exam essay questions king lear

by William Shakespeare

King lear essay questions.

Who is the protagonist of King Lear ? How do you know?

Like many of Shakespeare's plays, the distinction between protagonists, antagonists, and neutral characters is often blurred in King Lear . In many ways, Lear himself can be considered an antagonist, as he catalyzes the dissolution of his own kingdom when he disinherits Cordelia. But Lear is also a type of protagonist, as his daughters Goneril and Regan in turn strip him of his power and make Lear a more sympathetic character. In this way, there is no clear protagonist in the play, and audiences are forced to reckon with the question of who, ultimately, is to blame for Lear's demise.

What role does age play in the development of the narrative?

Age is an important motif in King Lear , most notably because Lear is an older king who is attempting to safeguard his kingdom by leaving it in the hands of his three daughters. However, Lear's age is something that he does not necessarily take seriously until it is too late: he remains convinced that he is still an effective and powerful ruler even after disinheriting Cordelia, a sense of denial that makes him vulnerable to the greed of Goneril and Regan. Ironically, only after Lear has descended into a near-mad state and only after his demise is all but guaranteed does he come to recognize himself as a feeble and weak old man.

What significance does Lear's fool have in the play?

The fool in King Lear is, ironically, likely the wisest and most knowledgable character in the play. He is frequently warning Lear about the consequences of his decisions, and often speaks harsh truths masked as entertaining half-riddles so as not to overstep his social role. Furthermore, the fool serves as a type of foil for Lear himself, as Lear more often ignores or ridicules his fool instead of taking his cautions seriously, thereby highlighting Lear's own lack of self-knowledge and foresight.

How might you explain Cordelia's response to Lear's test of love at the beginning of the play?

Unlike Goneril and Regan, Cordelia refuses to appeal to Lear's vanity when expressing her love for him, even if it means losing her inheritance. Goneril and Regan both deliver hyperbolic but disingenuous speeches about their love for their father, and when Lear asks Coredlia to do the same, she remains silent. Cordelia's response is puzzling, but ultimately emphasizes her ability to distinguish between unconditional love and false love expressed for the sake of benefiting from it. Cordelia's silence is a testament to her love for her father over her desire for property, as she likely knows what the consequences of her actions will be.

Why does Cornwall blind Gloucester?

Though King Lear is not Shakespeare's bloodiest play (that title belongs to Titus Andronicus ), the blinding of Gloucester is one of the cruelest and most violent scenes the bard ever wrote. Technically, Cornwall blinds Gloucester because Gloucester may have committed treason by sending Lear to Cordelia (who, after her exile, is now considered a foreign invader). However, Cornwall's behavior is more intimately attached to his anger and penchant for violence than his commitment to justice. The act is a testament to the play's interest in portraying the world as a relentlessly cruel and endlessly bleak place.

King Lear Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for King Lear is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

"Themes of King Lear are skilfully presented through imagery and symbolism"

King Lear is rife with animal imagery, as the play is known for interrogating whether mankind is anything "more" than animal after all. Most often, animal imagery appears in the form of savage or carnivorous beasts, usually associated with Goneril...

A tragic hero moves the reader to pity,since his misfortune is greater than he deserves,and also creates fear,since his tragedy might easily befall one of us.To what extent does Lear fit the definition of a tragic hero?

Check this out:

http://bailieborocslibrary.weebly.com/blog/lear-develops-more-as-a-tragic-hero-than-gloucester-discuss

Edmund's "Up With Bastards" soliloquy in King Lear

The repetition makes Edmund sound harsh and angry.

Study Guide for King Lear

King Lear study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About King Lear
• King Lear Summary
• King Lear Video
• Character List

Essays for King Lear

King Lear literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of King Lear.

• The Heroines of Crime and Punishment, King Lear, and To the Lighthouse
• Folly of the Fool
• Sight and Consciousness: An Interpretive Study in King Lear
• An Examination of the Inverse Tropes of Sight and Blindness in King Lear
• Gender, Power, and Economics in King Lear

Lesson Plan for King Lear

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to King Lear
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• King Lear Bibliography

E-Text of King Lear

King Lear E-Text contains the full text of King Lear

• Persons Represented

Wikipedia Entries for King Lear

• Introduction

• Junior Cert
• Elizabeth Bishop
• Emily Dickinson
• Seamus Heaney
• Thomas Kinsella
• Derek Mahon
• All 2014 guides on CD
• Sylvia Plath
• Eavan Boland (LC 2012)
• Patrick Kavanagh (LC 2012)
• Adrienne Rich (LC 2013)
• Gerard Manley Hopkins (LC 2013)
• Cancelled Order
• Thank You for your order

King Lear questions

First of all let’s look at the broad categories questions usually fall into:

CHARACTER THEME OPEN STYLE

You may be asked to discuss the following when it comes to characters:

• a tragic hero? (does he recognise his flaws and gain self-knowledge?)
• his nobility (is he a good man? / strengths & weaknesses / virtues & flaws)
• his relationship with his daughters & treatment of / by them
• the extent to which he is responsible for the tragedy which occurs
• our level of sympathy for him

Gloucester:

• his nobility / is he a good man? / strengths and weaknesses / virtues and flaws
• his relationship with his sons & treatment of / by them
• his dramatic function in the play

Lear & Gloucester:

• how and why their stories mirror each other
• the extent to which they bring about their own downfall
• our level of sympathy for them
• too good to be true or a believable character?
• virtues and flaws / our level of sympathy for her
• dramatic function in the play?

Goneril and Regan:

• treatment of their father
• extent to which they present a very negative view of women
• an admirable villain? or a sociopath?

