Structure, characters, and themes King Lear Structure, characters, and themes

King Lear 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, change Evil Edmund, character revealed 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 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 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