King Lear quotes

in act 1 scene 1, what does lear say he wants his life to be like after dividing his kingdom? what can we interpret from this?

“we unburdened crawl toward death”

-forshadowing
-Metaphor for lear’s hamartia - he wishes to be unburdened, but his pride and hubris turns him mad as he is robbed of kingly power

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in act 1 scene 1, what does goneril say as she lies about her love for lear? what can be interpreted from this?

“dearer than eyesight, space and liberty”

-ironic as goneril orders blinding of gloucster.

in an aside, what does Cordelia say about her love for lear?

(aside) “i am sure my loves more ponderous than my tongue”

-dramatic aside enforces sincerity of cordelia.

in act 1 scene 1, what does lear say following cordelias ‘betrayal’? what is the significance of this?

“i disclaim all my parental care”

-like gloucester, lear destroys his relationship with his own loving child.
-Lear commits a major sin here. he is second in line in the great chain of being, but is not behaving in a fatherly manor.

in act 1 scene 1, what does cordelia say to lear during the love trial? how does lear respond? what does this show?

“nothing, my lord”
“nothing will come of nothing, speak again”

-lear as materialistic and misunderstands concept of unconditional love.

in act 1 scene 1, following the love trial, how does goneril reflect on lears actions?

“with that poor judgement he hath now cast her off appears too grossly”

-Goneril’s machiavellian nature leads her to exploit her fathers male foolishness.

in act 1 scene 1, what does gloucster say about edmunds mother?

“his mother fair, there was good sport at his making”

-gloucester admits to adultery.
-metaphor of sport highlight misogyny.

in act 1 scene 1, how does kent respond to lears actions?

"be kent unmannerly when lear is mad”

-highlights lears instant loss of social standing

In the trevor nunn version of king lear, how does lear change in act 1 scene 1?

In the Trevor Nunn 2008 version, lear is presented in act 1 scene 1 as a great man, at the proxemic centre of stage.

-following cordelias betrayal, he becomes erratic and angry, destroying his image.

what does lear say to kent in terms of a dragon? in act 1 scene 1

“come not between the dragon and his wrath”

-wrath is one of the 7 deadly sins
-Lear flaunts hamartia of rash anger
-foolishness as he fails to see his vunerable possition.

at the start of act 1 scene 2, what does Edmund say about nature?

“thou, nature art my goddess; to thy law, my services are bound”

-Jacobean lense sees edmund as an archetypal bastard

-modern readings see Edmund’s solilquoy used to crtiicse man made laws as superficial, as he promotes natural and divine law.

in act 1 scene 2 edmund solilqoy, what does edmund say about baseness?

“with base? with baseness? bastardy? base, base?”

-plosive alliteration reflects Edmund attempting to find a deeper meaning of these superficial man made words.

in Edmunds solilquoy, how does Edmund crticise sex out of wedlock?

“dull, stale, tired bed”

asyndeton

in act 1 scene 2, how does edmund put up a charade as he ‘hides’ the forged letter from gloucster

“nothing my lord”

-Edmund’s works echo teh truthful cordelia, however here he is machiavellian and duplicitous.

what does the forged letter say in terms of age?

“the oppression of aged tyranny”

the false ‘edgar’ uses similar criticsms of gerontocracy as regan and goneril.

how is edmund potrayed in act 1 scene 2 of trevor nunns king lear?

Kinesiscs to show Edmund crouched to the floor as he starts his solilquoy, however he rises as he reveals his plans.

in act 1 scene 3, what does goneril say about age?

“old fools are babes again and must be used with checks and flatteries”

-metaphor to sinfully attack parents.

-however, could be seen as insightful, as both lear and gloucster are “fools” lear is also a babe again as he wishes to be “unburdened”.

What does goneril say to oswald in act 1 scene 3?

“put on what weary negligence you please”

-shocking to audience as Goneril rejects 10 commandments
-imperitatves sees Goneril command a man, destroying social order.

in trevor nunns version, how are goneril and oswald presented?

-proxemically, goneril is behind oswald as she gives him orders - symbolises power imbalance between man and woman.

in act 1 scene 4, what does the fool say to lear about titles?

