King Lear - brief character + scene summaries

Question 1

King Lear

Answer 1

ageing king of Britain

Question 2

Cordelia

Answer 2

Lear’s youngest daughter

disowned by Lear for refusing to flatter him and declare her love for him

married to the King of France (marries her for her virtue)

Question 3

Goneril

Answer 3

Lear’s eldest daughter

jealous, treacherous (deceitful) , amoral

married to Duke of Albany

initiates an affair with Edmund

Question 4

Regan

Answer 4

Lear’s middle daughter

married to Duke of Cornwall

jealous, treacherous, amoral (same as Goneril)

Jealously competes with Goneril for Edmund

Question 5

Gloucester

Answer 5

nobleman loyal to King Lear

he is an adulterer, having fathered a bastard son, EDMUND

paralleled fate to King Lear

Appears weak at beginning (unable to prevent Lear being turned out of his own house) but later shows bravery

Question 6

Edgar

Answer 6

Gloucester’s oldest, LEGITIMATE son

starts as gullible fool easily tricked by his brother Edmund

takes on disguise as a mad beggar to evade his father’s men

aids Lear and Gloucester whilst he is in disguise

avenges his brother’s treason at the end

Question 7

Edmund

Answer 7

Gloucester’s younger, ILLEGITIMATE son

resents his title of a bastard

schemes to usurp (take illegally) Gloucester’s power and Edgar’s possessions

succeeds in almost all schemes + wreaks destruction on other characters

Question 8

Kent

Answer 8

nobleman of same rank as Gloucester who is loyal to King Lear

spends most of play disguised as peasant called ‘Caius’ so can continue to serve Lear after Lear banishes him

very loyal

Question 9

Albany

Answer 9

Goneril’s husband

good at heart, eventually denounces cruelty of Goneril, Regan and Cornwall

Realises evil of allies later in play, indecisive

Question 10

Cornwall

Answer 10

Regan’s husband

domineering, cruel, violent

works with his wife and Goneril to persecute Lear and Gloucester

Question 11

The Fool

Answer 11

Lear’s jester

Give’s Lear advice

Question 12

Oswald

Answer 12

Steward in Goneril’s house

Question 13

Act 1 Scene 1 [9]

• discussion
• bastard
• split land, lear
• love
• gon, reg, cord
• disown
• kent, banish
• king of france, virtue
• scheming, destroy father

Answer 13

• Gloucester and Kent discuss the division of the kingdom. The conversation is diverted when Kent asks about Gloucester’s son, Edmund.
• Gloucester explains that although Edmund is a bastard, raised away from his parents, he loves his son.
• Lear enters the stage and announces his plan to split the land between his three daughters. He will give all the responsibilities of governing to his daughters.
• Lear demands his children say how much they love him, the greatest share of the land will go to the daughter who he sees as loving him the most.
• Goneril and Regan respond with flattery, but Cordelia refuses to speak. When pressed for an answer she says that she loves her father exactly as much as she should.
• An enraged Lear disowns Cordelia and gives her share to her sisters.
• Kent is the only courtier who disagrees with the King’s reaction. He scolds him for rewarding the flattery of Goneril and Regan when Cordelia clearly loves him most. So, Lear banishes him too.
• The King of France and Duke of Burgandy wait to here which of them will marry Cordelia. Lear informs them that Cordelia has neither land nor title. Burgundy therefore withdraws his offer but France has been impressed by the honesty Cordelia displayed. She leaves without her father’s blessing.
• Goneril and Regan begin scheming. Unhappy with having total control over the kingdom they agree to destroy their father’s remaining authority.

Question 14

Act 1 Scene 2 [4]

• edmund ILLEGITIMATE hatred
• letter
• gloucester believes
• carry sword

Answer 14

• Edmund delivers his soliloquy about bastards. He resents Edgar, particularly as he will inherit Gloucester’s estate. He plans to get rid of Edgar and gain the rewards always denied to him. He forges a letter pretending to be Edgar plotting the death of Gloucester.
• Gloucester enters and Edmund deliberately exaggerates hiding the letter so that his father will ask to see it.
• Gloucester comes to believe that his legitimate son is planning to kill him, in order to gain his inheritance.
• Later, Edmund speaks to Edgar, who he lies to, saying that their father is very angry with him and should be avoided. He tells him also to carry a sword at all times, all of this is arranged so Gloucester suspects his son.

Question 15

Act 1 Scene 3 [3]

• Lear at G’s
• complain
• confront

Answer 15

• Lear is at Goneril’s castle, enjoying his retirement with his knights.
• Goneril complains to her steward, Oswald, about the behaviour of Lear’s knights. She also says that Lear is an obnoxious guest.
• Really, Goneril wants to confront her father so that she can further diminish his powers, so she orders her serving staff to behave rudely to Lear and the knights.

Question 16

Act 1 Scene 4 [6]

• disguise
• servants,striking,tripping
• fool
• shock
• curses her
• letter to Regan

Answer 16

• Kent, disguised as a peasant, places himself near Lear. Who employs him as a servant for his honesty.
• Lear’s staff have begun to notice that Goneril’s servants do not obey their commands. When Lear asks Oswald where Goneril is the servant won’t reply. He is deemed so disrespectful by the King that he hits him. Kent helps by tripping Oswald up.
• The Fool arrives. In his puns and jokes he implies that Lear has made a mistake in foregoing his power.
  Goneril enters at last. She says the knights have been so disruptive that they will be sent away.
• Lear is shocked by Goneril, who is adamant that Lear sends away at least half of his hundred knights.
• Lear, full of anger, says that he regrets ever giving power to Goneril and curses her. He announces that he will instead stay with Regan, who he hopes will be a truer daughter than Goneril.
• When Lear has left, Goneril argues with her husband. Albany thinks she has been harsh. She explains that she has already written a letter to Regan, who will also not allow Lear to keep his knights.

