Nov 22, 2008

King Lear | Act III, Scene 2: Summary and Analysis

Summary
The groundwork has already been laid by the Gentleman in the previous scene informing us of Lear’s struggle against the fierce storm on the heath. As the scene opens, Lear fervently calls upon the winds to blow, the lightning to “Spit, fire,” the rain to “drench the steeples,” and the thunder to crack open “nature’s moulds” and spill the seeds that make “ingrateful man.” The Fool counsels Lear to submit to his daughters’ authority over him and beg to be taken out of the storm. He reasons that it would be better to “court holy-water,” or, in other...