THE STORM.
First, your daily dose of slings and arrows:
who labours to out-jest/ His heart-struck injuries.
Kent also makes a secret plan with this servant, Kent is basically becoming for me a more powerful and higher status Camillo. AKA I'm falling in love with this character:
For confirmation that I am much more Than my out-wall, open this purse, and take What it contains. If you shall see Cordelia,-- As fear not but you shall,--show her this ring; And she will tell you who your fellow is That yet you do not know.
EVERYTHING is building up to seeing cordelia again. cordelia cordelia cordelia.
3.2
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!
As we heard in the slings and arrows clip, the words really do create the storm just with their sounds. Lear continues to talk to nature about his daughters
I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness; I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children, You owe me no subscription: then let fall Your horrible pleasure: here I stand, your slave, A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man:
We get another Cordelia echoe with the "nothing" theme again:
I will be the pattern of all patience; I will say nothing.
and then Kent comes on being badass as always:
Alas, sir, are you here? things that love night Love not such nights as these;
And Lear continues to fight off madness, finding an anchor in noticing the suffering of his fool and caring for him. Salvation through service, not to be earned, but because service to others can't help but change us. C.S. Lewis once said, when talking about joy, that "our best havings are wantings" but I think that maybe our best havings our givings... Lear's been giving away kingdoms, but all along what he needed to give was himself, right? It's something his youngest daughter has already found and will show us soon...
My wits begin to turn.
Come on, my boy: how dost, my boy? art cold?
I am cold myself. Where is this straw, my fellow?
The art of our necessities is strange,
That can make vile things precious. Come, your hovel.
Poor fool and knave, I have one part in my heart
That's sorry yet for thee.
The fool sings a song that is almost straight out of 12th night (or is the 12th night song straight out of this? or is this a super popular chorus? either way, I read this play first and it made the ending of 12th night seem a lot darker than most people play it...)
[Singing]
He that has and a little tiny wit--
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,--
Must make content with his fortunes fit,
For the rain it raineth every day.
Speaking of the fool... anyone know whats up with the fool's soliloquy at the end of this scene? Most of the time I can follow fool function/joke set ups but this one is a mystery to me... of course not as much a mystery as the poor tom speeches but we'll get there...
3.3
A short scene between Gloucester and Edmond, laying groundwork for Edmond's next trick. Gloucester talks about the conflict between Albany and Cornwall and we can assume the letter has to do with what Kent talked about regarding France coming to the rescue. of course, Edmond is going to show the letter to everyone instead of keeping his father's secrets. what a bastard...
3.4
Everyone is still trying to get Lear out of the storm:
KENT
Good my lord, enter here.
KING LEAR
Wilt break my heart? KENT
I had rather break mine own. Good my lord, enter.
There's something painfully sweet about that exchange. Lear tells us again that the storm is nothing to his inner turmoil:
the tempest in my mind
Doth from my senses take all feeling else
and again he continues to fight for his sanity (there's a sense that he must know himself very well since he is so keen on walking the madness line...)
O, that way madness lies; let me shun that;
No more of that.
And then there's the found compassion and humanity the slings and arrow clip talked about. This is one of my favorite sections in the show:
Poor naked wretches, whereso'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you From seasons such as these? O, I have ta'en Too little care of this!
And in the shelter they find Edgar pretending to be Poor Tom. And.... well... I can't make heads or tale of it. Especially since we are told that this is an act of madness and not actual madness... and HOW do you play the two of those differently onstage? or DO YOU? Edgar is a serious mystery to me. Insights? anyone?
Bless thy five wits! Tom's a-cold,--O, do de, do de, do de. Bless thee from whirlwinds, star-blasting, and taking!
Another favorite line of mine, perhaps because I hate the cold. Add this to our etsy shop list:
This cold night will turn us all to fools and madmen.
Eventually Lear has his moment that just echoes Hamlet to me:
Is man no more than this?
and then there's even more Poor Tom stuff that baffles me.
3.5
This entire scene is basically Edmund turning on his father:
EDMUND
If the matter of this paper be certain, you have mighty business in hand.
CORNWALL
True or false, it hath made thee earl of Gloucester. Seek out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our apprehension.
Then Cornwall decides to trust Gloucester in ways he really shouldn't:
CORNWALL
I will lay trust upon thee; and thou shalt find a dearer father in my love.
ha. yeah... you can play his father and Edmund will play some Oedipal times...
3.6
Again, maybe it's all the game of thrones reading i've been doing, but this line of the Fool's particularly gets me:
He's mad that trusts in the tameness of a wolf, a horse's health, a boy's love, or a whore's oath.
After this we get more CRAZY CRAZY LEAR TIMES. The madness really seems to have won at this point as he is seeing Goneril and Regan and evil in practically everything... The best part of this scene is Edmund's soliloquy at the end:
Who alone suffers suffers most i' the mind, Leaving free things and happy shows behind: But then the mind much sufferance doth o'er skip, When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship.
I really can't tell you how much I relate with this sentiment. It's amazing how much perspective and realizing you are not alone changes your struggles.
3.7
The last scene in this act, Cornwall sends Edmund with the ladies (just what edmund wants) while they go do horrible things to Gloucester:
Edmund, keep you our sister company: the revenges we are bound to take upon your traitorous father are not fit for your beholding.
We get the question of the rules of hospitality from the opposite end we got it in Macbeth- how a guest should treat their host:
Naughty lady, These hairs, which thou dost ravish from my chin, Will quicken, and accuse thee: I am your host: With robbers' hands my hospitable favours You should not ruffle thus.
And then we get a "one scene wonder" character. seriously. The servant that confronts Regan and Cornwall is an amazing part that i would love to play any day. an awesome fight AND standing up for justice.
First Servant
Hold your hand, my lord:
I have served you ever since I was a child;
But better service have I never done you
Than now to bid you hold.
REGAN
How now, you dog! First Servant
If you did wear a beard upon your chin, I'd shake it on this quarrel.
I always wonder if the beard line is to Regan or Cornwall...
Other servants in this scene have some choice things to say about Regan as well:
If she live long,
And in the end meet the old course of death,
Women will all turn monsters.
The main event of this scene is not one I can use lines to illustrate well because it's action- they put out Gloucester's eyes and its an insane staging challenge/suspension of disbelief with serious payoff. Few things creep me out more than thinking about popping someones eyes. ugh.... ok, now that i'm sufficiently creeped out... i'm done for the night.
the next act has what i think is the most beautiful scene in all of literature. If I can't get to it tomorrow with my schedule just know that it's because i want to really enjoy it. Go on, read ahead, I give you permission. You'll know the scene I mean when you get to it...
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