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Notes on Act II, scene iv
they: Cornwall and Regan
purpose: intention
shame: being in the stocks
cruel: a pun on "crewel," a type of yarn used in making garters
over-lusty: either tried to run away, or lusts after women's legs
nether-stocks: stockings for the lower legs (in this case, the stocks around his ankles)
durst: wouldn't dare
respect: they wouldn't do such an outrage, out of respect for the king; one should treat the king's messenger as you would the king himself
resolve: inform me what you have done to deserve this punishment, coming as my servant
commend: deliver
reeking post: sweating messenger
intermission: in spite of his interrupting my business, or with breaks in his speech because he was out of breath
meiny: attendants
displayed so saucily: behaved so insultingly to the king (back at Goneril's)
drew: drew his sword
blind: indifferent to his poverty
bags: money-bags
Fortune: is unfaithful, promiscuous, unreliable, never opens its door to the poor
dolours: sorrows, also a pun on "dollars"
mother: hysteria, a female disease which caused choking, shortness of breath, thought to rise up from the womb; "hysterica passio" is the Latin medical term
element: proper place
number: what's happened to his 100 knights? The fool will argue that they left when the king's fortunes began to fail.
An: If
ant: the ant in the fable works in the summer while there is opportunity to store up food, unlike the lazy grasshopper who waits until winter and has none. Lear has waited until "winter" (see the Fool's earlier line about the geese flying south) and is now unprepared for hard times.
stinking: everyone ought to be able to smell the decay of Lear's fortunes
great wheel: Fortune's wheel; when a great man's fortune begins to fail him, quit following him unless you want to share his fate.
form: show, serves only to gain favor, not out of true loyalty; similar to the phrase "fair weather friends" who only stick around when things are going well
pack: leave
wise: meant ironically, for those that flee, being disloyal, are actually the fools.
perdy: by God (French par Dieu)
fetches: excuses; when the king commands, there are no excuses
flying off: desertion
tends: awaits
office: duties
health: in health we are bound to such duties that illness prevents us from performing
forbear: be patient
headier: I quarrel with my more headstrong impulse
remotion: absence, remaining remote
practice: pretense
forth: out of the stocks
paste: pastry; the foolish woman tries to bake live eels
buttered his hay: the foolish man thought he was being kind, but horses won't eat greasy hay
sepulchring an adultress: if you were not glad to see me, I would have to think that your mother, now in her tomb (sepulcher), was unfaithful to me and you were not my daughter.
naught: wicked
here: at his heart; the vulture may allude to the myth of Prometheus, chained to a rock, whose liver was eaten by a vulture each day, as punishment for introducing fire to mankind
desert: worth; I hope that you are mistaken in your evaluation of her; that is more likely than that she has ignored her duty.
confine: you are at the limits of your natural life
discerns: understands your condition
becomes the house: suits my royal position (said with irony; Lear asking forgiveness would not suit his role as king); some editors suggest Lear kneels in mockery here as if speaking to Goneril -- or without the quotation marks, to Regan
unnecessary: old people are of no use
vouchsafe: grant
raiment: clothing
abated: deprived
train: followers
top: head
taking airs: infectious vapors
fen-sucked: drawn up from the swamps
tender-hefted: framed in a tender nature
bandy: tennis term, hit back
scant: reduce
bolt: lock on the door
offices: duties
to the purpose: come to the point
approves: confirms
stocked: Q gives this line to Goneril "Who struck my servant..." that is, Oswald; in Q she's angry about the fight with Kent
allow: approves of
indiscretion finds: poor judgement decides is an offence
dotage: senility
sides: Lear feels his heart is about to burst out of his body
sojourn: live with
abjure: renounce, give up
wage: fight
pinch: this is the hard decision I am forced to make
knee: kneel before
squire-like: as a servant
sumpter: pack horse
groom: Oswald
embossed carbuncle: swollen boil risen to a head
chide: scold
Jove: Jupiter (Greek Zeus), king of the gods known for throwing down thunderbolts.
Mend: improve your manners
mingle reason with your passion: those whose reason can recognize your passionate outbursts as the results of old age
avouch: swear by
charge: expense
amity: peaceful relations
depositaries: trustees of his kingdom
well-favoured: bad things look better when compared to worse
reason not the need: don't talk to me of what I need, I demand more than the bare necessities of life
superfluous: even beggars have some extra things they don't need merely to sustain life
gorgeous: if all you needed were warmth, you wouldn't wear these beautiful gowns, which hardly keep you warm anyway.
flaws: cracks
Or ere: before
bestowed: lodged
his particular: himself alone
purposed: determined
ruffle: rage
procure: bring on themselves
train: his knights, although in the next scene it seems all have left him except the Fool and Kent
incense: incite
abused: since he tends to listen to bad advice
