A Stick-Figure King Lear: Act 5, Scene 2

The Story So Far: After much talking, the forces of Cordelia and the forces of Edmund and Albany are ready to finally fight it out at Dover! THIS IS IT, GUYS! THIS IS THE BIG BATTLE OF THE PLAY!

Well.... that was a bit disappointing.

OK, I recognize that the battle isn't the big thing in this play, unlike in Henry V. But still! After all this talk of armies gathering at Dover, all we get is Gloucester sitting around on an empty stage, probably listening to piped-in battle sound effects, waiting for Edgar to run on and tell him he's missed it, it was a great battle, and they lost.

Tune in again on Wednesday for the big finale! What this scene lacks in content and excitement, the next scene makes up for in SPADES. It's got EVERYTHING. Except a guy getting his eyes gouged out. That's a once-in-a-play event. Sorry.

A Stick-Figure King Lear: Act 5, Scene 1

The Story So Far: Thanks to Kent, King Lear has been reunited with his daughter Cordelia, and seems to be regaining his wits. Cordelia has brought an army over from France, determined to wrest control of Britain away from her horrible elder sisters and restore her father to the throne. Unfortunately for her, Goneril, Regan, and their new toyboy, Edmund, have very different ideas.

Anyways, this is an interesting little scene. For one thing, the romantic rivalry between Goneril and Regan really rears its ugly head here, with both of them fixated on Edmund. Edmund's brother Edgar, meanwhile, is attempting to bring down Edmund by the most circuitous means possible. Why doesn't he just tell Albany to read the letter immediately and arrest Goneril and Edmund before the battle even begins? It would solve a lot of problems. If I've missed a cunning plot trick here, let me know in the comments.

Tune in on Monday, when the long-awaited BIG BATTLE happens! No, don't get your hopes up. It's incredibly anticlimactic.

A Stick-Figure King Lear: Act 4, Scene 6

The Story So Far: The increasingly mad King Lear, accompanied by Kent, has finally made it to Dover, where he is taken in by his daughter Cordelia. A bunch of other people are coming to Dover too, with an army, but that doesn't matter at the moment. 

So, it turns out all that King Lear needed to recover from his madness was a good sleep. He wakes up in a much more rational frame of mind, and even acknowledges that he was a total ass to Cordelia in the first scene. Cordelia, being the perfect little goody-two-shoes that she is, insists he has nothing to apologize for. 

He totally does, though.

Tune in on Wednesday, when we'll have a little break from King Lear before Act 5 barrels down upon us like an avalanche of depression.

A Stick-Figure King Lear: Act 4, Scene 5

The Story So Far:  Cordelia and her army have landed in Dover. Kent has escorted King Lear to Dover, but has lost him somewhere on the way. Edgar is scoring his suicidal and blinded father, Gloucester, to Dover. Edmund and Albany are preparing to march the British armies to Dover. It's all about Dover. 

Edgar is either the world's worst psychotherapist or the world's best psychotherapist. On the one hand, I'm pretty sure that tricking your patient into thinking he's jumping off the Cliffs of Dover isn't a widely-accepted form of treating depression. On the other hand, it does seem to cure Gloucester's suicidal desire, so who am I to criticize? 

Gloucester falling off the cliff presents a real staging dilemma. The sight of someone falling flat on his face is inherently amusing, but the pathos of Gloucester's suicide attempt is anything but. I tend to laugh at this part, but your mileage may vary. Leave a note in the comments if you've seen a particularly memorable Gloucester-fall!

Lear is full-on nuts in this scene. To Freud's presumed delight, he spends a good part of this scene raving about sex and female genitalia. However, Gloucester's heart-breaking reaction to Lear's ravings should, if done properly, really highlight the awful transformation that Lear has undergone. 

That said, Lear says some pretty funny things in this scene, mostly at poor old Gloucester's expense.

Poor old Oswald. If you're playing the "Oswald Drinking Game", take two drinks: one for his attempted letter delivery and one for his getting beaten up a final time. Note Oswald's fanatical devotion to his duty. Even when mortally wounded, his first thought is "Someone has to deliver this letter! The mail must get through!" Unfortunately he gives the letter to the one person in the world most likely not to deliver the letter. 

Stop by again on Monday as we wrap up Act 4. Act 3 ended with one of the most horrific acts of violence in the Shakespearean canon. Act 4 ends with one of its most touching reconciliation scenes... if you're into that kind of thing. 

A Stick-Figure King Lear: Act 4, Scene 4

The Story So Far: Everybody is still going to Dover. They're taking their sweet time about it, but they're going. Meanwhile, romantic troubles are brewing between Goneril and Regan. Goneril has developed the hots for Edmund and sends trusty Oswald after him with a letter. However, the recently-widowed Regan has other ideas...

Oswald tries to deliver a letter, but fails. If you're playing the "Oswald Drinking Game", take a drink. Oswald likes his letters.

Regan, meanwhile, has also fallen prey to Edmund's apparently irresistible sex appeal, and is planning to marry him even before her dead husband, the ex-Duke of Cornwall, is cold in the ground. This is not going to end well. 

Tune in again on Friday, when people actually start arriving in Dover!

A Stick-Figure King Lear: Act 4, Scene 3

The Story So Far: Everyone and their brother are converging upon Dover. Kent and King Lear are going there. Gloucester and Edgar are going there. Edmund and Albany are planning to go there. Why Dover? Because that's where Cordelia and the French army are!

Cordelia is one of these character who, despite not actually being in the play very much, casts a long shadow. She goes off to France at the end of the very first scene and doesn't reappear until now, but everyone is constantly talking and thinking about her. Mostly they're thinking "If only Cordelia hadn't been so flaming honest, everyone would have been happy and we could have skipped an entire act of mad storm ravings and eye-gougings." 

Or is that just me?

Tune in on Wednesday, when Oswald tries to deliver his letter! YAY OSWALD.

A Stick-Figure King Lear: Act 4, Scene 2

The Story So Far: The Dukes of Cornwall and Albany are busily mobilizing their troops to counter Cordelia's army at Dover, which, coincidentally, is where both the mad King Lear and the newly-eyeless Gloucester are headed. Can you say "denouement"?

Goneril's sudden desire for Edmund kind of comes out of nowhere, although it shouldn't be that surprising. As the new Earl of Gloucester, he is now a nobleman, and he clearly has plenty of personal charm. And, let's face it, the Duke of Albany is kind of bland. Well-meaning, but incredibly bland.

Oswald gets a letter to deliver! If you're playing the "Oswald Drinking Game", take a drink.

Tune in again next Monday, when we'll check in and see how Cordelia (remember her?) is doing!