KING LEAR

Lear King-aging king of Britan-protagonist of play-used to enjoying absolute power & being flattered-doesn’t respond well to being contradicted or challenged-@ beginning of play his values are notably hollow-he prioritizes the appearance of love over actual devotion & wishes to maintain the power of a king while unburdening himself of the responsibility-he inspires loyalty in subjects such as Gloucester/Kent/Cordelia/Edgar (all of whom risk their lives for him)
Goneril Evil daughter of Lear; plots to kill her husband with Edmund; kills herself at the of the play
Cordelia youngest, kind daughter of Lear-Lears’s youngest daughter-disowned by her father for refusing to flatter him-held in extremely high regard by all the food characters in play-King of France marries her for her virtue alone-overlooks her lack of dowry-she remains loyal to Lear despite his cruelty towards her-she forgives Lear & displays a mild & forbearing temperament even toward her evil sisters (Goneril & Regan)-Despite her obvious virtues(her resistance make her motivations hard to read)-as in her refusal to declare her love for her father @ beginning of play
Act 1 Scene 1 Lear divides up the Kingdom- Cordelia and Kent are banished
Act 1 Scene 2 Edmund begins his machinations and tricks Edgar & Gloucester
Act 1 Scene 3 Goneril begins to get irritated with Lear’s knights.
Act 1 Scene 4 Goneril confronts Lear and he storms off to Regan’s.
Act 1 Scene 5 The Fool warns Lear of his mistake- he says “O! Let me not be mad…I would not be mad!”
Act 2 Scene 1 Edmund tricks Edgar and Gloucester once more- Edmund is described as Gloucester’s “good and natural boy” whilst Edgar is banished
Act 2 Scene 2 Kent is put in the stocks by Cornwall and Goneril.
Act 2 Scene 3 Edgar is disguised as Poor Tom
Act 2 Scene 4 Lear finds Kent in the stocks- is shocked when Regan defends Goneril. He is locked out into the storm.
Act 3 Scene 1 The King of France and Cordelia are preparing their armies at Dover.
Act 3 Scene 2 Blow winds blow!”. On the heath
Act 3 Scene 3 Gloucester leaves to search for Lear
Act 3 Scene 4 Lear descends into true madness on the heath, stripping. They meet Poor Tom, and are led by Gloucester to shelter.
Act 3 Scene 5 Edmund shows Cornwall his father’s letter- condemning him to treason
Act 3 Scene 6 Lear, Kent, Gloucester and “Poor Tom” find shelter and proceed to Dover.
Act 3 Scene 7 Cornwall plucks out Gloucester’s eyes- Regan then throws him out of his own home; “smell your way to dover”
Act 4 Scene 1 “Poor Tom” sees blinded Gloucester and offers to take him to Dover for Gloucester to commit suicide.
Act 4 Scene 2 Goneril & Edmund plot to be together. Cornwall dies. Albany learns of Edmund’s treachery & the blinding and is outraged.
Act 4 Scene 3 Cordelia reacts to news of Lear- sunshine and rain all at once.
Act 4 Scene 4 Cordelia searches for Lear and prepares for battle.
Act 4 Scene 6 Edgar pretends that Gloucester has committed suicide yet been saved. Lear is “fantastically dressed with wild flowers”.
Act 4 Scene 7 Lear and Cordelia reunite- “I am old and foolish”, “I think this lady to be my child Cordelia”.
Act 5 Scene 1 Everyone is readying for battle with France. Edmund plots to have Albany killed to stop Lear and Cordelia being pardoned.
Act 5 Scene 2 Battle- French lose, Lear and Cordelia taken prisoner
Act 5 Scene 3 Edmund is put under arrest by Albany because he refuses to release Cordelia and Lear. Regan goes off stage and dies- poisoned by Goneril. Edmund & Edgar fight- as Edmund is dying he admits his wrongs (“the wheel is come full circle”). Edgar describes that Gloucester has died upon finding out his identity. Goneril then kills herself. Lear enters with dead Cordelia in his arms. Edmund dies. Lear is unable to accept that Cordelia is dead and dies thinking she is breathing. Edgar rules.
Year 1606
Plot The play’s action centers on an aging king who decides to divvy up his kingdom between his three daughters (Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia) in order to avoid any conflict after his death. Early retirement and the division of the kingdom turn out to be a big no-no. Lear’s actions end up destroying his family, tearing apart the kingdom, and causing a big old war, leaving just about everyone dead by the play’s end.
