King Lear · Chapter
Scene III explained
In the British camp near Dover, Edmund orders Lear and Cordelia taken to prison, secretly instructing a captain to hang them.
What happens
In the British camp near Dover, Edmund orders Lear and Cordelia taken to prison, secretly instructing a captain to hang them. Albany confronts Edmund, revealing his treason and the rivalry between Goneril and Regan. Edgar, disguised, challenges and mortally wounds Edmund, revealing his identity. Edmund repents too late, sending a token to save Lear and Cordelia. Lear enters with dead Cordelia, dies of grief. Kent and Edgar are left to rule, with Albany resigning power.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Redemption
Lear's final moments with Cordelia and his death highlight the depth of suffering and the fleeting possibility of redemption through love.
Justice and Injustice
The deaths of Goneril, Regan, and Edmund suggest a form of poetic justice, yet the innocent Cordelia's hanging underscores the injustice of the world.
Blindness and Seeing
Lear's physical blindness to Cordelia's love and his later 'seeing' of her worth are contrasted with Gloucester's literal blindness and insight.
Power and Authority
Albany's assertion of authority over Edmund and the transfer of rule to Edgar and Kent explore the legitimate use of power after chaos.
Characters to notice
- King Lear
Captured with Cordelia, imagines a blissful prison life, then dies of grief holding her dead body.
- Cordelia
Captured and led to prison, later hanged on Edmund's orders; Lear finds her dead.
- Edmund
Orders the execution of Lear and Cordelia, is wounded by Edgar, repents too late, and dies.
- Edgar
Challenges Edmund, reveals his identity, recounts his care for Gloucester, and receives the token to save Lear.
- Goneril
Poisons Regan and commits suicide after her plot with Edmund is exposed.
- Regan
Poisoned by Goneril, dies; her rivalry with Goneril over Edmund is revealed.
- Albany
Arrests Edmund for treason, orders the rescue of Lear and Cordelia, and resigns power to Edgar and Kent.
- Kent
Reveals his disguise as Caius, mourns Lear, and refuses to rule, following his master in death.
Key passages
“We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage: When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down, And ask of thee forgiveness”
In prison, we will be happy together, exchanging blessings and forgiveness like birds in a cage.
Lear imagines a harmonious life with Cordelia in captivity, emphasizing their bond.
“The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to plague us”
The gods are fair, using our own sins as tools to punish us.
Edgar reflects on divine justice, linking Gloucester's adultery to his blinding.
“The wheel is come full circle: I am here”
Fortune has turned completely; I am now at the bottom.
Edmund acknowledges his downfall as a reversal of his earlier rise.
“Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones”
Cry out in grief! You are heartless as stone.
Lear's anguished lament over Cordelia's death, accusing those around him of inhumanity.
“She's gone for ever! I know when one is dead, and when one lives; She's dead as earth”
She is gone forever; I can tell the dead from the living, and she is as lifeless as the ground.
Lear's final acceptance of Cordelia's death, though he briefly hopes she breathes.
