What, did my father's godson seek your life?
He whom my father named?
with the unfeminine violence of her—
All vengeance comes too short, &c.
and yet no reference to the guilt, but only to the accident, which she uses as an occasion for sneering at her father. Regan is not, in fact, a greater monster than Goneril, but she has the power of casting more venom. 'Ib.' sc. 2. Cornwall's speech:—
This is some fellow,
Who, having been praised for bluntness, doth affect
A saucy roughness, &c.
In thus placing these profound general truths in the mouths of such men as Cornwall, Edmund, Iago, &c. Shakspeare at once gives them utterance, and yet shews how indefinite their application is.
'Ib.' sc. 3. Edgar's assumed madness serves the great purpose of taking off part of the shock which would otherwise be caused by the true madness of Lear, and further displays the profound difference between the two. In every attempt at representing madness throughout the whole range of dramatic literature, with the single exception of Lear, it is mere light-headedness, as especially in Otway. In Edgar's ravings Shakspeare all the while lets you see a fixed purpose, a practical end in view;—
in Lear's, there is only the brooding of the one anguish, an eddy without progression. 'Ib.' sc. 4. Lear's speech:—
The king would speak with Cornwall; the dear father
Would with his daughter speak, &c.
...
No, but not yet: may be he is not well, &c.
The strong interest now felt by Lear to try to find excuses for his daughter is most pathetic. 'Ib.' Lear's speech:—