Skip to content
Storgy

King LearModern English

King Lear, Act 5, Scene 2

A field between the two Camps

The original text and a plain modern English rendering, side by side. Free, no sign-up.

Which text to show for Act 5, Scene 2

Original

Modern English

  1. Alarum within. Enter with drum and colours, Lear, Cordelia and their Forces, and exeunt.

    A call to arms sounds offstage. Lear, Cordelia and their army come in with a drum and flags, and then they all go out.

  2. Enter Edgar and Gloucester.

    Edgar and Gloucester come in.

  3. Edgar1

    Here, father, take the shadow of this tree For your good host; pray that the right may thrive: If ever I return to you again, I’ll bring you comfort.

    Here, father, let the shade of this tree be your kind host. Pray that the right side wins. If I ever come back to you, I'll bring you comfort.

  4. Gloucester5

    Grace go with you, sir!

    God's grace go with you, sir!

  5. Exit Edgar.

    Edgar goes out.

  6. Alarum and retreat within. Enter Edgar.

    A call to arms and then a retreat sound offstage. Edgar comes in.

  7. Edgar6

    Away, old man, give me thy hand, away! King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta’en: Give me thy hand; come on!

    Come away, old man, give me your hand, come away! King Lear has lost; he and his daughter have been captured. Give me your hand; come on!

  8. Gloucester9

    No further, sir; a man may rot even here.

    No further, sir. A man can rot right here as well as anywhere.

  9. Edgar10

    What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure Their going hence, even as their coming hither; Ripeness is all. Come on.

    What, back to those dark thoughts? Men have to bear their going out of the world just as they bore their coming into it. Being ready is everything. Come on.

  10. Gloucester13

    And that’s true too.

    And that's true too.

  11. Exeunt.

    They go out.

Ask about this work

The reader has this scene in front of it — the original text and the modern English beside it, line by line — along with the act’s summary. Ask what a speech means, what a character is deciding, or where the language turns.

It cites the chapter or the line it is working from, and it says so plainly when the guide doesn’t cover something. It’s instructed never to write an essay, a paragraph or an answer for you to hand in, and never to grade anything — it will show you how to approach the question instead.

TRY

Explain lines 12–20 in plain terms.What is the speaker actually deciding in this scene?Where does the language turn, and what does the turn do?

Sign in to ask the reader about this work — 1 credit covers three messages.

Create an accountSign in

Original text: Project Gutenberg edition #1532 (public domain, edited by the PG Shakespeare Team). Modern English rendering by Storgy.