Stage 2 English Studies 2011
What stylistic features and language techniques used by Shakespeare did you find
particularly effective in shaping your understanding of the ideas in King Lear?
The ideas in King Lear were effectively conveyed through imagery and setting
construction. The issues resonate in any age: the enduringly struggle between good and
evil, power and responsibility and man’s relationship with nature and the gods. It raises
questions forced out of the sufferings of human beings. Is mankind cruel or kind? How
do we assess human justice? In Lear’s words, Is man no more than this? Through
setting construction and compelling imagery Shakespeare conveys his ideas of
authority and natural order, and forces the reader to consider the nature of suffering
and the human condition.
Knowledge and
Understanding
References to
imagery and setting
respond explicitly to
the essay question
and author’s use of
stylistic features and
language
techniques.
Shakespeare suggests it is Lear’s failure to make good use of his authority that leads to
chaos. In the opening scene, King Lear’s entry is impressive, suggesting his authority.
The formal court setting reflects the power and order in his kingdom, and yet there is
an impending sense of doom, as signified by Lear’s wish to express our darker
purpose. When Lear rashly divides his kingdom and gives away his authority to the
evil and manipulative Goneril and Regan, he delivers not only himself and his family
into chaos, but all of Britain. The stable, hierarchical order Lear initially represents
disintegrates and disorder engulfs the reader. Lear finds his frame of nature has been
wrenched from the fixed place. This image conveys the seriousness of Lear’s crimes
against the natural order. The transition in setting from the castle to the heath signifies
a loss of authority.
Analysis
Demonstrates
perceptive analysis
of the ways authors
use language
techniques to
influence readers
(e.g. the use of the
formal court setting
and the transition to
the heath).
The failure of authority in the face of chaos recurs in Lear’s wanderings on the heath in
the storm. Contrasted with the sense of solidity and protection of the castle, the storm
echoes Lear’s inner turmoil. It is a turbulent and natural reflection of Lear’s internal
confusion. The powerful imagery of the cataracts and hurricanes that smites flat the
thick rotundity of the world creates a sense of the awesome supremacy of nature. The
setting of the play in a pre-Christian era is significant as tempests and thunder were
seen as demonstrations of divine anger. Lear admits he is a poor, infirm, despised old
man and comes to recognise that he, like the rest of humankind, is insignificant in the
world. This use of imagery and setting conveys the idea that man is helpless against the
natural world.
Application
Detailed and
appropriate
quotations from the
text are
incorporated fluently
into the discussion.
For Lear, the storm is a climactic test, That things might change and cease. He calls
on the gods to inflict revenge on his two pernicious daughters. In great irony, the
audience is aware that, while his daughters are at the centre of Lear’s obsession with
guilt, they are safe inside the castle. If anyone is the victim of the gods’ wrath, it is
Lear who is at the mercy of the sulfurous and thought – executing fires. Contrasting the
scenes of imagery filled emotion on the heath with the calm, controlled scenes in
Gloucester’s castle, Shakespeare conveys his ideas of authority as opposed to chaos.
Page 1 of 3
Knowledge and
Understanding
Recognition of irony
and contrast
reinforces
understanding of a
range of ways
authors use
language
techniques to
communicate
complex ideas.
Stage 2 English Studies student response for use in 2011
106739643 (October 2010)
© SACE Board of South Australia 2010
The suffering in King Lear is violent and is conveyed through the animal imagery,
particularly that associated with Goneril and Regan. Lear tells Regan that her sister has
tied sharp-toothed unkindness around his heart. His daughters are A plague – sore, or
embossed carbuncle / in my corrupted blood. Goneril is sharp toothed like a vulture
with a wolfish visage. The two sisters are portrayed as cruel predators, who want to see
their father bleed. This inhumanity is reconfirmed when Gloucester and Cordelia
describe how a wild beast would have been given shelter in the storm but not Lear,
who was fain / to hovel there with swine and rogues forlorn.This image is effective in
shaping an understanding of the nature of suffering in King Lear.
The question evoked in the play is; is the world indifferent, even hostile towards
mankind? Through Lear’s assertion that When we are born we cry that we are come
into this great stage of fools, Shakespeare suggests that it is man’s fate to suffer. This
notion is reconfirmed by the character of Gloucester, who laments As flies to wanton
boys are we to the gods / They kill us for their sport. In this image, Shakespeare
conveys that it is foolish for humans to assume the natural world works in parallel with
morally convenient notions of justice. Using heart – rending imagery, Gloucester
appeals to the mighty gods, renouncing his life. The audience is uncomfortably aware
of his suffering when he admits his snuff and loathed part of nature / Should burn itself
out. By Act V, divine justice has hung in the balance with issues such as Goneril’s
malice, Edmund’s death and the horrendous act committed against Gloucester, but
crumples with Lear’s ultimate question Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life?
