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"King Lear" by William Shakespeare, Act 2

Fri Feb 08 21:43:45 EST 2013
By Vocabulary.com (NY)Visual Thesaurus Moderator
In this tragedy, King Lear's plan to divide his kingdom between his three daughters leads to his downfall when he misjudges their true feelings. Read the full text here.

Here are links to our lists for the play: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Act 4, Act 5
severally
[Enter Edmund, the Bastard and Curan, severally.]
auspicious
Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out,
Mumbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon
To stand auspicious mistress.
manifold
On the surface, Edmund is making himself look good to Gloucester by pretending that he had tried to convince Edgar not to kill their father. But Shakespeare's use of the word manifold can be seen as a hint to how Edmund has so many forms that he can't be trusted.
Persuade me to the murder of your Lordship,
But that I told him the revenging gods
’Gainst parricides did all the thunder bend,
Spoke with how manifold and strong a bond
The child was bound to th’ father
sojourn
I have this present evening from my sister
Been well informed of them, and with such cautions
That if they come to sojourn at my house
I’ll not be there.
disclaim
Kent is claiming that Oswald is such a horrible person that Mother Nature (nature personified) would disclaim having made him. Compare this to Lear's disclaiming of all paternal care for Cordelia in Act 1.
You cowardly rascal, nature disclaims in thee; a tailor made thee.
antipathy
No contraries hold more antipathy
Than I and such a knave.
verity
On the surface, Kent appears to be sincerely saying great things about Cornwall, but he is taking the flattery so far that there is more mockery than verity in his words.
KENT: Sir, in good faith, in sincere verity,
Under th’ allowance of your great aspect,
Whose influence, like the wreath of radiant fire
On flick’ring Phoebus’ front—
CORNWALL: What mean’st by this?
beguile
He that beguiled you in a plain accent was a plain knave, which for my part I will not be, though I should win your displeasure to entreat me to ’t.
peruse
Approach, thou beacon to this under globe,
That by thy comfortable beams I may
Peruse this letter.
penury
Whiles I may ’scape,
I will preserve myself, and am bethought
To take the basest and most poorest shape
That ever penury in contempt of man
Brought near to beast.
forbear
I’ll forbear,
And am fallen out with my more headier will,
To take the indisposed and sickly fit
For the sound man.
depraved
O Regan, she hath tied
Sharp-toothed unkindness, like a vulture, here.
I can scarce speak to thee. Thou’lt not believe
With how depraved a quality—O Regan!
vouchsafe
“Dear daughter, I confess that I am old.
Age is unnecessary. On my knees I beg
That you’ll vouchsafe me raiment, bed, and food.”
abjure
Having given up his kingly powers, disowned Cordelia, and cursed Goneril, Lear does not have much left that he can reject. At the point of this example sentence, Lear thinks he can still rely on Regan, but upon discovering that she is even less welcoming than Goneril of him and his 100 knights, he is forced to carry out his proud threat to "abjure all roofs."
No, rather I abjure all roofs, and choose
To wage against the enmity of the air.
amity
How in one house
Should many people under two commands
Hold amity? ’Tis hard, almost impossible.

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