King Lear

¹⁰¹bias of nature natural inclination (a bowling image: the bias refers to the curving path taken by a weighted ball)

¹⁰⁴it … nothing i.e. it will advantage you

¹⁰⁸excellent foppery supreme foolishness

¹⁰⁹surfeits excesses

¹¹⁰disasters misfortunes

¹¹¹on i.e. by

¹¹²treachers traitors

¹¹³spherical predominance the dominant influence of a particular planet at one’s birth

¹¹⁵divine celestial, supernatural

¹¹⁵evasion shuffling excuse

¹¹⁶whoremaster i.e. lecherous, whore-using

¹¹⁶goatish lustful

¹¹⁷charge responsibility

¹¹⁷compounded had sex

¹¹⁸the dragon’s tail the constellation Draco

¹¹⁸Ursa Major (constellation of) the Great Bear (or Plough)

¹¹⁹rough cruel, violent

¹²⁰maidenliest most virginal

¹²¹firmament sky, heavens

¹²¹bastardizing conception out of wedlock

¹²²Pat on cue

¹²²catastrophe conclusion

¹²²comedy play

¹²²my cue could also mean “designated role”

¹²³Tom o’Bedlam i.e. a madman (from the Saint Mary of Bethlehem hospital in London, an institution for the insane)

¹²⁴divisions conflicts, discords (plays on the sense of “musical variations”)

¹²⁴Fa … mi Edmund hums a musical scale to himself

¹²⁷this the

¹³⁰succeed follow

¹³¹unhappily unluckily, by misfortune

¹³⁶countenance bearing, demeanor/facial expression

¹³⁹forbear avoid

¹⁴⁰qualified cooled, lessened

¹⁴¹mischief … person harm caused by your presence

¹⁴²allay abate, calm

¹⁴⁴have … forbearance i.e. restrain yourself and stay away from him

¹⁴⁶fitly at an appropriate time

¹⁴⁸abroad out of the house

¹⁵¹meaning intention

¹⁵³image and horror horrific true picture

¹⁵⁴anon soon

¹⁵⁵serve help/trick, deceive

¹⁵⁹practices plots

¹⁶⁰wit intelligence, ingenuity

¹⁶¹meet fitting

¹⁶¹fashion fit shape to my purposes

Act 1 Scene 3

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

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

¹chiding rebuking

⁵flashes breaks out

¹⁰come slack fall short

¹¹answer be answerable for

¹⁴fellows fellow servants

¹⁴question conflict, a dispute

¹⁵distaste dislike

²¹straight straight away

²¹to i.e. and tell her to

Act 1 Scene 4

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

²defuse confuse, disorder

³full issue complete outcome

⁴razed my likeness erased my true appearance

⁸stay wait

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

¹¹wouldst thou do you want

¹²us Lear continues to use the royal plural pronoun

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

¹⁶cannot choose have no other option

¹⁶to 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

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

³¹mar … tale spoil an elaborate story

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

⁴¹knave rogue/servant

⁴⁴So if it

⁴⁵clotpoll idiot

⁴⁹slave servant/villain

⁵¹roundest bluntest

⁵⁵entertained received, treated hospitably

⁵⁶wont accustomed (to receive)

⁵⁷general dependants servants as a whole

⁶³rememb’rest remind

⁶³conception notion, thought

⁶⁴faint slight/lazy, half-hearted

⁶⁵jealous curiosity mistrustful fastidiousness

⁶⁵very pretence real intention

⁷⁷cur dog

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

⁸⁰strucken struck, beaten

⁸¹football played by the lower classes (unlike tennis)

⁸⁴differences class distinctions

⁸⁵measure … length be knocked flat to the floor

⁸⁵lubber clumsy lout

⁸⁶tarry stay

⁸⁶go to an expression of impatient dismissal

⁸⁸earnest part-payment in advance

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

⁹¹pretty fine-looking/clever

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

⁹⁷on’s of his

⁹⁸needs necessarily

⁹⁹nuncle contraction of “mine uncle”

⁹⁹Would I wish

¹⁰²living property, possessions

¹⁰⁶Brach bitch

¹⁰⁷pestilent gall troublesome irritation

¹¹⁰Mark pay attention to

¹¹³owest own

¹¹⁴goest walk