English Literature books summary

English Literature books summary

points to his father and urges her to look, but she cannot see anything and

finally exclaims, "this is the very coinage of your brain" (3.4.128).

Hamlet shows her that his pulse is constant, convincing her that it is not

a hallucination. She finally asks him what she must do. Hamlet tells

Gertrude to go to bed that night, but to avoid sleeping with Claudius. He

further tells her to let Claudius know that he is not mad, but rather

merely cunning. Hamlet then leaves to get ready to go to England, tugging

Polonius out of the room behind him.

Act Four, Scene One

Claudius asks Gertrude to tell him what the matter is. She informs him that

Hamlet is completely mad and describes how he killed Polonius behind the

curtain. Claudius decides to pardon Hamlet's life, but calls Guildenstern

and Rosencrantz into the chamber. He orders them find Hamlet and Polonius'

body, and to bring the body into the chapel.

Act Four, Scene Two

Hamlet hears someone calling for him and responds to them. Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern run onstage and demand to know where Polonius' body is. Hamlet

riddles with them, and tells them that they are like sponges who soak up

the king's favors. He refuses to reveal where he has hidden Polonius and

runs away from them.

Act Four, Scene Three

Claudius is upset that Hamlet is running around the palace but cannot order

Hamlet killed because the populace likes him. Rosencrantz arrives and tells

Claudius that he cannot find the body, but that Guildenstern is holding

Hamlet. Claudius orders Guildenstern to bring in Hamlet, and then asks him

where Polonius is. Hamlet riddles some more, telling Claudius to seek for

Polonius in heaven or possibly hell.

Hamlet finally gives them a hint, and says, "you shall nose him as you up

the stairs into the lobby" (4.3.35-36). Rosencrantz immediately goes to

seek the body. Claudius tells Hamlet that because of his "deed", the murder

of Polonius, he must leave Denmark for England. Hamlet walks out after

calling Claudius his "mother" and is followed by Guildenstern. Claudius,

now alone, prays that the King of England will obey his letters, which ask

the King of England to kill Hamlet for him.

Act Four, Scene Four

Fortinbras has reached the Danish castle and orders a captain to inform

Claudius that his army is there and that he requests safe passage through

Denmark so that he may invade Poland. The Captain leaves to deliver the

message.

Hamlet arrives, accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and approaches

the captain. He asks the man whose army it is, and learns that Fortinbras

has marched into Denmark on his way to "Poland". The captain is ambiguous

about the exact location, saying only that they are fighting over a

worthless piece of ground.

Hamlet sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on ahead and remains to ponder

the fact that nearly twenty thousand men are in the army, all willing to

die for nothing. He realizes that he has been unable to revenge his

father's death, but decides that now is the time for decisive action.

Hamlet says, "O, from this time forth / My thoughts be bloody or be nothing

worth" (4.4.9.55-56).

Act Four, Scene Five

Horatio begs Queen Gertrude to come see what has happened to Ophelia. She

reluctantly agrees, and Ophelia enters singing to herself. Ophelia has gone

completely mad due to the death of her father and the loss of Hamlet, and

she incoherently sings her songs rather than respond to Gertrude.

Claudius arrives and Gertrude shows him what has happened to Ophelia. She

continues singing, the songs getting raunchier as she continues. Finally

Ophelia tells them that Laertes must find out about the death of their

father, and she leaves to go find him. Horatio follows her in order to keep

an eye on her.

Claudius tells Gertrude that they made a mistake in trying to secretly

dispose of Polonius. He further informs her that Laertes has secretly come

from France to Denmark to avenge his father's death. A noise interrupts

him, and a messenger rushes in telling Claudius to save himself. He asks

what the problem is, and learns that Laertes has gathered a mob of citizens

together and rushed the castle, breaking past all the guards. The mob wants

to make Laertes king and is therefore fighting for him.

Laertes bursts through the doors and tells the mob to wait for him outside.

He then demands that Claudius reveal to him why Polonius was killed.

Gertrude intervenes and informs Laertes that Claudius did not kill his

father. Laertes then demands to know who his real enemy is. Ophelia enters

at that moment, completely mad, and gives them each some flowers. Claudius

turns to Laertes after Ophelia leaves and tells him that he will personally

arrange his revenge.

Act Four, Scene Six

Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet which tells him a strange story. The

ship Hamlet was on was caught by pirates, and Hamlet alone boarded the

pirate ship. After the battle was over he became their prisoner but was

treated well because he could do them a favor. Guildenstern and Rosencrantz

are still on their way to England.

Act Four, Scene Seven

Claudius has explained to Laertes that Hamlet killed Polonius. Laertes asks

why Hamlet was not punished at the time and Claudius says that it was for

his mother's sake. Laertes tells Claudius that his revenge will come soon.

Some messengers arrive and hand Claudius letters from Hamlet. He is

surprised to receive the letters, and reads his out loud. The letter

indicates that Hamlet is returning to Denmark alone. Laertes is excited by

this because it means that he will be able to revenge his father's death.

