Albany tells Edmund that they're not equals in this war—Edgar is his subordinate, but Regan disagrees. This exchange sets off a tiff between the sisters over the evil yet oh-so scrumptious Edmund. Regan, who mentions that she isn't feeling so great, basically claims Edmund as her future husband, and she and Goneril scuffle about it—in veiled terms, since Goneril's husband is standing right there.
When Goneril gets upset by the idea that Regan plans to "enjoy" sleep with Edmund, Albany tells her that it's not her place to object. She's not in charge, and— ahem —she's married, so she shouldn't be getting competitive over this shmuck. Edmund tells Albany to butt out, and Albany reminds him that he's only some illegitimate son of a lord. Regan tells Edmund to fight Albany on her behalf, but before Edmund can respond, Albany plays his trump card: he arrests both Edmund and Goneril for treason.
He reveals he knows they've been plotting against his life so they can get married. Albany orders that the trumpet sound three times—if nobody comes to challenge Edmund, then Albany will just have to challenge Edmund to a duel himself.
Meanwhile, Regan's still belly-aching about how she's not feeling so hot. Goneril snickers and reveals to the audience that she's poisoned her sister. Edgar rushes in dramatically at the third trumpet call, and, still in disguise, challenges Edmund to a duel. In the midst of all this drama, Regan has to be escorted back to her tent. Goneril watches happily as her sister—her evil plan to poison her sister and secure marriage to Edmund seems to be working.
In the duel, Edgar stabs Edmund in the guts. Albany tells Edgar not to kill Edmund—if he dies, Albany won't be able to throw him in prison. Goneril is freaking out because Edmund is hurt, and when Albany tries to confront her about her plot to murder him, she runs offstage. Edmund, mortally wounded, admits that he's guilty of the charges.
He wants to know the identity of the man who killed him. Edgar finally reveals himself "Edmund, I am your brother" and tells his story. He explains that roughly half an hour ago, when he finally told Gloucester he was his son, Gloucester had a heart attack from a mixture of shock and joy.
Gosh, the body count just keeps rising. Then a man runs onstage screaming and holding a bloody knife. Someone has died. Edgar disguises himself as a madman-beggar to escape his death sentence. Although Kent remains onstage, a new scene begins because….
Kent, searching for Lear, meets a Gentleman and learns that Lear and the Fool are alone in the storm. Lear rages against the elements while the Fool begs him to return to his daughters for shelter; when Kent finds…. Lear, Kent, and the Fool reach the hovel, where they find Edgar disguised as Poor Tom, a madman-beggar.
When Gloucester…. Lear, in his madness, imagines that Goneril and Regan are on trial before a tribunal made up of Edgar, the….
Cornwall dispatches men to capture Gloucester, whom he calls a traitor. Sending Edmund and Goneril to tell Albany about the…. Edgar, still in disguise as Poor Tom, meets the blinded Gloucester and agrees to lead him to Dover. After Goneril has sent Edmund back to Cornwall, Albany enters and….
Regan questions Oswald about Goneril and Edmund, states her intention to marry Edmund, and asks Oswald to dissuade Goneril from…. To cure Gloucester of despair, Edgar pretends to aid him in a suicide attempt, a fall from Dover Cliff to…. Edgar, still in disguise, approaches Albany…. Albany confronts Edmund and Goneril with their intended….
You can get your own copy of this text to keep. Download it to get the same great text as on this site, or purchase a full copy to get the text, plus explanatory notes, illustrations, and more. But Edmund has other plans, as he makes clear after Lear and Cordelia are led to prison. Edmund orders his officer to stage Cordelia's death as a suicide.
Without hesitation, the officer accepts Edmund's orders, seemingly unconcerned about killing the king and his daughter. Gaining Edmund's favor will assure the officer continued employment when the war is over. Albany has undergone significant change from his initial, docile appearance early in the play. The audience has witnessed his personal growth, and in this scene, the culmination of change is clear when he assumes control following the battle's conclusion.
Although he is initially complimentary of Edmund's success in battle, Albany is quickly angered at Edmund's assumption of authority when the illegitimate son has the king and Cordelia arrested and imprisoned.
Albany immediately reminds Edmund that he is a bastard, calling him a "Half-blooded fellow" V. Regan's defense of Edmund moves Albany to order Edmund's arrest and to issue a challenge for someone to come forth and fight Edmund.
The duel that ensues is quite different from the duel that ends Hamlet , which is staged as sport. Christian tradition recalls several biblical battles between good and evil, as divine justice is an important component of trial by combat. The duel between Edgar and Edmund is really a conflict that replays this ongoing battle between good and evil, with Edgar's defeat of Edmund obviously signaling the triumph of righteousness over corruption.
In the end, Edmund is defeated by being noble, by not being as ruthless as he should be — or was. The system of honor disarms him, and he agrees to a duel, although he recognizes that he does not need to agree to a fight with an unidentified stranger V. But unlike Shakespeare's other great villain, Iago, Edmund does repent and tries to rescind his order to execute Cordelia and Lear.
In this small measure, he proves himself worthy of Gloucester's blood. As Albany has earlier prophesized, Goneril and Regan's evil has finally destroyed them. The audience learns early in this scene that Goneril has poisoned Regan V. Although Gloucester had earlier attempted suicide, ironically only Goneril, who initially appeared so strong, succeeds at ending her own life. Albany's order to rescue Cordelia and Lear is given too late.
When Lear enters with Cordelia's body, any immediate ideas about divine justice are destroyed. The deaths of Cornwall, Edmund, Regan, and Goneril have lulled the audience into a belief that the gods would restore order to this chaotic world. But Cordelia's death creates new questions about the role of divine justice. Eighteenth-century audiences were disturbed enough by this ending that productions of King Lear included a new conclusion, one in which Cordelia lives. But Shakespeare never intended for his audience to escape the painful questions that Cordelia's death creates.
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