No Fear Shakespeare
King Lear
Get this No Fear to go!
Act 2, Scene 1, Page 3
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EDMUND
Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out,
Mumbling of wicked charms, conjuring the moon
To stand ’s auspicious mistress—
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EDMUND
He was standing here in the dark with his sword pointing at me. He was mumbling some black magic spells, appealing to the moon to help him in his evil plans—
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GLOUCESTER
But where is he?
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GLOUCESTER
But where is he?
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EDMUND
Look, sir, I bleed.
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EDMUND
Look, sir, I’m bleeding.
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GLOUCESTER
Where is the villain, Edmund?
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GLOUCESTER
Where is the villain, Edmund?
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EDMUND
Fled this way, sir, when by no means he could—
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EDMUND
He ran out that way, sir, when he couldn’t—
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GLOUCESTER
Pursue him, ho! Go after.
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GLOUCESTER
Follow him, now! Go.
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Exeunt some servants |
Some servants exit. |
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“By no means” what?
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When he couldn’t what?
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EDMUND
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. Sir, in fine,
Seeing how loathly opposite I stood
To his unnatural purpose, in fell motion,
With his preparèd sword he charges home
My unprovided body, latched mine arm.
And when he saw my best alarumed spirits,
Bold in the quarrel’s right, roused to the encounter,
Or whether ghasted by the noise I made,
Full suddenly he fled.
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EDMUND
When he couldn’t persuade me to kill you. I told him that the gods hate men who kill their fathers and unleash all their thunder on them, and that the bond between father and child was sacred. In short, when I told him how firmly opposed I was to his hideous plan, he pulled out his sword and lunged at my defenseless body, cutting my arm. Bolstered by righteousness, I prepared to fight, and when he saw my excitement—or perhaps because my shouting scared him—he ran away suddenly.
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GLOUCESTER
Let him fly far.
Not in this land shall he remain uncaught.
And found—dispatch. The noble duke my master,
My worthy arch and patron, comes tonight.
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GLOUCESTER
Let him run far away. If he stays in this country he’ll be found. And if he’s caught, he’ll be executed. The Duke of Cornwall, my master and patron, is arriving tonight. On his authority I’ll proclaim that whoever finds Edgar and helps bring the murderous coward to
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