Act V - Scene II

A field between the two camps.

[Alarum within. Enter, with drum and colors, King Lear, Cordelia, and Soldiers, over the stage; and exeunt]

[Enter Edgar and Gloucester]

EDGAR:
Here, father, take the shadow of this tree
For your good host; pray that the right may thrive:
If ever I return to you again,
I'll bring you comfort.
GLOUCESTER:
Grace go with you, sir!(5)

[Exit Edgar. Alarum and retreat within. Re-enter Edgar.]

EDGAR:
Away, old man; give me thy hand; away!
King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta'en:
Give me thy hand; come on.
GLOUCESTER:
No farther, sir; a man may rot even here.
EDGAR:
What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure(10)
Their going hence, even as their coming hither;
Ripeness is all: come on.
GLOUCESTER:
And that's true too.

[Exeunt]

Act V - Scene III
Act V - Scene I

Footnotes

  1. Lear and Cordelia’s forces have lost the battle, and Gloucester asks to be left to die. Edgar is caring of his father to the end, telling him that people do not get to choose when they are born nor when they die. Since the relationship between Edgar and Gloucester is the focus of this scene, which emphasizes the importance of the relationship between father and son rather than the war. (Although, we must consider the difficulties Shakespeare would have had in staging and performing a war scene.)

    — Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor