to be eaten to death with a rust," etc.
105. The cat. That is, the civet cat. Cf. A. Y. L. iii. 2. 70.
106. Sophisticated. Adulterated, not genuine; as now often used. The word is used by S. only here.
107. Unaccommodated. Unsupplied with conveniences; the only instance of the word in S. Cf. accommodated in 2 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 72 : "a soldier is better accommodated than with a wife; " and see also iv. 6. 81 below.
108. Off, off, etc. "The latent madness against which Lear has been struggling bursts into violence at sight of the strange and awful object which Edgar has made of himself, and he longs to reduce himself, like him, to a state of absolute and unmitigated nature" (Moberly).
109. Unbutton here. Furness remarks: " It has been suggested to me by an eminent novelist and dramatist in London that these words are properly a stage-direction."
111. Naughty. Bad; used in a much stronger sense than now. Cf. iii. 7. 37 below. See also on ii. 4. 131 above.
112. Wide. The early eds. and most modern ones have "wild." Jennens suggested the change, on the ground that wide is better opposed to little; and Walker, who says that " zvildis in the manner of modern, not Elizabethan poetry," gives other instances from S. and contemporaneous writers of the same misprint of wild for wide.
114. A zvalking fire. That is, Gloster with his torch approaching in the distance.
115. Flibbertigibbet. This name, like that of the other demons here, is from Harsnet, who says : " Frateretto, Fleberdigibet, Hoberdidance, Tocobatto, were four deuils of the round, or Morrice, whom Sara in her fits, tuned together, in measure and sweet cadence." It had come to be used figuratively even in that day, for Cotgrave gives it as one of the definitions of Coquette : " a fisking, or fliperous minx, a cocket or tatling housewife; a titifill, a flebergebit."
116. Walks. Often = go away. Cf. Cymb. i. I. 176: "Pray, walk awhile." See also M. for M. iv. 5. 12, W. T. i. 2. 172, Oth. iv. 3. 4, and iv. 7. 83 below.
117. The web and the pin. An old name for cataract in the eye. Cf. W. T. i. 2. 291: " Blind with the pin and web."
120. Saint Withold. The folios have "Swithold." The name is a corruption of St. Vitalis. Old (the reading of the early eds.) = " wold," which is another form of the word.
121. Her nine-fold. That is, her nine imps, or familiars (Capell).
124. Aroint thee. Evidently implying aversion, and = " Away with thee! " but of doubtful origin. Cf. Macb. i. 3. 6.
126. What's he? Who 's he? Cf. v. 3. 120, 126, 166 below.
130. Tadpole. The old eds. have "tod pole," "Tod-pole," "Tod-pool," or "toade pold; " but the modern spelling was then in use. Cotgrave has "Gyrine: the frog tearmed, a Tadpole." The zvall-newt and the water = the lizard common on stone walls in Europe and the water-newt. For the ellipsis in water, cf. M. for M. iii. 2. 9: " furred with fox and lamb-skins."
132. Sallets. Salads. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. iv. 10. 9. It is used figuratively in Ham. ii. 2. 462.
133. Ditch-dog= a dead dog thrown into a ditch. For mantle, cf. Temp. iv. I. 182: " Filthy-mantled pool."
134. Whipped from tithing to tithing. A tithing is the same in the country as a ward in the city. A statute of the time of Elizabeth enacted that vagabonds or "tramps" should be publicly whipped and sent from parish to parish.
135. Hath. The quartos read "hath had." Schmidt remarks: " Hath had probably accords with the fact, but what have facts to do with madness? Tom hath three suits and six shirts; — where are they? who has taken them from him? "
138, 139. Capell cites the old romance of Sir Bevis of Northampton (referred to in Hen. VIII. i. 1. 38) : — " Rattes and myce and suche smal dere Was his meate that seuen yere." Deer was sometimes used in the general sense of game. Malone quotes Barclay, Eclogues, 1570: — " Everie sorte of dere Shrunk under shadowes abating all their chere."
