“That’s but a trifle here” (5.3.295), Albany’s response to the news of Edmund’s death, might fittingly describe the entire political farce that unfolds in Act 5. For though bustling with the drama of an international power struggle, that history-play aspect of King Lear is but the scaffolding on which to erect the final act’s primary interest: the tragic fate of the play’s principal characters—Lear, Gloucester, Cordelia, Goneril, Regan, Edgar, Edmund, and Kent. With three exceptions—Edgar, Albany, and Kent—all are dead by the end of the play. Kent, moreover, exits the stage while cryptically intimating his own suicide: “I have a journey, sir, shortly to go: / My master calls me; I must not say no” (5.3.323-24). As for Albany and Edgar? Goneril’s widowed husband suggests that Kent and Edgar are suitable leaders to “Rule in this realm and the gored state sustain” (322)—this just prior to Kent withdrawing his candidacy in order to join Lear, his “master,” in death. So that leaves Albany himself, and Edgar.
As the surviving spouse of the king’s eldest daughter, Albany would be the logical successor. But in deferring to Kent and Edgar, he indicates his reluctance to assume the role. And who can blame him, given what is likely to be a difficult future for a kingdom so utterly decimated?
That would leave Edgar. Would he make a good ruler? If so, why? What skills and/or character attributes would qualify him for the job?
Now, examine Edgar’s (and the play’s) final words: 5.3.325-28. What does he mean? Why are these lines, focused on speech itself, a fitting conclusion?
Rather than continue to lecture, I now defer to the class to select moments/passages in Act 5 you find most striking, for whatever reason, and offer comments as to why you think them effective. Below is a selection of the greatest hits, with audio links, but feel free to choose any passage or to discuss any aspect of the play’s thrilling conclusion.
©Robert Whalen, 2026