The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 8 of 9]

Kent. Here is the place, my lord; good my lord, enter:[3668]
The tyranny of the open night's too rough[3668][3669]
For nature to endure. [Storm still.[3668][3670]

Lear. Let me alone.[3671]

Kent. Good my lord, enter here.[3671]

Lear. Wilt break my heart?[3672]

Kent. I had rather break mine own. Good my lord, enter.[3673] 5

Lear. Thou think'st 'tis much that this contentious storm [3674]
Invades us to the skin: so 'tis to thee;[3675]
But where the greater malady is fix'd
The lesser is scarce felt. Thou'ldst shun a bear,[3676]
But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea [3677] 10
Thou'ldst meet the bear i' the mouth. When the mind's free [3678]
The body's delicate: the tempest in my mind [3679]
Doth from my senses take all feeling else
Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude![3680]
Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand [3681] 15
For lifting food to't? But I will punish home.[3682]
No, I will weep no more. In such a night [3683]
To shut me out! Pour on; I will endure.[3683]
In such a night as this! O Regan, Goneril!
Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave you all,—[3684] 20
O, that way madness lies; let me shun that;
No more of that.

Kent. Good my lord, enter here.[3685]

Lear. Prithee, go in thyself; seek thine own ease:[3686]
This tempest will not give me leave to ponder
On things would hurt me more. But I'll go in. 25
[To the Fool] In, boy; go first. You houseless poverty,—[3687][3688][3689]
Nay, get thee in. I'll pray, and then I'll sleep.

[Fool goes in.[3688][3690]

Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are,
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm,[3691]
How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, 30
Your loop'd and window'd raggedness, defend you [3692]
From seasons such as these? O, I have ta'en
Too little care of this! Take physic, pomp;
Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel,
That thou mayst shake the superflux to them 35
And show the heavens more just.[3693]

Edg. [Within] Fathom and half, fathom and half![3694][3695]
Poor Tom! [The Fool runs out from the hovel.[3695][3696]

Fool. Come not in here, nuncle, here's a spirit. Help [3697]
me, help me![3697] 40

Kent. Give me thy hand. Who's there?[3698]

Fool. A spirit, a spirit: he says his name's poor Tom.[3699]

Kent. What art thou that dost grumble there i' the straw?[3700][3701]
Come forth.[3700]

Enter Edgar disguised as a madman.[3702]

Edg. Away! the foul fiend follows me! 'Through the [3703][3704][3705][3706] 45
sharp hawthorn blows the cold wind.' Hum! go to thy[3704][3706][3707]
cold bed and warm thee.[3704][3708]

Lear. Hast thou given all to thy two daughters? and [3709][3710]
art thou come to this?[3709]

Edg. Who gives any thing to poor Tom? whom the 50
foul fiend hath led through fire and through flame, through [3711]
ford and whirlpool, o'er bog and quagmire; that hath laid [3712]
knives under his pillow and halters in his pew; set ratsbane [3713]
by his porridge; made him proud of heart, to ride on [3714]
a bay trotting-horse over four-inched bridges, to course his [3715] 55
own shadow for a traitor. Bless thy five wits! Tom's [3716]
a-cold. O, do de, do de, do de. Bless thee from whirlwinds,[3716][3717]
star-blasting, and taking! Do poor Tom some [3718]
charity, whom the foul fiend vexes. There could I have him
now, and there, and there again, and there. [Storm still.[3719]60

Lear. What, have his daughters brought him to this pass?[3720]
Couldst thou save nothing? Didst thou give them all?[3721]

Fool. Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all
shamed.[3722]

Lear. Now, all the plagues that in the pendulous air 65
Hang fated o'er men's faults light on thy daughters![3723]

Kent. He hath no daughters, sir.

Lear. Death, traitor! nothing could have subdued nature
To such a lowness but his unkind daughters.
Is it the fashion that discarded fathers 70
Should have thus little mercy on their flesh?
Judicious punishment! 'twas this flesh begot [3724]
Those pelican daughters.[3724][3725]

Edg. Pillicock sat on Pillicock-hill:[3726][3727]
Halloo, halloo, loo, loo![3726][3728] 75

Fool. This cold night will turn us all to fools and
madmen.

Edg. Take heed o' the foul fiend: obey thy parents;[3729]
keep thy word justly; swear not; commit not with man's [3730]
sworn spouse; set not thy sweet heart on proud array.[3731] 80
Tom's a-cold.

Lear. What hast thou been?

Edg. A serving-man, proud in heart and mind; that
curled my hair; wore gloves in my cap; served the lust of [3732]
my mistress' heart and did the act of darkness with her;[3733] 85
swore as many oaths as I spake words and broke them in
the sweet face of heaven: one that slept in the contriving of [3734]
lust and waked to do it: wine loved I deeply, dice dearly,[3735]
and in woman out-paramoured the Turk: false of heart,
light of ear, bloody of hand; hog in sloth, fox in stealth,[3736] 90
wolf in greediness, dog in madness, lion in prey. Let not
the creaking of shoes nor the rustling of silks betray thy [3737]
poor heart to woman: keep thy foot out of brothels, thy [3738]
hand out of plackets, thy pen from lenders' books, and defy [3739]
the foul fiend. 95

'Still through the hawthorn blows the cold wind.'[3740]
Says suum, mun, ha, no, nonny.[3741]
Dolphin my boy, my boy, sessa! let him trot by.

