King Lear
Structure, characters, and themes
King Lear
King Lear
Goneril
Regan
Cordelia
Albany
Cornwall
Cornwall
France
King Lear
Characters
Main Plot
• Primary -- dynamic
– Protagonist, changes through play
• Lear
– Antagonist, character revealed
• Goneril, Regan
• Secondary -- static
– Reflection characters
• Cordelia, Kent, Fool, France
King Lear
Characters
Sub Plot
• Good
– Gloucester, Edgar
• Evil
– Edmund
– Reflection characters
• Oswald, Albany, Cornwall, servant to Cornwall
King Lear
Foils
• Character foiling
– Lear and Gloucester
– Cordelia and Edgar
– Goneril/Regan and Edmund
• Plot foiling
– Act 1, sc 1 & Act 5, sc 3
– Act 3, sc 6 and sc 7
King Lear
Motifs and Imagery
• Motifs
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–
–
–
–
–
–
Seeing
Judging
Flattery
“the worst”
“unaccomodated man”
Patience
nothing
• Imagery
–
–
–
–
Insults
Foul fiend, madness
Swearing by Gods
Astrology
King Lear
Seeing motif
• Act 1
– “Hence and avoid my sight” “Out of my sight!”
– “See better, Lear”
– “If it be nothing, I shall not need spectacles”
• Act 3
– “Pluck out his eyes”
– “I would not see thy cruel nails pluck out his poor old
eyes”
– “I shall see the winged vengeance overtake such
children”
– “See it shalt thou never”
King Lear
Seeing motif
• Act 4
– “I stumbled when I saw”
– “Might I but live to see thee in my touch, I’d
say I had eyes again”
• Act 5
– “As for the mercy Which he intends to Lear
and to Cordelia, The battle done, and they
within our power, Shall never see his pardon”
– “Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,
Look there, look there!”
King Lear
Motifs and Imagery
• Motifs
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Seeing
Judging
Flattery
“the worst”
“unaccomodated man”
Patience
nothing
• Imagery
–
–
–
–
Insults
Foul fiend, madness
Swearing by Gods
Astrology
King Lear
Themes
•
•
•
•
•
•
Parent/child relationship
Flattery
Madness
Judgment
Appearance vs. reality
world view of Renaissance Christian
Humanist and Machiavellian
King Lear -- Act I
Scene 1
Lear divides
country,
Disowns Cordelia
Cordelia bids
farewell to
sisters
Scene 2
Edmund soliloquy
Conspiracy theory
Advice to Edgar
Scene 4
Kent to serve Lear
as Caius
Lear and Fool
Lear and Goneril
Scene 3
Goneril and Oswald
Scene 5
Lear sends Kent
to Regan
Lear and Fool
King Lear, Act I, scene 1
Lear Fool
Goneril
Cordelia
Cornwall
Regan
Kent
Albany
King Lear -- Act II
Scene 1
Scene 2
Edmund and
Oswald and Kent
Edgar
Glou/Corn/Regan
Cornwall/Regan
Kent in stocks
and Gloucester
Scene 3
Edgar
Scene 4
Lear/Fool and Kent
Lear and Regan
Goneril comes
King Lear -- Act III
Scene 1
Kent and
Gentleman
Scene 3
Scene 2
Lear on the Heath Gloucester
And Edmund
Scene 5
Cornwall and
Edmund
Scene 6
Lear
Trial scene
Scene 4
Lear in hovel
Talks with Edgar
as Poor Tom
Scene 7
Blinding of
Gloucester
King Lear -- Act IV
Scene 1
Edgar and Gloucester
Scene 2
Scene 3
Goneril and Edmund Kent and Gentleman
Albany and Goneril
Albany and Gentleman
Scene 4
Cordelia and Doctor
Scene 5
Regan and Oswald
Scene 6
Edgar and Gloucester
Gloucester and Lear
Oswald and Edgar
Scene 7
Cordelia and Kent
with Lear
King Lear -- Act V
Scene 1
Edmund and Regan
Goneril and Albany
Edgar to Albany
Edmund
Scene 3
Edmund with
Lear and Cordelia
Albany
Edgar and Edmund fight
Goneril and Regan dead
Lear carries Cordelia in
Restoration of Order
Scene 2
Edgar and
Gloucester
King Lear, Act V, scene 3
Goneril Lear Cordelia
Regan
Albany Kent