Page 288 - King Lear: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

3.4. N O T E S 213
'sophisticated. Thou...itselfe'. sophisticated Not found
elsewh. in Sh. See 11. 103-8, n.
108. lendings i.e. what he has borrowed from the
worm, beast, etc. Cf.FlorioV borrowing' (11.103-8,n.).
109. unbutton A command to an imaginery groom
of his bedchamber. S.D. (<Rowe 'tearing off his
clothes). Q, F om. And Cap. aptly adds 'Kent and the
Fool strive to hinder him'.
n o . naughty wicked, very bad. swim As Lear's
action suggests.
i n . S.D. (J.D.W.) F'Enter Gloucester, with a
n
Torch'—at 1. o . Most edd. give the entry at 1. 114.
But clearly the Fool sees the torch after 'swim in', since
the 'old lecher' is undoubtedly, and aptly, intended for
Glo.
112. wild=uncultivated, not bearing crops—fig. of
an old man's body. [Muir.]
115. This i.e. Glo. with the flickering torch. As
Kent first begins £0 question Glo. at 1. 127, Edg. prob.
does not at once recognize him, though the Fool seems
to. Cf. 1.125, n. Flibbertigibbet A dancing devil ace.
toHarsnett. [Muir, R.E.S. (1951), p. 19.] From this
point Edg. often borrows from Harsnett's Declaration,
wh. went into 3 editions in 3 years and was prob. known
to many in Sh.'s audience, including King James, who
was curious in such matters. Cf. 4. 1. 57-61, n.
116. curfew i.e. 9 p.m. Cf. Temp. 5. 1. 39-40
[spirits] 'that rejoice | To hear the solemn curfew', and
Comus, 434-35 'unlaid ghost | That breaks his magic
chains at curfew time'. //// (J.D.W. <Q 'till the') F
'at'—careless repetition from 'begins at', first cock
Gen. interpreted'midnight'. But see notes on Ham. 1.1.
153-5, 158-60. King Hamlet is 'walking' at 1 a.m.
(1. 1. 39).
116-17. the web...pin see G.'web'. Is Sh. already
thinking of 4. 1. I? squinies (Anon. ap. Carnb.; see