King Lear (14 page)

LEAR
    Thou wert better in a grave than to
answer
⁹⁶
with thy

uncovered body this extremity of the skies. Is man no more

than this? Consider him well. Thou ow’st the worm no silk,

the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the
cat no perfume
⁹⁹
. Ha?

Here’s three
on’s
are
sophisticated
¹⁰⁰
. Thou art the thing itself:

unaccommodated
¹⁰¹
man is no more but such a poor bare,

forked animal as thou art. Off, off, you
lendings
¹⁰²
! Come,

unbutton here.

Tears off his clothes

FOOL
    Prithee, nuncle, be contented: ’tis a
naughty
¹⁰⁴
night

to swim in. Now a little fire in a wild field were like an old

lecher’s heart, a small spark, all the rest on’s body cold. Look,

here comes a
walking fire
¹⁰⁷
.

EDGAR
    This is the foul
Flibbertigibbet
: he begins at
curfew
¹⁰⁸

and walks till the first
cock
: he gives the
web and the pin
¹⁰⁹
,

squints
¹¹⁰
the eye and makes the hare-lip, mildews the white

wheat, and hurts the poor creature of earth.

Swithold
footed thrice
the
old
¹¹²
,

He met the
nightmare
and her
nine-fold
¹¹³
;

Bid her alight,

And
her troth plight
¹¹⁵
,

And,
aroint
¹¹⁶
thee, witch, aroint thee!

KENT
    How fares your grace?

LEAR
    
What’s
¹¹⁸
he?

KENT
    Who’s there? What is’t you seek?

GLOUCESTER
    What are you there? Your names?

EDGAR
    Poor Tom, that eats the swimming frog, the toad,

the tadpole, the
wall-newt
and the
water
¹²²
, that in the fury of

his heart, when the foul fiend rages, eats cow-dung for

salads, swallows the old rat and the
ditch-dog
¹²⁴
, drinks the

green
mantle
of the
standing
pool, who is
whipped
¹²⁵
from

tithing
¹²⁶
to tithing, and stocked, punished and imprisoned,

who hath had
three suits to his back, six shirts
¹²⁷
to his body:

Horse to ride, and weapon to wear,

But mice and rats and such small
deer
¹²⁹

Have been Tom’s food for seven long year.

Beware my follower. Peace,
Smulkin
¹³¹
, peace, thou fiend!

GLOUCESTER
    What, hath your grace no better company?

EDGAR
    
The prince of darkness
is a gentleman:
Modo he’s
¹³³

called, and Mahu.

GLOUCESTER
    Our
flesh and blood
, my lord, is grown so
vile
¹³⁵
,

That it doth hate what
gets
¹³⁶
it.

EDGAR
    Poor Tom’s a-cold.

GLOUCESTER
    Go in with me: my duty cannot suffer

T’obey in all your daughters’ hard commands:

Though their injunction be to bar my doors

And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you,

Yet have I ventured to come seek you out

And bring you where both fire and food is ready.

LEAR
    First let me talk with this philosopher.—

What is the cause of thunder?

KENT
    Good my lord, take his offer: go into th’house.

LEAR
    I’ll talk a word with this same learnèd
Theban
¹⁴⁷
.—

To Edgar

What is your study?

EDGAR
    How to
prevent
¹⁴⁹
the fiend and to kill vermin.

LEAR
    Let me ask you one word in private.

KENT
    
Importune
¹⁵¹
him once more to go, my lord:

His wits begin
t’unsettle
¹⁵²
.

GLOUCESTER
    Canst thou blame him?

His daughters seek his death. Ah, that good Kent!

He said it would be thus, poor banished man!

Thou sayest the king grows mad: I’ll tell thee, friend,

I am almost mad myself. I had a son,

Now outlawed from my
blood
¹⁵⁸
: he sought my life

But lately, very late. I loved him, friend:

No father his son dearer. True to tell thee,

The grief hath crazed my wits. What a night’s this!—

I do beseech your grace—

LEAR
    O,
cry you mercy
¹⁶³
, sir.—

Noble philosopher, your company.

EDGAR
    Tom’s a-cold.

GLOUCESTER
    In, fellow, there, into th’hovel: keep thee warm.

LEAR
    Come let’s in all.

KENT
    This way, my lord.

LEAR
    With him;

I will
keep still
¹⁷⁰
with my philosopher.

KENT
    Good my lord,
soothe
¹⁷¹
him: let him take the fellow.

GLOUCESTER
    Take
him you on
¹⁷²
.

KENT
    Sirrah, come on: go along with us.

LEAR
    Come, good
Athenian
¹⁷⁴
.

GLOUCESTER
    No words, no words: hush.

EDGAR
    
Child Rowland to the dark tower came
¹⁷⁶
,

His
word
was
still
:
fie, foh and fum,
¹⁷⁷

I smell the blood of a British man.

