King Lear

¹¹⁷generation children/own people

¹¹⁷messes small groups of people who eat together/portions of food, meals/disgusting concoctions/troubled, confused conditions

¹¹⁹neighboured treated with hospitable kindness

¹²⁰sometime former

¹²¹liege lord, one to whom feudal duty and service was owed

¹²⁴set my rest stake everything (card-playing term)/repose, be at ease

¹²⁵kind affectionate (in the manner of a family member)

¹²⁵nursery care

¹²⁵avoid leave

¹²⁷Who stirs? Get on with it!/Why don’t you move?

¹²⁹digest absorb, incorporate

¹³⁰plainness frankness, plain speaking

¹³⁰marry her be her dowry/get her a husband

¹³²large effects extensive trappings

¹³³troop with accompany

¹³⁴With reservation of reserving the right to have (legal language)

¹³⁵sustained maintained, supported

¹³⁷th’addition to the title and honors of

¹³⁷sway authority, rule

¹⁴⁵make … shaft avoid the arrow (of my anger)

¹⁴⁶fork barbed arrowhead

¹⁴⁸thou kings are almost always addressed, respectfully, as “you”; Kent is unmannerly in his use of the familiar “thou”

¹⁵¹Reserve thy state retain your sovereignty

¹⁵²in … consideration with wise and careful reflection

¹⁵³Answer … judgement I’ll stake my life on my opinion

¹⁵⁶Reverb no hollowness do not reverberate hollowly (i.e. emptily/insincerely)

¹⁵⁸held regarded, valued

¹⁵⁸pawn a pledge, surety

¹⁵⁹wage deposit as security

¹⁶³blank center of a target/line of sight (Kent asks to be the means to help Lear see better)

¹⁶⁴Apollo Greek and Roman sun god

¹⁶⁷vassal servant/wretch

¹⁶⁷Miscreant villain (literally, “infidel, unbeliever”)

¹⁶⁸forbear stop, desist

¹⁶⁹Kill … disease i.e. Lear has got things the wrong way round

¹⁷⁰foul disease loathsome, festering disease/syphilis

¹⁷³recreant traitor

¹⁷⁴That in that, since

¹⁷⁵durst dared

¹⁷⁵strained excessive/unnatural

¹⁷⁶sentences pronouncements, decisions

¹⁷⁷nor … nor neither … nor

¹⁷⁷place status, rank

¹⁷⁸potency power

¹⁷⁸made good being carried into effect/shown to be valid/secured, defended

¹⁸⁰disasters misfortunes

¹⁸³trunk body

¹⁸⁴Jupiter supreme Roman god

¹⁸⁶sith since

¹⁹⁰your … approve may your actions prove the truth of your grand statements

¹⁹³shape … course behave in his usual manner

^1.1Flourish trumpet fanfare signaling the arrival of an important person

¹⁹⁷rivalled competed

¹⁹⁷in the least at the lowest

¹⁹⁸present dower immediately available dowry

²⁰²tender offer

²⁰⁴hold her so consider her to be dear (i.e. beloved/worth a great deal)

²⁰⁶aught anything

²⁰⁶little seeming substance insignificant (or physically small) thing/one who totally refuses to play a part

²⁰⁷pieced augmented, increased

²⁰⁸fitly like justly please

²¹¹infirmities deficiencies

²¹¹owes owns

²¹³Dowered with given as a dowry

²¹³strangered made a stranger, disowned

²¹⁶Election … up choice is impossible

²¹⁸tell you inform you of/enumerate

²¹⁹from … stray stray so far from your love as

²²⁵your object your focus, the object of your sight (the apple of your eye)

²²⁶argument theme

²²⁶balm soothing ointment

²²⁷trice mere moment

²²⁸monstrous unnatural

²²⁸dismantle strip off (the folds of the metaphorical cloth of favor)

²³¹monsters it it becomes monstrous

²³¹fore-vouched previously sworn

²³²Fall into taint (must) come under suspicion

²³²which … me i.e. and to believe in all reason that she had committed such a monstrous offense would require a miracle

²³⁶for (your anger is) because

²³⁶want lack

²³⁷purpose not not intend to do what I say

²³⁹foulness wickedness/moral impurity

²⁴²for which i.e. for lack of which

²⁴³still-soliciting constantly entreating, self-seeking

²⁴⁸tardiness in nature natural slowness

²⁴⁹history account (of an action)

²⁵²regards … point irrelevant concerns

²⁶³respect and fortunes status and wealth

²⁶⁶Most choice forsaken most desirable when rejected

²⁶⁷seize upon take possession of (legal term)

²⁶⁸be it lawful provided it is lawful

²⁶⁹their may refer to either the gods or to Lear and Burgundy

²⁷⁰inflamed glowing, ardent

²⁷¹thrown … chance cast to my luck (gambling metaphor)