Question 17

Act 1 Scene 5

• message
• Fool
• treatment by Regan

Answer 17

• Lear gives a message to Kent to give to Gloucester.
  The Fool jokes even more about Lear’s decisions, he
  predicts Regan will treat Lear the same as Goneril.
  Lear leaves with his knights for Regan’s castle.

Question 18

Act 2 Scene 1 [7]

Answer 18

• At Gloucester’s castle, Curan, a servant, tells Edmund that the Duke of Cornwall and Regan are coming to the castle. He also mentions rumours of tension between Cornwall and Albany.
• Edmund sees he can use Cornwall in his scheme against Edgar.
• He calls Edgar out of hiding and tells him that Cornwall is angry with him for being on Albany’s side of their disagreement.
• Edgar is completely clueless. He is then told by his half-brother that Gloucester knows his whereabouts and that he should leave immediately.
• Upon hearing Gloucester coming, Edmund pretends to fight Edgar as he runs away. He cuts his arm and pretends that Edgar had wounded him after he refusing to join his “plot” against their father. Gloucester praises Edmund and sends his men out to pursue Edgar.
• Cornwall and Regan arrive at the castle. They believe the lies Edmund tells them about Edgar.
• Regan asks if Edgar is one of Lear’s unruly knights. Edmund says that he is, so Regan speculates that all of the knights gave Edgar the idea of killing his father, in order to acquire his wealth. She then asks Gloucester for his advice in answering the letters she has from Lear and Goneril.

Question 19

Act 2 Scene 2 [15]

Answer 19

• Kent meets Oswald, still dressed as a peasant, outside of Gloucester’s castle. Oswald fails to recognise Kent from the fight in Act 1, Scene 4. Kent verbally abuses the servant, he calls him a coward, vain, boastful, and groveling. Oswald still cannot remember who he is, so Kent attacks him.
• Oswald’s cries for help attract Cornwall, Regan and Gloucester. Their demands for an explanation are met with rude replies from Kent.
• Cornwall orders him to be put in the stocks. Gloucester sees this as a humiliating punishment, and that it would be disrespectful to Lear - as this is his messenger.
• Cornwall and his wife maintain that Kent deserves to be punished so he is put into the stocks.
• Everyone leaves and Kent reads a letter he has received. It is from Cordelia, in the letter she promises that she will help the turmoil in Britain in some way from her position in France.
• Whilst Kent is asleep, Edgar appears, running away from the manhunt for him. Afraid that he will be caught he strips off his clothes and covers himself in dirt, thus transforming himself into “Poor Tom.”
• He will pretend to be a beggar recently released from an asylum and wander the countryside.
• Lear arrives at Gloucester’s castle. He is shocked and dismayed to see Kent in the stocks.
• Kent tells him that Regan and Cornwall put him there but Lear cannot believe it - he demands to speak with them.
• The couple refuse to speak to Lear, saying they are tired from travelling, but Lear insists. He finds it difficult to control his anger but overall realises that sickness can make people behave out of character.
• Regan and Cornwall eventually enter the scene as Lear begins to complain about Goneril. However, Regan takes her sister’s side. She says that Lear is old and unreasonable and that he should return to Goneril and ask for forgiveness. She refuses to shelter Lear. He complains even more about Goneril and curses her. Then Goneril arrives at the castle.
• Regan, who knew she would arrive from their letters, allies against her father.
• They tell Lear that he must give up half of his knights if he wants a home.
• Lear says he will stay with his hundred men at Regan’s home. She limits him to twenty five knights. He turns to Goneril and offers to reduce his men by fifty, if he can stay with her, but Goneril won’t allow it. Eventually the sisters decide that Lear can have no servants.
• Lear is outraged, he curses his daughters and leaves the castle. Gloucester asks Goneril and Regan to bring the king back inside as there is a storm breweing, but they will not.

Question 20

Act 3 Scene 1

Answer 20

A storm is raging. Kent seeks out the king but instead runs into one of Lear’s knights.

The knight informs him that Lear is somewhere in the area with his Fool.

Kent tells the knight a secret: he has heard of the tension between Cornwall and Albany, and he knows that there are French spies in the English courts.

Kent tells the knight to go to Dover where he could be able to find friends to help Lear.

He hands the knight a ring and orders him to give it to Cordelia. Kent then continues to search for Lear.

Question 21

Act 3 Scene 2

Answer 21

Lear curses the storm, at this point he appears irrational and his thoughts are erratic - although he always returns to thinking of Regan and Goneril.

The Fool urges him to go to his daughters, apologise and seek shelter, but he is ignored.

Kent finds them and tells the pair that he has found a nearby hovel.

Lear agrees after a while and follows Kent. The Fool ends the scene with a prophecy.

Question 22

Act 4 Scene 3

Answer 22

X

Question 23

Act 4 Scene 4

Answer 23

X

Question 24

Act 4 Scene 5

Answer 24

X

Question 25

Act 4 Scene 6

Answer 25

X

Question 26

Act 4 Scene 7

Answer 26

X

Question 27

Act 5 Scene 1

Answer 27

X

Question 28

Act 5 Scene 2

Answer 28

X

Question 29

Act 5 Scene 3

Answer 29

X