Act 3 Sc 4 Flashcards
“The lesser is scarce. Thou’dt shun a bear. But if thy flight lay towards the roaring sea, thou’dst meet the bear in the mouth. When the mind’s free” Lear Line 10 (3,4) “the body’s delicate: this tempest in my mind doth from my senses take all my feelings save what beats there, filial ingratitude”
extended metaphor of mind vs body, physical vs mental suffering. He’s numb to physical suffering (the bear) but the roaring sea of mental suffering is more terrifying and inescapable. Kents mind is free and Lear tells him that you can feel the physical suffering more when you’re not suffering mentally. (key words in this quote = ‘bear’ being physical and ‘roaring sea’= mind)
“It is not as this mouth should tear this hand” Lear (3,4)
hand=lear, mouth= goneril and regan. Beast like image, unnatural to think of a mouth biting a hand that feeds it, shows how incomprehensible hr finds their ingratitude which is sending him mad, shows how difficult and unnatural he finds their behaviour towards him
“In boy go first. You houseless poverty-..” Lear (3,4)
lears recognition of others, not only the fool but of all other people across the kingdom who are homeless and have to always withstand storms
“O, I have ta’en too little care of this” Lear (3,4)
Social anagnorisis - a recognition of how he has not been a good king. The tragedy of this is that he has this recognition when he no longer has the power to do anything about it , he now sees that he did not pay enough attention to those in his kingdom who needed attention such as the ‘houseless’ who he didn’t help and now cannot help because he no longer has power.
‘Pomp expose thyself to feel what wretches feel that thou mayst shake the superflux to them..’ Lear (3,4)
rich people need to experience this strife as poor people do before they can help. Socialist speech, this superfluity needs to be shared out.
“ man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked, animal as thou art” Lear (3,4)
This is what man is, the only thing that separates us from the poor naked man is the clothes, so he takes his clothes off. Vision of nihilism. Clothing is also a part of identity so he’s stripping away a part of him too - “is man no more than this”
Lear stripping his clothes = loss of identity
‘I am almost mad myself “ Gloucester (3,4)
clear parallels between lear and gloucester
‘I had a son’ ‘ I loved him’ Gloucester (3,4)
irony as Edgar is standing right there - he does have a son. How much did he really love him?- he so quickly labelled him as a villain.
Also an intensity on stage as G and Edgar have not been on stage together since G labelled him as a villain
