Away! by Jupiter (1.1.176-182)

KING LEAR

Five days we do allot thee, for provision To shield thee from diseases of the world; And on the sixth to turn thy hated back Upon our kingdom: if, on the tenth day following, Thy banish'd trunk be found in our dominions, The moment is thy death. Away! by Jupiter, This shall not be revoked.

Lear continues, expressing his plans for Kent. For 5 days, Kent will have time to find provisions. The number 5 is significant as in the bible it is representative of God's grace. Human’s have many features that come in fives and hence it is a number of man’s design: perfect design. Lear here is merciful in a sense; he is almost holy in his mercy. According to Lear - these days are to “shield [him] from the diseases of the world”. But this is ironic as it is Kent who protects Lear from Goneril and Regan, who are described with terms of illness: e.g. “embossed carbuncle”. By banishing Kent, Lear breaks any form of barrier between himself and the disease: a metaphor for his own daughters. But on the 6th day, Kent must “turn [his] hated back” on the kingdom. 6 is significant as it is the number of mankind: a number of mistakes. As of this day, Kent shall be banished: a clear mistake. The fact that 6 is a human number makes it clear that Lear is no longer the divine king of bygone days, but a human fool who is no more connected to God than the rest. The consonance of “t” in the line concerning 6, is harsh and adorns the line, creating roughness and danger in Lear’s speech. “On the tenth day following” however, Kent’s life will be taken should he be in the country. 10 is representative of completeness in divine order. Kent’s sentence is complete by this point and it is chosen by a figure with ties to god. The mention of the nouns “trunk” and “back” in this extract could also be significant as they are often representative of steadiness; in banishing Kent, Lear is welcoming uncertainty and chaos.”trunk” in particular suggests trees; this could link to the mention of “Jupiter” on the next line as Jupiter had a sacred tree: the oak. This creates a link between oak trees and Kent, and oaks symbolise strength and steadiness; this shows that Kent gives these qualities to those around him in protecting them. Lear’s calling of “Jupiter” is a disregard for Kent’s prior words: “thou pray’st thy gods in vain”, but goes further: Up till this point the non-Christian gods he’s been calling on were minor, but Jupiter is the Roman equivalent of god. Here he has abandoned the Christian god in favour of the most powerful god of another religion. It also shows just how serious Lear is about the sentence. Just before the mention of Jupiter, we hear an imperative sentence: “Away!”. Emphasised by the exclamation mark, the shortness displays his temper and anger. Lear’s generally unsteady sentence lengths and sentence types could show a lack of balance in his mental state. Repetition of “Revoked” answers Kent’s earlier order clearly (which contained the first “revoke”), the gift shall not be revoked and neither shall Kent’s sentence.