Act 1
- What did Lear decide to do?
He decided to give the country to his three daughters.
- Why does Lear ask how much his daughters love him?
In order to decide how to share the country between them.
- What will happen when he gives them the country?
His daughters will rule instead of him.
He will stay with each daughter in turn for a week.
- What did he do in order to decide?
He asked them to say how much they loved him
- What did Goneril say in reply to his question?
She said that she loved him as much as life, and more than anything else.
- How did Lear react toward her answer?
He was pleased and gave her one third of the land.
- What did Regan say in response? / How much did Regan say she loves her father?
She said that she loved her father more than Goneril
- How did Lear feel? What did he give Regan and her husband?
He was very pleased and gave her another third of land.
- What was Lear sure Cordelia would say?
He was sure she would say that she loved him more than her sisters.
- Why didn’t Cordelia say that she loves him more?
Because she didn’t want to compete with her sisters in boasting about her love for her father.
- How was Cordelia’s answer different from the answers her sisters give?
It is honest and realistic.
- What did Cordelia say about her love to her father?
She said that she loved him as much as a daughter should love her father.
- Why was Lear shocked of her answer?
Because he was sure she would say that she loved him more than her sisters.
- What did he ask her to do after her surprising reply?
To think more and give a better answer.
- How did Lear feel after she said that? What did he say?
He was shocked. He said that Cordelia was no longer his daughter.
- What does Lear do as a result of this answer; and why is his action so shocking?
He gives Cordelia’s share to her sisters and said she is no longer his daughter. People are shocked because they know Cordelia loved him.
- What terrible mistake does Lear make as a result of Cordelia’s words?
Saying that she was no longer his daughter. Giving his power to Goneril and Regan.
- Who is the only person who advised Lear?
The Earl of Kent
- What did the Earl of Kent tell Lear about Cordelia?
He told Lear that Cordelia was his favourite daughter and she loved him very much.
- Did Lear listen to Kent’ advise? If not, what did he do?
No, he sent Kent away.
- Why did the Duke of Burgundy refuse to marry Cordelia?
Because she has nothing.
- From what did the sisters warn each other?
They warned each other that there was something wrong with Lear’s mind, and in the future he might turn against them.
- What was Edmund – the illegitimate son of Gloucester- planning to do?
To take his legitimate brother’s place.
- What did Edmund show his father?
A letter which he said had been written by Edgar.
- What was written in the letter Edmund showed to his father?
The letter asked Edmund to help Edgar kill their father.
- What did Edmund tell his half brother Edgar, What did he advise him to do?
That their father was angry with him and advised him to hide from their father.
- How does Edmund turn his father against Edgar? And why?
He persuades his father that Edgar wants to kill him. He does this because he wants to take Edgar’s place and be Gloucester’s only son.
- How does Goneril ask her servant to treat Lear’s men?
Goneril told her servants to be rude and quarrel with them.
- Why did Kent hit Goneril’s servant?
Because he spoke disgracefully to Lear.
- By the end of Act 1 What does Lear realize about Goneril?
He realizes that she does not love him.
Complete
- After two weeks of staying with Goneril her servants began to be rude with Lear’s men.
- Kent disguised himself as a poor man.
- The fool joked that Lear had become a fool because he had given away all his power to his daughters.
- .Lear cursed Goneril and wished that if she had a child, that it would torment her.
Act 2
- Why did Edmund tell Edgar to run away?
According to Edmund, because someone had told their father where he was hiding and that he would be killed. In fact, Edmund wanted Edgar to leave to take his place.
- Why did Edgar pretend to be a mad homeless person?
To hide from his father.
- Why did Edmund cut his arm?
He wanted his father to believe that Edgar has tried to kill him.
- On whom does Regan blame Edgar’s evil plan to kill his father?
She blamed the terrible influence of Lear and his Knights.
- What is Edmund’s evil plan?
To make his father and his brother hate each other.
To make Edgar leave.
To make his father give him what he wanted to give Edgar.
- Why did Lear send a letter to Regan? What did he tell her in that letter?
He wanted her to get ready because he was coming to stay at her house with all his knights.
- What did Goneril complain about in her letter to Regan?