CORNWALL
    I will have my revenge ere I depart
his
¹
house.

EDMUND
    How, my lord, I may be censured, that
nature
²
thus

gives way to loyalty,
something fears
³
me to think of.

CORNWALL
    I now perceive it was not altogether your brother’s

evil disposition made him seek
his
death, but a
provoking
⁵

merit set a-work by a reprovable badness in himself.

EDMUND
    How malicious is my fortune — that I must repent

to be
⁸
just! This is the letter which he spoke of
Shows a letter

which
approves
him
an intelligent party
⁹
to the advantages of

France. O heavens! That this treason were not, or not I the

detector!

CORNWALL
    Go with me to the duchess.

EDMUND
    If the matter of this paper be certain, you have

mighty business in hand.

CORNWALL
    True or false, it hath made thee Earl of Gloucester.

Seek out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our

apprehension
¹⁷
.

EDMUND
    If I find him comforting the king, it will stuff

his suspicion
¹⁹
more fully.— I will persevere in my course of

loyalty, though the conflict be sore between that and my

blood.

CORNWALL
    I will lay trust upon thee, and thou shalt find a dear

father in my love.

GLOUCESTER
    Here is better than the open air, take it thankfully. I

will
piece out
²
the comfort with what addition I can: I will not

be long from you.

KENT
    All the power of his wits have given way to his

impatience
⁵
: the gods reward your kindness!

EDGAR
    
Frateretto
calls me, and tells me Nero is an
angler
⁶
in

the
lake of darkness
⁷
. Pray, innocent, and beware the foul

fiend.

FOOL
    Prithee, nuncle, tell me whether a madman be a

gentleman or a
yeoman
¹⁰
?

LEAR
    A king, a king!

FOOL
    No, he’s a yeoman that has a gentleman
to
¹²
his son,

for he’s a
mad
¹³
yeoman that sees his son a gentleman before

him.

LEAR
To have
a thousand
¹⁵
with red burning spits

Come
hizzing
in upon
’em
¹⁶
—

EDGAR
    Bless thy five wits!

KENT
    O pity! Sir, where is the patience now

That you so oft have boasted to retain?

EDGAR
    My tears begin to take his part so much

They
mar my counterfeiting
²¹
.

LEAR
     The little dogs and all,

Trey, Blanch and Sweetheart
²³
, see, they bark at me.

EDGAR
   Tom will
throw his head
at them.
Avaunt
²⁴
, you curs!

 Be thy mouth
or black or
²⁵
white,

 Tooth that
poisons
²⁶
if it bite,

 Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel
grim
²⁷
,

 Hound or spaniel,
brach
or
him
²⁸
,

 Or
bobtail tyke
or
trundle-tail
²⁹
,

 Tom will make him weep and wail:

 For, with throwing thus my head,

 Dogs leapt the
hatch
³²
, and all are fled.

Do de, de, de
.
Sessa!
Come, march to
wakes
³³
and fairs and

market towns. Poor Tom, thy
horn
³⁴
is dry.

LEAR
    Then let them
anatomize
³⁵
Regan: see what breeds

about her heart. Is there any cause in nature that make

these hard hearts?— You, sir, I
entertain
³⁷
for one of

my hundred; only I do not like the fashion of your garments:

you will say they are
Persian
³⁹
; but let them be changed.

KENT
    Now, good my lord, lie here and rest awhile.

LEAR
    Make no noise, make no noise: draw the
curtains
⁴¹
.

So, so, we’ll go to supper i’th’morning.

Sleeps

FOOL
    And I’ll go to bed at noon.

GLOUCESTER
    Come hither, friend: where is the king my master?

KENT
    Here, sir, but trouble him not: his wits are gone.

GLOUCESTER
    Good friend, I prithee take him in thy arms;

I have o’erheard a plot of death upon him:

There is a
litter
⁴⁸
ready, lay him in’t

And drive toward
Dover
⁴⁹
, friend, where thou shalt meet

Both welcome and protection. Take up thy master:

If thou shouldst dally half an hour, his life,

With thine and all that offer to defend him,

Stand in assurèd loss. Take up, take up,

And follow me, that will
to some provision
⁵⁴

Give thee quick conduct. Come, come, away.

CORNWALL
    
Post
¹
speedily to my lord your husband;

show him this letter: the army of France is

landed.— Seek out the traitor Gloucester.

REGAN
    Hang him instantly.

GONERIL
    Pluck out his eyes.

CORNWALL
    Leave him to my displeasure. Edmund, keep you our

sister
⁷
company: the revenges we are bound to take upon

your traitorous father are not fit for your beholding.
Advise
⁸

the
duke
where you are going, to a most
festinate
⁹

preparation: we are bound to the like. Our
posts
¹⁰
shall be swift

and
intelligent
¹¹
betwixt us. Farewell, dear sister: farewell, my

lord of Gloucester
¹²
.