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King Lear Study Guide – Act 1Use quotes and specific examples (with line references) to provide an
insightful, analytical response to each question.
SCENE 1:
1. King Lear is King of England. What first impressions do the audience / reader have of
him as a person and as a king? How would you describe his behavior in his decision to
retire and divide up his kingdom, and the manner in which he does so? What can we infer
about King Lear’s character from his actions in the very beginning of the play? Consider,
perhaps, similarities between KING and FATHER. How do you think Shakespeare means
for these first impressions to be quite disturbing?
In scene 1, King Lear's first impression of the audience, or the reader, of what kind of king he is
is that he comes off as this powerful and strong king. I think I would describe him as an
impulsive and impatient person because of his decision to retire and divide the kingdom. I think
that King Lear's actions and character in the very beginning of the play show that he is an
impatient person who does things through foolishness without thinking through the
consequences of his actions. Given the similarities between the king and father, they indicate
how his decisions will affect his family and kingdom. For instance this scene “know that we
have divided in three kingdoms; and it is our fast intent to shake all cares and business from our
age, conferring them on younger strength”(Act1 scene 1 by Lear).
2. How do you feel about Lear’s “love challenge” with his daughters? How would you
characterize this challenge / game in the context of the gravity that surrounds the division
of the kingdom? Why do you think Lear bases his bestowal upon his daughters in such an
odd manner? In particular, look at how Kent responds to King Lear’s actions (and don’t
forget, Kent is a loyal subject and his closest friend), and the immediacy with which Lear
banishes him from the kingdom.
I think the love challenge that king Lear sets up with his daughters is unusual based on the
circumstances of dividing the kingdom. It's like a game or test where Lear asks his daughter to
publicly declare their love for him in order to determine their share of the kingdom. This shows
off as if King Lear is needy for his daughter's reassurance, validation and also revealing a lack of
understanding of genuine love and loyalty. I think that the challenge game seems odd because it
can create this toxic bad relationship between father and daughters because power and wealth
reduces the love between a father and his daughters to a mere competition people around the
king recongized it such as Kent's response to King Lear's actions: Kent is a loyal subject and
Lear's closest friend, yet he immediately speaks out against Lear's decision and criticises him for
his rash and impulsive behavior.
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