King Lear

thy foot out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, thy pen⁹²

from lenders’ books, and defy the foul fiend. Still through the

hawthorn blows the cold wind, says suum, mun, nonny⁹⁴,

Dolphin my boy, boy sessa! Let him trot by⁹⁵.

Storm still

LEAR    Thou wert better in a grave than to answer⁹⁶ 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 perfume⁹⁹. Ha?

Here’s three on’s are sophisticated¹⁰⁰. Thou art the thing itself:

unaccommodated¹⁰¹ man is no more but such a poor bare,

forked animal as thou art. Off, off, you lendings¹⁰²! Come,

unbutton here.

Tears off his clothes

Enter Gloucester with a torch

FOOL    Prithee, nuncle, be contented: ’tis a naughty¹⁰⁴ 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 fire¹⁰⁷.

EDGAR    This is the foul Flibbertigibbet: he begins at curfew¹⁰⁸

and walks till the first cock: he gives the web and the pin¹⁰⁹,

squints¹¹⁰ the eye and makes the hare-lip, mildews the white

wheat, and hurts the poor creature of earth.

Chants?

Swithold footed thrice the old¹¹²,

He met the nightmare and her nine-fold¹¹³;

Bid her alight,

And her troth plight¹¹⁵,

And, aroint¹¹⁶ thee, witch, aroint thee!

KENT    How fares your grace?

LEAR    What’s¹¹⁸ 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 water¹²², that in the fury of

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

salads, swallows the old rat and the ditch-dog¹²⁴, drinks the

green mantle of the standing pool, who is whipped¹²⁵ from

tithing¹²⁶ to tithing, and stocked, punished and imprisoned,

who hath had three suits to his back, six shirts¹²⁷ to his body:

Horse to ride, and weapon to wear,

But mice and rats and such small deer¹²⁹

Have been Tom’s food for seven long year.

Beware my follower. Peace, Smulkin¹³¹, peace, thou fiend!

GLOUCESTER    What, hath your grace no better company?

EDGAR    The prince of darkness is a gentleman: Modo he’s¹³³

called, and Mahu.

To Lear

GLOUCESTER    Our flesh and blood, my lord, is grown so vile¹³⁵,

That it doth hate what gets¹³⁶ 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.—

To Edgar

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 Theban¹⁴⁷.—

To Edgar

What is your study?

EDGAR    How to prevent¹⁴⁹ the fiend and to kill vermin.

They talk apart

LEAR    Let me ask you one word in private.

To Gloucester

KENT    Importune¹⁵¹ him once more to go, my lord:

His wits begin t’unsettle¹⁵².

GLOUCESTER    Canst thou blame him?

Storm still

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 blood¹⁵⁸: 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!—

To Lear

I do beseech your grace—

LEAR    O, cry you mercy¹⁶³, sir.—

To Edgar

Noble philosopher, your company.

EDGAR    Tom’s a-cold.

To Edgar

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 still¹⁷⁰ with my philosopher.

To Gloucester

KENT    Good my lord, soothe¹⁷¹ him: let him take the fellow.

To Kent

GLOUCESTER    Take him you on¹⁷².

To Edgar

KENT    Sirrah, come on: go along with us.

LEAR    Come, good Athenian¹⁷⁴.

GLOUCESTER    No words, no words: hush.

EDGAR    Child Rowland to the dark tower came¹⁷⁶,

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

I smell the blood of a British man.

Exeunt

Act 3 Scene 5

running scene 9

Enter Cornwall and Edmund

CORNWALL    I will have my revenge ere I depart his¹ house.

EDMUND    How, my lord, I may be censured, that nature² thus

gives way to loyalty, something fears³ me to think of.

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

evil disposition made him seek his death, but a provoking⁵

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

EDMUND    How malicious is my fortune — that I must repent

to be⁸ just! This is the letter which he spoke of Shows a letter