She complained about their father and warned her sister that his men were noisy and expensive.
- Why did Regan order her men to make Kent a prisoner?
Because he hit Goneril’s servant Oswald.
- Why did Goneril come to Regan?
To tell her sister not to look after Lear.
- What did Regan tell ask father to do?
Go home with Goneril.
Send away fifty of his men.
Ask Goneril to forgive him for being angry and thinking too much of himself.
- What did Lear remind Regan and Goneril of?
He reminded her that he had given her half of his land.
- Why did Lear say Goneril loves him twice as much as Regan?
Because she will allow him to keep twice as many men.
- What did Lear come to realize?
His two elder daughters felt no love or kindness to him.
Giving everything had been a terrible mistake.
He had lost all his power
- Why did Lear go out in the storm? / Why didn’t Lear accept his daughters offer of shelter?
Because he felt he couldn’t stay with either daughters.
- Who went out in the storm with Lear?
Kent and the Fool
- Why does the Earl of Gloucester feel sorry for king Lear?
Because he is out in the storm with no shelter and nowhere to go.
Complete:
- Edgar planned his Escape by pretending to be mad and homeless
- Regan blames Lear and his knights for Edgar’s evil to kill his father
- Goneril warned her sister that Lear’s men are noisy and expensive
- Lear wanted to see his daughter and her husband to ask about Kent but he was told that they were too tired to see him.
- Lear felt that he could not stay with either daughter so he went out into the storm
- Lear rejected the shelter of his two daughters and went out into a storm
- Goneril and Regan said that if their father was suffering , he himself was the one to blame.
Comment
” O madam, my old heart is cracked, it’s cracked”
- Who said this? To whom? Gloucester to Regan
- What does the speaker mean / Why is the speaker’s heart cracked?
His heart is cracked because his son wants to kill him.
- Whom does the person spoken to blame? / How does the person spoken to respond?
She blames Lear and his knights
- Cracked means: a- happy b- broken c- angry
Act 3
- What did Kent do when he found out that Cordelia and the king of France come to England?
- He sent Cordelia a letter to explain what had happened.
- He went looking for Lear.
- Why was Cordelia and her husband coming to England? /What was their plan?
To rescue Lear from his cruel daughters.
- Why do you think Lear went mad?
Because his daughters have treated him badly that his mind can not bear his feelings
of anger and sorrow.
- Where did Kent and Lear take shelter? Who did they find there?
They took shelter in a small dirty hut. They found Edgar.
- What did Lear feel for the first time?
He felt sorry for people who had no houses and only old, thin clothes to wear.
- What did Lear believe the reason for Tom’s madness?
He believed that Tom became mad because he had given everything to his daughters.
- What did Gloucester tell Edmund about Albany and Cornwall?
That they were quarrelling with each other.
- Why did Gloucester feel upset and take Lear’s side against Regan, Goneril and
their husbands?
Because Regan and Cornwall had stopped him from helping Lear or even talking about him.
- What did Gloucester do when he heard about Regan and Cornwall’s plan to kill Lear?
He warned Kent to take the king to Dover.
- Why did Gloucester warn Kent to take the king to Dover?
Because the king would be safe with Cordelia and France.
- How does Edmund betray his father?
He told Cornwall that his father took Lear’s side.
- What happened when one of the servants attacked Cornwall?
Cornwall killed the servant and he himself was hurt.
- Why did Cornwall blind the Earl of Gloucester?
Because Gloucester took Lear’s side.
- What did Regan order to do with Gloucester after blinding him?
She ordered him to be thrown out of his own castle into the storm.
Complete :
- Lear refuses to go back to the castle with Gloucester because he doesn’t want to leave ‘Poor Tom’
- Edmund quickly leaves his father castle after betraying him to Cornwall because he doesn’t want to be blamed for not protecting his father.
- Regan and her husband decide to blind the Earl of Gloucester because he tried to help Lear against their order.
- The Duke of Cornwall’s servant suddenly attacks him because he cannot bear the Duke’s cruelty to Gloucester.
- Lear’s sorrow and anger had become too great for him to bear so he went mad.
- Gloucester decided to take Lear’s side because he feels sorry for him because he is out in the storm with no shelter.