Claudius asks him to "be ruled" and listen to a plot which will make

Hamlet's death seem like an accident, even though Laertes will be allowed

to kill him.

Claudius proposes that Laertes fight Hamlet in a fencing match with

rapiers. Laertes agrees to this provided he be allowed to put poison on the

tip of his rapier so that even the slightest scratch will cause Hamlet to

die. Claudius is uncertain as to whether they can trust the poison, and so

he offers to also create a poison drink for Hamlet. That way, they will

have two ways of killing Hamlet and will not fail.

Gertrude enters the room and informs Laertes that Ophelia has drowned

herself while sitting on a willow branch over a brook. Laertes is overcome

with grief and starts to shed tears for his sister. He leaves the room but

Claudius urges Gertrude to follow him for fear that Laertes will erupt in

rage again.

Act Five, Scene One

Two gravediggers (clowns) are digging out Ophelia's grave. They discuss the

fact that Ophelia drowned herself, and therefore should not receive a

Christian burial under Christian law. However, the one gravedigger points

out that the coroner has declared it a natural death rather than a suicide,

and therefore they must dig the grave for her.

Hamlet overhears the first gravedigger singing to himself and remarks on

the fact that the man is so cheerful at his occupation. Horatio tells him

that it must come from doing the job for such a long time. Hamlet

approaches the man and asks him whose grave it is. The gravedigger, taking

every word literally, tells him, "Mine, sir" (5.1.109). Hamlet finally

gives up asking and instead inquires for news about Prince Hamlet while

pretending to be someone else.

The gravedigger tells him that Hamlet was sent to England because he was

mad. He then informs Hamlet that a body will last in the grave for eight or

nine years at the most. He picks up a skull and shows it to Hamlet, telling

him it has been in the earth for twenty-three years. Hamlet asks whose

skull it is, and is shocked to learn that it is the skull of Yorick, a

jester who entertained him as a youth. He comments that even parts of

Alexander the Great's body might now be used as a flask stopper and they

would never know it.

Hamlet and Horatio run and hide when they hear Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes,

and other attendants arriving. Hamlet wonders whose corpse they are

carrying with them to the grave. He overhears Laertes arguing with the

priest about the last rites. Due to the strange manner of Ophelia's death,

the priest will only allow the body to be buried in holy ground, but he

refuses to read her the prayers. Hamlet soon realizes that the body is that

of Ophelia.

Laertes is so overcome with emotion once the coffin has been placed into

the grave that he leaps in after it. Hamlet, seeing this, reveals himself

and jumps into the grave as well. Laertes immediately grabs Hamlet by the

throat and starts to choke him. Claudius order the other men present to

pull them apart and Hamlet shouts that he loved Ophelia more than forty

thousand of her brothers combined. He tells Laertes that, "I loved you

ever. But it is no matter. / Let Hercules himself do what he may, / The cat

will mew, and dog will have his day" (5.1.275-278). Hamlet leaves and

Horatio follows him.

Act Five, Scene Two

Hamlet tells Horatio what really happened on the way to England. He rose on

night and stole the letters that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were taking

to the King of England. The letters told the king to kill Hamlet and listed

several reasons why this would benefit both nations. Hamlet immediately

wrote out several new letters and sealed them using his signet. The new

letters ordered that the two men accompanying him should be put to death.

Hamlet is not at all upset about ordering his two "friends" to die in

England since, "they did make love to this employment" (5.2.58). Horatio

warns Hamlet that Claudius will soon discover what has happened when news

arrives from England.

A man named Osric arrives and tells Hamlet that he has news from the king

for him. Hamlet plays a game with the man, telling him to alternately put

on and take off his hat. Osric finally gets frustrated with the game and

informs Hamlet that Laertes, whom he describes in glowing terms, has placed

a wager with Claudius. Claudius has bet Laertes that he cannot beat Hamlet

by at least three hits in a fencing match with twelve passes. Hamlet agrees

to the match and orders Osric to have them bring out the foils.

A lord soon enters and tells Hamlet that everything is prepared and that

they are waiting for Hamlet to come. He further tells Hamlet that Gertrude

wishes that he would treat Laertes with respect and courtesy, to which

Hamlet agrees. Horatio tells Hamlet that, "You will lose this wager, my

lord" (5.2.147), but Hamlet tells him that he has been in continual

practice since Laertes left for France. Horatio again tries to dissuade him

from fencing with Laertes, and again Hamlet tells him that he will go and

fight.

Claudius and the rest of the court arrive and Claudius orders Hamlet to

greet Laertes. Hamlet offers Laertes an apology for killing Polonius and

blames the act on his madness. Laertes stiffly asserts that his honor is

still at stake and that he must therefore have his revenge. They then call

for the foils and prepare for the match.

