Understanding King Lear Theme Disguise and Deception

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Brittany Phelps
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1 Understanding King Lear Theme Disguise and Deception In the play, different characters wear disguises to mask their identities and motives. Kent wears a disguise in order to get his position back and help his king. Edmund wears a disguise to further his plot against his father and his brother. Goneril and Regan don t actually wear masks, but they disguise their true motives and feelings. From every class and family, the characters pretend to be what they are not. Still, not everyone has negative or immoral reasons for wearing a disguise. After Kent is exiled for warning the king against his foolish, prideful decision to divide his kingdom, he returns in disguise to help and guard the very man who has betrayed and dishonored him. Even while he is technically lying to his king, he always has his best interests in mind. So, wearing a disguise is not always a sign of ill will or bad intentions. In fact, the one character who is in costume for the entire play, the fool, is the one who also tells the truth most often and most openly. The point is not whether a person wears a disguise that makes them bad, but why they wear it and what they do while in disguise. Find five quotes throughout the play that show a character speaking while in disguise. Write the quotes with the page numbers on the right. On the left, describe what the character is doing and why he or she is wearing the disguise. Quotes 1) 1) Thoughts 2) 2) 3) 3) 4) 4) 5) 5)

2 Now write a paragraph analyzing the disguises in the play. Specifically what things do the characters do to help or hurt others while in disguise? Are the disguises necessary, or could they accomplish their goals without the deception? 100 words min. Finally, write a one-sentence thesis statement that you could use to write a literary analysis essay on this topic. Be sure to focus your thesis on the novel.

3 Understanding King Lear Theme Dynamic Character A dynamic character is one who changes in some fundamental way throughout the story. The change is usually a deep and profound change to the character s motivation or personality, and can be for the better or for the worst. In King Lear, the main character is a dynamic character because he changes his entire outlook on life and himself because of the treatment he receives from his daughters and their fellow conspirators, treatment that he brings upon himself through his own foolish actions. By the end of the play, he is completely broken and changed, deep in his heart and soul, and yet, this change comes too late to really save him. This is generally what happens in a tragedy play like this one. The main character realizes his or her mistakes and tries to change, but their fate is already set in motion, and becomes inescapable. For Lear, while he does get to reconcile with his youngest daughter, and in some way atone for his abuse of her, he is never able to undo all of the damage done by his arrogance and foolishness. Find five quotes throughout the play that show King Lear changing in some real way, coming to a realization or making a decision to do things differently. Write the quotes with the page numbers on the right. On the left, describe what the change is and what forces in Lear s life are causing him to change. Quotes 1) 1) Thoughts 2) 2) 3) 3) 4) 4) 5) 5)

Now write a paragraph analyzing the change in Lear from the beginning of the play to the end. How is he different at the end? What specific events cause him to change?

4 Now write a paragraph analyzing the change in Lear from the beginning of the play to the end. How is he different at the end? What specific events cause him to change? 100 words min. Finally, write a one-sentence thesis statement that you could use to write a literary analysis essay on this topic. Be sure to focus your thesis on the novel.

Understanding King Lear Theme Pride The Bible teaches us that pride goes before a fall, meaning that somehow pride blinds us and leads us into danger that we would avoid if we were humbler.

5 Understanding King Lear Theme Pride The Bible teaches us that pride goes before a fall, meaning that somehow pride blinds us and leads us into danger that we would avoid if we were humbler. In the opening of King Lear, Lear has become so proud and arrogant that he demands flattery and obeisance from his daughters, and disowns Cordelia when she refuses to worship him as her sisters do. However, he soon finds out that the flattery of his older daughters was insincere and calculated to trick him into giving them control of his kingdom. When he realizes what he has given away, and how he has degraded himself, his pride suffers so badly that even his fool ridicules him. In fact, the court jester repeatedly calls Lear a fool, openly and in front of others, even when Lear threatens him, because he knows that Lear s power, and his dignity, are gone. In Shakespeare s time, this was called hubris, the excessive pride that causes the main character to do foolish and selfish things that bring about their destruction and, often, their death. Find five quotes throughout the play that show King Lear s hubris, or excessive pride. Write the quotes with the page numbers on the right. On the left, explain how the prideful words or actions help to bring about Lear s destruction. Quotes 1) 1) Thoughts 2) 2) 3) 3) 4) 4) 5) 5)

6 Now write a paragraph discussing King Lear s hubris. How does his pride cause his downfall? Specifically, how does his pride in the beginning of the play bring about the opposite, shame, in the end? 100 words min Finally, write a one-sentence thesis statement that you could use to write a literary analysis essay on this topic. Be sure to focus your thesis on the novel.

7 Understanding King Lear Theme Trust Trust is a very fragile thing, even among family members who love one another. It can be fierce and firm when we are devoted to someone, but once broken, it is very difficult to repair. In parent-child relationships, that trust is extremely important. The parents trust the child to honor and obey their authority, and the children trust the parents to care for and protect them. When that trust is broken from either side, deep wounds form. In King Lear, Lear misjudges his children, and places his trust in the wrong ones, placing all of his wealth and power, and even his own life into the hands of his older daughters that do not love him, and scorns the one daughter who does, only because she objects to having to flatter her father to prove her love for him. In a similar way, Gloucester mistakenly trusts the wrong son, throwing all of his confidence on Edmund, who is secretly plotting to take his wealth and land, and viciously attacks Edgar, who has committed no crime. In both cases, the fathers have been so wrapped up in their own affairs, ignoring their children, until they seem not to know them at all. Find five quotes throughout the play that show the trust between parents and child being broken or rebuilt. Write the quotes with the page numbers on the right. On the left, explain how the relationship changes, and whose fault it is that the trust is broken. Quotes 1) 1) Thoughts 2) 2) 3) 3) 4) 4) 5) 5)

8 Now write an analytical paragraph discussing the father s in the play. How can they be so wrong about their children and make such tragic mistakes through misplaced trust? What character flaws cause their misjudgment? 100 words min Finally, write a one-sentence thesis statement that you could use to write a literary analysis essay on this topic. Be sure to focus your thesis on the novel.

4.a) What did Lear ask his three daughters? A. When King Lear decided to divide his kingdom among his daughters; he called them in

4.a) What did Lear ask his three daughters? A. When King Lear decided to divide his kingdom among his daughters; he called them in ENGLISH LITERATURE STD 7 RAPID-READER- KING LEAR ANSWER WITH REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT Ref 1. King Lear had three daughters named Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, and he decided to divide the kingdom among