Web viewDivine Right Of Kings – To take Lear’s power away would upset the Divine Right of Kings, throwing the balance of Lear’s world, leading to his disorientation

How To Answer A

King Lear A Level

English Question

How To Answer A King Lear A Level English Question For Dummies

For Dummies

Christelle Nunnikhoven

Contents Contents – Page 2 Introduction – Page 3 Planning – Page 4 How To Start and End Your answer -Page 5 Focusing on your Assesment Objectives-

Page 6 The Assesment Objectives – Page 7 Past Questions – Page 8 Introduction to the Themes – Page 9 Justice/Injustice- Page 10 Nature – Page 11

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Betrayal – Page 12 Appearance/ reality – Page 13 Loyalty – Page 14 Conflict – Page 15 Blindness – Page 16 Context Points - Page 17 Oedipus Rex – Page 18

Introduction

In this booklet you will find the tools and hints on how to answer your a level English Literature question.

You will be led into your exam hall, and seated.

When the exam begins, you must plan for as long as needed before you write your answer.

You need to remember your Assessment Objectives

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This is a closed book examination so you must learn all of the quotations

If any of these terms or hints confuse you, continue through the booklet to find more information.

Planning Your Question

You should look at the question and highlight the key words for example

According to one critic, “The theme of King Lear is the decay and the fall of the world… and the world is not healed again.” Examine the play in the light of this

remark with comparative references to Oedipus Rex.

Using the parts of the question that you have highlighted, create a Line Of Argument that you can argue throughout your essay. For example –

‘The play King Lear does not only demonstrates the decay and fall of the world but the fall of man himself’

You may then go on to list the quotations that you wish to use, and perhaps around them write the techniques they use and critical interpretations that link to them. For example

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“O let me not be mad!” Alfred Bates ‘Lear is almost childish with age’

You can then introduce your context –

Divine Right Of Kings – To take Lear’s power away would upset the Divine Right of Kings, throwing the balance of Lear’s world, leading to his disorientation.

Go on to enlighten the Lear by using the Oedipus Rex

Oedipus and Lear both ageing monarchs, Oedipus shows more sympathy with his people, ‘my children’. Oedipus had grown up in the same situation as his

people, would understand their situation more than Lear might - assumed that Lear has always been in a high state of power.

Once you believe you have a full plan you should go on to write your essay

How To Start and End Your Answer

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Always start with an introduction -

Briefly touch upon the question Introduce your Line Of Argument

(LOA) You may briefly mention what you

plan to discuss in your essay


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Focusing on Assessment Objectives

You must focus on your Assessment Objectives.

If you are a visual learner, make a mind map with colours for each AO, or perhaps you might take highlighters into the exam with you.

You can then highlight on your plan how much of each AO you have included, in order to ensure you have not missed any key elements, as this can severely bring down your grades

It is important to remember that AO1 and AO2 should be your main focuses when you are writing your plan and answer.

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Always finish with a conclusion –• Bring together your ideas• Do they support/go against your line of argument?

Argue your LOA


AO3 and AO4 should be blended in with the other two objectives.

There is a list of the AO’s and what is required to achieve them on the next page

Each AO is worth 10 marks

The Assessment Objectives

The AOS What the specification says

Simplified Marks

A01 Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology, and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression.

Quotes usedTerminology

10

A02 Demonstrated detailed critical understanding in

Structure and unpacking

10

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analysing the ways structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts

A03 Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts informed by interpretations of other readers

Critical Interpretations

10

A04 Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.

Context 10

Past Questions

You can use Past Questions for practice!

January 2013

6. According to one critic, “The theme of King Lear is the decay and the fall of the world… and the world is not healed again.” Examine the play in the light of this remark with comparative references to Oedipus Rex.

7. How far does Shakespeare’s presentation allow sympathy or support for characters who oppose Lear? In the course of your writing, show how your ideas have been illuminated by Sophocles’ presentation of character.

