Questions that are due on the Blog by Thursday, no excuses!!
King Lear Study Questions 1.1
1.Who are the two nobles in the opening scene and what are they talking about?
2.How do you think that Edmund must be feeling at this moment?
3.What does Old King Lear plan to do with his kingdom? What is the test that he proposes to the daughters?
4.How do each of the first two daughters answer the old man?
5.What is Cordelia's answer and why does she answer as she does? What does her reference to "nothing" suggest about the use of this motif in the rest of the play?
6.Do you think that Cordelia is being cruel in refusing to play her father's game? Why?
7.How does Lear react to Cordelia's response? How does Lord Kent react to Lear's response?
8.How might the references to sight and blindness become important for the rest of the play?
9.How do France and Burgandy each react to the news that Cordelia will not receive any dower and what does their reaction tell us about their characters?
10.What does Cordelia mean when she says to her sisters, "I know you what you are." What do the sisters say about their father near the end of the scene?
1.2
11.What are the two views of nature contrasted in the action and dialogue of this scene?
12. What parallels do you see between this scene and the first one?
1.3
13.A couple of months have now passed; what is bothering Goneril at this point and what does she instruct her servant Oswald to do about it?
1.4
14.Why does Kent wish to serve Lear? What does he discern in Lear's countenance and how is this ironic?
15.What is Kent's reaction to what Oswald's servant does to Lear?
16.Why is what the knight says about the Fool's pining away "since my young lady's going into France" important?
17.What is the Fool's function in this part of the play and what are at least three examples of how he fulfills this function?
2.1
18.How does Edmund trick his brother Edgar into fleeing?
2.2
19.How do Kent's actions with Oswald characterize him as a "plain dealer"?
20.How might Kent's line "Nothing almost seems miracles/But misery" serve as a motto for the play?
2.3
21.How is Edgar's disguising himself as a bedlam beggar an example of social criticism in the play? Why is Edgar's comment, "Edgar, I nothing am" important to the meaning of the play?
2.4
22.Why is Lear so angry that his servant Kent has been put in the stocks by Regan and Cornwall?
23.What is Regan's first response when Lear complains of his treatment at the hands of her sister?
King Lear Themes
King Lear Characters
Questions that are due on the Blog by Thursday, no excuses!!
King Lear Study Questions
1.1
1.Who are the two nobles in the opening scene and what are they talking about?
2.How do you think that Edmund must be feeling at this moment?
3.What does Old King Lear plan to do with his kingdom? What is the test that he proposes to the daughters?
4.How do each of the first two daughters answer the old man?
5.What is Cordelia's answer and why does she answer as she does? What does her reference to "nothing" suggest about the use of this motif in the rest of the play?
6.Do you think that Cordelia is being cruel in refusing to play her father's game? Why?
7.How does Lear react to Cordelia's response? How does Lord Kent react to Lear's response?
8.How might the references to sight and blindness become important for the rest of the play?
9.How do France and Burgandy each react to the news that Cordelia will not receive any dower and what does their reaction tell us about their characters?
10.What does Cordelia mean when she says to her sisters, "I know you what you are." What do the sisters say about their father near the end of the scene?
1.2
11.What are the two views of nature contrasted in the action and dialogue of this scene?
12. What parallels do you see between this scene and the first one?
1.3
13.A couple of months have now passed; what is bothering Goneril at this point and what does she instruct her servant Oswald to do about it?
1.4
14.Why does Kent wish to serve Lear? What does he discern in Lear's countenance and how is this ironic?
15.What is Kent's reaction to what Oswald's servant does to Lear?
16.Why is what the knight says about the Fool's pining away "since my young lady's going into France" important?
17.What is the Fool's function in this part of the play and what are at least three examples of how he fulfills this function?
2.1
18.How does Edmund trick his brother Edgar into fleeing?
2.2
19.How do Kent's actions with Oswald characterize him as a "plain dealer"?
20.How might Kent's line "Nothing almost seems miracles/But misery" serve as a motto for the play?
2.3
21.How is Edgar's disguising himself as a bedlam beggar an example of social criticism in the play? Why is Edgar's comment, "Edgar, I nothing am" important to the meaning of the play?
2.4
22.Why is Lear so angry that his servant Kent has been put in the stocks by Regan and Cornwall?
23.What is Regan's first response when Lear complains of his treatment at the hands of her sister?