It
has taken Lear and the others 20 minutes to travel through the storm to the
hut. Throughout that trek Lear’s mind is
in constant flux. More and more he is
losing any sense of time and place.
However he always retains his awareness of being king and the terrible
wrongs done him by Goneril and Regan.
|
Eric Michael Smith, Alexander Barnett |
Invariably this scene is staged as three characters running
amok, each in his own chaotic world, spewing nonsense and mindlessness for no
real purpose but simply to be a chorus to Lear’s madness. No.
|
Peter Holdway, Alexander Barnett |
This scene marks the first time Lear hallucinates. At the beginning of the scene his further
mental decline is evident. His
fascination with Edgar is gone. When
Lear first sees Edgar in the storm his mind cracked and he was overwhelmed by
guilt and empathy. But here that is
gone. It is the second of three very
different stages in his mental deterioration.
Now he is driven by vindictiveness and his focus is entirely on revenge. In his mind everything he loved has turned
against him, even his adoring dogs.
Betrayal overwhelms him.