King Lear · Chapter
Scene III explained
Edgar, having escaped the hunt for his life, decides to disguise himself as a mad beggar, adopting the persona of 'Poor Tom' to survive.
What happens
Edgar, having escaped the hunt for his life, decides to disguise himself as a mad beggar, adopting the persona of 'Poor Tom' to survive.
Themes in this chapter
Appearance vs. Reality
Edgar deliberately adopts a false appearance as a mad beggar to hide his true identity.
Madness and Insight
Edgar feigns madness as a survival strategy, blurring the line between sanity and insanity.
Characters to notice
- Edgar
Edgar resolves to disguise himself as a Bedlam beggar to evade capture.
Key passages
“I heard myself proclaim’d; And by the happy hollow of a tree Escaped the hunt.”
I heard that I have been declared an outlaw, and I only escaped the search party by hiding in a tree hollow.
Edgar explains how he narrowly avoided capture.
“To take the basest and most poorest shape That ever penury, in contempt of man, Brought near to beast: my face I’ll grime with filth; Blanket my loins: elf all my hair in knots; And with presented nakedness out-face The winds and persecutions of the sky.”
I will adopt the lowest, most wretched appearance that poverty has ever reduced a man to, almost like an animal: I will dirty my face, wrap a blanket around my waist, tangle my hair, and face the elements nakedly.
Edgar describes his plan to disguise himself as a beggar.
“Poor Turlygod! poor Tom! That’s something yet: Edgar I nothing am.”
Poor Turlygod! Poor Tom! That at least is something; as Edgar, I am nothing.
Edgar adopts the name 'Poor Tom' as his new identity, abandoning his former self.