D- Quotation: Read the following quotation then answer the questions:
” Blow winds and crack your cheeks”
- When did Lear say this?
When he was in the storm
- Why did he go out in the storm?
Because his daughters refused to give shelter to him and his knights
- Why does he say this?
He feels that the violence of the wind and the rain all around him was like the violence of his own feelings.
Act 4
- Why did Gloucester decide to jump off the cliff?
Because he is so deeply unhappy at what he has done to Edgar and what he has suffered at
the hands of Cornwall.
- Why did Gloucester ask Edgar to take him to Dover?
Because he wanted to throw himself from high cliffs and end his unhappy life.
- What news about Cornwall did the messenger bring?
That the Duke of Cornwall had died after the servant’s attack during the blinding of
Gloucester.
- Why did the Duke of Cornwall die?
Because one of his servants attacked him during the blinding of Gloucester.
- Why was Goneril worried about the news of Cornwall’s death?
Because it meant that her sister Regan became a widow and might marry Edmund.
- Why didn’t Lear go to see Cordelia in Dover?
Because he felt ashamed of the way he had behaved towards her.
- How did Lear explain his own bad luck?
He said that the poor and powerless are always the ones who are punished for their crimes,
while the rich and powerful do the same things and not punished.
- What was the first sign that Lear’s madness was beginning to disappear?
He recognized Gloucester.
- Why did Goneril write a letter to Edmund? What did Goneril ask Edgar to do?
She told him to kill her husband Albany so that he could marry her.
- How does Lear’s life change for the better in Act 4?
He is helped to reach safety with the King of France’s army. He meets Cordelia again, and realises that she has forgiven him. He begins to recover from his madness.
Complete
- While Gloucester was talking about ‘ poor Tom” Edgar could hardly speak because of his sorrow of seeing his father blinded.
- After falling in love with Edmund, Goneril now despised her husband as a weak person.
- The Duke of Albany feels his wife Goneril is evil because she has helped Regan and Cornwall to make Lear go mad and to blind Gloucester.
- Albany decided to punish Edmund because he betrayed his father to Cornwall’s cruelty.
- When Gloucester and Edgar met Lear in Dover he was covered in wild flowers and out of his mind.
- Edgar leads his father to the middle of a field and not to the high cliff as his father wants / requests / believes / thinks.
- King Lear expects Cordelia to be angry with him because he has behaved very badly towards her.
- Goneril had written a letter to Edmund telling him to kill her husband because her husband, Albany, has turned against her, and she wants to marry Edmund.
- Goneril learned that The Duke of Cornwall died as a result of his servant’s attack during the blinding of Gloucester.
Comment
A-”You are not worth the dust which the rude wind blows in your face.”
– Why did the Duke of Albany say this to his wife Goneril?
because she has helped Regan and Cornwall to make Lear go mad and to blind Gloucester.
B- ” He reminded me of my poor son Edgar”
– Who said this? When did he say that?
Gloucester. When he met Edgar
C- ” How I wish I could hold him in my arms again”
1- Who is he talking to? Gloucester is talking to himself
2- To whom does ” him” refer? Edgar
Who might have said or thought the following? Explain each situation in turn.
- “I can’t bear to see my poor father like this. How could anyone have hurt him like this and
treated him so cruelly?”
Edgar or Cordelia. Edgar found his father, Gloucester, blinded by Cornwall.
Later, Cordelia found her father driven mad by his daughters’ cruelty.
- “Am I finally going mad or am I just confused? How could I have fallen so far and still be alive?”
Gloucester. He thought he had jumped off a cliff and should be dead. In fact, he had fallen only a short distance.
- ” I’ve got to think quickly. How am I going to stop her from getting him now that her husband is dead?”
Answer :- Goneril. She wanted Edmund. When Regan’s husband died, Goneril worried that Regan might get Edmund.
- “What? I don’t believe this! It means that that terrible woman is trying to get my brother to kill her husband. This is really, really bad!”
Answer :- Edgar. Edgar found a letter in which Goneril told Edmund to kill Goneril’s husband, Albany.
- ” At last! My father! But has he really gone completely mad? I’ll ask my doctor to give him some medicine that may perhaps help him.”
