The King of France has had to return to France because of “something he left imperfect in the state.” We don’t find out what that something is. Is this a weakness in the plot, or is there a subtle reason why Shakespeare has the King leave before the fateful battle with the British forces?
I think that Shakespeare doesn't want the King of France to be captured, and he wants to show Cordelia as a person who can take charge, not a weakling.
Regan tells us that the blinded Gloucester is moving hearts against the evil sisters. It wasn’t a good idea to send him out on the road to Dover. So the plans of the evil figures in the drama are finally starting to unravel. What else is about to tear the evil alliance between the sisters apart?
They both love Edmund, and are trying to marry him. Gonril is going to kill her husband and marry Edmund instead, and Regan wants to marry him because her husband is dead.
Why does Edgar go through the strange charade of seeming to take Gloucester up to the top of the Dover cliffs?
He wants Gloucester to believe that the gods intervened and kept him from dying. He doesn't want his father to die, so he pretends to lead him to his death, but he really doesn't.
Scenes 3&4 have nothing of note in them. I will talk about scenes 5-6.
Scene 5
Regan wants to marry Edmund, and so she tells Oswald to go and stop Gonril from marrying him. This will rip up the sisters' relationship. Regan remarks that Edmund has a life"as dark as night," which I find interesting.
Scene 6
Edgar pretends to aid Gloucester, his father, in a suicide attempt, but really just makes Gloucester think that he is aiding him. Lear arrives, and is seeing that he is pursued by people trying to arrest him for counterfeiting money. He shows Gloucester a letter, and is raving on about how they are mistreating him.
More later,
Bell
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