This week Sam Gibbs, Samantha Blinn, Rafe Terrizzi, Ariana Karp examine Act III of King Lear.

“Articulate” madness
Writing for actors—Will Kempe the buffooning clown vs. Robert Armin the intellectual fool
Meta-theatrical moment of the fool’s prophesy
The horror and cost of prophecy and incantation
Demonic possession (both true and framed) in the Jacobean era
Sam Harsnett and The Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures and the overlap with Edgar’s “Poor Tom” dialogue
The significance of Edgar’s madness
Difference between the Quarto and Folio versions of King Lear
The relationship between Blindness the Fool and the Madman
Words that have the prefix “un” and their psychological significance