Claudius orders his attendants to bring him a cask of wine. He then

announces that if Hamlet is able to score a hit in the first, second or

third exchange then he will drink some wine and drop a pearl of exceptional

value into the cup for Hamlet. Claudius then drinks to Hamlet as a salute

for good luck and orders them to begin.

Hamlet and Laertes fight until Hamlet shouts, "One" (5.2.220). Laertes

disputes the hit and Osric decides in favor of Hamlet. Claudius halts the

match and drops a pearl into his wine cup. He then offers the cup to

Hamlet, who refuses to take it and tells him that he would rather continue

the match. They fight and Hamlet again claims a hit that Laertes grants

him. Gertrude takes the cup with the pearl in it and offers to drink for

Hamlet. Claudius begs her not to, but she ignores him and drinks anyway,

thereby ingesting the poison that Claudius had planned to give to Hamlet.

Laertes meanwhile has poisoned his rapier's tip and in the next scuffle he

manages to wound Hamlet. They continue fighting and Hamlet accidentally

exchanges rapiers with Laertes after which he wounds him as well. Both men

stop fighting when they realize that Gertrude has fallen onto the ground.

She tells Hamlet, "The drink, the drink - I am poisoned" (5.2.253) before

she dies. Laertes also falls to the ground from the poison he received when

Hamlet wounded him. He tells Hamlet that both of them are poisoned to death

and blames the king for everything.

Hamlet, realizing that the point of the rapier is envenomed, slashes at

Claudius and wounds him with it. The courtiers cry out, "Treason, treason!"

(5.2.265), but they cannot stop Hamlet who has also grabbed the poisoned

wine and is making Claudius drink it. Claudius quickly dies from the

poison. Laertes, still barely alive, tells Hamlet that he forgives him for

Polonius' death before he too dies.

Hamlet orders Horatio to stay alive and report everything he knows to the

public. Horatio instead has grabbed the cup and is preparing to commit

suicide, but at Hamlet's plea he relinquishes the poison. Osric enters the

room and tells them that Fortinbras has arrived with his army. Hamlet gives

Fortinbras his vote to become the next King of Denmark before he dies.

Fortinbras and the English ambassadors arrive together. Fortinbras looks

over the scene of carnage and compares it too a massacre. The Englishmen

inform Horatio that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been put to death.

Horatio takes charge and tells Fortinbras and the ambassadors to put the

bodies on a stage in view of the public so that he may tell the full story

of what has happened. Fortinbras agrees with this and orders his men to

obey Horatio. He compares the scene to a battlefield and ends the play by

ordering the soldiers to shoot their guns in honor of Hamlet's death.

King Lear

Act I Summary: scene i:

Gloucester and Kent, loyal to King Lear, objectively discuss his

division of the kingdom (as Lear is preparing to step down) and to which

dukes, Cornwall and Albany, they believe it will equally fall. Kent is

introduced to Gloucester's illegitimate son, Edmund. Gloucester

nonchalantly admits that the boy's breeding has been his charge ever since

impregnating another woman soon after his legitimate son, Edgar, was born.

Kent is pleased to meet Edmund. Gloucester mentions that Edmund has been

nine years in military service and will return shortly.

Lear enters and sends Gloucester to find France and Burgundy,

Cordelia's suitors. He then begins to discuss the partitioning of Britain

he has devised to each of his three daughters and their husbands. Lear

decides to ask each of his daughters to express how much they love him

before he hands over their piece of the kingdom. As oldest, Goneril speaks

first, expressing her love as all encompassing. Regan adds that she is

enemy to other joys. Lear gives each their parcel, wishing them well.

Cordelia, as the youngest and most liked daughter, is saved the choicest

piece of land. However, she responds to her father's request by saying she

has nothing to add. She loves only as much as her obligation entitles and

will save some of her love for a husband. Lear is enraged and hurt. After

giving her a few chances, he strips Cordelia of any title or relation. Kent

intercedes on her behalf but he too is estranged by Lear. Kent cries that

honesty will continue to be his guide in any kingdom.

Cordelia's suitors enter. Lear apprises them of Cordelia's new state of

non-inheritance. Burgundy cannot accept her under the circumstances, but

France finds her more appealing and takes her as his wife. Cordelia is not

unhappy to leave her sisters and leaves with France. Goneril and Regan

conspire to take rule away from Lear quickly as he is becoming more

unreasonable.

scene ii:

The scene centers around Edmund, at first alone on stage, crying out

against his position as bastard to the material world. He is envious of

Edgar, the legitimate son, and wishes to gain what he has by forging a

treasonous letter concerning Gloucester from Edgar. Gloucester enters,

amazed at the events which have occurred during the last scene. He wishes

to know why Edmund is hiding a letter and demands to see it. He shrewdly

acts as if he is embarrassed to show it to Gloucester and continually makes

excuses for Edgar's apparent behavior. Gloucester reads the letter

detailing "Edgar's" call to Edmund to take their father's land from him.

