AP English Literature Periods 1 and 2

Close Reading Questions for King Lear As we all know, Act III is a pivotal Act in King Lear. So now, for the next few days, we will slow our pace and re-read the entire play in order to analyze it. For now, we will work backwards to consider the way Shakespeare sets up the play and how his careful work has paid off. Some of the questions below are thematic and some are text dependent. Have all of the responses for tomorrow. 1. Who speaks first when professing their “love” for King Lear? 2. Who first turns away King Lear? Why is this important? What might have happened had Lear not divided his power? What might have happened had Lear given only Goneril power? 3. Why does Lear’s division of power, to Goneril and Reagan encourage competition between the two? 4. What does it reveal about Cornwall’s character that he dies? 5. What is Albany first utterance? That is, what does Albany first say when he is introduced? How does it foreshadow what kind of character he is? 6. Why does Lear relate so strongly to poor Tom? Why does Lear call him a “philosopher”? 7. Why is it appropriate that Tom is “naked” or wearing clothes that are torn, dirty and dishelved? 8. How can we presume the others –Goneril, Reagan, Cornwall and Edmund are dressed throughout the play? We’ve focused much of our attention on characters in disguise: Kent; the fool; Edgar. How are Goneril, Reagan and Edmund also disguised? 9. Why does Lear disrobe himself during the storm? 10. What role does clothing have in shaping an opinion of someone? How can someone’s clothing play them, as it does Tom, false? 11. Why does Lear trust Tom, the beggar, and the fool? 12. What symbolic gesture does King Lear do in Act 3? 13. Why is Cornwall’s cut untimely? What can we predict about his character before he is “cut off” 14. Which of the sisters appears more cruel by the end of Act 3—Goneril or Reagean? Why? 15. The characters who speak what they FEEL: Cordelia; Kent; the servant, are punished. Those who say what they ought to say are not. How can speaking what one feels, not what one ought to say be therapy (like in your invectives) 16. There are many women in the play—Goneril; Regan; Cordelia, but no MOTHERS. Explain this irony. Why is this significant? 17. In the beginning of King Lear, Lear is very much a King. How has his disposition changed by Act III’s end? 18. Discuss the very irony in Edmond’s plot. The fact that he must lie, and deceive in order to get things his way. Isnt Edmond in some ways acting like the bastard that he is? (the secret, the illegitimate) The first twenty minutes will be spent discussing these questions, the next in new creative assignmets for the ends of Act 3, and finally twenty minutes to work in your groups. Your teaching assignments will need to be worked on during the weekend and on Monday during nutrition and lunch.