| King Lear | slowly going insane throughout the play; banishes Cordelia and Kent; dies of a broken heart over Cordelia’s death. |
| Goneril | ruthless; oldest sister; poisons Regan becuase of Edgar; takes away Lear’s army. |
| Regan | the 2nd sister; wants Lear’s kingdom like Goneril. |
| Cordelia | Loyal to Lear; banished; marries France; “Mary” like figure; hanged in jail. |
| Oswald | steward to Goneril; obeys her commands; fights with Edgar. |
| Cornwall | head of marriage with Regan; likes to have all the power but abuses it; stabbed by his own servant. |
| France | marries Cordelia for love. |
| Kent | a loyal nobleman to Lear; he spends most of the play disguised as a servant so he can still serve Lear after his banishment; kills himself. |
| Fool | acts dumb to amuse Lear; Lear is the basis of all his jokes; he is hanged. |
| Gloucester | nobleman under Lear; father to Edmund and Edgar; dies of shock when Edgar reveals himself. |
| Edgar | “good son”; kills Edmund; poor tom. |
| Edmund | “bad son”; manipulative; illegitimate son to Gloucester. |
| Primogeniture | first son inherits everything; ex- Lear wants to split the kingdom between his 3 daughters instead of giving it to his oldest daughter’s husband. |
| Cultural Performance | showing off; ex- Lear splitting the kingdom. |
| K2B | King’s two bodies; whatever the king feels-everyone feels; ex- when Lear is upset, there is a storm. |
| Paradox | A contradictory statementthat makes sense; ex- “Freedom is out there and banishment is here”. |
| Renaissance Home Economics | Father is at the top, mother represents father, sons from oldest to youngest, daughters. |
| Familial Faults | anything that goes against the renaissance home economics; ex- Edmund (youngest) got all the power instead of Edgar (oldest). |
| Nature | can’t change; ex- Edgar is gullible like Gloucester; he was born that way. |
| Nurture | environment; ex- Edmund does not want to settle as just being the illegitimate son. |
| Shakespeare’s life | born and died on April 23rd in Stratford; only completed grammar school; was an actor |
| 1604 | Queen Elizabeth died so King James the First was in charge; he was a terrible leader; bad time for the kingdom; King Lear was written on this year and was based on those events. |
| Setting | B.C. England |
| Aside | addressing the audience while other actors are in stage. |
| Soliloquy | addressing the audience while alone on stage. |
| Foil | opposite statement. |
| Unaccomodated Man | someone who has nothing. |
| Moral | speak what you think, not what you ought to say. |
King Lear Test English IV
July 4, 2019