Edmund asks that he not make too quick a judgment before they talk to Edgar

as perhaps he is simply testing Edmund. He suggests forming a meeting where

Edmund can ask Edgar about his proposals while Gloucester listens in

secret. Gloucester agrees, musing on the effects of nature and its

predictions. He leaves directly before Edgar enters. Edmund brings up the

astronomical predictions he had discussed with Gloucester and alerts Edmund

that Gloucester is very upset with him, though he knows not why. Edmund

offers to take Edgar back to his lodging until he can bring he and

Gloucester together and advises him to go armed. Edgar leaves and Edmund

notes that he will soon take his due through wit.

scene iii:

Scene iii reintroduces Goneril, as she is outraged by the offenses she

contends Lear has been showing her since moving into her residence. He has

struck Oswald for criticizing his fool, his knights are riotous and so on,

she claims. Lear is out hunting. Goneril commands Oswald to allow her

privacy from Lear and to treat Lear with "weary negligence". She does not

want him to be happy, hoping that he will move to Regan's where she knows

he will face the same contempt. She demands Oswald to treat his knights

coldly as well. She leaves to write Regan.

scene iv:

Kent enters, disguised and hoping to serve in secret as a servant to

Lear so that he can help him though he is condemned. Lear accepts to try

him as a servant.Oswald comes in quickly before exiting again curtly. A

knight tells Lear that Goneril is not well and that Oswald answered him

curtly as well. The knight fears Lear is being treated wrongly. Lear had

blamed himself for any coldness but agrees to look into a problem in

Goneril's household. Lear's fool has hidden himself since Cordelia's

departure so Lear sends the knight for him. Oswald reenters, showing Lear

the negligence Goneril had suggested. Lear and Kent strike him, endearing

Kent in Lear's eyes. Oswald exits as Fool enters. Fool persistently mocks

and ridicules Lear for his actions in scene i, his mistreatment of

Cordelia, trust in Goneril and Regan, and giving up of his authority. He

calls Lear himself a fool, noting he has given away all other titles. The

fool notes that he is punished by Lear if he lies, punished by the

household if he speaks the truth, and often punished for staying silent.

Goneril harps on the trouble Lear and his retinue are causing, such as

the insolence of Fool and the riotous behavior of the knights. She states

that he is not showing her the proper respect and consideration by allowing

these actions to occur. Lear is incredulous. Goneril continues by adding

that as Lear's large, frenzied train cannot be controlled she will have to

ask him to keep fewer than his hundred knights. Outraged, Lear admits that

Goneril's offense makes Cordelia's seem small. As Albany enters, Lear

curses Goneril with infertility or, in its stead, a thankless child. He

then finds that his train has already been halved and again rages against

the incredible impudence Goneril has shown him. He angrily leaves for

Regan's residence. Albany does not approve of Goneril's behavior and is

criticized by her for being weak. Goneril sends Oswald with a letter to her

sister, detailing her fear that Lear is dangerous and should be curtailed

as soon as possible.

scene v:

Impatient, Lear sends the disguised Kent to bring letters to

Gloucester. The Fool wisely warns that Regan will likely act no better than

her sister had. He criticizes Lear for giving away his own home and place,

using examples such as a snail carrying his shell. Lear recognizes he will

have to subdue his fatherly instincts toward Regan as well. Fool points out

that Lear has gotten old before he is wise. Lear cries out, praying that he

will not go mad.

Act II Summary: scene i:

Act II begins with a return to the secondary plot of Edmund, Edgar, and

Gloucester. Edmund speaks with the courtier, Curan, who advises him that

Regan and Cornwall will arrive shortly at Gloucester's castle. He also

passes on the gossip that there may soon be a war between Cornwall and

Albany. After Curan leaves, Edmund expresses his delight over the news he

has learned as he can use that in his plot. Edgar enters and Edmund

cleverly asks if he has offended Cornwall or Albany. Edgar says he has not.

Edmund cries that he hears Gloucester coming and forces Edgar to draw his

sword with him. Telling Edgar to flee, Edmund then wounds himself with his

sword before calling out to Gloucester for help. Gloucester arrives quickly

and sends servants to chase down the villain. Edmund explains that he would

not allow Edgar to persuade him into murdering their father causing Edgar

to slash him with his sword. He continues that Edgar threatened him and by

no means intended to permit Edmund, an "unpossessing bastard", to stop him

from his evil plot. Gloucester is indignant and claims that Edgar will be

captured and punished. He promises that Edmund will become the heir of his

land.

At this point, Cornwall and Regan enter the scene, wondering if the

gossip they had heard about Edgar is correct. Gloucester confirms it is.

