Name__________________________
King Lear Visual Essay & Presentation
15% of your final mark
Prepare a 5-10 minute presentation in which you present a visual essay that identifies and
explores one specific theme from King Lear.
General Information:
 Work independently
 You will have time on Tuesday July 22 in the morning to work on your presentation in
the library.
 Presentations will occur on the same day, Tuesday July 22 in the afternoon.
 Presentation order will be alphabetical by last name
 Each student will HAND IN this paper, along with their visual essay and any preparation
notes
Topics:
 Possible themes:
o Family
o Power
o Justice
o Language and Communication
o Role of Women
o Social Class
o Loyalty
o Forgiveness/Reconciliation
o Authority vs. Chaos
o Appearance vs. Reality
o The Natural Order
To develop your thesis statement
about your chosen theme, ask yourself:
1) What is Shakespeare saying
about (theme) and how it is
related to human experience, in
general?
2) How does this theme relate to a
particular character or
characters?
3) What happens in the play that is
related to this theme?
Your thesis statement should follow the
O + a, b, c format
Opinion + 3 sub arguments
Your Presentation Should Include:
 A clear point of view or thesis statement. Your thesis statement must be visible on the
visual essay and should have 3 sub arguments.
 Support your thesis with a minimum of 6 direct quotations from King Lear, 2 quotations
per sub argument. Your quotations must be visible on your visual essay. Use MLA
format to cite.
 Each quotation must be accompanied by a visual, drawn or taken from a source (6
visuals). The visuals should depict the aspects of the thematic topic as it connects
to the chosen quote. Try to avoid using obvious images (e.g. outtakes from the movie)
or illustrations of King Lear. Choose symbolic over literal representations. Use MLA
format to cite.
 A clear verbal explanation for each quote in which you make connections
o Between your thesis statement and
o The accompanying quotation and
o The accompanying image you have chosen.
Name__________________________
o Do not just state the obvious, e.g. this is a bird; instead discuss why the image of
a bird is relevant to your thematic topic, e.g. “The bird in the image was chosen
because its outspread wings represent the desire of the protagonist for personal
freedom…”
 Your essay will take the form of a Bristol board, PowerPoint or scrapbook and must
include a Works Cited list. If you choose to create a PowerPoint, please print a copy
of your slideshow as a handout to give to Ms. Purewal.
Rubric:
Clear and focused
thesis statement
about theme
Quotations
related to three
sub arguments
Use of Visuals
Clear connections
made between
quotations, thesis
statement and
visuals
Organization
Presentation Style
Suits Audience
and Purpose
Language Suits
Academic
Audience and
Purpose
Information
Delivered with
Clarity and
Coherence
Level Achieved:
50-59%
Thesis does not
outline the
argument clearly.
No mention of
authors or texts.
Quotes are not
relevant, present.
Quotes are not
cited.
Images are present,
but do not
meaningfully relate
to the subject; too
few images
Argument is weak,
scattered and/or
non-sequential.
Ideas are poorly
developed
Organization is
confusing or messy
style selected with
limited
effectiveness
language tailored
to audience with
limited
effectiveness
information
delivered with
limited clarity and
coherence
60-69%
Thesis somewhat
outlines the
argument.
Improper mention
of author or texts
Quotes are
somewhat relevant.
Quotes are not
correctly cited.
Images are
accurate, but not
original; rely on
literal rather than
symbolic
representation;
may be sparse
Argument is
somewhat coherent
and sequential.
Ideas are somewhat
developed
Organization is
present; may be
confusing at times
70-79%
Thesis outlines the
argument clearly.
Author and texts
included
80-100%
Exceptional, wellstructured thesis.
Quotes strengthen
the argument.
Quotes cited.
Exceptional use of
quotes. All quotes
cited.
Images are well
chosen and may be
symbolic; enough
images chosen
Images are strong
and clearly and
thoughtfully relate
to the work and the
theme; all images
are symbolic
Argument is
coherent and
sequential. Ideas
are well developed.
style selected with
moderate
effectiveness
language tailored
to audience with
moderate
effectiveness
information
delivered with
moderate clarity
and coherence
style selected with
considerable
effectiveness
language tailored
to audience with
considerable
effectiveness
information
delivered with
considerable clarity
and coherence
Argument is very
coherent and
sequential. Ideas
are exceptionally
well developed.
Strong
organization
effectively reveals
ideas, enhancing
message
style selected with
a high degree of
effectiveness
language tailored
to audience with a
high degree of
effectiveness
information
delivered with a
high degree of
clarity and
coherence
Organization
effectively reveals
ideas