And thou no breath at all? Despite the pagan setting, justification of God’s way with
man is scrutinised by so many characters, that it surfaces as one of the key ideas of the
play.
The setting in King Lear reflects Shakespeare’s ideas on the nature of suffering. The
audience begins to associate indoor settings with power, corruption and violence. The
terrible act of Gloucester’s blinding, Edmund’s betrayal of both his father and brother
and Lear’s reduction to a man whose life’s as cheap as beasts’ all occur indoors. In
contrast, outdoor settings reflect the uncovering of truth, self–realization and healing.
Lear regains control of his mind in the countryside near Dover and, in the storm on the
heath, is able to consider the wretched condition of the poor. Through setting
construction, Shakespeare shapes the audience’s ideas about the nature of suffering.
In King Lear, the author uses wonderful imagery and settings to convey his ideas of
authority as opposed to chaos and push the reader, as Lear is pushed, to consider the
nature of suffering and the human condition. The range of settings intensifies the
implications of one man’s folly. Through compelling imagery, Shakespeare creates
these settings and encourages the reader to accept the idea that ours is a cruel and
unjust world.
Analysis
Demonstrates
perceptive
analysis of the use
of imagery which
is supported by
fluently embedded
evidence from the
text.
Knowledge and
Understanding
Detailed
knowledge and
exploration of the
complex ideas,
values and beliefs
in the text (e.g. the
world’s
indifference, fate,
and justice).
Application
Demonstrates
appropriate use of
an analytical
essay form (e.g.
including a clear,
logical introduction
and summarising
conclusion) and
formal register to
convey complex
meaning.
Word count 999
Additional Comments

Demonstrates fluent and precise writing with appropriate use of form and register throughout the
entire essay. (Communication)

Detailed and appropriate quotations with textual references are embedded fluently into the
discussion. (Application)

This piece demonstrates a level of high achievement and would contribute towards a folio at an ‘A’
grade level if supported by other pieces that contribute to the range required at this grade.
Page 2 of 3
Stage 2 English Studies student response for use in 2011
106739643 (October 2010)
© SACE Board of South Australia 2010
Performance Standards for Stage 2 English Studies
A
Knowledge and
Understanding
Analysis
Application
Communication
Knowledge and understanding of a
wide range of ways in which authors
use stylistic features and language
techniques to communicate complex
and familiar ideas, and to influence
the reader’s response.
Analysis of complex
connections between personal
experiences, ideas, values,
and beliefs, and those explored
in familiar and unfamiliar texts.
Use of a wide range of language skills and
techniques to create sophisticated and
coherent texts that address the meaning and
intention of the task.
Fluent and precise
writing and speaking,
using appropriate style
and structure for a range
of mainly unfamiliar
audiences and contexts.
Detailed knowledge and
understanding of the ideas, values,
and beliefs in familiar and unfamiliar
texts.
Knowledge and understanding of the
ways in which creators and readers
of familiar and unfamiliar texts use a
range of textual conventions to make
meaning.
B
Analysis of some complex
connections between personal
experiences, ideas, values,
and beliefs, and those explored
in familiar, and some
unfamiliar, texts.
Knowledge and understanding of
some ideas, values, and beliefs in
familiar, and some unfamiliar, texts.
In comparative exercises, a
clear analysis of connections
between texts, based on
analysis of similarities and/or
differences.
Knowledge and understanding of a
narrow range of ways in which
authors use stylistic features and
language techniques to communicate
mainly familiar ideas, and to influence
the reader’s response.
Knowledge and understanding of
some ideas, values, and beliefs in
mainly familiar texts.
D
Perceptive analysis of a range
of ways in which authors use
language techniques to
influence opinions and
decisions in familiar and
unfamiliar texts.
Knowledge and understanding of the
ways in which authors use stylistic
features and language techniques to
communicate complex and familiar
ideas, and to influence the reader’s
response.
Knowledge and understanding of the
ways in which creators and readers
of mainly familiar texts use some
textual conventions to make
meaning.
C
In comparative exercises, a
perceptive analysis of
connections between texts,
based on analysis and
synthesis of similarities and/or
differences.
Analysis of a range of ways in
which authors use language
techniques to influence
opinions and decisions in
familiar, and some unfamiliar,
texts.
Analysis of simple connections
between personal experiences,
ideas, values, and beliefs, and
those explored in familiar texts.
In comparative exercises,
analysis of connections
between texts, based on some
understanding of similarities
and/or differences.
Knowledge and understanding of
some of the ways in which creators
and readers of a range of familiar
texts use textual conventions to make
simple or factual meaning.
