Take a look at the following visuals of staged performances of Lear in 4.6. We now experience the full force of Lear’s madness. These next 126 lines are among the most emotionally powerful and conceptually challenging in all of Shakespeare’s plays, for the insanity has a strange kind of internal logic. Mixed in with the madness there are statements of great wisdom, born of suffering, and moments of real poignancy as the two battered old men recognize each other and reach out for companionship. As you shift through Lear’s mad talk, what does he seem to think is the origin of human evil? Find at least one place where Lear seems to make sense. Find at least one place where there is some humor.

Before we read this scene, consider a modern interpretation of the “garland.” What might this consist of ? How should we stage it in our modern classroom?