In the French camp at Dover, Cordelia thanks the Earl of Kent for the service that he has shown her father. When she asks Kent to dress as befitting his aristocratic position, Kent tells her that he wishes to stay in disguise for a while longer. He feels he can be of greater service to Lear and Cordelia if his identity is not yet revealed.
Cordelia asks the doctor how her father is
doing. He responds that the old king is still asleep.
Cordelia then prays for his full recovery:
The untuned and jarring senses, O, wind up
Of this child-changéd father. (16-17)
Cordelia plays on the metaphor of an untuned lute (a stringed musical instrument similar to a guitar). Lear has been like this instrument, out of tune – he has been discordant (confused and unsmooth). However, if one tunes the lute by winding up the keys (turning the pegs), then the lute will sound pleasant and melodious. Cordelia is, of course, hoping for Lear to be sensible and calm – to be in tune with life.
Two servants carry in Lear, who is sleeping on a chair. They bring him to Cordelia. Lear is now dressed in clean and fresh garments and is looking much better. Cordelia feels pity for her old father and wonders how her sisters could have mistreated him in such an abusive manner.
Lear awakens and is confused about where he is and how he got there. He admits that he has acted foolishly. He also makes a reference to his age: “fourscore and upward” (62). A score is twenty; thus Lear is well over eighty years of age. Lear recognizes Cordelia, but he cannot believe his eyes. He knows that Cordelia is now Queen of France, and he wonders if he had been brought to France while he had been asleep.
Lear is also aware that he had treated Cordelia unkindly and unfairly, and he tells her that she has good reason to hate him. But Cordelia has nothing but kindness and love for the old man, and she takes him back to his room so that he can rest some more. Everyone leaves the room but Kent and a gentleman. The gentleman informs Kent that the Duke of Cornwall is dead and that now Edmund is leading Cornwall’s army to Dover. He adds that he expects the battle between England and France to be extremely violent and bloody.
After the gentleman exits, Kent comments (an aside) that his life and fortune (destiny) will depend entirely upon the outcome of the battle.