Authors: William Shakespeare
Edgar argues that even the “most dejected thing of fortune” can still have hope, but then he sees his blinded father and realizes he is “worse than e’er.” Gloucester shows self-awareness when he says that he “stumbled” when he saw, and ironically talks of his “dear son Edgar.” Gloucester blames the gods, to whom men are “As flies,” and who “kill us for their sport.” The old man leading Gloucester recognizes “Poor Tom” and Edgar realizes that he must remain disguised and “play fool to sorrow.” Gloucester wishes Tom to lead him to Dover, despite the old man’s protests, arguing that “ ’Tis the time’s plague, when madmen lead the blind.” Edgar’s pity for Gloucester means that he struggles to maintain his deception. Gloucester asks to be taken to the edge of Dover’s cliffs.
Lines 1–31:
Goneril wonders why Albany did not meet her. Oswald informs her that Albany has changed—he “smiled” to hear of the French army’s arrival and said “The worse” at Goneril’s return. He refuses to believe Gloucester’s treachery or Edmund’s loyalty. Goneril sends Edmund back, blaming Albany’s change on his “cowish terror.” She gives him a love token and kisses him, telling him to wait for “A mistress’s command.”
Lines 32–77:
Albany and Goneril quarrel. In a Quarto-only sequence, Albany shows new strength as he berates Goneril for her treatment of her father, calling her and Regan “Tigers, not daughters”; she accuses him of cowardice, describing him as “a moral fool.” In the Folio’s edited version of their exchange, Goneril calls her
husband a “Milk-livered man.” A messenger brings news of Cornwall’s death and Gloucester’s blinding; he delivers Goneril a letter from Regan. Albany is horrified and swears revenge on Edmund for his betrayal of Gloucester. Goneril shows mixed feelings at Cornwall’s death—Regan is less powerful as a widow, but she is also free to marry Edmund.
In a Quarto-only scene, Kent and a Gentleman inform the audience that France has returned to his kingdom, leaving Cordelia in England. Kent asks for Cordelia’s reaction to his letter. The natural imagery—“Sunshine and rain at once: her smiles and tears”—shows her goodness and contrasts with the darker images of nature associated with Goneril and Regan. Kent comments that the differences between the sisters can only be accounted for by “the stars above” who “govern our conditions,” recalling the comments made about fate and free will by Gloucester and Edmund in Act 1 Scene 2. Lear is in Dover but refuses to see Cordelia because of his “burning shame” at his treatment of her.
The Folio text moves straight to a scene in which Cordelia marches onstage at the head of her army, informing the audience that Lear has been sighted, still mad, crowned with wildflowers and weeds. Cordelia sends soldiers to find him. A Gentleman (Doctor in Quarto) says that sleep will help Lear and that there are medicinal herbs that will achieve this—a benevolent image of nature that contrasts with the violent storm. A messenger brings news that the British are marching toward them and Cordelia makes it clear that France’s armies are not fighting for “blown ambition”—unlike Goneril and Regan—but for love of Lear.
Albany’s army has set out, although Oswald says that it took “much ado” for Albany himself to join them and that Goneril “is the better soldier.” Oswald has a letter from Goneril to Edmund that Regan wishes to read, but Oswald refuses. Regan expresses concern at
Goneril’s interest in Edmund and argues that he is better suited to her, because she is a widow. She asks Oswald to remind Goneril of this and tells him there is a reward for whoever kills Gloucester.
Lines 1–93:
Edgar persuades Gloucester that they are at a cliff top. Gloucester comments that Edgar’s “voice is altered.” With truthful irony, Edgar responds that he is changed in nothing but his garments. Gloucester delivers a suicide speech and then throws himself forward. Edgar pretends to have found him at the bottom of the cliff, claiming that it is a miracle he survived the fall. He asks who was with Gloucester at the cliff’s head, suggesting that “It was some fiend,” but that he has been spared by the gods. Gloucester resolves to “bear / Affliction.”
