Act V
Symbolism
Gloucester
Edmund & Edgar
Summary of All Acts
100
What does Regan ask Edmund not to do?
Sleep with her sister, Goneril
100
What does the play suggest about people who have betrayed others?
They will betray again and again.
100
Who are Gloucester's sons? Which one is Gloucester’s bastard son?
Edgar and Edmund. Edmund is his illegitimate son, and Edgar is his legitimate son.
100
Which villian fights against the establish social order?
Edmund
100
Which one of Lear’s counselors reprimands the king for exiling his daughter(Cordelia)?
Kent
200
Why does Albany have mixed feelings about fighting the invaders while his wife does not?
Albany is sympathetic towards King Lear, while his wife, Goneril, is interested with Edmund.
200
Which of the relationships demonstrates self-sacrifing love?
Cordelia's and Lear's relationship
200
Where does Gloucester send Lear and his attendants?
To Dover
200
What does Edmund want to earn throughout the play?
To be recognized as a legitimate child
200
When he flees from his father, how does Edgar disguise himself?
As a common beggar
300
What does Edgar give to Albany and why is it shocking?
A letter from Goneril to Edmund because it is the letter that was taken from Oswald’s body, the letter that spoke of Goneril’s involvement with Edmund and also when Goneril asks Edmund to kill Albany.
300
What does Lear realize during the storm on the heath?
Humanity is insignifigant to nature. The storm shows Lear’s inner turmoil and madness: it is a physical, natural reflection of Lear’s internal confusion. At the same time, the storm embodies the awesome power of nature, which forces the powerless king to recognize his own mortality and human frailty and to cultivate a sense of humility for the first time.
300
Why is Gloucester accused of treason? How is Gloucester punished for his “treason”?
Because Edmund reveals letters showing that he knows of a French invasion and he is blinded.
300
Who encounters Gloucester on the heath and offers to lead him to Dover?
Edgar
300
To whom are both Goneril and Regan attracted?
Edmund
400
Whom has Edmund sworn his love to? What is the conflict with whom he has sworn his love to?
Regan and Goneril. The conflict is that they're both very jealous of one another, and desire for neither to have Edmund. Goneril would rather lose the battle than loose him!
400
Which character is parallel to King Lear? How is that symbollic?
Lear and Gloucester are parallel to one another. Gloucester’s physical blindness symbolizes the metaphorical 'blindness' that grips both Gloucester and Lear. Both have loyal children and disloyal children, both are blind to the truth, and both end up banishing the loyal children and making the wicked one/s their heir/s.
400
Why does Gloucester want to reach the cliffs of Dover?
He wants to throw himself over the cliffs
400
What does Edmund reveal as he lies dying?
That he ordered Cordelia to be hung
400
How does Regan die?
Goneril poisons her
500
What does Edmund vow to do to Lear and Cordelia? Does he go through with his vow?
Punish them severely. Edmund leads in Lear and Cordelia as his prisoners when they are captured. He had ordered that Cordelia be hanged, and Lear grieves over Cordelia’s body. Lear asks Edgar to loosen Cordelia’s button; then, just as Lear thinks that he sees her beginning to breathe again, he dies.
500
What role do women play in King Lear?
The female characters in King Lear are powerful figures who are often as aggressive as, and at times more ruthless than, their male counterparts.
500
Why and how does Edmund trick his father?
He tricks his father into believing that his brother, Gloucester's legitimate son, Edgar, is plotting against him. He wants recognition more than anything else, but also desires the rank and respect that Edgar will have - that he will never earn.
500
Is Edmund a character we should feel sympathy for when we FIRST meet him? Should we feel sympathy for him at the END?
Yes because, Edmund is "a bastard." He born out of wedlock, and Gloucester goes out of his way to let us know that Edmund is his illegitimate son. Primogeniture (the rule by which eldest son inherits all his father's wealth, lands, and titles) is the rule and it makes the lives of younger/illegitimate brothers miserable. No, because Edmund's a villain, and he's proud of that fact. He has a plan to even the score, to punish both his father and his legitimate brother Edgar. He also punishes Cordelia, betrays his own family, and is ultimately killed himself.
500
What happens to Lear at the end of the play?
He dies while weeping over Cordelia’s body
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