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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. Who does Lear say should feel obligation to him?

2. Gloucester tells Edmund to say what if someone asks about Gloucester?

3. Lear says the anguish of the storm distracts him from what?

4. What are the rumors that Curan tells Edmund?

5. Why does Edmund want his legitimate brother disinherited?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. When Kent meets with the gentleman on the heath, what does Kent give the gentleman and what is it supposed to do?

4. Before Lear and his retinue depart for Regan's house, what does the Fool tell Lear?

5. Goneril wants King Lear to leave her home and go where?

6. What information does Kent want the gentleman to take to Dover?

7. What act of nature is ravaging the earth and Lear?

8. The Fool's ambiguous statements while he and Lear are wandering in the storm imply that the Fool thinks Lear is what?

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

10. While King Lear stays with Goneril, what are his knights interfering with?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Animals are used in the play to describe various characters. Why does Shakespeare use animals to describe the characters instead of something else? What theme does this connect to? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

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This section contains 576 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample