Lear begins his diatribe with the proclamation, “Ay, every inch a king!”(4.6.107), which means, in every respect he is a king. He then goes on to defend adultery, by stating that other animals in nature commit this act, from the wren to the small golden fly. His point in this is that Gloucester’s bastard son, Edmund, was “kinder” to his father than his daughters, of legitimate birth, were to him. Of course, this ironic …showed first 75 words of 331 total…

…showed last 75 words of 331 total…female genitals, which are in darkness, or are evil. He compares the female genitals to the “sulphurous pit, burning, scalding, Stench, consumption”(128-129), of Hell. According to Lear, women, or more appropriately, his daughters, are like the devil. Of course, Lear is wrong. Cordelia, in no way could be described as a “simp’ring dame”. She is the light, or goodness, that is in opposition to the darkness, or evil, of Gonreil, Regan, and Edmund.