Goneril Flashcards
4 main quotes from Goneril’s love speech
I love you more …
dearer than…
a love that makes…
beyond…
‘I love you more than words can wield the matter’
‘Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty, beyond what can be valued’
a love that makes ‘breath poor’ and ‘speech unable’
she loves him ‘beyond all manner’
Goneril’s love speech
main
characterisation
love is…
types of imagery (two) virtues not being able to say in words listing also called linear or cyclical? simile intensifier
Structurally, the long length of Goneril’s declaration ….
Goneril’s volubility exposes….
hyperbole clever sycophantic suffocating love perfunctory atmosphere (without real interest)
sensory imagery
familial imagery of ‘father’, ‘child’
virtues - 7 heavenly virtues - ‘grace, health, beauty, honour’
‘more than words can wield the matter’ - alliteration, inexpressibility topos to exacerbate hyperbolic listing (asyndeton) of her love for her father.
cylical - begins and ends with I love you
‘as much as child e’er loved’ - simile
intensifier - ‘so much’
Structurally, the long length of Goneril’s declaration juxtaposes the lack of depth to her words. Moreover, it emphasises how language is used for exchange rather than communication.
Goneril’s volubility exposes her facarde to the audience as it is indicative of her underlying superficiality. However, King Lear remains unaware, thus this dramatic irony heightens the cunning, sycophantic nature of her speech.
Goneril calls Lear an idle…
Goneril chastises him an ‘idle old man’
Subversive description
Goneril talking to Regan in Act 1 once C has left
Sister,
what most nearly appertains to us both.
our father
sense of unity/alliance in dialogue
Goneril is not blind to reality like Lear quote
with what poor judgment he hath now cast her off
poor judgement in disowning Cordelia
Goneril about Lear’s flightyness with age quote
You see how full of changes his age is.
He’s so flighty in his old age,
Goneril about what they have to deal with w Lear thanks to his age quote
we must deal with not just his ‘imperfections’ but also the ‘unruly waywardness’ of old age
Goneril says to regan at end of Act 1
‘let us..
they must do sm ‘i….
‘let us hit together’
they must do sm ‘’ i’ th’ heat. ‘’
Goneril describing Lear ever hour coming out with some horrible new offense that puts them all on edge
He flashes…
He flashes into one gross crime or other
Goneril pissed at her dad
I’ll not…
I will not speak…
Idle…
I’ll not endure it
I will not speak to him; say I am sick
Idle old man
What does Goneril claim she knows about Lear?
When she says he can’t think straight
‘I know his heart’ (I know how his mind works)
Lit crit
The real horror lies
The real horror lies not in the fact that Goneril and Regan can cause the death of their father but that they can apparently destroy his human integrity - Welsford
