Act 3, Scene 3 Summary

Lear wanders through the woods. The Ghost appears, telling Lear that Cordelia's soldiers are moving into the village and cutting Lear off from the people. Lear recalls how his (the Ghost's) body and Warrington's are buried in the forest. The Ghost weeps, sad that he's dead, that he's lost the fully happy life he had in the forest, that his mind is going, and that he's so lost.

The Carpenter and Cordelia come in (Cordelia, it must be remembered, was the Ghost's wife when he was still alive). She greets Lear with friendliness, and they recall the circumstances of their first meeting (Act 1 Scenes 5 and 6). Cordelia then explains why she's doing what she's doing - she promised herself that there would be no more of the brutality that ended the lives of her husband and unborn child, going on to say...