King Lear

1
King Lear

• Structure, characters, and themes

2
King Lear
King Lear
Regan
Goneril
Cordelia
Albany
Cornwall
France
3
King LearCharacters

• Main Plot
• Primary -- dynamic
• Protagonist, changes through play
• Lear
• Antagonist, character revealed
• Goneril, Regan
• Secondary -- static
• Reflection characters
• Cordelia, Kent, Fool, France

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King LearCharacters

• Sub Plot
• Good
• Gloucester, Edgar
• Evil
• Edmund
• Reflection characters
• Oswald, Albany, Cornwall, servant to Cornwall

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King LearFoils

• Character foiling
• Lear and Gloucester
• Cordelia and Edgar
• Goneril/Regan and Edmund
• Plot foiling
• Act 1, sc 1 Act 5, sc 3
• Act 3, sc 6 and sc 7

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King LearMotifs and Imagery

• Motifs
• Seeing
• Judging
• Flattery
• the worst
• unaccomodated man
• Patience
• nothing

• Imagery
• Insults
• Foul fiend, madness
• Swearing by Gods
• Astrology

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King LearSeeing motif

• Act 1
• Hence and avoid my sight Out of my sight!
• See better, Lear
• If it be nothing, I shall not need spectacles
• Act 3
• Pluck out his eyes
• I would not see thy cruel nails pluck out his
  poor old eyes
• I shall see the winged vengeance overtake such
  children
• See it shalt thou never

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King LearSeeing motif

• Act 4
• I stumbled when I saw
• Might I but live to see thee in my touch, Id
  say I had eyes again
• Act 5
• As for the mercy Which he intends to Lear and to
  Cordelia, The battle done, and they within our
  power, Shall never see his pardon
• Do you see this? Look on her, look, her
  lips,Look there, look there!

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King LearMotifs and Imagery

• Motifs
• Seeing
• Judging
• Flattery
• the worst
• unaccomodated man
• Patience
• nothing

• Imagery
• Insults
• Foul fiend, madness
• Swearing by Gods
• Astrology

10
King LearThemes

• Parent/child relationship
• Flattery
• Madness
• Judgment
• Appearance vs. reality
• world view of Renaissance Christian Humanist and
  Machiavellian

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King Lear -- Act I
Scene 1 Lear divides country, Disowns
Cordelia Cordelia bids farewell to sisters
Scene 2 Edmund soliloquy Conspiracy theory Advice
to Edgar
Scene 3 Goneril and Oswald
Scene 4 Kent to serve Lear as Caius Lear and
Fool Lear and Goneril
Scene 5 Lear sends Kent to Regan Lear and Fool
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King Lear, Act I, scene 1
Lear
Fool
Albany
Goneril
Cordelia
Cornwall
Regan
Kent
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King Lear -- Act II
Scene 1 Edmund and Edgar Cornwall/Regan and
Gloucester
Scene 3 Edgar
Scene 4 Lear/Fool and Kent Lear and Regan Goneril
comes
Scene 2 Oswald and Kent Glou/Corn/Regan Kent in
stocks
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King Lear -- Act III
Scene 1 Kent and Gentleman
Scene 3 Gloucester And Edmund
Scene 4 Lear in hovel Talks with Edgar as Poor Tom
Scene 2 Lear on the Heath
Scene 7 Blinding of Gloucester
Scene 5 Cornwall and Edmund
Scene 6 Lear Trial scene
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King Lear -- Act IV
Scene 1 Edgar and Gloucester
Scene 2 Goneril and Edmund Albany and
Goneril Albany and Gentleman
Scene 3 Kent and Gentleman
Scene 4 Cordelia and Doctor
Scene 5 Regan and Oswald
Scene 6 Edgar and Gloucester Gloucester and
Lear Oswald and Edgar
Scene 7 Cordelia and Kent with Lear
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King Lear -- Act V
Scene 1 Edmund and Regan Goneril and Albany Edgar
to Albany Edmund
Scene 2 Edgar and Gloucester

Scene 3 Edmund with Lear and Cordelia Albany Edgar
and Edmund fight Goneril and Regan dead Lear
carries Cordelia in Restoration of Order
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King Lear, Act V, scene 3
Lear
Goneril
Cordelia
Regan
Albany
Kent