Edmund and Edgar:

• contrast in their characters and personalities

Kent and The Fool

• dramatic function and believability

All characters:

• contrast the extremes of good and evil presented in the characters in the play
• the play is very pessimistic about human nature
• the play is very pessimistic about human relationships / family / parent – child dynamics

The major themes in the play are:

• Loyalty & Betrayal

Appearance vs Reality (Deception/Manipulation)

Good and Evil

Forgiveness

For each theme – no matter what the wording – ask yourself

WHO does this theme apply to? HOW / WHY does this character have to deal with this issue? Do they CHANGE over the course of the play? Are there any SCENES which highlight this theme specifically? What are our FINAL IMPRESSIONS of this issue?

OPEN QUESTIONS:

• Relevance to a modern audience
• Pessimistic play?

STYLE QUESTIONS:

• Language & Imagery
• Dramatic Irony
• Compelling Drama – scene or scenes

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

In each case you are given a statement which you can fully agree with, partially agree with or completely disagree with. In the most recent Chief Examiner’s Report, students were advised to avoid taking an overly simplistic approach (“I agree 100% that…”). It’s understandable that this would be your first instinct under exam conditions, but remember that a single sentence rarely sums up accurately the complexity and nuance of an entire play. Yes, you’ll look for evidence that supports the statement, but you’ll also need to display an awareness that different phases in the play contain different truths. Your attitude to a character, theme, relationship in the play will change and morph as the play unfolds and the plot develops…

“ King Lear is a man more sinned against than sinning ” – Discuss

“ Lear is a ‘foolish fond old man’ who deserves everything he gets ” – Discuss

“ Lear embarks on a harrowing journey through suffering to self-knowledge. At the end of the play he is a better and wiser man “

“ The play King Lear is a realistic tragedy that depicts the tragic consequences of one man’s folly “

“ King Lear is not a tragic hero, but rather a victim of circumstances “

“Gloucester is a weak and gullible man, but at heart, a decent one”

“Gloucester serves an important dramatic function in making Lear’s circumstances more credible”

“Discuss the dramatic significance of the Gloucester story in the play King Lear”

Lear and Gloucester

“Neither Lear nor Gloucester are deserving of the love and service they receive from their followers”

“Cordelia shares with her father the faults of pride and obstinacy”

“Cordelia’s dramatic function in the play is twofold: her wisdom highlights her father’s foolishness; her goodness  highlights her sisters’ malevolence” 

Goneril and Regan

“Lear’s evil daughters allow Shakespeare to present a very negative view of women in the play”

“Edmund is a sociopath: a charming liar, incapable of remorse, who views men and women merely as obstacles or aids to his ambition”

“Edmund is an admirable villain. At the beginning of the play he has nothing; by the end he is almost King”

Edmund and Edgar

“Gloucester’s sons represent the very best and the very worst in human nature”

Minor characters: Kent & The Fool

“The Fool serves as Lear’s conscience in the play. When he disappears, it is because Lear no longer needs him”

“The fool is an unnecessary distraction in the play King Lear”

“Kent is too loyal to be believable as a real human being”

General character questions

“The play King Lear offers characters who represent the very best and the very worst in human nature”

“Shakespeare’s King Lear presents a dark and pessimistic view of humanity”

“Cosmic justice is denied, yet human justice prevails in the play King Lear”

“The relationship between parents and children is unrealistically portrayed in the play King Lear”

Loyalty (&/or Betrayal)

“It is only the loyalty of loved ones that enables Lear and Gloucester to endure their sufferings”

“The theme of blindness – both physical and emotional – is dramatically presented in the play King Lear”

“In King Lear, whilst characters are initially fooled by appearances, they gradually come to see the truth”

“In King Lear, ‘sane’ characters frequently behave in a crazy manner, whilst ‘mad’ characters at times seem perfectly sane”

“Love as a redemptive force is a major theme in the play King Lear”

“ The play King Lear memorably explores the meaning of love “

“King Lear examines the nature of good and evil but neither force emerges triumphant”

“Learning through suffering is central to the play”

“ The importance of self-knowledge and forgiveness is strikingly evident in the play King Lear”

“The play King Lear explores what it means to be a good King”

OPEN QUESTIONS

“The play King Lear offers us one central experience: pessimism”

“Shakespeare’s vision of the world is not entirely pessimistic in the play King Lear”

“King Lear is one of the greatest tragedies ever written”

“Scenes of great suffering and of great tenderness help to make King Lear a very memorable play”

“The two plots of King Lear are closely paralleled in theme, character and action, to great dramatic effect”

“What, if any, relevance, does the play King Lear hold for today’s readers?”

LANGUAGE / STYLE

“King Lear is a play filled with striking images and symbols which heighten our experience of the play”

“Dramatic irony is used to tragic, and occasionally comic effect, in Shakespeare’s King Lear”

“The way characters speak accurately reflects their personality in Shakespeare’s King Lear”

“ King Lear contains many scenes of compelling drama, but the extremity of the cruelty and violence presented prevents the audience from achieving catharsis. Rather than a release, we feel haunted by what we have witnessed “

8 responses to “ King Lear questions ”

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by William Shakespeare

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Available to teachers only as part of the teaching king learteacher pass, teaching king lear teacher pass includes:.

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Sample of Discussion & Essay Questions

• "Which of you shall we say doth love us most?"  That's the question King Lear asks his daughters so he can determine which one will get the biggest piece of land when he retires.  Discuss the consequences of King Lear's decision to stage this love test.  Does it turn out the way he hopes?  How does this decision impact the way events unfold in the play? 

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