18. Thou shouldst … wise: Wisdom is generally associated with age. Here, the Fool says that Lear grew old before he had gained the wisdom of an old man.
19. in temper: sane 40
FOOL Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.18
LEAR
O let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven! Keep me in temper;19 I would not be mad!
Enter a GENTLEMAN. How now! Are the horses ready?
GENTLEMAN Ready, my lord.
45
LEAR Come, boy. Exeunt all except FOOL.
20. She that’s a maid … shorter: This is a rude joke, addressed directly to the audience. The Fool suggests that a virgin who can only see the comic side of what he has said and who does not understand the tragic implications has not enough intelligence to preserve her virginity.
FOOL She that’s a maid now, and laughs at my departure Shall not be a maid long, unless things be cut shorter.20
Exit.
Nor I neither; but I can tell why a snail has a house. ... Why, to put his head in; not to give it away to his daughters, and leave his horns without a case. (Fool, lines 25, 27–28)