“all thy titles thou hast given away”

-Fool flaunts his traditional privelage of mocking the king, giving insightful comments of Lear’s bad decisions.

in act 1 scene 4, how does lear curse gonerils reproductive functions?

“created a child of spleen, that it may live to be a thwarted disnatured torment to her”

-Lear likens Goneril to a witch.

-could also be Lear’s hubris and sinful pride, foolishly cursing his own grand daughters, while childbirth is a god given gift.

in act 1 scene 4, what does lear predict regan will do to goneril?

“shell flay thy wolvish visage”

-anthropomorphism sees Goneril lack the feminine bonds of love.

-Lear’s misjudgement, he believes Regan would treat him properly.

in act 1 scene 4, what does Lear say about manhood?

“i am ashamed that thou hast power to shake my manhood thus”

-Lear is emasculated by a woman, shocking to a jacobean audience.

what insightful comment does the fool say in act 1 scene 5 in terms of how regan would treat lear?

“as a crab does to a crab”

-fools simile is truth.

how does Edmund condemn the false edgar in act 2 scene 1?

“his unnatural purpose”
-highly ironic, and gloucster fails to see how Edmund is the unnatural in the scenario.

What does Gloucester do in terms of land in act 2 scene 1?

“loyal and natural boy, ill work the means to make thee capable”

-Gloucester makes the same mistake as Lear.
-Highlights superficial nature of primogeniture.

how does edgar trasnform himself?

“basest and most poorest shape” “

man brought near to beast”

-superlatives highlight extreme nature of situation in england.
-Anthropomoprhism highlights how humans are moving down the great chain of being.

how does lear condemn both his daughters?

“you unnatural hags”

-Lear sees his daughters as niether human or animal as they violate the laws of love, duty and nature itself.

what stage direction reflects the nature of england?

“storm and tempest”
pathetic fallacy of lears emitons. pathos.

how does lear compare the value of mankind to that of animals?

“mans life is cheap as beasts”

-anthropomorphic simile highlights the degredation of human qualities.
-could also be a rejection of teh great chain of beings, humans are not morally superior to animals.

as lear lashes out following goneril and regans atttempts to lower the number of knights in his court, how does he start losing cognition?

“that all the world shall-” “I will do such things-”

-terimanal caesura and intermediary caesura reflects Lear’s madness.

how does shakespeare again develop cordelia as a vessel of optimism?

Kent tells the gentleman “show her this ring, and she will tell you who your fellow is”

-here, the ring acts as a symbol of tradition,moral chrisitan values.

how does lear call upon chaos?

“crack natures moulds, all germens spill at once that make an ungrateful man”

-Lear almost likens himself to biblical figure of noah, carrying out punishments on humanities actions.

-could also be lears hubris - lear as sadomasochistic.

how does trevor nunn present lear in this scene? what about gregory dorans version?

2008 version sees Lear as a creature likem mad figure, rather than the authority he is making himself out to be.

-gregory doran 2016 version sees Lear as a powerful figure, with the mise en scene showing lear on a mountain above the stage.

how does lear judge the sins against himself?

“I am a man more sinned against than sinning”

as lear meets poor tom, how does lear become a leader?

“poor naked wretches, wheresoever you are”

Lear executes an oratory prosody to become a martyr for those who have been wronged by the destruction of social order in the play

what does poor tom say about clothes?

“let not the creaking of shoes, nor the rustling of silks betray thy poor heart to woman”

satorial imagery as edgar argues that materialism should

in the folio, what are the fools last quote? What happens in the Trevor Nunn version?

“And Ill go to bed at noon.”

-last time we see the fool, a metaphor for death.

-Trevor Nunn version sees the full executed by Edmund, a violation of tradition.

what are poor toms references to demons?

“Frateretto calls me”

“hoppedance cries in toms belly”

“Croak not black angel”

-allusion to Harsnett’s decleration - actions of humans have led to demons coming to earth.

what does cornwall say as he blinds gloucster?

“out, vile jelly”

-Gloucester transformed into a walking symbol of blindness.
-could be seen as dehumanising, but also accurate, as it is Gloucesters poor vision which led to vile actions against Edgar.