Edmund cleverly confirms Regan's fear that Edgar was acting as part of

Lear's riotous knights. Cornwall acknowledges the good act Edmund has done

for Gloucester and promises to take him into their favor. After Gloucester

and Edmund thank them, Regan explains why she and Cornwall have come to

Gloucester's castle. She had received a letter from Goneril and so had left

home to avoid Lear. She asks for Gloucester's assistance.

scene ii:

Oswald, Goneril's servant, and Kent, still disguised as Lear's servant

Caius, meet at Gloucester's castle after first trekking to Cornwall's

residence with messages. Oswald does not first recognize Kent but Kent

recognizes him and responds to him curtly with curses and name-calling. He

claims that Oswald comes with letters against the King and sides with his

evil daughter. He calls Oswald to draw his sword at which Oswald cries out

for help. The noise brings in Edmund, Cornwall, Regan, Gloucester, and some

servants.

When asked what the commotion is, Kent continues to insult Oswald, who

is breathless. Oswald claims that he has spared Kent because of his grey

beard at which Kent scoffs. He describes that Oswald is like a dog,

ignorantly following a master. To Cornwall's incredulousness, Kent says

that he does not like the look of his face. Oswald explains that Kent had

no reason to strike him in Lear's company or to draw on him at

Gloucester's. Kent refers to Cornwall and Regan as cowards and they call

for the stocks. Regan comments that they should leave him not only until

noon, as Cornwall had suggested, but for over a day. Gloucester protests

but is overruled. After the others have exited, Gloucester apologizes to

Kent and admits that the Duke is to blame. Alone, Kent muses over a letter

he has received from Cordelia, implying that she knows he has taken

disguise and promises to try to save her father from the evil of her

sisters. Kent recognizes he is at the bottom of luck. He falls asleep.

scene iii:

Scene iii is solely a soliloquy by Edgar discussing his transformation

into poor Tom, the beggar. He tells us that he has just missed being hunted

as he heard them coming for him and hid in a hollow tree. In order to

remain safe, he proposes to take on "the basest and most poorest shape",

that of a beggar. He covers himself with dirt and filth, ties his hair in

knots, strips off much of his clothing, and pricks his skin with pins and

nails and so on. He no longer resembles Edgar.

scene iv:

Lear enters the scene with his fool and a gentleman, who tells him that

he was not advised of Regan and Cornwall's removal to Gloucester's castle.

They come upon Kent, still in the stocks. Lear does not believe that Regan

and Cornwall would commit such an offense to Lear has to place his servant

in the stocks but Kent reassures him that they have. He stresses that their

punishment came only because he was angered enough by Oswald's presence and

his letter to Regan to draw his sword upon Oswald. Fool comments on human

nature, retorting that children are only kind to their parents when they

are rich and that the poor are never given the chance for money. Lear feels

ill and goes to look for Regan. Kent asks why Lear's train has shrunk to

which Fool replies that many have lost interest in Lear as he has lost his

riches and power. He advises all that are not fools to do the same.

Lear returns, amazed that Regan and Cornwall refuse to speak with him

over weariness from travel. Gloucester attempts to excuse them by

mentioning Gloucester's "fiery quality". Lear is enraged by this excuse.

Although he momentarily considers that Gloucester may truly be ill, he is

overwhelmed by anger and threatens to beat a drum by their door until they

speak to him. Gloucester leaves to get them and shortly returns with them.

They appear to act cordial at first to Lear and set Kent free. Lear is

cautious toward Regan and tells her that if she is not truly glad to see

him he would disown her and her dead mother. He expresses his grief to her

over his stay with Goneril and Goneril's demands on him. Regan replies that

he is very old and should trust their counsel. She advises him to return to

Goneril and ask for her forgiveness as she is not yet prepared to care for

him. Lear admits that he is old but pleads with Regan to care for him. She

again refuses even with his arguments that Goneril has cut his train and

his subsequent curses of Goneril. Regan is horrified. Lear pleads with her

to act better than her sister. He finally asks who put Kent in the stocks.

Goneril arrives, as forecast in a letter to her sister. Lear calls on

the gods to help him and is upset that Regan takes Goneril by the hand. He

asks again how Kent was put in the stocks and Cornwall replies that that it

was his order and Lear is appalled. Regan pleads again for him to return to

Goneril's but he still holds hope that Regan will allow him all hundred of

his train. However, Regan assures him that she has no room for the knights

either and alerts him that he should only bring twenty-five with him after

his month stay with Goneril. Lear replies that he has been betrayed after

giving his daughter's his all, his land, authority and his care. He decides

to go then with Goneril as she must love him more if she will agree to

fifty knights. At this point, Goneril diminishes her claim, asking him if

needs twenty-five, ten, or five? Regan adds that he does not even need one.

Lear cries that need is not the issue. He compares his argument to Regan's

clothes which are too scant for warmth. She wears them not for need but for

vanity just as a King keeps many things he does not need for other reasons.

He hopes that he will not cry and fears that he will go mad. He leaves with

Fool, Kent, and Gloucester. A storm is heard approaching and Cornwall calls

them to withdraw. Regan and Goneril discuss how it is Lear's own fault if

they leave him out in the storm. Gloucester asks them to reconsider but is

again overruled. Regan has the house boarded up.

