| In line 10 Kent replies “I cannot conceive you” The definition of the word conceive as it is used in the passage is | apprehendExplanationIn answer to Kent’s question about Edmund, Gloucester admits that while he is the young man’s father, he has, “so often blush’d to acknowledge him” that he’s used to it (line 9). This is Elizabethan code for referring to a bastard offspring, who would be embarrassing to be seen with in public. Kent doesn’t quite get the joke and asks for clarification, perhaps because he doesn’t want to appear indelicate. Kent’s remark is humorous as well, as it sets the stage for Gloucester to reply, “Sir, this young fellow’s mother could,” in the following line. |
| Act 1 Scene 1 As can be inferred from the passage the word “moiety” line 6 most likely means | … |
| Act 1 Scene 1 In lines 1-20, Gloucester also reveals his feelings about Edmund, which are that | … |
| Act 1 Scene 1 In lines 14-15 what is Kent’s opinion of Edmund at first glance | … |
| In the first exchange between Kent and Edmund the younger man reveals himself to be | … |
| Goneril tells her father that she loves him using all of the following arguments EXCEPT | … |
| Who is Gloucester’s illegitimate son? | Edmund |
| In the first scene, an attendant is carrying a small crown meant for whom? | Cordelia |
| When King Lear announces that he is retiring, what does he want to do with his lands? | Divide them equally amongst his daughters |
| When Cordelia refuses to profess her undying love for her father (the King), what does her father do? | Her father disowns her |
| What is the name of the person who stands up for Cordelia when her father disinherits her? | Kent |
| Which man marries Cordelia even though she doesn’t have a dowry? | The King of France |
| Kent’s lines “See better Lear and let me still remain/ The true blank of thine eye” (lines 161-162) indicate that Kent | wants to stay as advisor to the kingExplanationKent believes he sees more clearly than Lear, and asks to stay with him as a true counselor. The words “true blank,” in this instance, mean the one who sees clearly. Several times in the passage, he has offered up his life to Lear as proof of his loyalty, but Lear is blinded by his rage against Cordelia, and cannot be made to see the truth of the situation. |
| It can be inferred in the passage that children born outside of marriage in Elizabethan society were considered | contemptibleExplanationGloucester wouldn’t “have blush’d to acknowledge” Edmund had there not been some social stigma surrounding his birth. |
| King Lear banishes which of the following people from his kingdom? | Kent |
| Which suitor of Cordelia refuses to marry her after she is disinherited? | Burgundy |
| Why does Cordelia refuse to flatter Lear as her sisters have done? | She finds them insincere and does not want to stoop to their level of hypocrisy. |
| How does Edmund first deceive Gloucester into believing that Edgar is plotting against him? | He pretends to hide a letter which he had fabricated, incriminating Edgar. |
| Which character spoke these lines, “I love your Majesty/ According to my bond, no more nor less” ? | Cordelia |
| Which act solidifies Lear’s trust for his new servant, Caius (Kent disguised)? | Caius trips Oswald after Lear has struck him because he is being impolite |
| Why is Kent put in the stocks at Gloucester’s castle? | Caius insults and then strikes Oswald, the servant, who cries out |
| How many servants/knights do Regan and Goneril finally agree upon as the number they will allow Lear to keep in his train if he wishes to live with either of them? | 0 |
| What literary device best describes this statement, “For you, Edmund,/ Whose virtue and obedience doth this instant/ So much commend itself, you shall be ours./ Natures of such deep trust we shall much need;/ You we first seize on” (II.1.112-116)? | irony |
| What natural element/happening becomes personified with Lear’s feelings when he leaves Gloucester’s castle and is shut out by his daughters? | storm |
| What demon does Edgar, disguised as poor Tom, frequently complain of? | foul fiend |
| What best describes the state Lear is trying to reach when he empathizes with poor Tom and wishes to strip himself of all of his clothes? | unaccommodated man |