How does Gloucester respond to realising Edmund plotted against him?

“ King Gods, forgive me that and prosper him”

-apostrophe are Gloucester asks for christian forgniveness, however he never receives this. he deserved what happened to him.

what is Gloucester’s commentary on the gods?

“all flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, they kill us for their sport”

what does gloucester say about worms?

the storm “made me think a man a worm”

How does Gloucester understand the irony of his blindness? How is this staged in Trevor Nunns version?

‘I stumbled when I saw’

-Gloucester understands the metaphorical irony of the situation.
-In the trevor Nunn version, Gloucesters Kinesics are highly reflective of that of lears.

what is a marxist quote from Gloucester?

“distribution should undo excess”

what does goneril say about her husband ?

“a fool usurps my bed”

-after kissing Edmund, Goneril denounces her husband. she now has violated the bonds of family, and the bonds of marriage. ironic as Edmund is the usurper here.

how does trevor nunn present Goneril in act 4 scene 2?

The mise en scene shows Goneril wear a more revealing outfit than previous scenes, demonstrating her use of her femininity to exploit edmund.

what stage direction symbolises goneril using edmund?

She places a chain about his necK

-Edmund becomes a literal puppet of goneril

how does goneril insult the bible?

“the text is foolish”

-could be a shockign allusion to the bible.

how does goneril criticise Albanys strong morals?

“moral fool”

how does the gentleman describe Cordelias reaction to knowledge of her sisters actions towards lear?

“holy water from her heavenly eyes”
-metaphor.

as cordelia returns to England with an army, what stage direction shows this?

Enter with drum and colours cordelia, gentleman and soldiers

Cordelia as a joan of arc figure.

as cordelia returns to england, what are the differences in staging between gregory doran and trevor nunn?

Doran version gives Cordelia a more military, assertive prosody, as she is dissapointed with her sisters. mise en scene shows her wearing a simlar outfit to the soldiers.

Trevor nunn version sees a more less military cordelia, she is an innocent, sad and concerned daughter.

how is cordelia shown to not be materialistic like her sisters?

“he that helps him take all my outward worth”

-cordelia values her father more than her wealth - juxtaposes with GOneril and regan.

how does regan tell oswald that she must marry edmund, rather than goneril?

“more convenient is he for my hand than your lady"s”

-materialistic degredation of the godly gift of marriage.

-subverts traditional love triangle as 2 women compete for 1 man.

having gone completely mad, how does lear misgender goneril and regan?

“goneril with a white beard”

“they are not men o’their words”

-lears mad ramblings could be seen as truthful as goneril and regan ahve taken the place of men in society.

how does lear contemplate violent revenge?

“kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill”

-epizeuxis sees a violent lear.

as cordelia reconciles with lear, how is she presented to be angelic in nature?

“medicine on my lips, and let this kiss repair those violent harms”

-metaphor of medicine pushes cordelia as a christian, feminie figure.

-juxtaposes with Gonerils quote in act 1 scene 1 "that her love “makes breath poor and speech unable”

how is it shown that goneril fails to see the motiviation behind the french invasion?

“these domestic and particluar broils are not the question here”

-goneril states they should focus on the french rather than sovling domesitc disputes.

how does edgar motivate his father?

“men must endure their going hence”

-edgar encourages his father to regain his masculinity

quote from lear about birds ?

“we two alone will sing like birds in i’the cage”

-lear wishes to be uburdened, but becomes mad as he is robbed of kingly duties

-simile of birds in the cage fails to realise that birds sing in the cage as they want to be let out.

what does goneril say after edmund is felled by edgar?

-she condemns the duel as “mere pratice “ s

-Goneril here criticise noble tradition, while edmund accepts the duel, which is a symbol of masculinity .

how does albany describe goneril near the end?

“gilded serpent”
-zoomorphism acts as biblica allusion, serpent lured evil. goneril is a machiavellian plotter who uses feminity to lure people.

what are the final words of the play?

“speak what we feel not what we ought to say”

-if people questioned lears and gloucesters actions, these isses would not ahve happened.

final stage direction

exeunt with a dead march