1. KING LEAR
Act Two

2. Act Two Scene I: Key Points
Edmund makes Edgar seem guilty by convincing him to flee Gloucester’s castle just as his father is arriving.
Edmund then tells Gloucester that Edgar was plotting to murder him. Gloucester believes everything that Edmund tells him.
When Cornwall and Regan arrive at Gloucester’s castle, they commend Edmund for taking action against Edgar, and ask him to serve them.
Regan asks Gloucester for advice regarding Lear.

3. Edmund MANIPULATOR: A CLEVER VILLAIN:
Edmund also shows he understands human nature as he masterfully manipulates those around him.
He confuses Edgar with his suggestions that he has offended either Cornwall or Albany, and allows his brother no time to pause or reflect on events.
He also cleverly plays on Gloucester’s superstitious nature by claiming that he overheard Edgar “warbling of wicked charms”.
His cleverest move, however, is when he anticipates the suspicion that might fall on him by claiming that Edgar said that no one would take his word as truth because he stood to gain so much by his brother’s death. It is a stroke of genius.
A CLEVER VILLAIN:
In this scene, Edmund displays his great intelligence and cunning.
He is an excellent actor and effortlessly persuades Edgar to participate in the mock fight, and arranges the timing of Gloucester’s entry perfectly.
His determination to achieve his plans is proven by his willingness to cut himself in order to make his story more believable.

4. Gloucester UNFORGIVING:
One of the key features of this scene is the strong similarity between Gloucester and Lear.
Not only do both display complete faith in their treacherous children and banish the innocent parties, but they also display a harsh and unforgiving temper.
Gloucester has no interest in sparing Edgar. He immediately hands down a death sentence on him: “Not in this land shall he remain uncaught; / And found – dispatch”.
Like Lear, he disowns the child who really loves him. Both Gloucester and Lear are easy prey for their manipulative children.
A GULLIBLE FATHER:
Gloucester again shows his gullibility in this scene. Although he is confronted with a genuinely wounded Edmund, he does not seem to pause for a second to consider how believable his son’s story is.

5. Regan A RELUCTANT VILLAIN?: A STRONG WOMAN:
Like her sister, Regan shows she is a strong-minded female who has no difficulty expressing her opinions. She immediately calls for Edgar to be harshly punished.
Also, like Goneril, she has no problem cutting across her husband to explain why they have come to Gloucester’s castle.
SELF-SERVING:
Regan shows in this scene that she is as self-serving and manipulative as Edmund.
She takes advantage of the news of Edgar’s “treachery” to blacken Lear further by suggesting that Edgar was corrupted by Lear’s knights.
By connecting a would-be murderer with Lear, she is paving the way to make her later brutal treatment of her father seem justified.
A RELUCTANT VILLAIN?:
One interesting question that comes from this scene is how willing Regan is to be part of Goneril’s schemes.
Is she genuinely uncertain about how she should respond to the fight between Goneril and Lear?
Goneril also expressed doubt in her sister. Theirs is an uneasy alliance.

6. Act Two Scene II: Key Points
Outside Gloucester’s castle, Kent (still in disguise) and Oswald both arrive with messages from Lear and Goneril. Kent, still angry at Oswald for insulting Lear, picks a fight with him.
Oswald’s cries for help bring Cornwall, Regan, and Gloucester. Kent replies rudely to their calls for explanation, and Cornwall orders him to be punished in the stocks.
Gloucester thinks that this humiliating punishment of Lear’s messenger will be seen as disrespectful of Lear himself. However, Cornwall and Regan insist that Kent deserves this treatment and they put him in the stocks.
After everyone leaves, Kent reads a letter that he has received from Cordelia in which she promises to find some way to help the situation.

7. Cornwall
IN COMMAND:
Cornwall comes across as a very confident figure in this scene. He is possibly trying to demonstrate his authority in front of his wife.
He immediately tries to calm down the fight between Kent and Oswald by threatening death: “he dies that strikes again”.
He repeatedly asks Kent to explain himself and grows angry when he does not.

8. Gloucester DEFENDING LEAR:
Gloucester makes a good impression in this scene when he attempts to save Kent from the stocks.
He thinks Cornwall is being hasty and extreme in subjecting Kent to this punishment, a fate usually reserved for petty criminals. He promises Kent that he will try and intervene on his behalf again.
The fact that Lear has no real power does not seem to have affected Gloucester’s respect for him.

