Why does kent trip oswald

Edgar has no idea what Edmund is talking about. Edmund tells Edgar further that Gloucester has discovered his hiding place and that he ought to flee the house immediately under cover of night.

When he hears Gloucester coming, Edmund draws his sword and pretends to fight with Edgar, while Edgar runs away. The unhappy Gloucester praises Edmund and vows to pursue Edgar, sending men out to search for him. Regan then asks Gloucester for his advice in answering letters from Lear and Goneril.

Finally, Lear calls upon the gods to make Goneril barren as punishment for the way she treated him. If not, he yells, he hopes she'll have a mean and nasty daughter who will treat her like garbage and cause nothing but misery for Goneril.

Lear tells Goneril that everyone at Regan's house will treat him like a king, not just like someone's elderly relative. Then he finally exits, for real this time, leaving Goneril's husband confused about the fight, which he missed. Goneril turns to her husband and says, "Can you believe him? She's just spotted the Fool and she wants to be sure to send him away, too.

After getting rid of the Fool, Goneril says they have to do something about her father. He can't be wandering around with a hundred soldiers ready to act on his next senile whim.

Albany thinks she might be exaggerating a bit, but Goneril says she'd rather be safe than sorry. Goneril sends Oswald off with a message to Regan, her sister, informing her about the fight.

It seems she is plotting. She says her sister is on her side, and she's got to make sure Regan doesn't take care of Lear when Goneril herself has turned him out, because this would make Goneril look bad. Goneril instructs Oswald to explain her reasoning while delivering the letter, and to feel free to add any juicy bits he thinks will keep Regan on their side.

Goneril then tells her husband she's not upset with him for suggesting that she treat her father with more kindness, but she thinks he's being naive. Albany says he can't be sure—maybe she sees more than he does. But he knows that often when people try to make a situation better they wind up making it worse.

Goneril basically says, "Now, now, honey," and dismisses him, which he seems okay with. What's Up With the Ending? Instead she sends Oswald with a letter to Regan, warning her sister that their father is on his way and which sets out what her tactics have been regarding Lear and his retinue.

If thou canst serve: Kent plans to act, in disguise, as a servant to Lear, from whose presence he has been banished. At the time the play was written, Catholics were considered to be traitors to the state. Kent and Lear exploit two meanings of 'poor' here - i. Call the clotpoll back: Oswald has pretended to be too busy to tend to Lear, thus carrying out his mistress's order to be 'slack of former services'.

If the rules are broken or ignored, then this shows contempt for the person in authority. I have perceived a most faint neglect He has tried to give others the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the neglect that he has perceived rather than face the unpalatable truth. Servants were commonly called 'sir' or 'sirrah' by their masters.

The role of a Fool in a royal court was to entertain by singing, dancing, telling jokes etc. Lear's Fool takes risks even for a fool, and is threatened with punishment for some of his barbed remarks. The Fool has a 'coxcomb' as a symbol of his role. This would have been a cap in the form of a cock's crest. True to his role, Lear's Fool commences here a string of amusing remarks which carry deeper philosophical implications.

In fact, it is the opposite of what has occurred, but the Fool ironically suggests that Cordelia may be lucky to be banished, since she will be away from her willful father and she is 'blessed' by being married to the King of France. If I gave them all my living: If I gave my daughters all my possessions, I would wear the sign of being a Fool. The Fool now pointedly offers his cap to Lear and tells him to 'beg' another from his daughters.

The Fool makes it quite clear what he thinks of Lear's foolish decision. Shakespeare's contemporary audience would have been familiar with the power of a monarch to grant certain individuals the sole right monopoly to sell a particular commodity. They could therefore charge whatever they liked, since there was no competition.

The Fool says that he could not keep all the foolishness in the world to himself, even if he were granted one of these monopolies. Cornwall defends Oswald and orders that Kent be placed in stocks.

Gloucester intervenes, reminding Regan and Cornwall that the king will consider their action against his messenger as an indignity, but Regan suggests that insulting Goneril's steward is a more grievous offense. All exit but Gloucester, who apologizes to Kent for his mistreatment.

When he is left alone, Kent reads a letter from Cordelia, which promises that she will somehow intervene on her father's behalf. Initially, Oswald appears to be the wronged party, while Kent is a rude thug, just looking to start a fight. This misconception illustrates the purpose of Kent's presence in Act I, where the audience is permitted to view the real Kent, honest and loyal.

In both the play's opening scene and later, in his defense of Cordelia, Kent defines himself with integrity; thus, the audience recognizes that Kent's abusive behavior has a meaning beyond the obvious. In reality, Kent is a loyal lord to his king, but in this instance, it is important that he remain in disguise.

However, Kent knows that Oswald is carrying letters that will be used against the king, and whether in disguise or not, Kent will not lie. Thus, Kent's attack on Oswald is a reaction to the steward's dishonesty and to his purpose in fulfilling Goneril's orders. Oswald's character is evil, and Kent's reaction, while seemingly unwarranted, is in keeping with his own highly developed sense of morality.