Edgar -Gloucester’s oldest son & legitimate son-he plays many different roles-starting out as a gullible fool easily tricked by his brother-then assuming a disguise as a mad beggar to evade further to aid Lear & Gloucester -& finally appearing as an armored champion to avenge his brother’s treason-Edgar’s propensity for disguises & impersonations makes it difficult to characterize him effectively
Edmund -Gloucester’s younger son (illegitimate)-resents his status as a bastard 7 schemes to usurp Gloucester’s title & possessions from Edgar-he’s a formidable character-succeeds in almost all of his schemes & wrecking destruction upon virtually all of the other characters
Gloucester -nobleman loyal to king Lear-rank (Earl) is below a Duke-1st thing we learn about Gloucester is that he is an adulterer (having fathered a bastard son-Edmund)-his father is in many ways parallel to Lear’s-he misjudges which of his sons to trust-he appears weak & ineffectual in the early acts- he is unable to prevent Lear from being turned out of his own house-but later demonstrates that he is also capable of great bravery
Kent -nobleman of the same rank as Glocester-loyal to King Lear-spends most of the play disguised as a peasant (calling himself “Caius”) so he can continue to serve Lear even after Lear banishes him-he eventually loyal BUT gets himself into trouble throughout the play by being extremely blunt & outspoken
Albany -husband of Lear’s daughter Goneril-is good @ heart-eventually denounces & opposes the cruelty of Goneril/Regan/ Cornwall-Yet he is indecisive & lacks foresight-realizing the evil of his allies late in the play
Cornwall -Husband of Lear’s daughter Regan-Unlike Albany, Cornwall is domineering/cruel/ violent-he works w/ his wife & sister in law Goneril to persecute Lear & Glocester
Fool -Lear’s jester-uses double-talk (double speak? fallacy) & seemingly friviould songs to give Lear important advice
Oswald -steward (Chief servant) in Goneril’s house-Oswald obeys his mistress’s commands & helps her in her conspiracies
King Lear is the king of which country? Britain
Which one of Lear’s daughters is sent into exile? Cordilla
Which one of Lear’s counselors reprimands the king for exiling his daughter? Kent
Who is Gloucester’s bastard son? Edmund
When Lear visits Goneril, what does she demand of him? That he send away some of his knights
When they hear that Lear is coming to visit them, where do Regan and Cornwall go? To Glouchesters Castle
Why is Kent thrown into the stocks? For beating Oswalds with the flat of his sword
When he flees from his father, how does Edgar disguise himself? As a common beggar
When Lear tells Regan that Goneril has wronged him, what does Regan advise him to do? Go to Goneril and ask her for forgivness
After he curses both Goneril and Regan, what does Lear do? He storms out of Gloucester castle, accompanied by the fool.
Whom does Lear meet living in a little hovel on the heath? Edgar, in disguse
Why is Gloucester accused of treason? Because Edmund revolves letters showing that he knows about the French Invasion
Where does Gloucester send Lear and his attendants? To Dover
How is Gloucester punished for his “treason”? He is blinded
Who encounters Gloucester on the heath and offers to lead him to Dover? Edgar
Who is leading the army that lands at Dover? Cordelia
Why does Gloucester want to reach the cliffs of Dover? He wants to throw himself over the cliff
To whom are both Goneril and Regan attracted? Edmund
Before the battle between the French and English armies, to whose camp is Lear brought? Cordeillas
What happens to Lear and Cordelia during the battle? Edmund takes them captive
How does Regan die? Goneril poisons her
Who fights a duel with Edmund? Edgar
What does Edmund reveal as he lies dying? That he ordered Cordilla killed
What happens to Cordelia? she is hanged in prision
What happens to Lear at the end of the play? He dies while weeping over Cordelia’s body.
What does Edmund give the Captain? A note, giving orders to kill Cordelia and Lear
Who kills Edmund Edgar
Who says the following: “And my poor fool is hanged. No, no, no life?Why should a dog, horse, a rat have life, And thou no breath at all? Thou’lt come no more,Never, never, never, never, never.—–“ Lear
“Vex not his ghost. O, let him pass? He hates him/That would upon the rack of this tough world/Stretch him out longer.” This is an example of a(n) Irony
Why does the Duke of Burgundy refuse to marry Cordelia in Act I of ???????????????? ????????????????? * He won’t wed a princess without a dowry
In ???????????????? ????????????????, a coxcomb is a/an Fools Cap
What does Gloucester say about Edmund when he introduces him? The Edmund is illegitimate but he still loves him.
How does Lear plan on spending his remaining years? Visiting his daughters.
How does Lear react to Cordelia’s refusal to flatter him? He gives her share of the kingdom to her sisters
Why is Edmund jealous of Edgar? He will inherit their father’s estate.
How does Edmund make Gloucester want to read the forged letter? By obviously hiding it from him.
What does Goneril order her servants to do to Lear? Act rudely to him
Who shows up at Goneril’s castle disguised as a peasant? Kent
What does the Fool say to Lear? That he was wrong to give his kingdom to Goneril and Reagan
What does Lear say he hopes happens to Goneril? That she becomes infertile
Who protests about how Goneril treats Lear? Albany
Who gave the order to shut the doors of Gloucester’s castle after Lear’s dramatic departure? Reagan
Kent is put into the stocks for his abuse of Oswald
In Act II, scene 1, Edmund encourages Edgar to flee before Gloucester arrives. What does Edmund then do to increase Gloucester’s anger and his view of Edgar as villain? Stabs himself in the arm.
When Edgar is disguised and pretending to be insane, what name does he use? Poor Tom
When King Lear goes out into the storm, who loyally goes and stays with him? Gloucester and Fool
“Winter’s not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.” Fool
“…O fool, I shall go mad!” King Lear
July 11, 2019