King Lear (39 page)

Act 1 Scene 3

^1.3
Location: Goneril and the Duke of Albany’s residence

¹
gentleman
man of gentle (i.e. noble) birth attached to a royal household

¹
chiding
rebuking

⁵
flashes
breaks out

¹⁰
come slack
fall short

¹¹
answer
be answerable for

¹⁴
fellows
fellow servants

¹⁴
question
conflict, a dispute

¹⁵
distaste
dislike

²¹
straight
straight away

²¹
to
i.e. and tell her to

Act 1 Scene 4

¹
as will I
perhaps “as I intend” (but most editors opt for the Quarto “well”- i.e. “as well as being disguised”)

²
defuse
confuse, disorder

³
full issue
complete outcome

⁴
razed my likeness
erased my true appearance

⁸
stay
wait

¹¹
What … profess?
What is your occupation? (Kent shifts the sense of profess to “claim, declare”)

¹¹
wouldst thou
do you want

¹²
us
Lear continues to use the royal plural pronoun

¹⁶
judgement
i.e. God’s judgment/the judgment of fellow men

¹⁶
cannot choose
have no other option

¹⁶
to eat … fish
i.e. only to eat a hearty diet of meat/not to eat fish on Fridays like a Roman Catholic/not to have sex with prostitutes

³¹
keep honest counsel
keep secrets like an honorable man/keep secrets that are honorable

³¹
mar … tale
spoil an elaborate story

³⁷
anything
“thing” plays on the sense of “vagina”

⁴¹
knave
rogue/servant

⁴⁴
So
if it

⁴⁵
clotpoll
idiot

⁴⁹
slave
servant/villain

⁵¹
roundest
bluntest

⁵⁵
entertained
received, treated hospitably

⁵⁶
wont
accustomed (to receive)

⁵⁷
general dependants
servants as a whole

⁶³
rememb’rest
remind

⁶³
conception
notion, thought

⁶⁴
faint
slight/lazy, half-hearted

⁶⁵
jealous curiosity
mistrustful fastidiousness

⁶⁵
very pretence
real intention

⁷⁷
cur
dog

⁷⁹
bandy
exchange looks as an equal (literally, “bat to and fro” as in tennis)

⁸⁰
strucken
struck, beaten

⁸¹
football
played by the lower classes (unlike tennis)

⁸⁴
differences
class distinctions

⁸⁵
measure … length
be knocked flat to the floor

⁸⁵
lubber
clumsy lout

⁸⁶
tarry
stay

⁸⁶
go to
an expression of impatient dismissal

⁸⁸
earnest
part-payment in advance

⁹⁰
coxcomb
fool’s headgear with a crest like a cock’s comb

⁹¹
pretty
fine-looking/clever

⁹⁵
an … sits
i.e. if you cannot please those in power

⁹⁷
on’s
of his

⁹⁸
needs
necessarily

⁹⁹
nuncle
contraction of “mine uncle”

⁹⁹
Would
I wish

¹⁰²
living
property, possessions

¹⁰⁶
Brach
bitch

¹⁰⁷
pestilent gall
troublesome irritation

¹¹⁰
Mark
pay attention to

¹¹³
owest
own

¹¹⁴
goest
walk

¹¹⁵
trowest
believe

¹¹⁶
Set … throwest
don’t stake everything on the throw of the dice

¹¹⁹
have … score
i.e. make a profit

¹²⁰
score
twenty

¹²²
unfee’d
unpaid

¹²³
use
employment/profit

¹³⁴
crowns
coins (the sense then shifts to “eggshells,” “royal headgear,” and “head”)

¹³⁶
meat
edible contents

¹³⁶
clovest
split

¹⁴⁰
like myself
i.e. foolishly

¹⁴¹
grace
favor, patronage

¹⁴²
foppish
foolish

¹⁴⁴
apish
silly

¹⁴⁶
used it
made it my custom

¹⁴⁷
rod
punishment cane

¹⁵¹
bo-peep
a child’s game (in which an adult alternately conceals and reveals his or her face)

¹⁵²
the fool among
among fools

¹⁵⁴
fain
gladly

¹⁵⁵
An
if

¹⁵⁶
marvel
wonder

¹⁶⁰
pared
trimmed

¹⁶³
frontlet
ornamental headband/band worn round forehead at night to smooth wrinkles

