Unburthen'd crawl toward death (1.1.32-39)

Sennet. Enter KING LEAR, CORNWALL, ALBANY, GONERIL, REGAN, CORDELIA, and Attendants

KING LEAR

Attend the lords of France and Burgundy, Gloucester.

GLOUCESTER

I shall, my liege. Exeunt GLOUCESTER and EDMUND

KING LEAR

Meantime we shall express our darker purpose. Give me the map there. Know that we have divided In three our kingdom: and 'tis our fast intent To shake all cares and business from our age; Conferring them on younger strengths, while we Unburthen'd crawl toward death.

Accompanied by trumpets, King Lear steps on stage with his 3 daughters, their respective husbands, and some attendants. Cordelia’s suitors are also introduced, but they are quickly ordered off stage with Gloucester whilst Edmund follows. Once they are gone, Lear proceeds to reveal his “darker purpose”, the division of the kingdom between his 3 daughters: a plan that is quite reminiscent of Henry IV - wherein the rebels plan to split the country into 3. This may foreshadow the treatment of Lear’s later, as a rebel, by Goneril and Regan later in the play. The decision in itself is strange: how many monarchs gave away their power? Certainly not most. Lear stands out among monarchs for being rash and perhaps less power-hungry. It’s important to note that at this time James I had just succeeded in uniting the country; perhaps the doom that comes with this division is to appease King James - who was one of Shakespeare’s patrons. It’s not only James I who would have noticed this decision, rather most all of the Elizabethan audience would be concerned as they had just finished suffering through a civil war. Considering that Lear has kept order for years, it is natural to assume that he is growing mad with age. Whilst meaning something like his concealed secret, his “darker purpose” also provides a foreboding feeling: this very decision will cause darkness and despair among the cast. Perhaps it is worth mentioning that he hasn’t been keeping this secret very well as Kent and Gloucester were discussing it earlier. It also introduces the audience to the theme of not being able to see with “darkness”; it is interesting that the state of the country is stable when most of the cast are blind to its existence. He calls his wish for retirement his “fast intent”, a statement which suggests honesty, strength, and rashness. Lear wants to confer his powers “on younger strengths” while he expects to live out his old age in peace, however, Lear clearly doesn’t realise that most of the people present do not care for him, but, in reality, they stay in his service due to his power. It seems that he does genuinely care for the country as he not only believes that it will be better run in the hands of the youth, but also that by dividing land now - conflict will be avoided later (when he’s dead). Unfortunately, he is completely wrong. He describes his life to come with the metaphor of “crawl[ing] toward death”; in particular the verb “crawl” is significant as it suggests that Lear is crippled as well as infant-like and ignorant. Lear is clearly approaching his death; this fact makes his daughters’ treatment of him that much crueller. The verb also gives us more insight into Lear’s naivety with its connotations of children and newborns. The preposition “toward” makes it seem as if Lear is almost willing to embrace death, something that perhaps clues the audience in with regards to his loss of sanity throughout the play.