9. Regan CRUEL AND INSULTING:
Regan does not say a great deal in this scene but what she does say shows her cruel manner.
When her husband proposes that Kent be held in the stocks until noon Regan immediately increases the sentence: “Till noon! Till night, my Lord; and all night too”.
When Gloucester points out how offended Lear will be, Regan makes clear that her father’s feelings are completely irrelevant.
She is concerned only about Goneril’s reaction: “My sister may receive it much more worse / To have her gentleman abus’d , assaulted”.

10. A KEY MOMENT!
Kent’s revelation that Cordelia may be on her way to help Lear shows the first glimmer of light for the king in the play.
The question now is whether she will intervene in time to save her father from a terrible fate.

11. Act Two Scene III: Key Points
Edgar knows that his life is now in danger. He decides to disguise himself as a beggar and to go by the name of ‘poor Tom’.
He believes that his new identity will lend him safety.

12. EDGAR A NEW IDENTITY: CLEVER:
Edgar’s new role as poor Tom is symbolic.
It shows a man being reduced to a basic level of existence and reflects on how the new order of power in the kingdom has turned everything upside down.
CLEVER:
Although until now Edgar has been a dupe of Edmund, he shows in this scene that he is capable and resourceful.
He has avoided capture, and hits upon a disguise that is unlikely to arouse suspicion.

13. Act Two Scene IV: Key Points
Lear arrives at Gloucester’s castle and is shocked to find his servant, Kent, in the stocks. He cannot believe his own daughter would insult him in this manner.
He attempts to meet with Cornwall and Regan, but they make excuses and refuse to see him.
When Cornwall and Regan eventually emerge from the castle to greet Lear, the king pleads with his daughter for compassion, but Regan remains cold and echoes her sister’s complaints about her father.
When Goneril arrives, Regan sides with her, and together they strip Lear of his knights. Lear is crushed and humiliated. He curses his daughters and once again fears his going mad.
Gloucester expresses concern for the king, but Regan and Goneril stand firm. They lock the doors of Gloucester’s castle, thereby shutting Lear out.

14. A KEY MOMENT!
This is a climactic scene in the play. Lear is finally confronted with the cruel betrayal of his daughters and the shattering of his world.
He realises now that their only interest was power and now that they have it they have no further use for their father.

15. Lear
MADNESS:
The emotional strain of his troubles threaten to overwhelm Lear.
The dawning realisation of his own foolishness in surrendering power is almost too much to bear for such a proud man.
By the end of the scene, Lear fears that he will go mad.
BLIND TO REALITY:
Lear comes across as someone who is unable to deal with reality. He is extremely slow to realise that he is no long the all-powerful monarch, but a weak old man at his daughters’ mercy.
His blindness to this reality is clear in the shock he feels at his daughters’ treatment of him.
Lear also fools himself when it comes to Regan, clinging to the hope that she will help him even after she has treated him coldly.
Lear is forced to face reality in a cruel way. He has been humiliated and does not know where to turn. The world of power and unconditional loyalty that he has lived in all his life has vanished.

16. Regan
CRUEL:
If there are any doubts about Regan’s selfishness, they are quickly removed when her sister arrives.
Her taking of Goneril’s hand is a symbolic display of their alliance. They are publically showing that their father is of no significance now.
After Lear departs, Regan is quick to justify her cruelty by saying that her castle is too small for Lear and his knights.
COLD AND PATRONISING:
Regan’s behaviour towards her father in this scene is heartless. Her initial greeting fills Lear with false hope but her language is soon cold and patronising.
She is quick to tell him that Goneril is blameless in their argument and her calm insistence that Lear should return to Goneril only makes Lear angrier.

17. Goneril CRUEL AND HEARTLESS:
Though Goneril does not say a lot in this scene, she has a powerful influence on events. At the start of the scene Regan is cold to her father but it is only when Goneril arrives that she begins to treat him with real cruelty.
From the beginning Goneril has been pushing for Lear to be eliminated. Regan has tried to avoid choosing between her sister and her father by telling Lear to return to Goneril’s castle. However, Goneril’s arrival forces her to make this choice. She takes her sister’s hand and Lear is doomed.
There is little doubt that Goneril comes across the crueler of the two sisters. After Lear has been thrown out, Regan feels a need to justify her actions, saying that her house is too small for Lear , that his knights are too much of a problem and that the old man needs to be taught a lesson. Goneril feels no need to justify herself in any way.