King Lear Revision Day Areas to Revise l

King Lear Revision Day

Areas to Revise: l Themes l Characters l Key Events l Key Speeches l Shakespeare’s use of Language l Exam Techniques

Themes: l l l Nothing Family Suffering The Gods Sight and Blindness Animals Madness l Nature l Appearance/Reality l Justice l

Characters: King Lear l l At the opening of the play: Self-centred Arrogant Reckless Ruthless l l l At the end of the play: Remorseful Understanding Considerate Caring

l l l Goneril and Regan: Cruel Vicious Determined Ruthless Jealous l l l Cordelia: Kind Honest Understanding Brave Loving

l l Edmund: Charming Arrogant Determined Ruthless l l Edgar: Virtuous Loyal Resourceful Honest

l l Kent: Loyal Honest Brave Strong Gloucester: l Foolish l Gullible l Victim

l l Albany: Virtuous Respectful Loyal Strong The Fool: l Intelligent l Loyal l Amusing

Key Events: l l l The ‘Love-Test’ The Banishment of Cordelia and Kent Edmund’s plot to destroy Edgar The reduction of Lear’s ‘train’ by Goneril and Regan Lear’s descent into madness in the storm l l l The ‘union’ between Goneril, Regan and Edmund The ‘blinding’ of Gloucester The reconciliation of Lear and Cordelia The death of Cordelia The eventual death of Lear

Key Speeches: l Lear (Act I Scene I-Lines 35 -54) l Lear (Act I Scene IV-Lines 249 -81) l Lear (Act I Scene I-Lines 109 -39) l Edmund (Act II Scene I-Lines 43 -77) l Edmund (Act I Scene II-Lines 1 -22) l Lear (Act II Scene II-Lines 433 -75) l Lear (Act III Scene II-Lines 1 -24) l Edmund (Act V Scene I-Lines 55 -70) l Albany (Act IV Scene II-Lines 30 -68) l Lear (Act V Scene III-Lines 8 -26)

Language-Verse King Lear is written in blank verse and prose. Blank verse consists of unrhymed iambic pentameters, with five stresses syllables and five unstressed syllables to each line. ‘Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law’ Shakespeare has characters in ‘High’ positions use verse e. g. Lear (when sane), Edmund, Gloucester, Cordelia etc

Prose In Elizabethan drama ‘Low’ or comic characters generally speak in prose. In King Lear characters such as The Fool, Poor Tom etc. It is important to note that when Lear goes mad he begins to speak in a mixture of verse and prose to signify the confusion in his mind.

The Royal Plural At the beginning of the play Lear uses the royal ‘we’ but as the play develops he adopts the more humble ‘I’. This change reflects his change in status , from king to ‘a foolish old man’.

Language techniques: l Soliloquies and asides- Characters use these to inform the audience about their feelings and intentions, drawing us into their world.

The Exam! l l l Exam Technique Specific Points ELit 1 Shakespeare: King Lear 30% of final grade. You have an hour to answer one question out of a choice of two. The question is divided into two parts. Section A is an extract question worth one third of the marks. Section B is an essay question worth two thirds of the marks.

Section A l Plan and annotate Section A question 5 minutes l Answer extract question 15 minutes l Refer to language and dramatic techniques.

Section B l Plan and annotate Section B question 5 minutes l Answer essay question 35 minutes l Refer to historical context and suitable historical facts. Express personal opinion.