King Lear (47 page)

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dread-bolted
hurling terrifying thunderbolts

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cross
forked

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watch
remain awake/be on guard

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perdu
“lost one” (French), the name given to a guard placed in an extremely open, dangerous position

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helm
helmet/covering of hair

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conductor … people
commander of his forces

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Report
rumor

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powers … kingdom
British forces

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apace
rapidly

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arbitrament
deciding of the dispute

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point … wrought
the conclusion of my aims will be thoroughly brought about

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Or
either

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abuses
dishonors, wrongs

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doubtful
fearful

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conjunct And bosomed
sexually intimate

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as … hers
to the fullest extent

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honest
honorable

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For
as for

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touches us as
i.e. affects our honor insofar as

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bolds
insofar as it emboldens

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with
(who) along with

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Most … oppose
has most just and weighty grounds for hostility

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the … sharpness
i.e. in the heat of emotion even the best grounds for hostility are cursed by those who have suffered the losses and afflictions of battle (Edmund pretends to be anxious that Lear and Cordelia receive a fair trial)

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period
limit, extreme point

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such … not
those who do not love

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another … extremity
to enlarge upon another sorrowful tale (that of Kent) would increase sorrow even further and exceed all limits

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big in clamour
loud in lamentation

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estate
condition

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fastened … neck
i.e. embraced me

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As
as if

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puissant
powerful

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strings of life
i.e. heartstrings

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’tranced
absorbed by grief/in a faint, unconscious

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enemy king
i.e. the king who had treated him as an enemy

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Improper for
unfitting even for