in The True Chronicle of King Leir (King Lear and his Three Daughters) — Anonymous
Metadata
Play
The True Chronicle of King Leir (King Lear and his Three Daughters)
Author
Anonymous
Year (catalogued)
1605
First performance
1590
Decade
1600s
Genre
History
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
Queen Elizabeth's Men (?)
Speech prefix(es)
Skal. | Skalliger.
Words
434
Characters
2361
Typicality
0.56 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A05206
BritDrama no.
838
Cluster
Cluster 17 — Intriguers & schemers
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
I'll to them before, and bewray your secrecy. Sweet Princesses, I am glad I met you here so luckily, Having good news which does concern you both, And craveth speedy expedition. Madam, to save your longing, this it is: Your father in great secrecy to day, Told me, he means to marry you out of hand, Unto the noble Prince of Cambria; You, Madam, to the King of Cornwalls Grace: Your younger sister he would fain bestow Upon the rich King of Hibernia: But that he doubts, she hardly will consent; For hitherto she never could fancy him. If she do yield, why then, between you three, He will divide his kingdom for your dowries. But yet there is a further mystery, Which, so you will conceal, I will disclose. He earnestly desires for to know, Which of you three do bear most love to him, And on your loves he so extremely dotes, As never any did, I think, before. He presently does mean to send for you, To be resolved of this tormenting doubt: And look, whose answer pleases him the best, They shall have most unto their marriages. For he supposeth that Cordella will (Striving to go beyond you in her love) Promise to do what ever he desires: Then will he straight enjoin her for his sake, The Hibernian King in marriage for to take. This is the sum of all I have to say; Which being done, I humbly take my leave, Not doubting but your wisdoms will foresee, What course will best unto your good agree. Your many favours still bestowed on me, Bind me in duty to advise your Grace, How you may soonest remedy this ill. The large allowance which he hath from you, Is that which makes him so forget himself: Therefore abridge it half, and you shall see, That having less, he will more thankful be: For why, abundance makes us forget The fountains whence the benefits do spring. Go, viperous woman, shame to all thy sex: The heavens, no doubt, will punish thee for this: And me a villain, that to curry favour, Have given the daughter counsel against the father. But us the world does this experience give, That he that cannot flatter, cannot live. A worthy care, my Liege, which well declares, The zeal you bore unto our quondam Queen: And since your Grace hath licensed me to speak, I censure thus Your Majesty knowing well, What several Suitors your princely daughters have, To make them eke a Jointure more or less, As is their worth, to them that love profess.
Plot summary
Plot — The True Chronicle of King Leir (King Lear and his Three Daughters)
King Lear deems it a good moment to marry off his three daughters: with his wife recently dead, they no longer have a mother to direct them. His plan is to retire and divide the kingdom between them as their dowries, and to marry them to neighbouring kings in order to forestall foreign aggression. Cordella, however, is determined to marry for love rather than for diplomatic convenience, so Lear plans to circumvent her by laying on a test: the daughters will make a public declaration of how much they love their father, and he will then ask Cordella to show that love by complying with his wishes over her marriage. Scaliger warns the other daughters, Goneril and Regan, of what Lear has in mind, and misleads them into believing that their shares of the kingdom will reflect the extent of their declared love. Jealous of their younger sister’s beauty and renown, they flatter Lear so that Cordella’s simple statement of due filial love pales in comparison. Lear gives the kingdom wholly to them, summons the Kings of Cornwall and Cambria to be their husbands, and assigns them their shares by lot. Against the advice of the good counsellor Perillus, Lear banishes Cordella from court, and she plans to make her living working as a seamstress. By chance, she meets the King of France, who has come to Britain disguised in search of a wife, and he takes her back to France as his Queen. Lear goes to live with Cornwall and Goneril, but annoys her with his criticisms of her extravagance. Scaliger advises her that halving his allowance will persuade him to take himself off to Regan, and so indeed it does. Cornwall sends a messenger to Regan asking for news of Lear, but Goneril bribes him to deliver instead a libellous letter about her father’s behaviour; she also encourages him to murder Lear. Regan has the same idea, and sets up an opportunity, but at the last moment the messenger is struck by conscience, admits the truth to his intended victim: and runs away. Realizing the true hatred of Goneril ===== PAGE 487 ===== 1589 and Regan, Perillus persuades Lear to join Cordella in France. Meanwhile, Cordélla pines for the memory of her father. The King sends an ambassador to effect a reconciliation. The Ambassador receives no welcome from Goneril, and moves on to seek Lear in Cambria. Regan too treats him discourteously, and insinuates that her father’s absence from court is the result of a murder plot instigated by Cordella. Lear and Perillus cross to France, but have to pay for…