King Lear, Act 4 Scene 4 runs 32 lines of dialogue, spoken by 3 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 135 lines. This scene is part of Act 4 of King Lear.
Full Dialogue
Cordelia ♀
Alack, 'tis he: why, he was met even now
As mad as the vex'd sea; singing aloud;
Crown'd with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds,
With bur-docks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers,
Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow
In our sustaining corn. A century send forth;
Search every acre in the high-grown field,
And bring him to our eye.
What can man's wisdom
In the restoring his bereaved sense?
He that helps him take all my outward worth.
As mad as the vex'd sea; singing aloud;
Crown'd with rank fumiter and furrow-weeds,
With bur-docks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers,
Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow
In our sustaining corn. A century send forth;
Search every acre in the high-grown field,
And bring him to our eye.
What can man's wisdom
In the restoring his bereaved sense?
He that helps him take all my outward worth.
Doctor ♂
There is means, madam:
Our foster-nurse of nature is repose,
The which he lacks; that to provoke in him,
Are many simples operative, whose power
Will close the eye of anguish.
Our foster-nurse of nature is repose,
The which he lacks; that to provoke in him,
Are many simples operative, whose power
Will close the eye of anguish.
Cordelia ♀
All blest secrets,
All you unpublish'd virtues of the earth,
Spring with my tears! be aidant and remediate
In the good man's distress! Seek, seek for him;
Lest his ungovern'd rage dissolve the life
That wants the means to lead it.
All you unpublish'd virtues of the earth,
Spring with my tears! be aidant and remediate
In the good man's distress! Seek, seek for him;
Lest his ungovern'd rage dissolve the life
That wants the means to lead it.
Messenger ♂
News, madam;
The British powers are marching hitherward.
The British powers are marching hitherward.
Cordelia ♀
'Tis known before; our preparation stands
In expectation of them. O dear father,
It is thy business that I go about;
Therefore great France
My mourning and important tears hath pitied.
No blown ambition doth our arms incite,
But love, dear love, and our aged father's right:
Soon may I hear and see him!
In expectation of them. O dear father,
It is thy business that I go about;
Therefore great France
My mourning and important tears hath pitied.
No blown ambition doth our arms incite,
But love, dear love, and our aged father's right:
Soon may I hear and see him!
32 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cordelia | 25 | 78.1% |
| Doctor | 5 | 15.6% |
| Messenger | 2 | 6.3% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 25 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 11 lines.
Total speakers on stage
3 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 4
This is Scene 4 of 7 in Act 4 of King Lear.
Scene length vs. play average
At 32 lines, this scene is shorter than the King Lear average scene in King Lear (~135 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 4 Scene 3 · Next: Act 4 Scene 5