140. Smulkin. Another name from Harsnet's category of devils, like Modo and Mahu just below.
143. The prince of darkness, etc. Cf. Sir John Suckling (who may be quoting from Tear), Goblins, ii. 1: — " The prince of darkness is a gentleman, Mahu, Mahu is his name."
145. Our flesh and blood, etc. Clarke remarks: " One of Shakespeare's subtle touches. Some tone or inflection in Edgar's voice has reached the father's heart, and bitterly recalls the supposed unfilial conduct of his elder son, and he links it with that of Lear's daughters. Edgar, instinctively feeling this, perseveres with his Bedlam cry, to drown the betrayed sound of his own voice, and maintain the impression of his assumed character."
149. To obey. That is, by my obeying. Obey in all, etc. is = obey your daughters in all their hard commands.
153. Is. Cf. ii. 1. 115 above.
159. Prevent. Avoid; perhaps with something of its original sense of anticipating. To kill vermin, as Clarke remarks, is " an instance of Shakespeare's dexterous mode of indicating points that would be treated by other writers of his time with revolting coarseness."
161. Importune. Accented regularly by S. on the penult.
168. Late. Lately; as in i. 4. 195 above.
171. I do beseech your grace, —. " Here Gloster attempts to lead Lear towards the shelter he has provided in the farm-house adjoining the castle; but the king will not hear of quitting his ' philosopher.' Gloster then induces the Bedlam-fellow to go into the hovel, that he may be out of Lear's sight; but Lear proposes to follow him thither, saying, ' Let's in all.' Kent endeavours to draw Lear away, but, finding him resolved to ' keep still with' his ' philosopher,' begs Gloster to humour the king, and ' let him take the fellow ' with him. Gloster accedes, and bids Kent himself take the fellow with them in the direction they desire to go; and this is done. We point out these details, because, if it be not specially observed, the distinction between the ' hovel' and the ' farm-house ' would hardly be understood. The mention of ' cushions' and a 'joint-stool' in scene vi. shows it to be some place of better accommodation than the 'hovel; ' and probably some cottage or farmhouse belonging to one of Gloster's tenants" (Clarke). For cry you mercy, see on iii. 2. 53 above.
177. Soothe. Humour. Cf. C. of E. iv. 4. 82: "Is't good to soothe him in these contraries?" The word in S. always means either to humour or to flatter.
182. Child Rowland. The use of Child as the title of a young knight is familiar to every reader of the old English ballads and of Spenser. Byron has adopted it in Childe Harold. The ballad quoted here has never been discovered. Fragments of a Scottish version of the story are given by Jamieson in his Ilhistrations of Northern Antiquities, and in Professor Child's English and Scottish Ballads. Browning's poem suggested by the passage is well known.
183. His word. That of the giant in the old story.
Scene V.
3. Censured. Judged, estimated; as often. Cf. J. C. iii. 2. 16: "Censure me in your wisdom," etc. Nature = natural affection. He refers to his giving information against his father. See iii. 3. 21 above.
4. Fears me. Makes me fear, frightens me. Cf. T. of S. i. 2. 211: " Fear boys with bugs," etc.
8. A provoking merit. " A merit he felt in himself which irritated him against a father that had none" (Mason). Some take provoking merit to refer to Gloster, not to Edgar.
11. To be just. Of being just. See on iii. 4. 149 above.
12. Approves = proves. See on ii. 4. 181 above. An intelligent party to, etc. = a party intelligent to (or knowing to), etc. Cf. iv. 1. 3 below.
21. Comforting. "Giving aid and comfort to; " as the legal phrase still is.
23. Persever. The spelling of the first three folios, indicating the old pronunciation of the word, the only one in S.
24. Blood. Equivalent to nature in 4 above, and opposed like that to loyalty,
Scene VI.
4. Have. The reading of all the early eds., changed in most modern ones to " hath " or " has." It is one of the instances of " confusion of proximity " so common in S.
