The First Servant

Alfred Harbage says in his introduction to King Lear in The Complete Pelican Shakespeare, "In every scene where there is pain, there is someone who strives to relieve that pain." Although the extreme cruelty of Regan and Goneril, Cornwall and Edmund dominates much of the story, it is the love and loyalty, strength and courage of those that oppose the forces of evil that give King Lear its power. One such character is the First Servant in Act III, Scene VII. Here is a man who has but few lines and no name, but whose selfless, courageous actions render a decisive effect on the outcome of the play. He does not stand by and watch while Cornwall gouges out Gloucester's eyes, but leaps to the defence, not wanting to see the respected master he has served so long stoop to such wickedness. He does not stay silent, but boldly says, "Hold your hand, my lord:/ I have served you ever since I was a child;/ But better service have I never done you/ Than now to bid you hold" (III.vii.73-76). He knows like everyone else in the room that what is taking place is terribly wrong, but he alone has the strength and morality to step forward and intervene. Though his actions do not save Gloucester's eyes and ultimately cost the Servant his life, his bravery is not in vain since he manages to deal Cornwall a fatal wound so that he is not there for the battle at the end of the play. Through the sacrifice of the First Servant, Shakespeare may be saying that good is always stronger than evil, even in the pure actions of the least of these.