Unit A2 1 - The Study of Poetry - 1300-1800 and Drama
Samenvatting
King Lear Summary - CCEA A2 NOTES
112 keer bekeken 3 keer verkocht
Vak
Unit A2 1 - The Study of Poetry - 1300-1800 and Drama
Instelling
CCEA
Boek
King Lear
These notes cover every act & scene in King Lear. Notes on each scene contain important quotes with analysis, context on Jacobean England, essay title ideas and any other relevant information. I got an A at A-Level English Literature using these notes!
Unit A2 1 - The Study of Poetry - 1300-1800 and Drama
Alle documenten voor dit vak (39)
Verkoper
Volgen
kaitlynmccoy
Ontvangen beoordelingen
Voorbeeld van de inhoud
King Lear
Act 1, Scene 1
➢ Kent & Gloucester are discussing the division of the Kingdom
○ Would shock Jacobean audience as James 1st wanted to
unite England & Scotland, unification was important to them
○ “Divided in 3 our kingdom”
○ “To shake all cares and business from our age, conferring
them on younger strengths while we unburdened crawl
towards death”
○ Wants to divide “that future strife may be prevented”
○ Theme of old age & youth introduced
➢ Patriarchal society noticed from outset of play - K&G talk of the
Kings Sons-in-law (Albany and Cornwall), rather than his
daughters
➢ King impulsively decides on the love test - originally planned to
divide Kingdom equally but impulsively decides in front of the
court to have the test
➢ Gloucester mocks the birth of his illegitimate son
○ Introduces subplot - no subplots in greek tragedy,
Shakespeare introduces them to literature
○ Theme of fatherhood introduced
➢ Gloucester - garrulous (talks too much) & bawdy
➢ Kent - opposite to gloucester, taciturn (polite & talks little)
➢ Edmond - when he is introduced seems polite at first but in reality
is evil
○ Theme of hiding evil/personality change introduced
➢ Setting - State room, opulent, lavish
➢ Play contains standard hierarchy order which would have pleased
a jacobean audience
➢ King - peremptory (demanding)
➢ “We shall express our darker purpose”
○ Lear telling everyone his plan
○ “We” = i
○ Ominous adjective used to foreshadow the sinister plan to
come
○ Wants to keep his title but pass on his duties
○ He is the arbiter of the love test (referee)
➢ “Which of you shall we say doth love us most”
➢ Goneril's speech:
○ Full of flattery, hyperbole, insincerity
○ “Sir” - formal, detached
, ○ “Words can wield” - alliteration highlights irony
○ “Valued, rich or rare” - portrays her true motive
○ Repeats “i love you” at the end - manipulative
➢ Reagan's speech:
○ “Self mettle that my sister is” - immediately creates tension
between R&G
○ Repetition of personal pronouns “my” & “i” show she is self
centred
○ “In your dear highness’ love” - lack of real emotion & repeats
love to be manipulative
➢ Cordelia's speech:
○ Asides show her anguish and worry
○ “What shall Cordelia speak? Love and be silent”
○ “My loves more richer than my tongue” - has genuine love for
her father, cant express love in words
○ “Nothing, my lord” abrupt, possible self sabotage
○ “I love your majesty according to my bond” - loves him as
much as expected with a father/daughter relationship
○ “Why have my sisters husbands if they say they love you all?”
