King Lear by William Shakespeare - HTML preview

ACT V.

Scene I. The British camp near Dover.

Enter, with Drum and Colours, Edmund, Regan, Gentleman, and
Soldiers.

Edm. Know of the Duke if his last purpose hold,
     Or whether since he is advis'd by aught
     To change the course. He's full of alteration
     And self-reproving. Bring his constant pleasure.
                                              [Exit an Officer.]
  Reg. Our sister's man is certainly miscarried.
  Edm. Tis to be doubted, madam.
  Reg. Now, sweet lord,
     You know the goodness I intend upon you.
     Tell me- but truly- but then speak the truth-
     Do you not love my sister?
  Edm. In honour'd love.
  Reg. But have you never found my brother's way
     To the forfended place?
  Edm. That thought abuses you.
  Reg. I am doubtful that you have been conjunct
     And bosom'd with her, as far as we call hers.
  Edm. No, by mine honour, madam.
  Reg. I never shall endure her. Dear my lord,
     Be not familiar with her.
  Edm. Fear me not.
     She and the Duke her husband!

Enter, with Drum and Colours, Albany, Goneril, Soldiers.

Gon. [aside] I had rather lose the battle than that sister
     Should loosen him and me.
  Alb. Our very loving sister, well bemet.
     Sir, this I hear: the King is come to his daughter,
     With others whom the rigour of our state
     Forc'd to cry out. Where I could not be honest,
     I never yet was valiant. For this business,
     It toucheth us as France invades our land,
     Not bolds the King, with others whom, I fear,
     Most just and heavy causes make oppose.
  Edm. Sir, you speak nobly.
  Reg. Why is this reason'd?
  Gon. Combine together 'gainst the enemy;
     For these domestic and particular broils
     Are not the question here.
  Alb. Let's then determine
     With th' ancient of war on our proceeding.
  Edm. I shall attend you presently at your tent.
  Reg. Sister, you'll go with us?
  Gon. No.
  Reg. 'Tis most convenient. Pray you go with us.
  Gon. [aside] O, ho, I know the riddle.- I will go.

[As they are going out,] enter Edgar [disguised].

Edg. If e'er your Grace had speech with man so poor,
     Hear me one word.
  Alb. I'll overtake you.- Speak.
                              Exeunt [all but Albany and Edgar].
  Edg. Before you fight the battle, ope this letter.
     If you have victory, let the trumpet sound
     For him that brought it. Wretched though I seem,
     I can produce a champion that will prove
     What is avouched there. If you miscarry,
     Your business of the world hath so an end,
     And machination ceases. Fortune love you!
  Alb. Stay till I have read the letter.
  Edg. I was forbid it.
     When time shall serve, let but the herald cry,
     And I'll appear again.
  Alb. Why, fare thee well. I will o'erlook thy paper.
                                                   Exit [Edgar].

Enter Edmund.

Edm. The enemy 's in view; draw up your powers.
     Here is the guess of their true strength and forces
     By diligent discovery; but your haste
     Is now urg'd on you.
  Alb. We will greet the time. Exit.
  Edm. To both these sisters have I sworn my love;
     Each jealous of the other, as the stung
     Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take?
     Both? one? or neither? Neither can be enjoy'd,
     If both remain alive. To take the widow
     Exasperates, makes mad her sister Goneril;
     And hardly shall I carry out my side,
     Her husband being alive. Now then, we'll use
     His countenance for the battle, which being done,
     Let her who would be rid of him devise
     His speedy taking off. As for the mercy
     Which he intends to Lear and to Cordelia-
     The battle done, and they within our power,
     Shall never see his pardon; for my state
     Stands on me to defend, not to debate. Exit.

Scene II. A field between the two camps.

Alarum within. Enter, with Drum and Colours, the Powers of France over the stage, Cordelia with her Father in her hand, and exeunt.

Enter Edgar and Gloucester.

Edg. Here, father, take the shadow of this tree
     For your good host. Pray that the right may thrive.
     If ever I return to you again,
     I'll bring you comfort.
  Glou. Grace go with you, sir!
                                                   Exit [Edgar].

Alarum and retreat within. Enter Edgar,

Edg. Away, old man! give me thy hand! away!
     King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en.
     Give me thy hand! come on!
  Glou. No further, sir. A man may rot even here.
  Edg. What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure
     Their going hence, even as their coming hither;
     Ripeness is all. Come on.
  Glou. And that's true too. Exeunt.

Scene III. The British camp, near Dover.

Enter, in conquest, with Drum and Colours, Edmund; Lear and Cordelia as prisoners; Soldiers, Captain.

