King Lear, Act III

1. impetuous (page 57) : marked by impulsive vehemence or passion




2. Kent runs into one of Lear's knights and learns that he is wandering around somewhere with only his fool. He tells the knight about the fight between Albany and Cornwall and gives him a ring to deliver to Cordelia while he himself decides to search for Lear. Meanwhile Lear is still out in the storm with his fool behaving rather emotionally unstable and insane. Kent finds Lear and the fool and tells them to take shelter. Gloucester speaks to Edmund about Regan and Goneril and how they shut their father out in the storm and then they ordered Gloucester to never speak to Lear again, he feels uneasy about this situation and decides that he must take Lear's side and go search for him. Edmund decides that he must tell Cornwall of Gloucester's absence hoping that Gloucester will be put to death and then he will inherit his father's land. Lear is resisting going to shelter, but when he finally gives in the fool insists that there is a spirit in the place that they're staying which is really Edgar disguised as Poor Tom. Lear takes sympathy on Edgar when they discuss what a wonderful life Edgar had before he went insane and became a beggar. Lear then gives Edgar the clothes right off his back, and when Kent and Gloucester arrive to take him back to Gloucester's castle he insists that Edgar come with them. Meanwhile, Cornwall wishes to seek revenge on Gloucester after he read a letter that "proves his acts of treason" and sends Edmund to find Gloucester. Gloucester, Lear, Kent and Fool are staying in a shelter and Gloucester goes to get supplies and comes back to reveal to Kent that he has heard of a plan to kill Lear, so they send him to a place in England to hide. Gloucester is found, and it is decided that he must be punished for being a traitor, his consequence was getting both of his eyes gouged out by Cornwall. Gloucester calls for Edmund to help him but Regan reveals that it was Edmund who betrayed him and Gloucester realizes that it was Edgar who truly loved him.




3. I think Shakespeare's character of the Fool is very interesting, and much more complex than I expected. Prior to reading this act I thought the role of the fool was merely to provide comic relief in a depressing tragedy. While he does do this, he is also very wise, contrary to what his name might lead one to believe. Although the Fool does occasionally ramble on about things that do not make sense, there is always some truth to them. An example of this would be in lines 10-13 of this act where the Fool says, " O nuncle, court holy-water in a dry house is better than this rain-water out o'door. Good nuncle, in and ask thy daughters' blessing: here's a night pities neither wise man nor fool." Here the Fool is wisely advising Lear to ask for forgiveness from his daughters. A few moments later in lines 78-81 the Fool sings, " 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." At first the song seems to be nonsense, but it does actually contain truth to it.





4. a) Through the gouging out of Gloucester's eyes, is Shakespeare alluding to the idea that the majority of Gloucester's pain is physical while Lear's is emotional?


b) Does Shakespeare intend to use animal imagery when comparing Regan and Goneril to a wolves or "she foxes" or is this simply another example of Lear's insane rants about his daughters?

c) Is there significance behind all of the violence in this act?