Exam (elaborations)
KING LEAR A LEVEL MOCK EXAM QUESTIONS
- Course
- Institution
A collection of A level exam questions on King Lear - taken from various examinations boards
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
ruthcjones25
Reviews received
Content preview
A LEVEL ENGLISH LITERATUREKing Lear – William Shakespeare
Extract from an Examiners Report
“Holistic marking enables responses to be assessed as organic whole texts in themselves.
Assessment objectives are not tracked in the marking or reported on separately in summative
comments. This enables the genuine inter-relatedness of assessment objectives to be respected.
The advice to students is to concentrate on answering the question set and let the assessment
objectives look after themselves.”
You may be asked to discuss the following when it comes to characters:
King Lear:
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
our level of sympathy for him
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
Cordelia:
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
Edmund:
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
1. Explore the significance of aspects of dramatic tragedy in the following passage* in relation
to the play as a whole. You should consider the following in your answer:
• the presentation of Lear
• the contrasts between the three daughters
• stage directions
• other relevant aspects of dramatic tragedy.
*…the “which of you shall we say doth love us most?” speech.
2. ‘Despite the cruel treatment Gloucester suffers, his moral awakening is uplifting and
enduring.’ To what extent do you agree with this view? Remember to include in your answer
relevant comment on Shakespeare’s dramatic methods.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller ruthcjones25. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $10.33. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
50155 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 15 years now