King Lear Revision Day

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

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

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

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

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

Kent: Loyal Honest Brave Strong Gloucester: Foolish Gullible Victim

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

Key Events: 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 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: Lear (Act I Scene I-Lines 35-54) Edmund (Act I Scene II-Lines 1-22) Lear (Act III Scene II-Lines 1-24) Albany (Act IV Scene II-Lines 30-68) Lear (Act I Scene IV-Lines 249-81) Edmund (Act II Scene I-Lines 43-77) Lear (Act II Scene II-Lines 433-75) Edmund (Act V Scene I-Lines 55-70) 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: Soliloquies and asides- Characters use these to inform the audience about their feelings and intentions, drawing us into their world.

The Exam! 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 Section A Plan and annotate Section A question5 minutes Answer extract question15 minutes Refer to language and dramatic techniques.

Section B Section B Plan and annotate Section B question5 minutes Answer essay question 35 minutes Refer to historical context and suitable historical facts. Express personal opinion.