[Storm still.[3742]

Lear. Why, thou wert better in thy grave than to answer [3743][3744]
with thy uncovered body this extremity of the skies.[3744] 100
Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou owest[3744][3745]
the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the[3744]
cat no perfume. Ha! here's three on's are sophisticated.[3744][3746]
Thou art the thing itself: unaccommodated man is no more[3744]
but such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art. Off, off,[3744] 105
you lendings! come, unbutton here.[3744]

[Tearing off his clothes.[3747]

Fool. Prithee, nuncle, be contented; 'tis a naughty night [3748]
to swim in. Now a little fire in a wild field were like an [3749]
old lecher's heart, a small spark, all the rest on's body cold.[3750]
Look, here comes a walking fire. 110

Enter Gloucester, with a torch.[3751]

Edg. This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet: he begins at [3752]
curfew and walks till the first cock; he gives the web and [3753][3754]
the pin, squints the eye and makes the hare-lip; mildews[3754][3755]
the white wheat and hurts the poor creature of earth.[3756]

Saint Withold footed thrice the 'old;[3757][3758] 115
He met the night-mare and her nine-fold;[3757][3759]
Bid her alight,[3757][3760]
And her troth plight,[3757][3761]
And aroint thee, witch, aroint thee![3757][3762]

Kent. How fares your grace? 120

Lear. What's he?[3763]

Kent. Who's there? What is't you seek?[3764]

Glou. What are you there? Your names?

Edg. Poor Tom, that eats the swimming frog, the toad,
the tadpole, the wall-newt and the water; that in the fury [3765] 125
of his heart, when the foul fiend rages, eats cow-dung for
sallets; swallows the old rat and the ditch-dog; drinks the [3766]
green mantle of the standing pool; who is whipped from
tithing to tithing, and stock-punished, and imprisoned;[3767]
who hath had three suits to his back, six shirts to his body,[3768] 130
horse to ride and weapon to wear;[3769]

But mice and rats and such small deer [3770]
Have been Tom's food for seven long year.[3771]

Beware my follower. Peace, Smulkin; peace, thou fiend![3772]

Glou. What, hath your grace no better company? 135

Edg. The prince of darkness is a gentleman: Modo [3773][3774]
he's call'd, and Mahu.[3773][3775]

Glou. Our flesh and blood is grown so vile, my lord,[3776][3777]
That it doth hate what gets it.[3776][3778]

Edg. Poor Tom's a-cold.[3779][3780] 140

Glou. Go in with me: my duty cannot suffer [3781]
To obey in all your daughters' hard commands:[3781]
Though their injunction be to bar my doors[3781][3782]
And let this tyrannous night take hold upon you,[3781]
Yet have I ventured to come seek you out[3781][3783] 145
And bring you where both fire and food is ready.[3781][3784]

Lear. First let me talk with this philosopher.
What is the cause of thunder?

Kent. Good my lord, take his offer; go into the house.[3785]

Lear. I'll talk a word with this same learned Theban.[3786][3787] 150
What is your study?[3786]

Edg. How to prevent the fiend and to kill vermin.

Lear. Let me ask you one word in private.[3788]

Kent. Importune him once more to go, my lord;[3789][3790]
His wits begin to unsettle.[3789]

Glou. Canst thou blame him? [Storm still.[3791]155
His daughters seek his death: ah, that good Kent![3792]
He said it would be thus, poor banish'd man!
Thou say'st the king grows mad; I'll tell thee, friend,[3793]
I am almost mad myself: I had a son,[3794]
Now outlaw'd from my blood; he sought my life,[3795] 160
But lately, very late: I loved him, friend,
No father his son dearer: truth to tell thee,[3796]
The grief hath crazed my wits. What a night's this![3797]
I do beseech your grace,—[3798]

Lear. O, cry you mercy, sir.[3799]
Noble philosopher, your company.[3799] 165

Edg. Tom's a-cold.[3780]

Glou. In, fellow, there, into the hovel: keep thee warm.[3800]

Lear. Come, let's in all.

Kent. This way, my lord.

Lear. With him;[3801]
I will keep still with my philosopher.[3801]

Kent. Good my lord, soothe him; let him take the fellow.[3802] 170

Glou. Take him you on.

Kent. Sirrah, come on; go along with us.[3803]

Lear. Come, good Athenian.[3804]

Glou. No words, no words: hush.[3804]

Edg. Child Rowland to the dark tower came:[3805] 175
His word was still 'Fie, foh, and fum,
I smell the blood of a British man.' [Exeunt.[3806]

Scene V. Gloucester's castle.

Enter Cornwall and Edmund.[3807]

Corn. I will have my revenge ere I depart his house.[3808]

Edm. How, my lord, I may be censured, that nature
thus gives way to loyalty, something fears me to think of.

Corn. I now perceive, it was not altogether your brother's
evil disposition made him seek his death, but a provoking [3809] 5
merit, set a-work by a reproveable badness in himself.[3809][3810]

Edm. How malicious is my fortune, that I must repent
to be just! This is the letter he spoke of, which approves [3811]
him an intelligent party to the advantages of France. O [3812]
heavens! that this treason were not, or not I the detector![3813] 10

Corn. Go with me to the duchess.

Edm. If the matter of this paper be certain, you have
mighty business in hand.

Corn. True or false, it hath made thee earl of Gloucester.
Seek out where thy father is, that he may be ready for our 15
apprehension.

Edm. [Aside] If I find him comforting the king, it will [3814]
stuff his suspicion more fully.—I will persever in my course [3815]
of loyalty, though the conflict be sore between that and my
blood. 20

Corn. I will lay trust upon thee, and thou shalt find a
dearer father in my love. [Exeunt.[3816]

Scene VI. A chamber in a farmhouse adjoining the castle.

Enter Gloucester, Lear, Kent, Fool, and Edgar.[3817]

The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 8 of 9]

About This Book

Scene V. Gloucester's castle.

Scene VI. A chamber in a farmhouse adjoining the castle.