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Summary A2 Unit 1 King Lear notes Act 1
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Notes for King Lear Act 1
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King LearAct 1 Scene 1
Gloucester, Edmund and Kent
- The staging of King Lear contrasts with that of Burial at Thebes. King Lear does not adhere to
the three unities of tragedy: time, place and action. However, like in Burial, the opening
staging/ setting reflects the high birth of Lear, “A state room in King Lear’s palace.” (tragic
rules-status and stature)
- The play begins with the subplot, “Enter Kent, Gloucester and Edmund.” This deviates from
the tragic rules of unity of action. The postponing of the entrance of the central tragic figure
(Lear) has purposes of dramatic tension and also allows for the play to be contextualised.
Kent is one of Lea’s most loyal followers and is used to elevate Lear’s stature
- Although Lear is not present in the opening of the play, he is indirectly characterised by Kent
and Gloucester. Through the use of the verb “affected” Shakespeare alludes to one of Lear’s
central failures- his imbalanced affections and demonstration of favouritism. The skewed
familial values of Lear can be linked to the theme of power and family. (Context: James I
surrounded by flatterers and panderers)
- There is an immediate sense of the complex political issues and familial structures that will
dominate the play, “in the division of the Kingdom, it appears not which of the Dukes he
values most.” As in Burial at Thebes, the play examines the idea of the relationship between
public and private. The theme of kingship is one of the central themes of the play and the
play revolves around the question of abdication and the ability to give up responsibility in
favour of power sharing.
- Like Lear, Gloucester’s familial problems arise from an imbalance of affections, “blush’d to
acknowledge him.” Gloucester chooses to affect his legitimate son (Edgar) over Edmund, his
illegitimate son. In Jacobean society, illegitimacy was a social taboo and it was unacceptable
to have children out of wedlock. Due to the laws of primogeniture, Edmund’s illegitimacy
problematises his inheritance. Gloucester appears to treat Edmund almost as a salacious
joke, “though this knave came something saucily into the world” suggesting his
embarrassment over the origin of his son. This contextualises the bitterness and sense of
social inferiority of Edmund. For the audience, this would create some sense of sympathy for
Edmund, who is tarnished by the stigma of illegitimacy
First love test
- The status of Lear is evoked through the stage directions, “Enter one bearing a coronet;
then Lear; then the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall…” The primacy of Lear and his position in
the social order is emphasised through the fact that he enters first. There is a paradox
between the physical presence of the crown onstage and Lear’s desire to split this kingdom.
Lear’s fatal flaw is giving away what is assigned to him by the divine right. (Context: Power-
sharing was an issue in England at the time of Shakespeare. James I argued for the
, unification of Great Britain as he didn’t believe in the fracturing of the kingdom. The threat
of invasion from other countries had a destabilising effect and argued for greater national
unity)
- There are parallels between the love tests for the kingdom and the punishment love test for
Cordelia. There is an irony of the situation as Cordelia ends up winning the King of France,
the more desirable conquest. This shows Lear’s innate failure of leadership as he does not
understand his own daughter’s worth.
- The pattern of imperatives, “Attend the Lords” portray Lear ruling as King. However, they
also imply his hubristic personality
- The implicit presence of the map onstage (staging detail), “Give me the map there”
emphasises the fracturing of the kingdom.
- The use of the royal plural, “we have divided” suggests the power, authority and dominance
that come with Lear’s position as King. As his status is diminished in the course of the play,
the pronoun changes.
- The numerical language, “in three our kingdom” emphasises Lear’s failure of leadership and
his impaired powers of judgement. We have to question, however, if Lear’s misjudgement is
due to the folly of old age or if it is simply an innate character flaw. This ambiguity
problematises Lear as a tragic figure. The sue of enjambment emphasises this key decision
- Lear’s error of judgement is also emphasised through his choice of the love test as a
measurement for control of the kingdom. This error of judgement suggests the insecurity
and age of the central tragic hero. The treatment of Lear has fairy-tale elements. It also
parallels with the contemporary stories of William Allen and Brian Ainsley.
- The infantile imagery, “Unburthen’d crawl towards death” suggests that Lear is in a state of
decrepitude. In this sense, Lear contrasts with Creon, who is a king in the initial stages of his
reign (epithet- “new king”)
- The qualifying phrase in parenthesis, “no less loving son of Albany” suggests an attempt to
convey equal affection. The imbalance of affection and favouritism that Lear shows is one of
his fatal flaws
- There is a sense of dramatic irony in Lear’s claims that he fractured the kingdom so, “that
future strive may be prevented.” There is an implication that, although he shows many
familial failings, he knows his children to some extent that he takes pre-emptive steps to
prevent conflict between them.
- Through the use of the rhetorical question, “Which of you shall we say doth love us most?”
the love test is initiated. The love test is used to suggest Lear’s need to be flattered and
pandered to. This is a sign of insecurity. Often, hubristic personalities mask deeper
, insecurities. (Context: James I panderers and flatterers”) It can be argued that Creon also
shows this need to be flattered by his children (“Are we still father and son?”). However, the
issue of Lear’s age problematises the character. We have to question if this is the need of a
frail old man to be flattered or is it an innate character flaw.
- Goneril’s hyperbolic protestations of affection, “I love you more than word can wield the
matter” are used to show the audience the falsity and insincerity of her claims. The
reactions of Goneril and Regan are used to emphasise Lear’s failure of judgement as they
evoke the suspicious nature of the love test. The parallel speech of Regan aligns her with
Goneril and evokes their competitive sycophancy towards their father. The comparative
phrase, “I am made of that self-metal of my sister” initiates a sense of rivalry and
competitiveness. It could be argued that Creon and Lear both fail in their leadership because
their subjects are unable to speak their true feelings (Guard and Creon). Lear is not only
guilty of leadership failings but familial failings as he does not have an open, honest
relationship with his daughters (Private and public theme- failure as father and leader)
- . The use of Cordelia’s asides (staging detail) presents her as a structural foil to her sisters.
She is used to show the audience how ludicrous and false her sisters’ declarations are. The
asides are also used to build up tension as Lear is oblivious to what is about to happen.
- The use of the epithet, “our Joy” implies a degree of favouritism towards Cordelia. This
imbalance of affections is an aspect of Lear’s failure of leadership. He also fails in his
leadership because he misjudges his daughter’s character and doesn’t predict her refusal to
participate in the love test
- The repetition of the negative “nothing” is one of the most important linguistic patterns in
the text. The blunt, clipped negative is used for purposes of structural contrasts with the
verbose, protracted flattery of Goneril and Regan. The use of the deferential title, “my Lord”
evokes the respect Cordelia has for her father. It also implies that she does not agree with
his abdication as she recognises the supremacy of his kingship.
- Through the bitter repetition of Cordelia’s language, “Nothing will come of nothing” there is
a suggestion that, like Creon, Lear does not like to have his authority challenged. This is an
aspect of hubristic personality. This emphasises his failure of leadership as good, fair leaders
allow free speech.
- The tempered, muted nature of Cordelia’s statement of affection, “I love your Majesty
according to my bond, no more no less” is ironic as she who is inarticulate shows more
affection than the falsity of her sisters. The defiant undertones of Cordelia’s speech mirror
the defiant intransigence of Antigone. However, there is a degree of ambivalence in
Cordelia’s characterisation as the audience may view her as both admirable and pious
- The alliterative phrase, “med your speech…lest you may mar your fortunes” creates a
warning, threatening tone
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