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King Lear

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Play Summary

William Shakespeare Biography

Personal Background
Shakespeare's Literary Works

About King Lear

Summary, Analysis, and Original Text by Scene

Act I: Scene 1
Act I: Scene 2
Act I: Scene 3
Act I: Scene 4
Act I: Scene 5
Act II: Scene 1
Act II: Scene 2
Act II: Scene 3
Act II: Scene 4
Act III: Scene 1
Act III: Scene 2
Act III: Scene 3
Act III: Scene 4
Act III: Scene 5
Act III: Scene 6
Act III: Scene 7
Act IV: Scene 1
Act IV: Scene 2
Act IV: Scene 3
Act IV: Scene 4
Act IV: Scene 5
Act IV: Scene 6
Act IV: Scene 7
Act V: Scene 1
Act V: Scene 2
Act V: Scene 3

Character List

Character Map

Character Analysis

King Lear
Goneril
Regan
Cordelia
Fool
Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Kent / Caius
Edmund
Edgar / Poor Tom
Duke of Albany
Duke of Cornwall
Oswald
King of France
Duke of Burgundy

Critical Essays

Divine Justice in King Lear
Parent-Child Relationships in King Lear: The Neglect of Natural Law
Kingship and Lear

Study and Homework Help

Famous King Lear Quotes
Film Versions of King Lear
Glossary
Quiz
Essay Questions
Practice Projects

Cite this Literature Note

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Study and Homework Help

Quiz

1:  The conversation between Kent and Gloucester that opens the play serves what purpose?

a. To reveal that Gloucester liked Edmund’s mother.

b. To give the reader or audience a chance to know Kent before he returns in disguise.

c. To demonstrate that Gloucester doesn't love his illegitimate son.

d. To establish that Edmund is entitled to inherit Gloucester’s estate and title.
2:  Why is Lear so angry with Cordelia when she refuses to flatter him during the love test?

a. He wants a reason to give her the best share of his kingdom and excessive protestations of love would justify such a move.

b. He is an old man who wants to be reassured that all of his children love him unconditionally and boundlessly.

c. He does not want Cordelia to marry and leave him.

d. It confirmed his belief that Cordelia never loved anything.
3:  Why does Goneril give Oswald a letter for Edmund?

a. She wants a secret meeting with Edmund.

b. She wants Edmund to kill Albany, her husband.

c. She asks Edmund to marry Regan.

d. She wants revenge because Edgar killed Oswald.
4:  Who does Kent reappear as after being banished by Lear?

a. Curan

b. The Fool

c. Poor Tom

d. Caius
5:  What is the final fate of The Fool?

a. He falls in love with Cordelia.

b. He sneaks out of town in disguise.

c. He inherits Lear's property.

d. We're never told what becomes of the fool.
6:  Why does Kent decline Albany’s request to restore order to the kingdom?

a. He expects to join Lear in death.

b. He refuses to share with the brother he despises.

c. He has no desire to take on the problems of ruling a country.

d. He thinks that two men cannot rule effectively.
7:  Why does the Duke of Burgundy eventually reject Cordelia?

a. Because she will bring him no dowry.

b. Because the love for her father is too strong to allow her to love him.

c. Because he falls in love with Regan.

d. Because she is too strong spirited.
8:  What is the final fate of Goneril and Regan?

a. Goneril flees the country after stabbing Regan.

b. Goneril kills herself after poisoning Regan.

c. Goneril is imprisoned after her plot to kill Regan, Lear, and Cordelia murdered is unveiled.

d. Goneril becomes a nun and Regan marries Edgar.
9:  How did the original audience respond to the ending of King Lear?

a. They marveled it as a new style of play: the tragedy.

b. They were so outraged by Regan's character that they stoned to death the actor who played her.

c. They were so disturbed that an alternate ending was created, in which Cordelia lives.

d. They hated the play; it didn't gain popularity until three centuries later.
10:  Who said the following: "I grow; I prosper; / Now, gods, stand up for bastards."

a. Oswald

b. Edgar

c. Edmund

d. Lear
11:  Who said the following: "You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I / Return those duties back as are right fit, / Obey you, love you, and most honour you."

a. Edmund

b. Goneril

c. Cordelia

d. Regan
12:  Who said the following: "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! / You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout / Till you have drench’d our steeples, drown’d the cocks!"

a. Oswald

b. Edgar

c. Edmund

d. Lear



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