- tries to point out her sisters over emphasis
○ Lear offended at this - shown through his monosyllabic
language
○ Personification of honesty
○ Has her fathers pride in her - she wont go against her
beliefs
➢ Lear disowning Cordelia:
○ “Here i disclaim all my paternal care” uses personal pronoun
“I” instead of royal “we” this change in tone shows that he has
been angered
○ “Dragon and his wrath” - vivid violent imagery
○ “Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her” he identifies
his own fatal flaw (pride) and attributes it to Cordelia
➢ Kents reaction:
○ Kent uses fricatives and consonants to emphasise the Kings
madness -“falls to folly” folly means mad
○ “See better lear” - another eyesight reference, ironic
○ “I'll tell thee thou dost evil” - blunt and monosyllabic
language
○ Personification of loyalty
○ Use of rhyming couplets give a sense of finality as he is
about to be banished
➢ Frances reaction:
○ Refers to cordelia as his “best object” and the “most best,
most dearest” - superlatives
○ Refers to Cordelia as a “dowry”
, ○ Rhetorical question shows his shock and is a plot device
used to defend Cordelia
➢ Cordelia's reaction:
○ Is she a passive character? She does not put up a fight
when he banishes her. JB audience would have thought this
as in keeping with their societal norms
○ “If for i want that glib and oily art” - spirited subtle reference
to the vice of her sisters ability to flatter and deceive
○ If she was once passive, she is not passive anymore, she is
direct, honest and prophetic
○ Refers to her fathers “washed eyes” - she has saw her sisters
true intentions / she is crying due to her heartbreak of
leaving her father
○ “I know what you are” - monosyllabic words are chilling
○ “Love well our father” - still cares about him and doesn't
trust them to care for him
○ “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides”
➢ Goneril & regans reactions:
○ Shakespeare changes to prose, usually writes in blank verse
& Only uses prose when he is writing about servants talking
or an intimate conversation
○ “You see how full of change his age is...he always loved our
sister most”
○ “Poor judgement” is a result of the “infirmity of his age”
○ “The best and soundest of his time hath been but rash”
○ “Lets hit together” - ominous, reveals true intentions
○ Goneril seems to take the lead, she is the more dominant
sister
Characters:
➢ Kent - taciturn (polite & talks little)
, ➢ Gloucester - garrulous (talks too much) & bawdy
➢ Edmund - polite at first but underneath is evil
➢ King Lear - peremptory (demanding), impulsive
➢ Goneril - evil sister
➢ Cordelia - good sister & Lears favourite
➢ Regan - evil sister
➢ Albany and Cornwall - daughters husbands
Quotes:
➢ “Divided in 3 our kingdom”
➢ “To shake all cares and business from our age, conferring them
on younger strengths while we unburdened crawl towards death”
➢ “that future strife may be prevented”
➢ “We shall express our darker purpose”
➢ “Which of you shall we say doth love us most”
➢ “Sir, i do love you more than words can wield”
➢ “Love, and be silent”
➢ “My loves more ponderous than my tongue”
➢ Les you may mar your fortunes”
➢ “Here i disclaim all my paternal care”
➢ “Dragon and his wrath”
➢ “Let pride, which she calls plainness, marry her”
➢ “falls to folly”
➢ “See better lear”
➢ “I'll tell thee thou dost evil”
➢ “best object” “most best, most dearest” “Dowry”
➢ “If for i want that glib and oily art”
➢ “washed eyes”
➢ “I know what you are”
➢ “Love well our father”
➢ “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides”
➢ “Full of change his age is”
➢ “He always loved our sister most”
➢ “Poor judgement”
➢ “The best and soundest of his time hath been but rash”
➢ “Lets hit together”
Themes introduced:
➢ Old age & youth
➢ fatherhood
➢ Hiding evil
Act 1, scene 2
Voordelen van het kopen van samenvattingen bij Stuvia op een rij:
Verzekerd van kwaliteit door reviews
Stuvia-klanten hebben meer dan 700.000 samenvattingen beoordeeld. Zo weet je zeker dat je de beste documenten koopt!
Snel en makkelijk kopen
Je betaalt supersnel en eenmalig met iDeal, creditcard of Stuvia-tegoed voor de samenvatting. Zonder lidmaatschap.
Focus op de essentie
Samenvattingen worden geschreven voor en door anderen. Daarom zijn de samenvattingen altijd betrouwbaar en actueel. Zo kom je snel tot de kern!
Veelgestelde vragen
Wat krijg ik als ik dit document koop?
Je krijgt een PDF, die direct beschikbaar is na je aankoop. Het gekochte document is altijd, overal en oneindig toegankelijk via je profiel.
Tevredenheidsgarantie: hoe werkt dat?
Onze tevredenheidsgarantie zorgt ervoor dat je altijd een studiedocument vindt dat goed bij je past. Je vult een formulier in en onze klantenservice regelt de rest.
Van wie koop ik deze samenvatting?
Stuvia is een marktplaats, je koop dit document dus niet van ons, maar van verkoper kaitlynmccoy. Stuvia faciliteert de betaling aan de verkoper.
Zit ik meteen vast aan een abonnement?
Nee, je koopt alleen deze samenvatting voor €24,64. Je zit daarna nergens aan vast.