6. Frateretto. See on iii. 4. 115 above.
7. Innocent. He is addressing the Fool. Cf. A. W. iv. 3. 213: " a dumb innocent that could not say him nay."
10. A yeoman. A freeholder, but not a gentleman. Cf. I Hen. VI. ii. 4. 81, 85, 95, and I Hen. IV. iv. 2. 16.
19. A horse's health. "A horse is above all other animals subject to disease" (Johnson). Cf. T. of S. i. 2. 81: "though she have as many diseases as two and fifty horses."
21. Justicer. Cf. 56 below, and Cymb. v. 5. 214: "Some upright justicer." Boswell quotes Lambard's Eirenarcha : " And of this it commeth that M. Fitzherbert (in his treatise of the Justices of Peace) calleth them justicers (contractly for justiciars) and not justices, as we commonly, and not altogether improperly, doe name them."
22. Sapient. Used by S. nowhere else.
24. Wantest thou eyes, etc. " Do you want eyes to gaze at and admire you during trial, madam? The fiends are there to serve your purpose" (Clarke).
25. Come o'er, etc. Cf. Chappell, Popular Music of the Olden Time: "The allusion is to an English ballad by William Birch [1558], entitled, 'A songe betwene the Quenes Majestie and Englande,' a copy of which is in the library of the Society of Antiquaries. England commences the dialogue, inviting Queen Elizabeth in the following words: — ' Come over the born, Bessy, come over the born, Bessy, Swete Bessy, come over to me.'" Halliwell-Phillipps gives the music of the song from a MS. of the 16th century in the British Museum.
30. Hoppedance. See on hi. 4. 115 above.
31. White herring. According to some authorities, this means fresh herring; but in the North of England pickled herring are so called. On Croak not, etc., Malone quotes Harsnet: " One time shee remembereth, that shee having the said croaking in her belly, they said it was the devil that was about the bed, that spake with the voice of a toad."
38. Bench. Used again in W. T. i. 2. 314, where it is = raise to authority. Of the commission; that is, a justice of the peace. Cf. 2 Hen IV. hi. 2. 97: "my cousin Silence, in commission with me."
41. Sleepest, etc. Steevens quotes an old play, The Interlude of the Four Elements : " Sleepyst thou, wakyst thou, Geffery Coke? "
43. Minikin. Small and pretty; used'by S. only here.
45. Pur. This may be only an imitation of a cat. Purre is, however, one of Harsnet's devils.
52. Cry you mercy, etc. A proverbial expression, found in Ray's Proverbs. Steevens quotes Lyly, Mother Bombie, 1594: "I crie you mercy, I tooke you for a joynt stoole." For cry you mercy, cf. iii. 4. 171 above.
54. Store. If this is what S. wrote, it must be = substance or material.
57. Thy five wits. See on iii. 4. 58 above.
69. Brach. See on i. 4. 118 above. Lym is Hanmer's correction of the " him " or " Him " of the quartos and " Hym " of the folios. The word meant a lime-hound, or a hound led in a lime, or leash.
70. Tike. A small dog, or cur. Cf. Hen. J7, ii. I. 31. Nares gives trindle-tail as "a corruption of trundle-tail, or curly-tail" and cites Beaumont and Fletcher, Love's Cure, iii. 3: — " Like a poor cur, clapping his trindle tail Between his legs."
73. Hatch. A half-door, or the lower half of a divided door; common now in English cottages. Cf. K. John i. 1. 171, v. 2. 138, etc.
74. Sessa! See on iii. 4. 100 above.
75. Thy horn is dry. "A horn was usually carried about by every Tom of Bedlam, to receive such drink as the charitable might afford him, with whatever scraps of food they might give him" (Malone). Aubrey, in his MS. Natural History of Wiltshire, in describing " Bedlam beggars," says: " they wore about their necks a great horn of an oxe in a string or bawdric, which, when they came to an house for almes, they did wind; and they did putt the drink given them into this horn, whereto they did putt a stopple."
76. Anatomize Regan. That is, dissect her after executing her. Cf. A. Y. L.'\. 1. 162, ii. 7. 56, etc.
79. Entertain. Take into service, engage. Cf. T. G. of V. ii. 4. no: " Sweet lady, entertain him for your servant; " Much Ado, i. 3. 60: "entertained for a perfumer," etc. So entertainment — service; as in A. W. iii. 6. 13, iv. 1. 17, etc.
81. Persian. Perhaps a reminiscence of the Persian robes of an embassy sent to England early in James I.'s reign.
84. Bucknill remarks here: " Lear is comparatively tranquil in conduct and language during the whole period of Edgar's mad companionship. It is only after the Fool has disappeared, and Edgar has left to be the guide of his blind father, that the king becomes absolutely wild and incoherent. The singular and undoubted fact is, that few things tranquillize the insane more than the companionship of the insane. It is a fact not easily explicable, but it is one of which, either by the intuition of genius, or by the information of experience, S. appears to be aware."
85. And I HI go to bed at noon. White remarks: "About the middle of the play the Fool suddenly disappears, making in reply to Lear's remark, ' We'll go to supper in the morning,' the fitting rejoinder, 'And I'll go to bed at noon.' Why does he not return? Clearly for this reason: he remains with Lear during his insanity, to answer in antiphonic commentary the mad king's lofty ravings with his simple wit and homespun wisdom: but after that time, when Lear sinks from frenzy into forlorn imbecility, the Fool's utterances would have jarred upon our ears. The situation becomes too grandly pathetic to admit the presence of a jester, who, unless he is professional, is nothing. Even Shakespeare could not make sport with the great primal elements of woe. And so the poor Fool sought the little corner where he slept, turned his face to the wall, and went to bed in the noon of his life for the last time —functus officio."
89. Upon. Against. We may still say " an attack upon him."
94. Thine, and all, etc. Thine and that of all, etc. As Abbott remarks, the Elizabethan writers object to scarcely any ellipsis that can be readily supplied from the context.
95. Assured loss. Assurance, or certainty, of loss; or stand in = stand in danger of, are exposed to. Cf. 100 below.
98. Balm'd. Anointed with healing balm, healed. Elsewhere (T. of S. ind. i. I. 48 and Per. iii. 2. 65) it is used of fragrant applications. Sinews — nerves; as in V. and A. 903, and sometimes in other writers of the time.
99. Convenience. A quadrisyllable.
100. Stand in hard cure. Will be hard to cure. Cf. Oth, ii. I. 51: " Stand in bold cure."
106. Sufferance. Suffering; as often in S. Cf. J. C. ii. I. 115, etc.
107. Bearing. Endurance of suffering.
108. Portable. Bearable, endurable; as in Macb. iv. 3. 89: "all these are portable."
110. Childed is not found elsewhere in S. For fathered, cf. J. C. ii. 1. 297 and Macb. iv. 2. 27.
111. The high noises. "The loud tumults of approaching war " (Steevens). Bewray = disclose, discover. See on ii. 1.109 above. Johnson paraphrases the passage thus: " Attend to the great events that are approaching, and make thyself known when that false opinion now prevailing against thee shall, in consequence of just proof of thy integrity, revoke its erroneous sentence and recall thee to honour and reconciliation."
113. Repeals. Recalls. Cf. J. C. iii. i. 51, etc.
114. What will hap. Happen what will.
Scene VII.
2. Letter. Cf. iii. 5. n above.
7. Revenges. For the plural, cf. ii. 4. 277 above.
10. Festinate. Speedy. The word is used by S. only here, but feslinately is one of Armado's affectations in L. L. L. iii. 1. 6.
12. Swift and intelligent. Prompt in conveying information. See on iii. 1. 25 above.
13. My lord of Gloster. "Meaning Edmund, newly invested with his father's titles" (Johnson). Cf. iii. 5. 18 above. Oswald in 14 refers to the old earl.
17. Questrists. Seekers, searchers (Fr. questeur). The word is not found elsewhere. Cf. questant in A. W. ii. I. 16.
18. Lord's dependants. Some editors print " lords dependants " (= dependant lords); but, as Furness remarks, it clearly means Gloster's dependants. There were no lords dependent on the king, but only certain knights. The question in 46 below doubtless refers to Gloster's agency in giving Lear an escort of some of his own followers.
