Identifying Line Numbers in Shakespearean Plays

Hi,
I'd like to know what the secret is to identify line numbers in King Lear.

Here's an example of what I find in the text:

"You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!" 460
You see me here, you gods, a poor old man,
As full of grief as age, wretched in both: [270]
If it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts
Against their father, fool me not so much
To bear it tamely; touch me with noble anger, 465"

Why two sets of numbers that follow the text and which one is the line number?
Also, they most often don't reflect the physical number of lines that have passed on the page. I can count down 11 lines from 475 and that brings me to 485. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I tried counting blank lines, not counting them, counting and not counting lines that have only a character name and no line. I can't seem to find the secret to identifying lines exactly and I'd like to know how so that I can reference them accurately in my essay.

Thanks,
Brendan.

Good morning.

Are there any explanations in the introduction or preface to the edition? Since each edition of a work is different, this can be difficult. Generally, the line numbers found at the end do count the lines in groups of five. In your example, the first line, "You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!" is line 460. "You see me here, you gods, a poor old man," is 461.

"As full of grief as age, wretched in both:" is 462.
"If it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts" is 463
"Against their father, fool me not so much" is 464
"To bear it tamely; touch me with noble anger," is 465

The [270] refers to a joined line. It will be the 270th joined line in the poem. It shows that line 462 and 463 are spoken as one sentence: "As full of grief as age, wretched in both: if it be you that stirs these daughters' hearts." It can also mark repeats; is this line repeated through the poem? If so, these could be marking the 270th repeat of the line. The line number is the one without any brackets or braces around it.

If you are unsure of your line numbers, a good solution is to refer to the page number and then count down the page until you arrive at the line you want. Each edition of the book is different, so this is a very accurate way to get around those differences.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Gloria
Moderator, EssayForum.com