Toolbox



Textual Analysis

[ Go ]

Shakespeare on Stage
American Shakespeare Center, The Duchess of Malfi. To Jun. 15, 2013.
American Shakespeare Center, Twelfth Night. To Jun. 16, 2013.
American Shakespeare Center, Return to the Forbidden Planet. To Dec. 1, 2013.
American Shakespeare Center, Love's Labour's Lost. To Jun. 15, 2013.
Folger Shakespeare Library, Twelfth Night. To Jun. 9, 2013.
More Performances…
‌

King Lear (Quarto 1, 1608)

Author: William Shakespeare
Editor: Michael Best
Not Peer Reviewed
Enter Lear, Kent, and foole.
Kent. Here is the place my Lord, good my Lord enter, the
tyrannie of the open nights too ruffe 1780for nature to indure.
Lear. Let me alone. Kent. Good my Lord enter.
Lear. Wilt breake my heart?
Kent. I had rather breake mine owne, 1785good my Lord enter.
Lear. Thou think'st tis much, that this tempestious storme
Inuades vs to the skin, so tis to thee,
But where the greater malady is fixt
The lesser is scarce felt, thoud'st shun a Beare,
1790But if thy flight lay toward the roring sea,
Thoud'st meet the beare it'h mouth, whẽ the mind's free
The bodies delicate, this tempest in my mind
Doth from my sences take all feeling else
Saue what beates their filiall ingratitude,
1795Is it not as this mouth should teare this hand
For lifting food to't, but I will punish sure,
No I will weepe no more, in such a night as this!
O Regan, Gonorill, 1800your old kind father
Whose franke heart gaue you all, O that way madnes
Let me shun that, no more of that.
Kent. Good my Lord enter.
Lear. Prethe goe in thy selfe, seeke thy one ease
1805This tempest will not giue me leaue to ponder
On things would hurt me more, but ile goe in,
Poore naked wretches, where so ere you are
1810That bide the pelting of this pittiles night,
How shall your house-lesse heads, and vnfed sides,
Your loopt and windowed raggednes defend you
From seasons such as these, O I haue tane
Too little care of this, take physicke pompe,
1815Expose thy selfe to feele what wretches feele,
That thou mayst shake the superflux to them,
And shew the heauens more iust.
1820Foole. Come not in here Nunckle, her's a spirit, helpe me, helpe
mee.
Kent. Giue me thy hand, whose there.
Foole. A spirit, he sayes, his nam's poore Tom.
1825Kent. What art thou that dost grumble there in the straw,
come forth?
Edg. Away, the fowle fiend followes me, thorough the sharpe
hathorne blowes the cold wind, goe to thy cold bed and warme
thee.
1830Lear. Hast thou giuen all to thy two daughters, and art thou
come to this?
Edg. Who giues any thing to poore Tom, whome the foule
Fiende hath led, through fire, and through foord, and
whirli-poole, ore bog and quag1835mire, that has layd kniues vn-
der his pillow, and halters in his pue, set ratsbane by his pottage,
made him proud of heart, to ride on a bay trotting horse ouer
foure incht bridges, to course his owne shadow for a traytor,
blesse thy fiue wits, Toms a cold, 1840blesse thee from whirle-winds,
starre-blusting, and taking, doe poore Tom some charitie, whom
the foule fiend vexes, there could I haue him now, and there, and
and there againe.
Lear. What, his daughters brought him to this passe,
1845Couldst thou saue nothing, didst thou giue them all?
Foole. Nay he reseru'd a blanket, else we had beene all sham'd.
Lear. Now all the plagues that in the pendulous ayre
Hang fated ore mens faults, fall on thy daughters.
1850Kent. He hath no daughters sir.
Lear. Death traytor, nothing could haue subdued nature
To such a lownes, but his vnkind daughters,
Is it the fashion that discarded fathers,
Should haue thus little mercy on their flesh,
1855Iudicious punishment twas this flesh
Begot those Pelicane daughters.
Edg. Pilicock sate on pelicocks hill, a lo lo lo.
Foole. This cold night will turne vs all to fooles & madmen.
1860Edg. Take heede at'h foule fiend, obay thy parents, keep thy
words iustly, sweare not, commit not with mans sworne spouse,
set not thy sweet heart on proud array, Toms a cold,
Lear. What hast thou beene?
1865Edg. A Seruingman, proud in heart and mind, that curld my
haire, wore gloues in my cap, serued the lust of my mistris heart,
and did the act of darkenes with her, swore as many oaths as I
spake words, and broke them in the sweet face of heauen, one