Edm. Some officers take them away. Good guard
     Until their greater pleasures first be known
     That are to censure them.
  Cor. We are not the first
     Who with best meaning have incurr'd the worst.
     For thee, oppressed king, am I cast down;
     Myself could else outfrown false Fortune's frown.
     Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters?
  Lear. No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to prison.
     We two alone will sing like birds i' th' cage.
     When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down
     And ask of thee forgiveness. So we'll live,
     And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
     At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
     Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too-
     Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out-
     And take upon 's the mystery of things,
     As if we were God's spies; and we'll wear out,
     In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones
     That ebb and flow by th' moon.
  Edm. Take them away.
  Lear. Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia,
     The gods themselves throw incense. Have I caught thee?
     He that parts us shall bring a brand from heaven
     And fire us hence like foxes. Wipe thine eyes.
     The goodyears shall devour 'em, flesh and fell,
     Ere they shall make us weep! We'll see 'em starv'd first.
     Come. Exeunt [Lear and Cordelia, guarded].
  Edm. Come hither, Captain; hark.
     Take thou this note [gives a paper]. Go follow them to
prison.
     One step I have advanc'd thee. If thou dost
     As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way
     To noble fortunes. Know thou this, that men
     Are as the time is. To be tender-minded
     Does not become a sword. Thy great employment
     Will not bear question. Either say thou'lt do't,
     Or thrive by other means.
  Capt. I'll do't, my lord.
  Edm. About it! and write happy when th' hast done.
     Mark- I say, instantly; and carry it so
     As I have set it down.
  Capt. I cannot draw a cart, nor eat dried oats;
     If it be man's work, I'll do't. Exit.

Flourish. Enter Albany, Goneril, Regan, Soldiers.

Alb. Sir, you have show'd to-day your valiant strain,
     And fortune led you well. You have the captives
     Who were the opposites of this day's strife.
     We do require them of you, so to use them
     As we shall find their merits and our safety
     May equally determine.
  Edm. Sir, I thought it fit
     To send the old and miserable King
     To some retention and appointed guard;
     Whose age has charms in it, whose title more,
     To pluck the common bosom on his side
     And turn our impress'd lances in our eyes
     Which do command them. With him I sent the Queen,
     My reason all the same; and they are ready
     To-morrow, or at further space, t' appear
     Where you shall hold your session. At this time
     We sweat and bleed: the friend hath lost his friend;
     And the best quarrels, in the heat, are curs'd
     By those that feel their sharpness.
     The question of Cordelia and her father
     Requires a fitter place.
  Alb. Sir, by your patience,
     I hold you but a subject of this war,
     Not as a brother.
  Reg. That's as we list to grace him.
     Methinks our pleasure might have been demanded
     Ere you had spoke so far. He led our powers,
     Bore the commission of my place and person,
     The which immediacy may well stand up
     And call itself your brother.
  Gon. Not so hot!
     In his own grace he doth exalt himself
     More than in your addition.
  Reg. In my rights
     By me invested, he compeers the best.
  Gon. That were the most if he should husband you.
  Reg. Jesters do oft prove prophets.
  Gon. Holla, holla!
     That eye that told you so look'd but asquint.
  Reg. Lady, I am not well; else I should answer
     From a full-flowing stomach. General,
     Take thou my soldiers, prisoners, patrimony;
     Dispose of them, of me; the walls are thine.
     Witness the world that I create thee here
     My lord and master.
  Gon. Mean you to enjoy him?
  Alb. The let-alone lies not in your good will.
  Edm. Nor in thine, lord.
  Alb. Half-blooded fellow, yes.
  Reg. [to Edmund] Let the drum strike, and prove my title thine.

Alb. Stay yet; hear reason. Edmund, I arrest thee
     On capital treason; and, in thine attaint,
     This gilded serpent [points to Goneril]. For your claim,
fair
        sister,
     I bar it in the interest of my wife.
     'Tis she is subcontracted to this lord,
     And I, her husband, contradict your banes.
     If you will marry, make your loves to me;
     My lady is bespoke.
  Gon. An interlude!
  Alb. Thou art arm'd, Gloucester. Let the trumpet sound.
     If none appear to prove upon thy person
     Thy heinous, manifest, and many treasons,
     There is my pledge [throws down a glove]! I'll prove it on
thy
        heart,
     Ere I taste bread, thou art in nothing less
     Than I have here proclaim'd thee.
  Reg. Sick, O, sick!
  Gon. [aside] If not, I'll ne'er trust medicine.
  Edm. There's my exchange [throws down a glove]. What in the
world
        he is
     That names me traitor, villain-like he lies.
     Call by thy trumpet. He that dares approach,
     On him, on you, who not? I will maintain
     My truth and honour firmly.
  Alb. A herald, ho!
  Edm. A herald, ho, a herald!
  Alb. Trust to thy single virtue; for thy soldiers,
     All levied in my name, have in my name
     Took their discharge.
  Reg. My sickness grows upon me.
  Alb. She is not well. Convey her to my tent.
                                              [Exit Regan, led.]

