King Lear Monologue

 The following is an analysis of the piece partially according to a structure given by Patsy Rodenburg in her book, Speaking Shakespeare.

The Context: The monologue joins the progression at a point where he has divided his kingdom between two of his daughters, rejecting the third due to a misunderstanding and her inability to express her love for him. 

His daughters treat him poorly now that he has given them the kingdom and push him out of their way.   Furthermore, he has taken to living among the people and even in the “wild.”

 At the point of where the monologue takes place, he has been found by Cordelia, his third and rejected daughter, and by others with whom he is only vaguely familiar. He is dirty, disheveled, unkempt, and probably odoriferous.  He is not in his right mind, at least right as he was as king, but in a state of self-doubt.  Probably aware that he has lost his grip on reality.

This is the present at this moment, what happens next is in the future. 

The Givens: Lear is 80 plus years of age. The place of the action is an unpopulated area where Lear may have spent the night.

The things mentioned in the Context above color the circumstances of the monologue.  Cordelia, his daughter is there, as are one or two of his faithful friends or servants. He is not in his right mind.

The Imaginative: Lear is reeling: from the bad treatment he is receiving from his two “loving” daughters, the experience of life among his subjects over the past days, and the fall from status that he has undergone.   Unsure of himself, the once powerful man, is now trying to keep it together as he does/ and doesn’t recognize those close to him.  He is desperate because his situation seems to depend on his treatment by those around him.

The Speech: Given to primarily to Cordelia, and also a few others around him. He has just been rescued from the elements, i.e. he spent the night on the ground, and is stiff and sore as he helped up by Cordelia.

And so, he starts the speech by saying he has been rescued from the grave. Others there have made remarks now about the state he is in.  So he says, “Do not mock…” and he follows that by playing the age card.   He knows he is not quite right in the mind and admits to it.  He can’t quite remember those around him, where he is, what he’s wearing, even where he spent the night.  They chuckle as he admits this in an effort to ease the tension but he takes it as that they are laughing at him.  So he tells them not to laugh at him.  Now, he lets us know the depth of his dementia, he doesn’t recognize his, once favorite, daughter.