King Lear Act II Response 2

After Edgar "fights" Edmund, he runs away because he is under the impression that everyone is going to be looking for him.  He hides in a hollow tree because "I heard myself proclaimed, and by the happy hollow of a tree escaped the hunt.  No port is free, no place that guard and most unusual vigilance does not attend my taking."  Due to his confusion of the actual situation (and his ignorance regarding the treachery of Edmund) he decides to disguise himself as "the basest and most poorest shape that ever penury and contempt of man."  On a surface, this disguise is simply to avoid himself being caught for the transgressions he has made against Edmund.  However, on a deeper level, Edgar feels as though his own character is of no worth to society.  He feels that due to the actions that everyone else in the society perceives him  to have done that they no longer value him and would value him more as a vagrant.  At least they would cast some semblance of charity onto a wanderer.  On a different note, this character may be used as a symbol.  Typically these characters of whom Edgar is disguising himself are known as insane people who have escaped from an asylum, and as such are generally confused and crazy.  This might be used as a symbol of the confusion and craziness that both the reader and Edgar himself are feeling at this point.  All things considered, however, this extreme disguise is probably employed mostly due to the fact that Edgar must pick something so drastically differed from his typical self so that those who seek to punish him for his supposed wrongdoing will not be able to find him.