Enter a Herald.

Come hither, herald. Let the trumpet sound,
     And read out this.
  Capt. Sound, trumpet! A trumpet sounds.

Her. (reads) 'If any man of quality or degree within the lists
of
     the army will maintain upon Edmund, supposed Earl of
Gloucester,
     that he is a manifold traitor, let him appear by the third
sound
     of the trumpet. He is bold in his defence.'

Edm. Sound! First trumpet.
  Her. Again! Second trumpet.
  Her. Again! Third trumpet.
                                         Trumpet answers within.

Enter Edgar, armed, at the third sound, a Trumpet before him.

Alb. Ask him his purposes, why he appears
     Upon this call o' th' trumpet.
  Her. What are you?
     Your name, your quality? and why you answer
     This present summons?
  Edg. Know my name is lost;
     By treason's tooth bare-gnawn and canker-bit.
     Yet am I noble as the adversary
     I come to cope.
  Alb. Which is that adversary?
  Edg. What's he that speaks for Edmund Earl of Gloucester?
  Edm. Himself. What say'st thou to him?
  Edg. Draw thy sword,
     That, if my speech offend a noble heart,
     Thy arm may do thee justice. Here is mine.
     Behold, it is the privilege of mine honours,
     My oath, and my profession. I protest-
     Maugre thy strength, youth, place, and eminence,
     Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune,
     Thy valour and thy heart- thou art a traitor;
     False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father;
     Conspirant 'gainst this high illustrious prince;
     And from th' extremest upward of thy head
     To the descent and dust beneath thy foot,
     A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou 'no,'
     This sword, this arm, and my best spirits are bent
     To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak,
     Thou liest.
  Edm. In wisdom I should ask thy name;
     But since thy outside looks so fair and warlike,
     And that thy tongue some say of breeding breathes,
     What safe and nicely I might well delay
     By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn.
     Back do I toss those treasons to thy head;
     With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart;
     Which- for they yet glance by and scarcely bruise-
     This sword of mine shall give them instant way
     Where they shall rest for ever. Trumpets, speak!
                                 Alarums. Fight. [Edmund falls.]
  Alb. Save him, save him!
  Gon. This is mere practice, Gloucester.
     By th' law of arms thou wast not bound to answer
     An unknown opposite. Thou art not vanquish'd,
     But cozen'd and beguil'd.
  Alb. Shut your mouth, dame,
     Or with this paper shall I stop it. [Shows her her letter to
     Edmund.]- [To Edmund]. Hold, sir.
     [To Goneril] Thou worse than any name, read thine own evil.
     No tearing, lady! I perceive you know it.
  Gon. Say if I do- the laws are mine, not thine.
     Who can arraign me for't?
  Alb. Most monstrous!
     Know'st thou this paper?
  Gon. Ask me not what I know. Exit.
  Alb. Go after her. She's desperate; govern her.
                                              [Exit an Officer.]
  Edm. What, you have charg'd me with, that have I done,
     And more, much more. The time will bring it out.
     'Tis past, and so am I.- But what art thou
     That hast this fortune on me? If thou'rt noble,
     I do forgive thee.
  Edg. Let's exchange charity.
     I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund;
     If more, the more th' hast wrong'd me.
     My name is Edgar and thy father's son.
     The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
     Make instruments to scourge us.
     The dark and vicious place where thee he got
     Cost him his eyes.
  Edm. Th' hast spoken right; 'tis true.
     The wheel is come full circle; I am here.
  Alb. Methought thy very gait did prophesy
     A royal nobleness. I must embrace thee.
     Let sorrow split my heart if ever I
     Did hate thee, or thy father!
  Edg. Worthy prince, I know't.
  Alb. Where have you hid yourself?
     How have you known the miseries of your father?
  Edg. By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale;
     And when 'tis told, O that my heart would burst!
     The bloody proclamation to escape
     That follow'd me so near (O, our lives' sweetness!
     That with the pain of death would hourly die
     Rather than die at once!) taught me to shift
     Into a madman's rags, t' assume a semblance
     That very dogs disdain'd; and in this habit
     Met I my father with his bleeding rings,
     Their precious stones new lost; became his guide,
     Led him, begg'd for him, sav'd him from despair;
     Never (O fault!) reveal'd myself unto him
     Until some half hour past, when I was arm'd,
     Not sure, though hoping of this good success,
     I ask'd his blessing, and from first to last
     Told him my pilgrimage. But his flaw'd heart
     (Alack, too weak the conflict to support!)
     'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief,
     Burst smilingly.
  Edm. This speech of yours hath mov'd me,
     And shall perchance do good; but speak you on;
     You look as you had something more to say.
  Alb. If there be more, more woful, hold it in;
     For I am almost ready to dissolve,
     Hearing of this.
  Edg. This would have seem'd a period
     To such as love not sorrow; but another,
     To amplify too much, would make much more,
     And top extremity.
     Whilst I was big in clamour, came there a man,
     Who, having seen me in my worst estate,
     Shunn'd my abhorr'd society; but then, finding
     Who 'twas that so endur'd, with his strong arms
     He fastened on my neck, and bellowed out
     As he'd burst heaven; threw him on my father;
     Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him
     That ever ear receiv'd; which in recounting
     His grief grew puissant, and the strings of life
     Began to crack. Twice then the trumpets sounded,
     And there I left him tranc'd.
  Alb. But who was this?
  Edg. Kent, sir, the banish'd Kent; who in disguise
     Followed his enemy king and did him service
     Improper for a slave.