that slept in the 1870contriuing of lust, and wakt to doe it, wine lo-
ued I deeply, dice deerely, and in woman out paromord the
Turke, false of heart, light of eare, bloudie of hand, Hog in sloth,
Fox in stealth, VVoolfe in greedines,, Dog in madnes, Lyon
in pray, let not the creeking of shooes, 1875nor the russngs of silkes
betray thy poore heart to women, keepe thy foote out of bro-
thell, thy hand out of placket, thy pen from lenders booke,
and defie the foule fiend, still through the hathorne blowes the
cold wind, hay no on ny, Dolphin my boy, my boy, ceaese
1880let him trot by.
Lear. Why thou wert better in thy graue, then to answere
with thy vncouered bodie this extremitie of the skies, is man no
more, but this cõsider him well, thou owest the worme no silke,
the beast no hide, the sheepe no 1885wooll, the cat no perfume, her's
three ons are sophisticated, thou art the thing it selfe, vnaccom-
odated man, is no more but such a poore bare forked Animall
as thou art, off off you lendings, come on
Foole. Prithe Nunckle be content, this is a naughty night to
swim in, now a little fire in a wild field, were like an old leachers
heart, a small sparke, all the rest in bodie cold, looke here comes
a walking fire.
Enter Gloster.
1895Edg. This is the foule fiend fliberdegibek, hee begins at cur-
phew, and walks till the first cocke, he giues the web, & the pin,
squemes the eye, and makes the hare lip, mildewes the white
wheate, and hurts the poore creature of earth, swithald 1900footed
thrice the old, he met the night mare and her nine fold bid her, O
light and her troth plight and arint thee, witch arint thee.
Kent. How fares your Grace?
1905Lear. Whats hee?
Kent. Whose there, what i'st you seeke?
Glost. What are you there? your names?
Edg. Poore Tom, that eats the swimming frog, the tode, the
tod pole, the wall-newt, and the water, that 1910in the furie of his
heart, when the foule fiend rages, eats cow-dung for sallets, swal-
lowes the old ratt, and the ditch dogge, drinkes the greene man-
tle of the standing poole, who is whipt from tithing to tithing,
and stock-punisht and imprisoned, who hath had three sutes 1915to
his backe, sixe shirts to his bodie, horse to ride, and weapon
to weare.
But mise and rats, and such small Deere,
Hath beene Toms foode for seuen long yeare-
Beware my follower, peace snulbug, peace thou fiend.
1920Glost. What hath your Grace no better company?
Edg. The Prince of darkenes is a Gentleman, modo he's caled
and ma hu---
Glost. Our flesh and bloud is growne so vild my Lord, that it
doth hate what gets it.
1925Edg. Poore Toms a cold.
Glost. Go in with me, my dutie cãnot suffer to obay in all your
daughters hard commaunds, though their iniunction be to barre
my doores, and let this tyranous night take hold vpon you, 1930yet
haue I venter'd to come seeke you out, and bring you where
both food and fire is readie.
Lear. First let me talke with this Philosopher,
What is the cause of thunder?
Kent. My good Lord take his offer, 1935goe into the house.
Lear. Ile talke a word with this most learned Theban, what is
your studie?
Edg. How to preuent the fiend, and to kill vermine.
Lear. Let me aske you one word in priuate.
1940Kent. Importune him to goe my Lord, his wits begin
Glost. Canst thou blame him,
His daughters seeke his death, O that good Kent,
He said it would be thus, poore banisht man,
1945Thou sayest the King growes mad, ile tell thee friend
I am almost mad my selfe, I had a sonne
Now out-lawed from my bloud, a sought my life
But lately, very late, I lou'd him friend
No father his sonne deerer, true to tell thee,
1950The greefe hath craz'd my wits,
What a nights this? I doe beseech your Grace.
Lear. O crie you mercie noble Philosopher, your com-
Edg. Toms a cold.
1955Glost. In fellow there, in't houell keepe thee warme.
Lear. Come lets in all.
Kent. This way my Lord.
Lear. With him I wil keep stil, with my Philosopher.
1960Ken. Good my Lord sooth him, let him take the fellow.
Glost. Take him you on.
Kent. Sirah come on, goe along with vs?
Lear. Come good Athenian.
1965Glost. No words, no words, hush.
Edg. Child Rowland, to the darke towne come,
His word was still fy fo and fum,
I smell the bloud of a British man.