Act 1:3 Flashcards
Where does Scene 3 take place?
In Albany’s castle, with Goneril and Oswald’s entering
What are the key events of this Scene?
- Goneril is shown to be angry at her father, appearing bounded against him
- Gineril aims to get Regan on the same page as her
- mainly Oswald and Goneril speak, despite it being in Albany’s castle
What is a key quote comparing Lear to a child as how is this of tragic significance?
Goneril says that ‘old fools are babes again, effectively saying that Lear is dependent as a child would be expected to be, which is tragic because it suggests the issues that lay within society and also it alludes to the tragic loss of power/responsibility of Lear compared to that he is expected to have
What key event shows Lear’s metaphorical blindness?
Kent enters after being banished (in disguise) and Lear doesn’t recognise him despite being his most loyal follower, yet takes a liking to him
How does Kent introduce himself when he reappears in disguise?
He says he is ‘As poor as the king’
What does the fool say about truth in the ‘new’ society
He says that ‘truth is a dog that must to kennel’
What is a key quote by Lear, using the motif of ‘nothingness’ and how was this ironic?
Replying to the fool he says ‘Nothing can be made out of nothing’ after the fool questions if you can make ‘no use of nothing’ to help him to realise, and this is ironic because Cordelia has become the queen of France
What key quote shows a hierarchical change between Lear and his daughters’?
The fool says that the ‘cart drags the horse’, to suggest that Goneril seems to be in charge of Lear, and in effect ‘leads’ him
What key quote shows that Lear’s recognises his flaws, and how does this contrast Macbeth and Othello?
To Goneril, Lear says to ‘let thy folly in and thy dear judgement out’, showing that he recognises his role as a tragic protagonist, and knows he is foolish, which contrasts Macbeth and Othello because the tragic protagonists realise at the end on the play
What shows Lear calling on the higher powers in order to seek revenge on his daughters’ and why is this idea of Lear calling on Gods tragic
‘Blasts and fogs upon thee’ - this idea is tragic because throughout the play, because Lear persistently calls on them to help him, but they never do, which pushes forward the idea of his tragic isolation
What is a key quote used by Lear, using animalistic language to insult Goneril?
‘She’ll flay thy wolfish visage’
What key quote by Goneril links to Macbeth in the sense that the social values of marriage have been overturned?
To Albany, Goneril says he has ‘milky gentleness’ which links to Lady.M and Macbeth’s reltationship, where the women had power over the situation - this gives power to Goneril (who we know is a villain)
