King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2, part 1 | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6
The Story So Far: Having refused to house any of King Lear's entourage of knights, Regan and the Duke of Cornwall have taken up residence in Gloucester's castle. As Lear rushes off into the stormy night, Regan and Cornwall order the castle gates closed behind him, refusing him shelter.
Meanwhile, having discredited his elder brother Edgar and been accepted into the service of the Duke of Cornwall, Edmund the bastard is starting to take advantage of being his father's sole heir.
Poor old Gloucester. He doesn't realize that telling Edmund about the top-secret letter is kind of like telling a small child not to press the giant red button that has the words "DO NOT PRESS" printed on it. Edmund, meanwhile, steps up the villainy. It's possible to sympathize with his actions against Edgar: he's been deprived of any legal and social status by society's preoccupation with arbitrary marital status, so it makes sense for him to want to secure what he feels is his birthright. However, he's moving into full-blown villain mode now.
Tune in again on Friday, when we'll see how Lear is doing in the storm and meet Poor Tom, the Shakespearean character with the stupidest dialogue ever.
King Lear
Dramatis Personae | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5
2.1 | 2.2, part 1 | 2.2, part 2
3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6