June 2012

6. “The forces of good and evil contribute in equal measure to the play’s outcome” How far do you agree with this comment on King Lear? In the course of your writing, show how your reading of Oedipus Rex has illuminated your ideas.

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7. Discuss Shakespeare’s treatment of the issue of control in King Lear and show how far your understanding and appreciation of this issue have been influenced by your reading of Oedipus Rex.

January 2012

6. “In King Lear, Shakespeare makes very effective use of the tension between what characters choose to do and what they ought to do.” In the light of this remark, and with comparative reference to Oedipus Rex, examine Shakespeare’s presentation of the theme of duty.

7. Examine the presentation and dramatic importance of violence in King Lear, showing how your ideas have been illuminated in Oedipus Rex.

June 2011

6. Examine the dramatic significance of different locations in King Lear. In the course of your writing show how your understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare’s use of place have been influenced by your reading of Oedipus Rex.

7. “Truths a dog must to kennel!” Examine the dramatic significance of the Fool’s words to the play as a whole with comparative reference to the theme of truth in Oedipus Rex.

January 2011

6. “To describe the play as simply a conflict between the generations would be a serious underestimation.” Discuss this view of King Lear with comparative reference to conflicts in Oedipus Rex.

7. “Shakespeare presents his characters as entirely responsible for their own destinies.” Explore this view of King Lear and show how your ideas have been shaped by your reading of Oedipus Rex.

The Themes

There are many themes in King Lear that are likely to crop up in the exam, and so it is helpful to know specific quotations for each theme.

Quotations should be as short as possible, as these are easier to remember and also easier to apply when in the exam.

Under a list of quotations, there are Potential Line of Arguments and Critical Interpretations.

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A line of argument must be introduced in your opening paragraph

Critical Interpretations must be included in order to achieve A03 marks

Using short Critical Interpretations can also be easier to remember

Theme of Justice/Injustice

Quotes

‘All ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves’Act 1 Scene 2 Line 113

Gloucester after discovering Edmunds faked letter

“This shows you are above,You justicers, that these out nether crimes/

So speedily venge!” Act 4 Scene 2 Lines 78-80

When Albany learns of Cornwall’s death

“And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks;Arm it in rags, a pigmys straw does pierce it.”

Act 4 Scene 6 lines 166-167

“Which is the justice, which is the thief?”

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Act 4 Scene 6 Lines 153- 154

“The gods are just”Act 5 Scene 3 Line 171

Edgar has just won the duel against his brother Edmund.

Potential Line Of Argument

Justice never equals injustice in King Lear All justice is inadvertently caused by Lear himself

Justice is ineffectual Divine justice is sparse in King Lear


“The wicked bring destruction upon themselves” (Evans and Tobin) “The belief that evil will destroy itself is an idle dream” (Vincent Petronella)

“Nature supports human justice” (McDonald)

Theme of Nature

Quotes

‘Thou, Nature, art my goddess’Act 1 Scene 2 Line 1Edmunds soliloquy

“Hear, Nature, hear, dear goddess hear!”Act 1 Scene 4 Lines 275As Lear curses Goneril

‘Man’s nature cannot carryTh’ affliction, nor the fear”Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 48 & 49

Lear in the storm

“When the rain came to wet me at once, and the wind came to make me chatter, when the thunder would not peace at my bidding.”

Act 4 Scene 6 lines 100

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Lear to Gloucester in Dover

“My face I’ll grime with filth”Act 2 Scene 2 Line 180

Edgar creates Poor Tom.


Natural and divine orders are one Nature supports human justice

The natural imagery in King Lear displays the basics of humanity


“The outbreak of the storm in Act 3 only confirms what Lear has come to suspect about the fundamental injustice of the natural world” (Jeffrey Kahan)

“The belief that evil will destroy itself is an idle dream” (Vincent Petronella) “Nature supports human justice” (McDonald)

Theme of Betrayal

Quotes

‘O villain, villain! His very opinion in the letter!’

Act 1 Scene 2 Line 75Gloucester believes Edmunds lies

“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth is it To have a thankless child!”

