King Lear
Themes to analyze
Various general themes
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Ingratitude of children
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Disorder in the family
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Lear’s and Gloucester’s
Concept of individual identity
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Children versus lone fathers
Human fallibility
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Cordelia’s, Goneril’s and Edmund’s
Edmund’s and Cordelia’s
Spiritual development and rebirth
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Lear’s and Gloucester’s
Madness
King Lear descends into madness
throughout the play
 Goneril and Regan also descend into
madness as they vie for power
 Edgar and Kent recover from madness
 Gloucester faces his own madness to the
point of attempting suicide
 Edmund faces his own madness in pursuit
of his goals
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Love
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Lear’s “love test” in the opening scene
Unconditional love from Cordelia for Lear
Unconditional love from Edgar for Gloucester
Unconditional love from the King of France for
Cordelia
Conditional love from Goneril and Regan
Conditional love from Burgundy for Cordelia
($$$)
Love/Loyalty from Kent for Lear
Language
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“Nothing” (Cordelia’s use versus Edgar’s)
“Fool” (folly versus wisdom)
“Nature” (natural/order versus
unnatural/disorder)
Imagery
Storm images
 Animal images
 Sight images
 Clothing/nakedness images
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Literary Elements
Script
 Plot
 Character
 Story Organization
 Setting
 Dialogue
 Monologue
 Conflict
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Technical Elements
Scenery
 Costumes
 Props
 Sound and Music
 Make-up
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Performance Elements
Acting
 Speaking
 Non-verbal Expression
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Combining Literary, Technical and
Performance Elements
Plot and Conflict go with???
 Character goes with???
 Dialogue and Monologue go with?
 Setting goes with?
 Script and Story Organization go with?
 Your own combination here?
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ANALYSIS
Remember that the definition of analysis
from your class text (Responding to
Literature) is looking at how the parts
relate to the whole (Theme).
 Once you have decided what the play is
about (theme), you need to decide which
elements make that theme happen.
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Seeing the Performance
Sit close enough to see the actors and
how they make the characters come alive
 Take notes on the props, costumes,
scenery and other visual elements.
 Take notes on the acting, speaking and
non-verbal elements.
 Don’t worry about following along in the
play. You have read it by now. 
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