Hence it is generally supposed that by ‘Gloster,’ in the passage just quoted, Lear means not the Earl but the place; that Regan’s home was there; and that Gloster’s castle was somewhere not very far off.  This is to some extent confirmed by the fact that Cornwall is the ‘arch’ or patron of Gloster (II. i. 60 f., 112 ff.).  But Gloster’s home or house must not be imagined quite close to Cornwall’s, for it takes a night to ride from the one to the other, and Gloster’s house is in the middle of a solitary heath with scarce a bush for many miles about (II. iv. 304).

The plural ‘these letters’ in the passage quoted need give no trouble, for the plural is often used by Shakespeare for a single letter; and the natural conjecture that Lear sent one letter to Regan and another to Gloster is not confirmed by anything in the text.

The only difficulty is that, as Koppel points out, ‘Gloster’ is nowhere else used in the play for the place (except in the phrase ’Earl of Gloster’ or ’my lord of Gloster’); and—­what is more important—­that it would unquestionably be taken by the audience to stand in this passage for the Earl, especially as there has been no previous indication that Cornwall lived at Gloster.  One can only suppose that Shakespeare forgot that he had given no such indication, and so wrote what was sure to be misunderstood,—­unless we suppose that ‘Gloster’ is a mere slip of the pen, or even a misprint, for ‘Regan.’  But, apart from other considerations, Lear would hardly have spoken to a servant of ‘Regan,’ and, if he had, the next words would have run ‘Acquaint her,’ not ‘Acquaint my daughter.’

NOTE V.

SUSPECTED INTERPOLATIONS IN KING LEAR.

There are three passages in King Lear which have been held to be additions made by ‘the players.’

The first consists of the two lines of indecent doggerel spoken by the Fool at the end of Act I.; the second, of the Fool’s prophecy in rhyme at the end of III. ii.; the third, of Edgar’s soliloquy at the end of III. vi.

It is suspicious (1) that all three passages occur at the ends of scenes, the place where an addition is most easily made; and (2) that in each case the speaker remains behind alone to utter the words after the other persons have gone off.

I postpone discussion of the several passages until I have called attention to the fact that, if these passages are genuine, the number of scenes which end with a soliloquy is larger in King Lear than in any other undoubted tragedy.  Thus, taking the tragedies in their probable chronological order (and ignoring the very short scenes into which a battle is sometimes divided),[270] I find that there are in Romeo and Juliet four such scenes, in Julius Caesar two, in Hamlet six, in Othello four,[271] in King Lear seven,[272] in Macbeth two,[273] in Antony and Cleopatra three, in Coriolanus one.  The difference between King Lear and the plays that come nearest to it is really much greater than it appears from this list, for in Hamlet four of the six soliloquies, and in Othello three of the four, are long speeches, while most of those in King Lear are quite short.