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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Instead of calling Edgar mad, Lear gives him what title?

2. Goneril and Regan believe that the King's banishment of the man who defended Cordelia against being disinherited was what?

3. What room in the house does Act I, Scene 4 take place?

4. Instead of referring to the King by his title, what does Oswald call the king?

5. After Lear laments his ungrateful daughters, what begins?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is King Lear dividing up his kingdom?

2. How does Oswald deny the King's authority in Goneril's house?

3. Lear feels like he has lost his identity at Goneril's house for what reason?

4. What does the letter Edmund has, that is supposedly from Edgar, say?

5. What is ironic about Gloucester bemoaning that he was betrayed by his son?

6. What actions of the King does Gloucester fret about in Act I, Scene II?

7. When Edgar leaves Edmund at the end of Act I, Scene II, why does Edmund laugh?

8. How is King Lear going to divide up his kingdom?

9. Gloucester asks Edmund to tell anyone who asks for him that he is sick, but what does Edmund plan to do instead?

10. When the Duke of Cornwall and Regan commiserate with Gloucester about his traitorous son, what do they suggest was the influence on Edgar?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, how does King Lear move toward a greater knowledge of the world and himself through his actions and experiences? Please use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

What is the tone of the play's ending? Is the ending hopeful, dramatic, pessimistic, mysterious or something else? Why might Shakespeare have chosen to end the play in this manner? Please support your answer with examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

In Act 4, Scene 6 we are told that there is reason in madness. Using examples from the play, discuss the truth or falsehood of this statement.

(see the answer keys)

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