Act 4 Sc 5

Question 1

Preferment falls on him that cuts him off’ Regan (4,5)

Answer 1

Tells Oswald that if she finds Gloucester and kills him, she will reward him, build up her character as a villain, and build on her villainy.
-We see a build up of her villainy all throughout: she brings lear’s knights down to 0 after goneril had said 50, she is the one who tells them to shut out lear and close the door, she also always increases punishment - eg kent in stocks and gloucesters eyes as well as killing the servant from behind.

Question 2

“Your sister is the better soldier” Oswald (4,5)

Answer 2

In reference to albany and goneril, goneril being the better soldier characterises her in masculine terms which links us back to act4 sc2 with Goneril’s “distaff”. Tragic as this is a world where the world has stability when men are in charge, the hierarchical norm is patriarchal and with goneril and regan disrupting this, the tragedy becomes undeniably clear.