Act I, Scene IV
A day or so after the love contest, Lear and his train have settled in at Goneril's and have gone out hunting. Kent's parting ambiguous words, that "freedom lives hence, and banishment is here", and his promise that he'll "shape his old course in a country new", have their solution for the audience in Kent's reappearance, when he is supposed to be leaving the country, having disguised his looks as a servant, and adopted an accent.
It's important to note that his purpose in going into disguise is to be found, by his master, full of labours. The language here alludes to Biblical passages concerning the Last Judgement and it is clear that Kent is going into disguise to serve with a view to being acknowledged and rewarded.
Lear "interviews" Kent and suggests that he might hire him. But, right now Lear is hungry and calls for dinner. He is also wanting to be entertained by his Fool who he has not seen for two days and sends one of his train to call his Fool. At his call for his Fool, who should enter, but the fop who has, unbeknown to him, left his service and gone into the service of Goneril. The "gentleman" behaves in a completely inappropriate manner and walks out. Lear is furious, and sends one of his knights after him. He returns quickly with the observation that Lear is not being treated as he should by his daughter. The knight also explains that,
"Since my young lady's going into France, Sir,
the Fool has much pined away."
This is the first reference to Cordelia since the love contest, and it turns out that this knight is none other than the King of France in disguise. He is providing a false report of the departure of Cordelia for France in order to allow her to survive in Lear's presence in disguise. * (see note below)
As Kent's ambiguous words at the end of Scene 1 were clarified when we saw Kent going into disguise, so France's uncertain promise to Cordelia,
Thou losest here, a better where to find
have their fulfilment in France's remaining behind in England too. If he had intended going back to France, there would have been no need for the "where." It would have been obvious. But the "where" suggests that it might not be France.
Of course, Lear and the rest of his train are oblivious to the identity of this knight, as they are to the identity of the servant, Kent. An important distinction between Kent's and France's disguise is that France is not seen to speak about it, nor does he seek acknowledgement or reward. This knight is sent to call for Lear's Fool.
Oswald returns and behaves in an insolent manner again only to struck by Lear and tripped up by Kent, who wants to ensure his acceptance into the service of Lear. He gains this just as the Fool makes her entrance. "Her?" you ask! Yes, because this is Cordelia's disguise. She has taken on the disguise of Lear's Fool who had been a boy but had forsaken Lear and gone to Goneril (Oswald). ** (see note below)
Cordelia is aware of Kent's disguise and seeks to commend him and perhaps team up with him. But Kent is oblivious to her real identity - he is so wrapped up in his own disguise that he fails to consider the possibility that anyone else should also be disguised. Cordelia explains that Lear has
"banished two of his daughters and did the third a blessing against his will."
Her application of the word "banished" to her sisters suggests the possibility that she has, like Kent, found a way to make "banishment here".
She next engages in discussion with her father continuing their earlier theme of "nothing" and then attempts to make a distinction between the "sweet" and the "bitter" Fool. She has Lear stand for the "bitter" Fool who counselled him to give away his land which would have suggested to the original audience the young lord who defected to Goneril's service. She said, she was the "sweet" Fool who was in the motley, and the other would eventually be found out.
Goneril comes in with an affected fury to chastise her father for striking her gentleman. She accuses Lear's train of causing a riot in her household, totally inappropriate for a palace. Goneril's and Lear's arguing is interspersed with Cordelia's comments in which she is trying to help her father see her sister's real intentions. Lear asks Goneril if she is his daughter and what her name is, but these follow on from comments made by the Fool. This juxtaposition of these speeches would have given the audience opportunity to question the identity of the Fool.
Lear is determined to go to Regan who, he is sure, will not treat him like Goneril has. The Fool knows differently! Lear storms out leaving the Fool behind. But Lear will quickly return to protest against the news he has heard that he is to cut his train in half in a fortnight.
Lear leaves again after promising that Regan will do all sorts of things to Goneril to avenge him. The Fool lingers behind until Goneril, noticing her but not suspecting her sex nor identity commands, "You, sir, more knave than fool, after your master."
The Fool dances out singing:
A fox, (court jesters wore fox skins) when one has caught her,
And such a daughter,
Should sure to the slaughter,
If my cap would by a haulter;
So the Fool follows after.
This is prophetic of the rest of the play which sees Lear's daughter Cordelia hanged, followed by Lear's realization, "And my poor Fool is hanged...." If Cordelia and France were discovered in Lear's presence, it would have been their deaths!
Goneril sends Oswald off to Regan with a letter warning her not to receive their father. Goneril is critical of Albany's gentleness in his attitude towards Lear.
* Justification for this disguise is detailed in Cordelia, King Lear and His Fool, Chapter 5 "Speech Prefixes in Lear" which compares variations in the speech prefixes in Shakespeare's two texts of Lear. The chapter shows, among other things, that just as Oswald has three different speech prefixes in the original texts, so other characters can have more than one.
** By considering the sources of Lear, the book, Cordelia, King Lear and His Fool, shows how this would have been much more obvious to the original audience than it is to any audience today.
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