24. Pass upon. ''That is, pass a judicial sentence" (Johnson). It is still a legal term (Furness).
26. Do a courtesy to. Yield to, obey. Cf. M.for M. ii. 4. 175 : " Bidding the law make court'sy to their will."
28. Ingrateful. See on ii. 4. 160 above.
29. Corky. " Dry, withered, husky" (Johnson); used by S. only here. Harsnet has the expression: " an old corkie woman."
37. Naughty. A striking instance of the old strong meaning of the word. See on iii. 4. 111 above.
39. Quicken. Come to life. Cf. Oth. iii. 3. 277, etc.
40. My hospitable favours. The features of me your host. Cf. I Hen. IV. iii. 2. 136: "And stain my favours in a bloody mask; " where most editors read " favour." Steevens quotes David and Bethsabe, 1599 : "To daunt the favours of his lovely face."
43. Simple-answer1 d. Plain in your answer. Cf. better-spoken in iv. 6. 10 below.
45. Footed. See on iii. 3. 14 above.
54. / am tied, etc. An allusion to bear-baiting. Cf. Macb. v. " They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But, bear-like, I must fight the course; " Course was the technical term for a bout or round in the baiting. Cf. Brome, Antipodes: " two ten-dog courses at the great bear."
60. Buoyed up. Lifted itself up. The verb occurs nowhere else in S. For the noun, see iv. 6. 19 below.
61. Stelled. Fixed, as Schmidt explains.it; not = starry (from stelld), as some make it. Cf. R. of L. 1444 and Sonn. 24. 1.
62. Holp. Often used by S. both as past tense and participle of help.
63. Stern. The quartos have "dearn" (=: dreadful), which some editors adopt. The word occurs in Per. iii. prol. 15 : "By many a dearn and painful perch."
65. All cruels else subscribe. The quartos have " subscrib'd." As Furness remarks, this is " the most puzzling phrase" in the play. If we follow the folio, we may as well put the words into the address to the porter, as Furness does. He suggests two paraphrases (" acknowledge the claims of all creatures, however cruel they may be at other times," or " give up all cruel things else — that is, forget that they are cruel"), and the second may be right. "As in i. 2. 19, Lear subscribed his powers, so here the porter should stibscribe all cruels, that is, he should surrender, yield, give up whatsoever was cruel in the poor beasts, and see only their claim to his compassion; " or, more concisely, " condone all cruelties." For the general meaning of the passage, cf. iv. 7. 36 fol. below.
67. See V shall thou never! Coleridge asks: " What can I say of this scene?—There is my reluctance to think Shakespeare wrong, and yet —." Elsewhere he says : " I will not disguise my conviction that in this one point the tragic in this play has been urged beyond the outermost mark and ne plus ultra of the dramatic."
77. What do you mean? Furness asks: " Should not this be given to Cornwall? " So S. may have intended.
78. Villain. In its literal sense of serf. Moberly remarks: " As a villain could hold no property but by his master's sufferance, had no legal rights as against his lord, and was (perhaps) incapable of bearing witness against freemen, that one should raise his sword against his master would be unheard-of presumption, for which any punishment would be admissible. The lord's making war against his superior lord would entail no such consequences."
87. Quit. Requite; as often, Cf. Ham. v. 2. 68, etc.
89. Overture. Disclosure. Cf. W. T. ii. 1. 172: "without more overture."
91. O. Monosyllabic exclamations sometimes take the place of a foot in the verse. Cf. iv. 2. 26 below.
98. Untimely. Adverbial; as in Ham. iv. I. 40: "untimely done," etc.
101. Old course of death. Ordinary course of death, a natural death. Wordsworth (Shakespeare's Knowledge and Use of the Bible) compares Numbers, xvi. 29.
103. Bedlam. Lunatic; as in K.John, ii. I. 83: "Bedlam, have done." ,
105. Allows itself to. Allows itself to be turned to, or employed in.
106. Flax and whites of eggs. A common remedy in that day.