¹⁶⁶
figure
accompanying digit (to make it a number higher than zero)

¹⁶⁸
forsooth
in truth

¹⁷¹
nor … crumb
i.e. no part of the loaf

¹⁷²
want some
need something/experience need

¹⁷³
peascod
peapod

¹⁷⁴
all-licensed
licensed to speak entirely freely

¹⁷⁶
carp
complain

¹⁷⁷
rank
excessive, uncontrolled

¹⁷⁹
safe
certain

¹⁸⁰
too late
all too recently

¹⁸¹
course
behavior

¹⁸¹
put it on
encourage it

¹⁸³
scape
escape

¹⁸³
redresses sleep
punishments be neglected

¹⁸⁴
in … proceeding
might offend and shame you but which, in the interests of maintaining a healthy state, must be deemed a prudent course of action

¹⁸⁹
cuckoo
young cuckoo, hatched from an egg its mother had laid in another bird’s nest

¹⁹⁰
it’s had it
it had its

¹⁹⁰
it young
the young cuckoo

¹⁹¹
darkling
in darkness

¹⁹⁴
fraught
equipped (literally “freighted”)

¹⁹⁵
dispositions
moods

¹⁹⁸
Jug
a form of “Joan,” often used as a generic name for a prostitute

²⁰¹
notion
understanding

²⁰¹
discernings Are lethargied
power of discernment is asleep

²⁰²
Waking?
Am I awake?

²⁰⁴
shadow
reflection/ghost/shadow cast by the sun/imitator, actor

²⁰⁶
admiration
air of wonder

²⁰⁶
o’th’savour
of the flavor

²⁰⁹
should
i.e. you should

²¹¹
bold
presumptuous, audacious

²¹³
epicurism
gluttony/pleasure-seeking

²¹⁵
graced
honorable

²¹⁵
speak
call

²¹⁶
desired
requested, entreated

²¹⁸
disquantity your train
reduce your retinue

²¹⁹
depend
be your dependants, serve you

²²⁰
besort
befit, suit

²²¹
know … you
i.e. know their place, and yours

²²⁴
Degenerate
having lost the qualities proper to a family member

²²⁸
that
to he who

²³⁴
kite
bird of prey, scavenger

²³⁵
rarest parts
splendid qualities

²³⁷
in … name
uphold the honor of their names with the most careful consideration (or “… in every respect”)

²⁴⁰
engine
piece of machinery

²⁴²
gall
bitterness

²⁴⁶
moved
provoked, angered

²⁵²
increase
procreation

²⁵³
derogate
degenerate, debased

²⁵⁴
teem
be fertile, have children

²⁵⁵
spleen
malice

²⁵⁶
thwart
perverse, obstinate

²⁵⁶
disnatured
unnatural

²⁵⁸
cadent
falling

²⁵⁸
fret
erode, wear

²⁵⁹
pains
efforts (also suggests labor pains)

²⁵⁹
benefits
kindnesses

²⁶⁶
dotage
foolish old age

²⁶⁷
at a clap
with one blow

²⁷²
perforce
by force, uncontrollably

²⁷³
Blasts
violent gusts of winds

²⁷⁴
Th’untented
the festering (literally, not probed and cleaned surgically)

²⁷⁵
fond
foolish/doting

²⁷⁷
waters … loose
i.e. tears

²⁷⁸
temper
moisten

²⁷⁸
clay
i.e. earth, the ground

²⁸⁰
kind
benevolent/possessed of natural familial love

²⁸⁰
comfortable
comforting

²⁸²
visage
face

²⁸⁶
partial
biased

²⁸⁸
content
content yourself, i.e. be quiet

²⁹⁵
halter
hangman’s noose

²⁹⁸
politic
prudent, shrewd

²⁹⁹
At point
armed and ready

²⁹⁹
that
so that

³⁰⁰
buzz
rumor

³⁰⁰
fancy
whim

³⁰¹
enguard
protect, defend

³⁰²
in
at (his)

³⁰⁵
still
always

³⁰⁶
taken
defeated, captured

³¹⁵
compact
confirm, consolidate

³¹⁸
under pardon
if you’ll pardon my saying so

³¹⁹
at task
taken to task, blamed

³²⁴
th’event
the outcome (will tell)