Scene V explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Filial Ingratitude

  Lear laments 'Monster ingratitude!' as he anticipates Regan's betrayal, mirroring Goneril's earlier cruelty.

• Madness and Insight

  Lear's plea 'O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven!' reveals his growing fear of losing reason, while the Fool's ironic wisdom highlights Lear's blindness.

Characters to notice

• King Lear

  Sends Kent with letters to Gloucester, wrestles with guilt over Cordelia, and prays not to go mad.

• Kent

  Dispatched by Lear to deliver letters to Gloucester, vows to be speedy.

• Fool

  Accompanies Lear, using riddles and jokes to criticize Lear's treatment by his daughters and warn about Regan.

Key passages

• “If a man’s brains were in’s heels, were’t not in danger of kibes?”

  If a man's intelligence were in his feet, wouldn't it be at risk of getting chilblains?

  The Fool mocks Lear's decision to send Kent ahead, implying that haste without wisdom is foolish.

• “Shalt see thy other daughter will use thee kindly; for though she’s as like this as a crab’s like an apple, yet I can tell what I can tell.”

  You'll see that your other daughter will treat you kindly—but she's as similar to Goneril as a crab apple is to a real apple, and I know what I know.

  The Fool ironically warns Lear that Regan's kindness will be as sour as Goneril's, despite appearances.

• “I will forget my nature. So kind a father!”

  I will suppress my true feelings. I was such a loving father!

  Lear bitterly reflects on his own generosity toward his daughters, now met with ingratitude.

• “O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven! Keep me in temper: I would not be mad!”

  Oh, please don't let me go insane, sweet heaven! Keep me calm and rational; I don't want to lose my mind!

  Lear's desperate prayer foreshadows his impending madness as he struggles to cope with his daughters' betrayal.