Act 1 Scene 4 Line 280Lear to Goneril

“O, sir, you are old!”Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 335As Lear curses Goneril

“Let not the creaking of shoes, Nor the rustling of silks

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Betray thy poor heart to woman.”Act 3 Scene 4 lines 91-94

Edgar as Poor Tom to Lear

“O heavens, that this treason were not, or not I the detector!”Act 3 Scene 5 Line 10

Edmund attempts to secure his ties with Cornwall.


• All characters fall victim to divine betrayal• Betrayal in Lear stems from misunderstood love

• All characters in King Lear are influenced by the various forms of betrayal

Critical Interpretations • “Connected with the religious level, betrayal in Lear reverberates through every

situation, political, familial, and personal” (William R. Elton)• “Lear is betrayed by the deception of his self-serving daughters” (Joseph Pearce)

• “The treachery of Goneril and Regan is mirrored in Edmunds betrayal of his father and brother” (Donna Woodford)

Theme of Appearance And Reality

Quotes

“It did always seem so to us”Act 1 Scene 1 Line 3

Kent and Gloucester discuss Lear and his favouritism

“The name, and all th’ addition to a king”Act 1 Scene Line 137

Lear after the banishment of Cordelia

“I now perceive it was not altogether your brothers’ evil disposition made him seek his death”

Act 3 Scene 5 Line 5 & 6Cornwall to Edmund

“Through tattered clothes great vices do appear”Act 4 Scene 6 Line 160

Lear has reached his highest point of madness

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“Taught me to shiftInto a madman’s rags”

Act 5 Scene 3 185 & 186


The ‘good’ characters in King Lear always appear bad at some point in the play In King Lear, morally blind characters cannot see the difference between appearance

and reality The lines between appearance and reality are blurred throughout King Lear

Critical Interpretation

“Humans create the appearances of order for the vigilant restraint of chaos and evil” (Susan Schreiner)

“Where Lear struggles with himself and a world in the grip of reason, Gloucester struggles with himself and a world in the grip of appearance” (Terence Hawkes)

“He sees himself neither as buffoon nor sycophant, but as one who entertains with the facts of reality” (Larry S. Champion)

Theme Of Loyalty

Quotes

“You have begot me, bred me, loved me: IReturn those duties back as are right fit”

Act 1 Scene 1 Lines 96 & 97Cordelia returns her father’s loyalty

“So may it come, thy master, whom thou lovest,Shall find thee full of labours”

Act 1 Scene 4 Lines 3 & 4Kent demonstrates his loyalty

“But I will tarry, the fool will stay,And let the wise man fly”

Act 2 Scene 4 Lines 74 & 75The fool demonstrates his loyalty

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‘How, my lord, I may be censured that nature thus gives way to loyalty something fears me to think of.”

Act 3 Scene 5, Lines 2- 4Edmund to Cornwall

“I have a journey, sir, shortly to go;My master calls me, I must not say no”

Act 5 Scene 3 Lines 320 & 321Kent’s last lines


All the truly loyal characters in King Lear stay this way throughout the play Loyalty is punished more than evil in King Lear

Loyalty goes unnoticed by morally blind characters


In Shakespeare’s presentation, “nature” dictates loyalty, care, gratitude and obedience toward parents and superiors (Susan Schreiner)

The time comes when loyalty to a master must give way to a higher loyalty – to morality, to decency.” (Jay L. Halio)

The bonds of family in this play often probe weaker than the bonds of loyal service and friendship”

Theme of Conflict

“Edmund the base shall top th’legitimate - : I grow,I prosper; now gods, stand up for bastards!”

Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 20- 23Conflict between Edgar and Edmund

“Strives in his little world of man to outscornThe to-and-fro-conflicting wind and rain.”

