King Lear

Act I

READING CHECK

1. Which of Lear’s three daughters refuses to flatter him when he demands to know who loves him most?

Answer: Cordelia

2. Who is banished by Lear for defending Cordelia’s behavior and objecting to her banishment?

Answer: Kent

3. Who offers to marry Cordelia after she is banished from her father’s kingdom?

Answer: the King of France

4. How are Edgar and Edmund related?

Answer: Edmund is Edgar’s illegitimate half-brother.

Discussion Suggestion: Use the above question to introduce discussion on how Edmund’s ambitions, despite his illegitimate status, cast him as the “New Man” emerging in Shakespeare’s time, who rejects the Medieval Era’s emphasis on noble birth as the signifier of one’s worthiness to rule.

5. According to the forged letter, Edgar asks Edmund to assassinate whom?

Answer: their father, Gloucester

6. What is the source of the argument between Goneril and Lear that causes Lear to leave?

Answer: Lear’s retinue of 100 rowdy knights

7. To whose home does Lear go after his argument with Goneril?

Answer: Regan’s

QUIZ

1. Weary of his kingship, what does Lear decide to do at the beginning of the play?

A) remain king but entrust Gloucester with running his kingdom

B) divide his realm amongst his three daughters

C) retire and cede his territory to the King of France

D) wait for Regan and Goneril to take action

2.