| Poor Tom says that his old occupation was as a _____? | servingman |
| Gloucester prepares a transport to Dover because he overheard what news? | There is a plot against Lear’s life |
| Who kills Cornwall? | A servant defending Gloucester |
| What is Gloucester’s punishment for treason? | blinding |
| Which quotation best describes why Goneril’s feelings are divided after Cornwall’s death? | “But being widow, and my Gloucester with her,/ May all the building in my fancy pluck/ Upon my hateful life.” |
| How does Albany find out about Goneril’s plan to have Edmund kill him so that they can marry? | Edgar, disguised, brings him the letter he had intercepted from Oswald. |
| What is Edmund’s main concern when he contemplates which of the two sisters, Goneril or Regan, he should marry? | ambition: He wishes to be the ruler of a united kingdom. |
| Why does Lear run away when one of Cordelia’s attendants approaches him kindly? | He thinks the men were sent by Goneril and Regan and are trying to capture him. |
| What does the doctor prescribe to Cordelia as a remedy for Lear’s madness? | sleep |
| As is consistent with his practice in his other tragedies, in King Lear Shakespeare’s hero is | a noble person whose character flaws cause his own destruction. |
| The first stage in the ritual sacrifice of the hero-victim involves a general evil that pervades society, in King Lear, this evil in the abstract is | jealousy and ingratitude |
| In King Lear as in many modern tragedies, the protagonist is for the most part | a passive victim rather than an active agent in his own destruction |
| Shakespeare added certain touches of his own to the Lear story; however, from the original version he retained | the names Lear, Cordelia, and Regan |
| The universe of Shakespeare’s King Lear is best defined by the term | Darwinian |
| Edgar suggests after his victory over Edmund that the gods are just; in other words, Edgar comes to believe in the powers of | nemesis |
| Edmund identifies himself with the Goddess Nature because he deems her | savage and ungovernable |
| Cordelia is a surprising and somewhat improbable combination of | sincerity and pigheadedness |
| When Burgundy says to Lear, “I crave no more than your Highness offered, Nor will you tender less” (I, i, 196-7), he really means that | Lear should fulfill his part of the marriage contract by giving Cordelia a dowry. |
| A reference in the second scene of the first act that is undoubtedly anachronistic is | “I shall not need spectacles” (36). |
| Gloucester’s speech about “These late eclipses” (I, ii, 112-127) provides an example of | pathetic fallacy |
| When Albany says: All friends shall taste The wages of their virtue, and all foes The cup of their deservings he is referring to | the powers of Nemesis |
| One of the most positive aspects of the strange universe of King Lear is | the affirmation of the immortality of the human soul |
| Gloucester’s calling Edmund his “Loyal and natural boy” (II, i, 86) the audience recognizes as | dramatic irony |
| Line 18 in IV, iv, contains an example of | effective repetition |
| Look up III, iv, 85-95 in your text; these lines illustrate | parallelism |
| When Edmund tells Edgar, “I am no honest man if there be any good meaning toward you” (I, ii, 186), the type of irony involved in Edmund’s action is | situational & dramatic |
| “I am tied to the stake, and I must stand the course” these lines constitute what type of allusion? | topical |
| “I am tied to the stake, and I must stand the course” The speaker means that | his enemies are snapping at him as if they are dogs in a bear-baiting pit. |
| Ironically, as Gloucester is losing his eyes, he | calls out to Edmund for assistance and revenge |
| The climax of the play occurs in V, iii, when | Lear carries on stage the lifeless body of Cordelia |
| In King Lear, the normal order of things is inverted–hence, | a ruler behaves foolishly, while his Fool offers a wiseman’s insights |
| A consistent pattern in the play’s plot is disguise and deception; parts of this pattern include | Edgar’s dressing himself as a Bedlam beggar |
| Ironically, once Lear has gone insane, he | sees himself and the rest of society with greater insight |
AP Lit. King Lear
July 8, 2019