Act III Summary: scene i:

As it continues to storm, Kent enters the stage asking who else is

there and where is the King. A gentleman, one of Lear's knights, answers,

describing the King as struggling and becoming one with the raging elements

of nature. The King has been left alone except for his fool. Kent

recognizes the gentleman and fills him in on the events he has learned

concerning the Dukes and the news from France. He explains that a conflict

has grown between Albany and Cornwall which is momentarily forgotten

because they are united against Lear. He then mentions that French spies

and soldiers have moved onto the island, nearly ready to admit openly to

their invasion. He urges the gentleman to hurry to Dover where he will find

allies to whom he can give an honest report of the treatment to the King

and his declining health. Kent gives him his purse and a ring to confirm

his honor and to show to Cordelia if he sees her. They move out to look for

Lear before the gentleman leaves on his mission.

scene ii:

We meet Lear, raging against the storm, daring the storm to break up

the Earth. Fool pleads with him to dodge his pride and ask for his

daughters' forgiveness so that he can take shelter in the castle. Lear

notes that the storm, unlike his daughters, owes him nothing and has no

obligation to treat him any better. Still, the storm is joining to help his

ungrateful daughters in their unnecessary punishing of him. The fool says

he is foolish, nevertheless, to reside in the house of of the storm but

Lear responds that he will say nothing to his daughters.

Kent enters, pleased to have found the King, and remarks that he has

never witnessed a more violent storm. Lear cries that the gods will now

show who has committed any wrongs by their treatment in the storm and Kent

pushes him toward a cave where they can find a little shelter. Lear agrees

to go, recognizing the cold which must be ravaging he and his fool. Before

entering the hovel, Fool prophecies that when the abuses of England are

reformed, the country will come into great confusion.

scene iii:

Gloucester and Edmund speak in confidence. Gloucester complains of the

unnatural dealings of Cornwall and Regan, taking over his home and

forbidding him to help or appeal for Lear. Edmund feigns agreement. Taking

him further in confidence, Gloucester alerts him to the division between

Albany and Cornwall. He then tells him that he has received a letter, which

he has locked in the closet because of it dangerous contents, divulging

that a movement has started to avenge Lear at home. Gloucester plans to go

find him and aid him until the forces arrive to help. He tells Edmund to

accompany the Duke so that his absence is not felt and if they ask for him

to report that he went to bed ill. Gloucester notes that he is risking his

life but if he can save the King, his death would not be in vain. After he

departs, Edmund tells the audience that he will alert Cornwall immediately

of Gloucester's plans and the treasonous letter. The young will gain, he

comments, where the old have faltered.

scene iv:

Kent and Lear find their way to the cave, where Lear asks to be left

alone. He notes that the storm rages harsher in his own mind and body due

to the "filial ingratitude" he has been forced to endure. Thinking it may

lead to madness, Lear tries not to think of his daughters' betrayal.

Feeling the cruelty of the elements, Lear remarks that he has taken too

little care of the poor who often do not have shelter from such storms in

life. The fool enters the cave first and is frightened by the presence of

Edgar disguised as poor Tom. Edgar enters, speaking in confused jargon and

pointing to the foul fiend who bothers him greatly. Lear decides that Tom

must have been betrayed by daughters in order to have fallen to such a

state of despair and madness. Kent attempts to tell Lear that Tom has no

daughters, but Lear can comprehend no other reason. Fool notes that the

cold night would turn them all into madmen. Lear finds Tom intriguing and

asks him about his life, to which Edgar replies that Tom was a serving man

who was ruined by a woman he had loved. Lear realizes that man is no more

than what they have been stripped to and begins to take off his clothes

before Fool stops him.

Gloucester finds his way to the cave. He questions the King's company

before remarking that he and Lear must both hate what their bodies have

given birth to, namely Edgar, Regan, and Goneril. Although he has been

barred from securing shelter in his own castle for Lear, Gloucester

entreats the King to come with him to a better shelter. Lear wishes to stay

and talk with Tom, terming him a philosopher. Kent urges Gloucester to

plead with Lear to go, but Gloucester notes it is no surprise that Lear's

wits are not about him when his own daughters seek his death. Lear is

persuaded to follow Gloucester when they agree to allow Tom to accompany

him.

scene v:

Cornwall and Edmund converse over the information Edmund has shared

with him. Edmund plays the part of a tortured son doing his duty for the

kingdom. Cornwall muses that Edgar's disloyalty is better understood in

terms of his own father's betrayal. Handing over the letter Gloucester had

received, Edmund cries out wishing that he were not the filial traitor.

