Original: I heard myself proclaim’d,
Modern: I heard my name announced as a wanted man,

Original: And by the happy hollow of a tree
Modern: And by the lucky shelter of a hollow tree

Original: Escap’d the hunt. No port is free, no place
Modern: I escaped being captured. No harbor is safe, no place exists

Original: That guard and most unusual vigilance
Modern: Where guards and extreme watchfulness

Original: Does not attend my taking. Whiles I may scape,
Modern: Aren’t waiting to arrest me. While I can still escape,

Original: I will preserve myself; and am bethought
Modern: I will save myself; and I’ve decided

Original: To take the basest and most poorest shape
Modern: To take on the lowest and most wretched appearance

Original: That ever penury, in contempt of man,
Modern: That extreme poverty, showing contempt for humanity,

Original: Brought near to beast. My face I’ll grime with filth,
Modern: Has ever made almost animal-like. I’ll cover my face with dirt,

Original: Blanket my loins, elf all my hair in knots,
Modern: Wrap rags around my waist, tangle my hair into messy knots,

Original: And with presented nakedness outface
Modern: And with my exposed, nearly naked body I’ll brave

Original: The winds and persecutions of the sky.
Modern: The harsh winds and brutal weather.

Original: The country gives me proof and precedent
Modern: The countryside shows me examples and evidence

Original: Of Bedlam beggars, who, with roaring voices,
Modern: Of crazy beggars from the mental hospital, who, with loud voices,

Original: Strike in their numb’d and mortified bare arms
Modern: Stick into their numb and damaged bare arms

Original: Pins, wooden pricks, nails, sprigs of rosemary;
Modern: Pins, wooden spikes, nails, and sprigs of rosemary;

Original: And with this horrible object, from low farms,
Modern: And with this terrifying sight, they go to humble farms,

Original: Poor pelting villages, sheepcotes, and mills,
Modern: Miserable little villages, sheep pens, and mills,

Original: Sometime with lunatic bans, sometime with prayers,
Modern: Sometimes with crazy curses, sometimes with prayers,

Original: Enforce their charity. ‘Poor Turlygod! poor Tom!’
Modern: To force people to give them money. ‘Poor Turlygod! Poor Tom!’

Original: That’s something yet! Edgar I nothing am.
Modern: That identity is at least something! As Edgar, I am nothing.

In Act 2, Scene 3 of “King Lear,” Edgar appears alone, having escaped from those who seek to capture him following his brother Edmund’s false accusations of plotting against their father Gloucester. Edgar reveals that he has heard a proclamation issued against him and understands that he is being actively hunted throughout the kingdom. He recognizes that he cannot find safety anywhere as himself and that every tree and hollow place serves as a potential hiding spot for those pursuing him.

Edgar then announces his plan to disguise himself as a Bedlam beggar, one of the mad, wandering beggars who were released from hospitals and left to roam the countryside. He describes in detail how he will transform his appearance: he will mat his hair with knots, strip himself nearly naked, wrap a blanket around his waist, and cover his bare arms and face with dirt. He will adopt the persona and behavior of these “Bedlam beggars” who pierce their numbed arms with sharp objects, stick pins and nails into their flesh, and present themselves as pitiful spectacles to move people to charity. By taking on this disguise and the name “Poor Tom,” Edgar believes he can preserve something of himself that would otherwise be lost if he remained Edgar and was captured.

King Lear centers on two parallel plots of familial betrayal and blindness to truth. The main plot follows the aging King Lear, who decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on their public declarations of love. Goneril and Regan offer flowery but hollow speeches, while the honest Cordelia refuses to participate in this ceremony, saying she loves her father “according to my bond, no more nor less.” Enraged by her honesty, Lear banishes Cordelia and divides her portion between her sisters. The Earl of Kent, who tries to defend Cordelia, is also banished. Cordelia marries the King of France and departs, while Goneril and Regan quickly reveal their true nature by stripping their father of his retinue and dignity.

The subplot involves the Earl of Gloucester and his two sons: Edgar, his legitimate heir, and Edmund, his illegitimate son. Edmund masterfully manipulates his father through forged letters, convincing Gloucester that Edgar plans to kill him. Edgar is forced to flee and assumes the disguise of “Poor Tom,” a mad beggar. Meanwhile, Edmund continues his scheming, eventually becoming involved with both Goneril and Regan, who compete for his affections while plotting against each other.

As the play progresses, both fathers suffer for their inability to distinguish between appearance and reality. Lear descends into madness during a violent storm, accompanied by his Fool and the disguised Kent (who has returned to serve his master despite his banishment). Gloucester, attempting to help Lear, is brutally punished by Cornwall and Regan, who gouge out his eyes. Only then does he realize he has wronged Edgar and been deceived by Edmund. The play culminates in a final battle where the forces of evil largely destroy each other—Goneril poisons Regan and kills herself, Edmund is defeated in combat by Edgar, and Lear dies of grief while holding the dead Cordelia, who has been hanged on Edmund’s orders. The play ends with Edgar, Albany, and Kent left to restore order to a devastated kingdom.