Summary: Act 5, scene 1
In the British camp near Dover, Regan asks Edmund if he
loves Goneril and if he has found his way into her bed. Edmund responds
in the negative to both questions. Regan expresses jealousy of her
sister and beseeches Edmund not to be familiar with her.
Abruptly, Goneril and Albany enter with their troops.
Albany states that he has heard that the invading French army has
been joined by Lear and unnamed others who may have legitimate grievances
against the present government. Despite his sympathy toward Lear
and these other dissidents, Albany declares that he intends to fight
alongside Edmund, Regan, and Goneril to repel the foreign invasion.
Goneril and Regan jealously spar over Edmund, neither willing to
leave the other alone with him. The three exit together.
Just as Albany begins to leave, Edgar, now disguised as
an ordinary peasant, catches up to him. He gives Albany the letter
that he took from Oswald’s body—the letter in which Goneril’s involvement
with Edmund is revealed and in which Goneril asks Edmund to kill
Albany. Edgar tells Albany to read the letter and says that if Albany
wins the upcoming battle, he can sound a trumpet and Edgar will
provide a champion to defend the claims made in the letter. Edgar
vanishes and Edmund returns. Edmund tells Albany that the battle
is almost upon them, and Albany leaves. Alone, Edmund addresses
the audience, stating that he has sworn his love to both Regan and
Goneril. He debates what he should do, reflecting that choosing
either one would anger the other. He decides to put off the decision
until after the battle, observing that if Albany survives it, Goneril
can take care of killing him herself. He asserts menacingly that
if the British win the battle and he captures Lear and Cordelia, he
will show them no mercy.
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Act 5, scene 1 →
Summary: Act 5, scene 2
The battle begins. Edgar, in peasant’s clothing,
leads Gloucester to the shelter of a tree and goes into battle to
fight on Lear’s side. He soon returns, shouting that Lear’s side
has lost and that Lear and Cordelia have been captured. Gloucester
states that he will stay where he is and wait to be captured or
killed, but Edgar says that one’s death occurs at a predestined
time. Persuaded, Gloucester goes with Edgar.
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Act 5, scene 2 →
Analysis: Act 5, scenes 1–2
In these scenes, the battle is quickly commenced and just
as quickly concluded. The actual fighting happens offstage, during
the short Act 5, scene 2. Meanwhile, the tangled web of affection,
romance, manipulation, power, and betrayal among Goneril, Regan,
Albany, and Edmund has finally taken on a clear shape. We learn
from Edmund that he has promised himself to both sisters; we do
not know whether he is lying to Regan when he states that he has
not slept with Goneril. Nor can we deduce from Edmund’s speech which
of the sisters he prefers—or, in fact, whether he really loves either
of them—but it is clear that he has created a problem for himself
by professing love for both.
It is clear now which characters support Lear
and Cordelia and which characters are against them. Albany plans
to show Lear and Cordelia mercy; Edmund, like Goneril and Regan,
does not. Since all of these characters are, theoretically, fighting
on the same side—the British—it is unclear what the fate of the
captured Lear and Cordelia will be.