Descriptive analysis of a
number of ways in which
authors use language
techniques to influence
opinions and decisions in
familiar texts.
Knowledge and restricted
understanding of some simple
stylistic features and language
techniques used by authors to
communicate mainly familiar ideas,
and to influence the reader’s
response.
Reference to simple
connections between
uncomplicated personal
experiences, ideas, values,
and beliefs, and those explored
in familiar texts.
Knowledge and understanding of
some familiar ideas, values, and
beliefs in familiar texts.
Knowledge and understanding of a
restricted number of ways in which
creators and readers of a narrow
range of familiar texts use some
textual conventions to make simple or
factual meaning.
Page 3 of 3
In comparative exercises,
answers that make partial
comparisons and contrasts.
Reference to some ways in
which authors use a narrow
range of language techniques
to influence opinions and
decisions in familiar texts.
In comparative exercises, a perceptive
recognition of connections between texts,
through responses that integrate discussion of
texts and move easily between them.
Detailed and appropriate use of evidence from
texts to support responses, with textual
references incorporated fluently in discussion.
Appropriate use of form
and register to convey
mostly complex meaning
in a range of unfamiliar
contexts.
Skills in using the textual, structural, and
conventional features of text types for a range
of familiar and unfamiliar contexts, audiences,
and purposes.
Use of a range of language skills and
techniques to create clear and coherent texts
that address the meaning and intention of the
task.
In comparative exercises, recognition of
connections between texts, through responses
that compare and contrast texts in an
integrated way.
Appropriate use of evidence from texts to
support responses, with textual references
incorporated in discussion.
Mostly fluent and precise
writing and speaking,
using appropriate style
and structure for a range
of mostly familiar
audiences and contexts.
Appropriate use of form
and register to convey
complex and simple
meaning in a range of
familiar and unfamiliar
contexts.
Skills in using some of the textual, structural,
and conventional features of text types for a
range of mainly familiar, and some unfamiliar,
contexts, audiences, and purposes.
Use of language skills and techniques to create
texts that address the meaning and intention of
the task.
In comparative exercises, recognition of some
connections between texts, through responses
that compare and contrast texts, usually in a
sequential rather than an integrated way.
Competent use of evidence from texts to
support responses, with some use of textual
references in discussion.
Generally fluent and
functional writing and
speaking, using
appropriate style and
structure for familiar
audiences and contexts.
Appropriate use of form
and register to convey
simple meaning in a
narrow range of familiar
and unfamiliar contexts.
Skills in using some of the textual, structural,
and conventional features of some text types
for familiar contexts, audiences, and purposes.
Use of some language skills and techniques to
create texts that partly address the meaning
and intention of the task.
In comparative exercises, some awareness of
connections between texts, through partial
responses that mainly deal with texts
separately.
Some use of evidence from texts to support a
response, with use of a narrow range of textual
references.
Achievement of a level
of fluency in writing and
speaking, in a mainly
appropriate style.
Occasionally appropriate
use of form and/or
register to convey simple
meaning in familiar
contexts.
Skills in using some of the textual, structural, or
conventional features of a text type for a
familiar context, audience, or purpose.
Stage 2 English Studies student response for use in 2011
106739643 (October 2010)
© SACE Board of South Australia 2010
E
Knowledge and
Understanding
Analysis
Application
Communication
Knowledge and understanding of a
restricted range of simple stylistic
features and language techniques
used by authors to communicate
familiar ideas, and to influence the
reader’s response.
Recognition of a simple
connection between a
straightforward personal,
experience, idea, value, or
belief, and that explored in a
highly familiar text.
Attempted use of a restricted range of
language skills and/or techniques to create a
text or texts that attempt to address the
meaning or intention of the task.
Emerging development
of fluency in an
occasionally appropriate
style.
Identification of an idea, a value, or a
belief in familiar texts.
In comparative exercises,
answers that make a simple
comparison or contrast.
In comparative exercises, identification of
limited connections between texts, through
fragmented responses that deal with texts
separately.
Occasionally appropriate
use of form and register
to convey literal meaning
in highly familiar
contexts.
Knowledge and understanding of the
ways in which a creator or reader of a
highly familiar text uses textual
conventions to make factual
meaning.
Page 4 of 3
Reference to the way in which
an author uses language
techniques to influence
opinions and decisions in a
highly familiar text.
Restricted use of evidence from texts to
support a simple response, with limited textual
reference.
Skills in using the textual, structural, or
conventional features of a text type for a highly
familiar context, audience, or purpose.
Stage 2 English Studies student response for use in 2011
106739643 (October 2010)
© SACE Board of South Australia 2010