Act 3 Scene 1 Lines 10 & 11Discussion of Lear in the storm

“I will persevere in my course of loyalty though the conflict be sore between that and my blood”

Act 3 Scene 5 Lines 21 – 23Edmund betrays his father

“But his flawed heart – Alack too weak the conflict to support – ‘Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief,

Burst Smilingly”

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Act 5 Scene 3 Lines 209 – 212Gloucester’s death


The largest conflict in Lear is that of the protagonists inner turmoil Conflict is largely reflected through pathetic fallacy in Lear

All conflict in Lear is foreshadowed in Act 1 Scene 1

Critical Interpretation

“The conflict of the two brothers in Lear effects the changes of the kingdom in the main plot only as Edmund rises toward the tyranny” (Mark Allen McDonald)

“The didactic and homiletic tradition of medieval drama afforded tools by which Shakespeare might shape a complex action to reflect the universal role of man in

conflict with evil” (Irving Ribner)

“Instead of bringing happiness and tranquillity, Lear’s renunciation brings only suffering and conflict” (Ratri Ray)

Theme of Blindness

“Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty”Act 1 Scene 1 Page 161

Goneril’s speech of flattery to Lear

“Hence and avoid my sight”Act 1 Scene 1 Line 124 & 125

Lear to Cordelia

“See better, Lear, and let me still remainThe true blank of thine eye”

Act 1, Scene 1 Lines 159 & 160Kent attempts to direct Lear

“The quality of nothing hath not such need to hide itself. Let’s see” Act 1 Scene 4 Line 56

Gloucester is curios to the letter in Edmunds hand

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“How far your eyes may pierce I cannot tell;Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well”

Act 1 Scene 4 Lines 342 & 343Albany to Goneril

“Old fond eyes, beweep this cause again, I’ll pluck ye out” Act 2 Scene 4 Lines 293 & 294

Lear refuses to cry

Potential Line Of Arguments

Those with moral blindness fall from the greatest heights to regain their sight Moral blindness in King Lear is the largest cause of conflict

The references to sight serve as a constant reminder to the audience of the characters own blindness


“The second line in this couplet typfies Albany’s merely formal, conventional, and superficial morality” (Peter Levine)

“An infatuated father is blind toward his well-disposed child, and the unnatural children, whom he prefer, requite him by the ruin of his happiness” –(Michael J

Cummings) “King Lear is concerned with perception: with seeing better on the premise that our

ability to see depends on our ability to feel”- (Maureen Cutajar)

Context Points

Try to research some of these points yourself to find your own information –

Divine Right of Kings – A political and religious belief that a monarch is placed on the throne by the will of God. The theory came to the

forefront under King James the 1st reign.

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Humours – The theory suggests that each person is balanced and when a certain part of them is unbalanced they are likely to lose control of their mental state. The four humours are Yellow Bile, Black Bile, Phlegm and

Blood.

King James – Took over from Elizabeth the first, many themes in King Lear are linked to King James himself.

Chain of Being – Everything in the world has a specific order. the more spirit an object was thought you have, the higher they would be on the

divine order.

Shakespeare’s Globe – this is the open air theatre where Shakespeare’s plays were mainly performed. It has 3 tiers for groundlings, patrons and

royalty.

The Oedipus Rex Part

Many parts of Lear link to Oedipus Rex

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Blindness –

Oedipus constantly refers to blindness He goes against the blind prophet Tireseas

who ironically has better sight then him Oedipus blinds himself at the end of the

play

Social and Political roles –

Both Oedipus and Lear upset the balance through accepting or denying their kingship

This breaches the natural code

The tragedy of each play is the result of corruption of the order

Destiny

Lear and Oedipus have no choice in their fates

There is nothing

Justice

There is poetic justice throughout both plays


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Social and Political roles –

Both Oedipus and Lear upset the balance through accepting or denying their kingship

This breaches the natural code

The tragedy of each play is the result of corruption of the order

Destiny

Lear and Oedipus have no choice in their fates

There is nothing

Justice

There is poetic justice throughout both plays

Documents

Web viewDivine Right Of Kings – To take Lear’s power away would upset the Divine Right of Kings, throwing the balance of Lear’s world, leading to his disorientation