Lines 94–209:
Lear appears dressed in flowers and talking nonsense, still fixated on his daughters. Gloucester recognizes his voice, but Lear does not recognize him, taking him for “Goneril with a white beard.” In a pitifully ironic exchange Lear claims to remember Gloucester’s eyes and demands that he read an imaginary challenge. Lear excoriates women for their sexual indulgence. He shows “reason in madness” as he talks of justice and how it is useless against sin that is plated “with gold.” Lear runs away from Cordelia’s attendants.
Lines 210–299:
Edgar is leading Gloucester to safety, but Oswald finds them and tries to kill Gloucester. Under yet another persona, Edgar fatally wounds Oswald, who begs him to deliver a letter to Edmund. Edgar reads the letter from Goneril, urging Edmund to kill Albany so that she may marry him. Edgar buries Oswald, keeps the letter to show Albany, and leads Gloucester away.
Cordelia thanks Kent and asks him to change out of his disguise. Kent replies that he has a reason to remain as he is. A Gentleman (Doctor in Quarto) asks Cordelia’s permission to wake Lear. Cordelia
kisses Lear and laments her sisters’ treatment of him. When he wakes, she addresses him with respect fitting for a “royal lord.” Lear is disorientated and humbled, in contrast to his earlier pride, and calls himself a “foolish fond old man.” He recognizes Cordelia and assumes that she hates him, acknowledging that she has “some cause.” She refutes this and leads him away. Kent reveals that Edmund is leading Cornwall’s army.
Lines 1–31:
Edmund describes Albany’s “alteration” and “self-reproving.” Regan questions Edmund about Goneril and accuses him of adultery with her. Edmund denies this as Albany and Goneril arrive, bringing news that Lear and Cordelia are reunited. Albany is divided between his role as a leader who must defend his country and his personal reluctance to fight Lear. Goneril and Regan are both reluctant to leave Edmund alone with the other.
Lines 32–66:
Disguised, Edgar hands Albany the letter and leaves. Edmund informs Albany that “The enemy’s in view.” Alone, Edmund contemplates the two sisters, coldly observing that “Neither can be enjoyed / If both remain alive.” He resolves to let Goneril kill Albany if he survives the battle and swears that there will be no mercy for Lear and Cordelia.
Edgar leaves Gloucester in safety and goes to fight for Lear. He returns to report that Lear and Cordelia have been defeated and captured. Gloucester wishes to remain where he is to be captured or to die, but Edgar says that men must “endure” until their appointed time.
Lines 1–114:
Cordelia thinks that they will see her sisters now they are captives, but Lear does not wish to, constructing a fantasy where
he and Cordelia will live happily and safely in prison. Edmund orders them to be taken away and gives the captain instructions to kill them. Albany, Goneril, and Regan arrive, and Albany praises Edmund’s “valiant strain,” asking for the captives. Edmund says that he has sent Lear away so that he will not “pluck the common bosom on his side.” Albany reproves Edmund for taking authority, but Regan claims that he has proved himself Albany’s “brother” by leading her armies. Goneril and Regan begin to fight over Edmund and Regan claims him as her “lord and master.” Albany arrests Edmund for treason and ironically bars Regan’s claim on Edmund as he is “subcontracted” to Goneril. As Albany challenges Edmund, Regan is taken ill, poisoned by Goneril. The trumpet sounds to summon a champion for Albany who will maintain that Edmund, supposed Earl of Gloucester, is “a manifold traitor.”
Lines 115–264:
Edgar answers the summons but does not identify himself, except that he is “as noble” as Edmund. They fight and Edmund is mortally wounded, but Goneril argues that he is not defeated because he was not bound to fight “An unknown opposite.” Albany demonstrates the shift in power between them as he tells her to “Shut [her] mouth” and produces her letter to Edmund. Goneril flees. Edmund admits the charges and wishes to know his killer, as he will forgive him if he is noble. Edgar reveals his identity and says that they should “exchange charity.” He argues that “The gods are just,” perhaps a response to Gloucester’s lament in Act 4 Scene 1. Edgar relates how Gloucester died on being told of the true identity of the man who has led him in his blindness: his heart was too weak to support the extremes of “joy and grief” provoked by the knowledge. A messenger brings news that Goneril has poisoned Regan and stabbed herself. Their bodies are brought onstage as Kent arrives, seeking Lear. Edmund resolves to do “some good” before dying and reveals that Lear and Cordelia are condemned to death, and that Cordelia’s hanging will be made to look like suicide. He sends his sword as a “token of reprieve” and is carried out.