Cornwall makes Edmund the new Earl of Gloucester and demands he find where

his father is hiding. In an aside, Edmund hopes he will find Gloucester

aiding the King to further incriminate him although it would be greater

filial ingratitude on his part. Cornwall offers himself as a new and more

loving father to Edmund.

scene vi:

Gloucester finds the group slightly better shelter and then heads off

to get assistance. Edgar speaks of the foul fiend and Fool tells the King a

rhyme, concluding that the madman is the man who has too greatly indulged

his own children. Lear pretends to hold a trial for his evil daughters,

placing Edgar, the fool, and Kent on the bench to try them. Lear tries

Goneril first and then Regan before crying that someone had accepted a

bribe and allowed one to escape. Kent calls for him to remain patient as he

had often been in the past and Edgar notes in an aside that he has nearly

threatened his disguise with tears. He tells Lear that he will punish the

daughters himself. Lear appreciates the gesture and claims that he will

take Tom as one of the hundred in his train if he will agree to change his

seemingly Persian garments. As Gloucester returns, he urges Kent to keep

the King in his arms due to the death threats circulating. There is a

caravan waiting which will take Lear to Dover and safety if they hurry.

Edgar is left on stage and soliloquizes that the King's pains are so much

greater than his own and he will pledge himself to helping him escape

safely.

scene vii:

Cornwall calls for Goneril to bring the letter concerning France's

invasion to her husband and calls to his servants to seek out the traitor,

Gloucester. Regan and Goneril call for tortuous punishment. Edmund is asked

to accompany Goneril so as not to be present when his father is brought in.

Oswald enters and alerts the court to the news of Gloucester's successful

move of the King to Dover. As Goneril and Edmund depart, Cornwall sends

servants in search of Gloucester. Gloucester enters with servants and

Cornwall commands that he be bound to a chair. Regan plucks his beard as he

protests that they are his guests and friends.They interrogate him on the

letter he received from France and his part helping King Lear. Gloucester

responds that he received the letter from an objective third-party but he

is not believed. He admits that he sent the King to Dover, explaining that

he was not safe out in the terrible storm nor in the company of those who

would leave him in such conditions. He hopes that Lear's horrific children

will have revenge light upon them. Cornwall answers that he will see no

such thing, blinding one of his eyes.

A servant speaks up in Gloucester's defense and is quickly stabbed by

Regan using the sword Cornwall had drawn. Before the servant dies, he cries

that Gloucester has one eye remaining to see harm come to the Duke and

Duchess. Cornwall immediately blinds the other eye. Gloucester calls out

for Edmund to help him in the time of peril to which Regan replies that it

was Edmund who had alerted them to Gloucester's treachery. At this low

point, Gloucester realizes the wrong he has shown Edgar if Edmund has done

such evil. Regan has Gloucester thrown out of the castle and then helps

Cornwall, who has received an injury, out of the room. Two servants discuss

the incomprehensible evil of Cornwall and Regan, proposing to aid

Gloucester in his blind stumbles. One of the servants leaves to find him

while the other searches for ointments to sooth Gloucester's wounds.

Act IV Summary: scene i:

Edgar is alone on stage soliloquizing about his fate. He seems more

optimistic than earlier, hoping that he has seen the worst. This changes

when Gloucester and an old man enters, displaying to Edgar the cruelty of

Regan and Cornwall's punishment. Gloucester urges the old man aiding him to

leave him, noting that his blindness should not affect him as "I have no

way, and therefore want no eyes;/ I stumbled when I saw" (IV.1.18-19). He

then laments the fool he has been toward his loyal son, Edgar. The old man

tells him a mad beggarman is present to which Gloucester replies that he

cannot be too mad if he knows to beg. Ironically, he notes that his

introduction to a madman the night before (who was poor Tom) had made him

think of Edgar. This causes Edgar further pain. Gloucester again urges the

old man to leave, commenting that poor Tom can lead him. He reasons that

the time is such that madmen will lead the blind and tells the old man to

meet them in a mile with new clothes for the beggar. The old man agrees to

and leaves.

Edgar wishes he did not have to deceive his father but reasons that he

must. He speaks in his poor Tom manner of all of the fiends whom have

plagued him. Gloucester gives him his purse, hoping to even out some of the

inequality which exists between them, and asks him to lead him to the

summit of the high cliff in Dover and leave him there.

scene ii:

Goneril and Edmund are en route to Goneril's home when Goneril asks

Oswald why her husband has not met them. Oswald answers that Albany is a

changed man. To all events Oswald expects he would be pleased by, he is

upset and vice versa. The examples Oswald gives are the landing of the

French army at which Albany smiled and Edmund's betrayal of Gloucester to

which Albany was very displeased. Goneril is disgusted and sends Edmund

back to Cornwall's with a kiss, telling him that she will have to become

master of her household until she can become Edmund's mistress.

After Edmund's departure, Albany enters and greets Goneril with disgust

toward her character and the events with which she and Regan have been

involved. He notes that humanity is in danger because of people like her.

Goneril responds that he is weak, idly sitting by and allowing the French

to invade their land without putting up protest or guarding against

traitors. He lacks ambition and wisdom. The woman form she takes, Albany

proclaims, disguises the fiend which exists beneath and if it were not for

this cover, he would wish to destroy her.

