fic: i'll not weep
Title: I’ll Not Weep
Author: ArthurMerlin
Rating: G
Spoilers: Merlin 4x13, King Lear
Words: 100
Summary: A drabble... Merlin meets King Lear
I'll Not Weep
“I will have such revenges on you both,
That all the world shall--I will do such things,--
What they are, yet I know not: but they shall be
The terrors of the earth. You think I'll weep
No, I'll not weep:
I have full cause of weeping; but this heart
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws!”
Thus spake Arthur, son of Uther, King of Camelot, on the eve of the siege to reclaim his usurped kingdom. Whereupon he did collapse into the waiting arms of his faithful Merlin.
“Cry not, sweet lord,” said he, kissing the royal forehead.
...
Notes: I’ve just watched Ian McKellen in the RSC’s production of King Lear. It’s my favourite Shakespeare play, and the parallels with Merlin haven’t been lost on me! Lear is a King who is betrayed by those dearest to him, just as Arthur is betrayed and deceived by his family and friends. Lear’s is a poignant and moving story for anybody who has experienced betrayal and hopelessness, although, perhaps wisely, it doesn’t portray a happy ending.
When Lear realises the extent of the betrayal of his daughters Goneril and Regan, he flies into a heart-wrenching rage, the concluding words of which I have used and placed in Arthur’s mouth; his reaction to the betrayals of Agravaine and Guinevere. While Lear says ‘both’, I should probably include Morgana as those whose betrayals wound Arthur deeply, and Merlin if he were to have discovered his magic. But for the purposes of this drabble (precisely 100 words, because I like to be traditional!), I like to think of Arthur collapsing under the weight of the most recent betrayals of Agravaine and Guinevere. And a bit of trivia for those who are interested... the word ‘clotpole’ is found in King Lear!
Following the Shakespeare thread, wouldn’t it have made a good episode if Arthur had done an Othello when he found out about Lancelot and Guinevere? I can just see Morgana as Iago! Maybe I’ll write that one day, but enough of a distraction! I must get back to writing chapter two of La Fenice. So I present you with my Shakespearean fusion of this scene from Merlin 4x13; adieu!
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