Lines 265–348:
Howling, Lear carries in Cordelia’s body. He tries to revive her, ignoring Kent’s attempts to speak to him, and reveals that he killed the executioner, remembering “the day” that he “would
have made [them] skip,” a brief return to his previous, regal self before he disintegrates once more. He dies believing that he sees Cordelia breathe, and Kent begs his own heart to break. Edmund’s death is reported and Albany asks Kent and Edgar to rule and sustain “the gored state,” but Kent refuses, feeling death is near. Despite Albany’s assertion that “All friends shall taste / The wages of their virtue, and all foes / The cup of their deservings,” any sense of justice, human or divine, seems scant, and the play’s resolution is bleak.
The best way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or ideally to participate in it. By examining a range of productions, we may gain a sense of the extraordinary variety of approaches and interpretations that are possible—a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made “our contemporary” four centuries after his death.
We begin with a brief overview of the play’s theatrical and cinematic life, offering historical perspectives on how it has been performed. We then analyze in more detail a series of productions staged over the last half-century by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The sense of dialogue between productions that can only occur when a company is dedicated to the revival and investigation of the Shakespeare canon over a long period, together with the uniquely comprehensive archival resource of promptbooks, program notes, reviews, and interviews held on behalf of the RSC at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon, allows an “RSC stage history” to become a crucible in which the chemistry of the play can be explored.
Finally, we go to the horse’s mouth. Modern theater is dominated by the figure of the director. He or she must hold together the whole play, whereas the actor must concentrate on his or her part. The director’s viewpoint is therefore especially valuable. Shakespeare’s plasticity is wonderfully revealed when we hear directors of highly successful productions answering the same questions in very different ways.
The first Lear was Richard Burbage, the leading actor with Shakespeare’s company, the King’s Men. He was described by an anonymous
elegist listing his best-known roles as “Kind Lear.”
1
Little is known otherwise of the earliest performances. The Fool is thought to have been played by Robert Armin, the company’s leading comic actor after the departure of Will Kempe. A talented singer and musician, Armin was noted for his witty paradoxical fooling. Some scholars have, however, suggested that Armin may have played Edgar, since Tom o’Bedlam speaks a kind of fool’s language and Armin was equally capable of the multiple role changes that the character puts himself through. This casting would have opened up the possibility for a boy actor to double the roles of Cordelia and the Fool, who never appear on stage together. Such doubling would give added poignancy to the line “And my poor fool is hanged,” but it remains counterintuitive to suppose that Armin was cast in any role other than that of the Fool.
There is a record of a court performance at Whitehall on St. Stephen’s night, 26 December 1606. It was a bold choice to play the mad king and the image of a “dog obeyed in office” before the court. A play of “king Lere” was performed at Gowthwaite Hall in Yorkshire in 1610. This was probably Shakespeare’s version, not the old
Leir
play (which recently scholarship has ascribed to Thomas Kyd, author of the highly successful
Spanish Tragedy
). A company of English actors in Dresden in 1626 played the “Tragoedia von Lear, König in Engelandt,” probably also Shakespeare’s version.
The play was revived briefly after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and subsequent reopening of the theaters, but in 1681 Nahum Tate staged a production using a text that he himself had adapted. In his dedicatory epistle Tate emphasized the idea of the rough and unfinished nature of Shakespeare’s work. It was a “heap of jewels” that needed to have order, regularity, and polish applied to it for its true beauty to be revealed. Tate simplified language, plot, and character, eliminating the Fool and much of the play’s complexity. He included a love story between Edgar and Cordelia, together with a confidante for Cordelia, Arante. The play’s happy ending concludes with Lear restored, handing his throne over to Edgar and Cordelia. Tate’s
Lear
and various revised forms of the adaptation, including one by David Garrick, replaced the original on stage, except possibly in Dublin, where the Smock Alley promptbooks are based on Shakespeare’s printed text. The authentically Shakespearean original was
not performed on the London stage again, save for a handful of performances by Edmund Kean in the early nineteenth century, until Macready’s restored (if heavily cut) production of 1838.