Answer:- Cordelia. When Cordelia found Lear, her doctor gave him some medicine.
Comment
A-”You are not worth the dust which the rude wind blows in your face.”
– Why did the Duke of Albany say this to his wife Goneril?
Because she has helped Regan and Cornwall to make Lear go mad and to blind Gloucester.
B- ” He reminded me of my poor son Edgar”
– Who said this? When did he say that?
Gloucester. When he met Edgar
C- ” How I wish I could hold him in my arms again”
1- Who is he talking to? Gloucester is talking to himself
2- To whom does ” him” refer? Edgar
** Who might have said or thought the following? Explain each situation in turn.
- “I can’t bear to see my poor father like this. How could anyone have hurt him like this and treated him so cruelly?”
Edgar or Cordelia. Edgar found his father, Gloucester, blinded by Cornwall.
Later, Cordelia found her father driven mad by his daughters’ cruelty.
- “Am I finally going mad or am I just confused? How could I have fallen so far and still be alive?”
Gloucester. He thought he had jumped off a cliff and should be dead. In fact, he had fallen only a short distance.
Act 5
- Why were Goneril and Regan jealous of each other?
Because each knew that the other wanted to marry Edmund, and each wanted to make sure that she herself would win him.
- How did Albany know about Goneril’s plan to kill him?
Edgar gave a letter to Albany. The letter is from Goneril to Edmund.
- What did Edgar do revenge for his father?
By giving Goneril’s message where she asks Edmund to kill Albany and marry her, to her husband Albany.
- Why and where did Edgar hide his father?
Edgar hid his father for safety under a tree.
- Who lead the English army? Who won the battle?
Edmund led the English army and he won.
- What happened to Lear and Cordelia after the battle?
They were captured and put in prison.
- What did Edmund order his soldiers to do with Cordelia and Lear in the letter?
To kill them secretly.
- Why did Albany ask Edmund to let him look after Lear and Cordelia?
Because he understood the danger that Lear and Cordelia may be killed.
- What did the two sisters, Regan and Goneril, quarrel about?
They quarreled about Edmund.
- Why did Regan collapse?
Because Goneril had poisoned her.
- Why did Goneril poison Regan?
She is jealous and she is afraid that Edmund will marry Regan.
- How did Gloucester die? By a heart attack.
- What makes Goneril desperate?
Her husband knew about Edmund and her.
- Why did Albany arrest Edmund?
He wants to bring Edmund to justice for his treason.
- Who offered to prove Edmund was a traitor and fight him?
Edgar.
- What did Goneril do when she realized her husband knew about Edmund and her?
She ran away and killed herself with a knife in the heart.
- Why was Lear not afraid of imprisonment? What makes Lear happy to go to prison?
He will be with Cordelia.
- What do you think makes Edmund try to save the lives of Lear and Cordelia at the last minute?
He wants to do something good before he dies.
- How many of the main characters die by the end, and how does each one die?
Seven. Cordelia is killed in prison and Lear dies of a broken heart. Regan is poisoned by Goneril, and Goneril kills herself. Regan’s husband, Cornwall, dies from the servant’s sword attack. Gloucester has a heart attack, and Edmund is killed by his brother.
- How are we given hope of a happy ending towards the end of Act 5?
Edmund tells Albany that there may be time to save Lear and Cordelia from death.
- How is that hope destroyed at the end?
It is too late to save Cordelia. She is killed, and Lear died of a broken heart.
Complete
- Albany knew that his wife planned to kill him and marry his killer.
- The Duke of Albany feel that his wife is evil as she wanted to kill him
- Goneril wants Edmund to murder her husband because she cannot marry Edmund while her husband is still alive.
- Lear was not afraid of imprisonment as he will be with Cordelia.
- Before his father’s death, Edgar told him that he was his son
- Edmund must face trial by combat.
- The Duke of Albany arrests Edmund because he wants to bring Edmund to justice for his treason.
- The two brothers fought and Edgar won
- Edmund told Albany that he had ordered the soldiers to kill Lear and Cordelia
- Edgar left the castle as fast as possible in order to save Lear and Cordelia.
Nice!