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King Lear. Structure, characters, and themes. King Lear. King Lear Characters. Primary -- dynamic Protagonist, changes through play Lear Antagonist, character revealed Goneril, Regan Secondary -- static Reflection characters Cordelia, Gloucester, Edgar, Edmund, Kent, Fool.
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King Lear Structure, characters, and themes
King LearCharacters • Primary -- dynamic • Protagonist, changes through play • Lear • Antagonist, character revealed • Goneril, Regan • Secondary -- static • Reflection characters • Cordelia, Gloucester, Edgar, Edmund, Kent, Fool
King LearFoils • 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 LearThemes • Parent/child relationship • Flattery • Madness • Judgment • Appearance vs. reality • world view of Renaissance Christian Humanist and Machievellian
Motifs Seeing Judging Flattery “the worst” “unaccomodated man” Patience nothing Imagery Insults Foul fiend, madness Swearing by Gods Astrology King LearMotifs and Imagery
King LearSeeing 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” • Act 4 • “I stumbled when I saw” • “Might I but live to see thee in my touch, I’d say I had eyes again”
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 3 Goneril and Oswald Scene 4 Kent to serve Lear as Caius Lear and Fool Lear and Goneril Scene 5 Lear sends Kent to Regan Lear and Fool
King Lear, Act I, scene 1 Lear Fool Albany Goneril Cordelia Cornwall Regan Kent
King Lear -- Act II Scene 1 Edmund and Edgar Cornwall/Regan and Gloucester Scene 3 Edgar Scene 4 Lear/Fool and Kent Lear and Regan Goneril comes Scene 2 Oswald and Kent Glou/Corn/Regan Kent in stocks
King Lear -- Act III Scene 1 Kent and Gentleman Scene 3 Gloucester And Edmund Scene 4 Lear in hovel Talks with Edgar as Poor Tom Scene 2 Lear on the Heath Scene 7 Blinding of Gloucester Scene 5 Cornwall and Edmund Scene 6 Lear Trial scene
King Lear -- Act IV Scene 1 Edgar and Gloucester Scene 2 Goneril and Edmund Albany and Goneril Albany and Gentleman Scene 3 Kent 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 2 Edgar and Gloucester Scene 3 Edmund with Lear and Cordelia Albany Edgar and Edmund fight Goneril and Regan dead Lear carries Cordelia in Restoration of Order
King Lear, Act V, scene 3 Lear Goneril Cordelia Regan Albany Kent