ALBANY: The gods defend her – Bear him hence awhile.
[Edmund is carried off.]
[Enter Lear with Cordelia in his arms, followed by a Gentleman.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 5, Scene 3. Albany prays to the gods to save the innocent Cordelia from harm, but his prayer immediately falls on deaf ears. Lear arrives on stage carrying the lifeless body of his daughter Cordelia. The concept of divine justice now begins to look very shaky.