Enter a Gentleman with a bloody knife.

Gent. Help, help! O, help!
  Edg. What kind of help?
  Alb. Speak, man.
  Edg. What means that bloody knife?
  Gent. 'Tis hot, it smokes.
     It came even from the heart of- O! she's dead!
  Alb. Who dead? Speak, man.
  Gent. Your lady, sir, your lady! and her sister
     By her is poisoned; she hath confess'd it.
  Edm. I was contracted to them both. All three
     Now marry in an instant.

Enter Kent.

Edg. Here comes Kent.
  Alb. Produce their bodies, be they alive or dead.
                                               [Exit Gentleman.]
     This judgement of the heavens, that makes us tremble
     Touches us not with pity. O, is this he?
     The time will not allow the compliment
     That very manners urges.
  Kent. I am come
     To bid my king and master aye good night.
     Is he not here?
  Alb. Great thing of us forgot!
     Speak, Edmund, where's the King? and where's Cordelia?
                 The bodies of Goneril and Regan are brought in.
     Seest thou this object, Kent?
  Kent. Alack, why thus?
  Edm. Yet Edmund was belov'd.
     The one the other poisoned for my sake,
     And after slew herself.
  Alb. Even so. Cover their faces.
  Edm. I pant for life. Some good I mean to do,
     Despite of mine own nature. Quickly send
     (Be brief in't) to the castle; for my writ
     Is on the life of Lear and on Cordelia.
     Nay, send in time.
  Alb. Run, run, O, run!
  Edg. To who, my lord? Who has the office? Send
     Thy token of reprieve.
  Edm. Well thought on. Take my sword;
     Give it the Captain.
  Alb. Haste thee for thy life. [Exit Edgar.]
  Edm. He hath commission from thy wife and me
     To hang Cordelia in the prison and
     To lay the blame upon her own despair
     That she fordid herself.
  Alb. The gods defend her! Bear him hence awhile.
                                          [Edmund is borne off.]

Enter Lear, with Cordelia [dead] in his arms, [Edgar,
Captain,
                        and others following].

Lear. Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stone.
     Had I your tongues and eyes, I'ld use them so
     That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever!
     I know when one is dead, and when one lives.
     She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking glass.
     If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,
     Why, then she lives.
  Kent. Is this the promis'd end?
  Edg. Or image of that horror?
  Alb. Fall and cease!
  Lear. This feather stirs; she lives! If it be so,
     It is a chance which does redeem all sorrows
     That ever I have felt.
  Kent. O my good master!
  Lear. Prithee away!
  Edg. 'Tis noble Kent, your friend.
  Lear. A plague upon you, murderers, traitors all!
     I might have sav'd her; now she's gone for ever!
     Cordelia, Cordelia! stay a little. Ha!
     What is't thou say'st, Her voice was ever soft,
     Gentle, and low- an excellent thing in woman.
     I kill'd the slave that was a-hanging thee.
  Capt. 'Tis true, my lords, he did.
  Lear. Did I not, fellow?
     I have seen the day, with my good biting falchion
     I would have made them skip. I am old now,