A NOTE ON A PHRASE IN SHAKESPEARES PLAY KING-LEAR - A PLAGUE UPON YOUR EPILEPTIC VISAGE

In Shakespeare's play King Lear the word 'epileptic' appears (used in a derogatory manner). This is held to be the first appearance of the w ord in the English language (although we have found earlier English re ferences to the word which Shakespeare may have read). Textual analysi s of the lines following the use of 'epileptic' suggests that it is ac tually a reference to the pock-marks of syphilis, endemic in Elizabeth an England, and is not actually a reference to epilepsy itself.