A messenger enters, conveying the news that Cornwall has died from the

wound given him during the conflict with the servant who had stood up for

Gloucester after one of his eye's had been blinded. In this manner, Albany

learns of the treatment and subsequent blindness imparted to Gloucester by

the hands of Regan and Cornwall. Though horrified, Albany remarks that the

gods are at least conscious of justice and have already worked toward

avenging the death of Gloucester by killing Cornwall. The messenger then

delivers a letter to Goneril from Regan. In an aside, Goneril comments that

the news of Cornwall's death is bad for her in that it leaves Regan a widow

so she could easily marry Edmund. However, it may be a positive event since

it takes Cornwall's threat to her reign out of the picture. She leaves to

read and answer the letter. Albany asks the messenger of Edmund's location

when Gloucester was blinded. The messenger informs him that Edmund was with

Goneril at the time but that Edmund knew of the events which were to take

place because it was he who had informed on Gloucester's treason. Albany

swears to fight for Gloucester who has loved the good king and received

such horrible treatment.

scene iii:

We learn from Kent's conversation with a gentleman that the King of

France has had to return to France for important business and has left the

Marshal of France in charge. The gentleman informs him also of Cordelia's

response to Kent's letter. She was very moved, lamenting against her

sisters and their treatment of her father. Kent comments that the stars

must control people's characters if one man and one woman could have

children of such different qualities, like Cordelia and her sisters. Kent

notifies the gentleman that Lear refuses to see Cordelia as he is ashamed

of his behavior toward her. The gentleman confirms that Albany and

Cornwall's powers are advancing. Deciding to leave Lear with him, Kent goes

off to handle confidential business.

scene iv:

Pained, Cordelia laments the mad state of Lear and asks the doctor if

there is a way to cure him. Rest might be the simple answer, the doctor

replies, since Lear has been deprived of it. Cordelia prays for him and

hopes that he will be revived. She must leave briefly on business for

France.

scene v:

Regan and Oswald discuss how Albany's powers are afoot. Oswald points

out that Goneril is the better soldier and informs Regan that Edmund did

not have a chance to speak with Albany. Regan asks what the letter which

Oswald brought from Goneril for Edmund says but Oswald knows only that it

must be of great importance. Regan regrets blinding Gloucester because

allowing him to live arouses sympathy which results in more parties turned

against Regan and her company. Stating that Edmund has gone in search of

Gloucester to put him out of his misery, she then claims that he is

checking out the strength of the enemy forces. She urges Oswald to remain

with her because the roads are dangerous. She is jealous of what she fears

the contents of the letter may be, namely entreaties to Edmund for his

love. Advising him to remind Edmund of the matters he had discussed with

her considering their marriage, Regan allows Oswald to continue. Oswald

agrees to halt Gloucester if he comes upon him and thus show to whom his

loyalty lies.

scene vi:

Edgar leads Gloucester to Dover and pretends they are walking up the

steep hill Gloucester wished to be taken to. Edgar says that it is steep

and he can hear the ocean, noting that Gloucester's other senses must have

grown dim as well if he cannot feel these things. Gloucester comments that

poor Tom's speech seems much more elevated than before so Edgar attempts to

drop back into his beggarman dialect. Edgar says they have reached the

highest spot and Gloucester asks to be placed where he is standing. He then

takes out another purse for Tom and requests to be left. Thinking Tom has

gone, Gloucester prays to the gods to bless Edgar and then wishes the world

farewell and falls forward of the cliff, he believes. Edgar approaches

again as another man entirely, playing along with the idea that Gloucester

has fallen off the high cliff and survived, calling it a miracle.

Gloucester believes what the man says, though he cannot look up to verify.

Edgar helps him up and questions the thing which left him at the top of the

cliff, making it sound like it was not an actual man but a spirit.

Gloucester is skeptical at first but realizes that would make sense for why

he lived.

Stumbling onto the scene is Lear, still mad and wearing weeds. He

rambles on about being king and then bitterly speaks of Goneril and Regan

agreeing to all he said and then stabbing him in the back. Gloucester

recognizes the voice and Lear confirms he is the King. He lectures about

Gloucester's adultery being no cause to fear because his bastard son

treated him better than Lear's own daughters. He then rages on the evil

nature of women in his daughter's shapes, similar to Centaurs but fiends

from the waist down instead of horses. Gloucester is saddened by this

diatribe and wonders if Lear knows him. He does, but refuses to be saddened

by Gloucester's blindness since one sees the world better through other

venues than the eyes. In his ranting, Lear touches on such issues as the

artifice of politicians and others in positions of authority who cover up

their evil-doing and self-centered ambition with wealth and fashion. Edgar

notices the sanity in his madness. Lear then identifies Gloucester and

rages bitterly against the state of the world which has made them as they

are.

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