Page 345 - King Lear: The Cambridge Dover Wilson Shakespeare

270 NOTES 5.3.

203-6. This would...extremity Difficult; poss.
rather corrupt. Ver. interprets:
All who do not revel in grief would have thought that the
limit had been reached in this story; another such story by
increasing that which is already too much would make
'much' into 'more' and pass beyond the utmost limit.
206-7. And top...man, Lined as by Ridley. Theob.
(+Camb.) divide 'extremity | Whilst'.
207. /* (Q+Camb.) Theob. (+many) om.
212. my father i.e. my father's body.
215. the strings...crack i.e. his heart began to
break. Thus he enters (1. 228) a dying man. See G.
'strings of life', and cf. 1. 234, n. and 312, n.
216. crack: twice then (Theob.+Camb.) Q 'cracke
twice, then'. 217. tranced in a swoon.
219. enemy i.e. who had declared himself his enemy.
220. S.D. (Camb. conflating Q 'Enter one with a
bloudie knife,', and F 'Enter a Gentleman.'
221-2. Gentleman. Help...knife? (F) Q om. 'O
helpe' and 'Speake man', and assigns 'What kind of
helpe, what meanes that [sic] bloudy knife?' to Alb.
smokes Fresh, blood commonly 'smokes' in Sh.
223. of— Long dash in F; hyphen in Q. O, she's
dead! (<F) Qom. 226. confesses (F) Q (+Camb.)
'hath confest'.
228. S.D. (F) Q prints 'Enter Kent' at I.230. 'He
comes slowly down the stage while Alb. is speaking'
(Muir). Cf. 1. 215, n.
229. Produce see G. S.D. (<Camb.) Q, F om.
230. tremble, (Q) F 'tremble.'.
231. S.D. (G.I.D.) £>, Fom.
232. Han. has S.D. 'To Kent'.
233. manners urges For 'manners' sing, see Rom. 5.
3-2I4-
234. To bid... aye goodnight i.e. with his last breath.
He cd not know that Lear wd himself be dying.