King Lear Structure characters and themes King Lear

King Lear Structure, characters, and themes

King Lear Goneril Regan Cordelia Albany Cornwall France

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

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

King Lear Foils • 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

King Lear Motifs and Imagery • Motifs – – – – Seeing Judging Flattery “the worst” “unaccomodated man” Patience nothing • Imagery – – Insults Foul fiend, madness Swearing by Gods Astrology

King Lear Seeing 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”

King Lear Seeing motif • Act 4 – “I stumbled when I saw” – “Might I but live to see thee in my touch, I’d 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!”

King Lear Motifs and Imagery • Motifs – – – – Seeing Judging Flattery “the worst” “unaccomodated man” Patience nothing • Imagery – – Insults Foul fiend, madness Swearing by Gods Astrology

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

King Lear -- Act I Scene 1 Lear divides country, Disowns Cordelia bids farewell to sisters Scene 2 Edmund soliloquy Conspiracy theory Advice to Edgar Scene 4 Kent to serve Lear as Caius Lear and Fool Lear and Goneril Scene 3 Goneril and Oswald Scene 5 Lear sends Kent to Regan Lear and Fool

King Lear, Act I, scene 1 Lear Fool Goneril Cordelia Cornwall Regan Kent Albany

King Lear -- Act II Scene 1 Scene 2 Edmund and Oswald and Kent Edgar Glou/Corn/Regan Cornwall/Regan Kent in stocks and Gloucester Scene 3 Edgar Scene 4 Lear/Fool and Kent Lear and Regan Goneril comes

King Lear -- Act III Scene 1 Kent and Gentleman Scene 3 Scene 2 Lear on the Heath Gloucester And Edmund Scene 5 Cornwall and Edmund Scene 6 Lear Trial scene Scene 4 Lear in hovel Talks with Edgar as Poor Tom Scene 7 Blinding of Gloucester

King Lear -- Act IV Scene 1 Edgar and Gloucester Scene 2 Scene 3 Goneril and Edmund Kent and Gentleman Albany and Goneril Albany and Gentleman Scene 4 Cordelia and Doctor Scene 5 Regan and Oswald Scene 6 Edgar and Gloucester and Lear Oswald and Edgar Scene 7 Cordelia and Kent with Lear

King Lear -- Act V Scene 1 Edmund and Regan Goneril and Albany Edgar to Albany Edmund Scene 3 Edmund with Lear and Cordelia Albany Edgar and Edmund fight Goneril and Regan dead Lear carries Cordelia in Restoration of Order Scene 2 Edgar and Gloucester

King Lear, Act V, scene 3 Goneril Lear Cordelia Regan Albany Kent