king lear quotes act 4

“I have no way and therefore want no eyes. i stumbled when i saw. full oft ’tis seen our means secure us, and our mere defects prove our commodities” sp: Gloucester sit: as he leaves his castle blind’i have no way’- no responsibility, no where to go ; ‘no eyes’- no need for help ;’i stumbled when i saw’- realizes how blind he was to the truth;’full oft’ tis seen our means secure us’- our wealth makes us over confident;’mere defeats prove our commodities’- defeats means what we lack is actually to our advantage/ recognizes he sees in ways he has never seen before
“the worst is not so long as we can say ‘This is the worst’ “ sp: Edgar sit: (aside) when he sees his blind fatheras long as you can describe whatever horrible things are happening, means it can get worst
“As flies to wanton boys are we to th’ gods; they kill us for their sport” sp: Gloucester sit: as he leaves his castle blindthe gods treat us, just the way bad boys treat flies. they kill us for the fun of it (like by pulling the wings and legs off of the flies)
Come on, sir. here’s the place. Stand still. how fearful And dizzy ’tis to cast one’s eyes so low! The crows and choughs that wing the midway air Show scarce so gross as beetles. halfway down Hangs one that gathers samphire- dreadful trade; Methinks he seems no bigger than his head. The fisherman that {walk} upon the beach Appear like mice, and yond tall anchoring bark Diminished to her cock, her cock a buoy Almost too small for sight. The murmuring surge That on th’ unnumbered idle pebble chafes Cannot be heard so high. I’ll look no more Lest my brain turn and the deficient sight Topple down headlong. sp: Edgar sit: pretending to be on a cliff at dover( get dizzy by how high up you care) The birds only look like bugs; You see this man half way down the cliff gathering herbs. ‘yond tall anchoring bark’- is a ship/ ‘ diminished to her cock’- a little boat thats on a big boat-> the big boat looks like a little boat and the little boat looks even smaller. as the waves on many rocks and pebbles on this beach, you cant even hear it bc they are so high up.; 1. imaginative vision 2. what we really see
Hadst thou been aught but gossamer, feathers, air, So many fathom down precipitating, Thou’dst shivered like an egg; but thou dost breathe, Hast heavy substance, bleed’stnot speak’st, art sound. Ten masts at each make not the altitude Which thou hast perpendicularly fell. Thy life’s a miracle. sp: Edgar sit: pretending to be at the bottom of the cliffif you had been anything but light/feathery/ air you feel down so far that you should have shattered ( like an egg) into pieces. But your alive and not a feather but a solid. You arent bleeding. your talking and you seem to be fine. if you put 10 sailing masks on top of each other, you still wouldnt get to the top of the cliff if you climbed the masks bc it wouldnt be tall enough. Your life is a miracle so dont throw it away
No cause, no cause sp: Cordelia sit: when first sees her father lear says: cordelia ( but not her sister’s) have a cause to hate meshe replies to him by saying : I have no cause. Im not angry at all ( why? – bc she loves him. Has learned love overcomes literal facts. love conquers all, forgive them bc you love them