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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 says "Yet better thus, and known to be contemned, / Than still contemned and flattered"?

2. Who tells Gloucester that Edmund betrayed him?

3. Who makes Lear sleep while they are in the farmhouse?

4. Gloucester greets the news of the English taking prisoners with what thoughts?

5. Kent asks who not to reveal his identity?

Short Essay Questions

1. What plants the seeds of discord between Goneril and Regan?

2. Albany already sympathizes with the King. What action by Goneril is likely to make him turn completely against her?

3. Gloucester meets the news of Lear and Cordelia's capture with what?

4. What happens to Cordelia, Regan, and Goneril by the end of the play?

5. What caused Lear's madness?

6. What does Edgar mean when he says "Yet better thus, and known to be contemned, Than still contemned and flattered."

7. At the end of the play, why is Lear happy?

8. When Goneril hears of Cornwall's death, what are her concerns?

9. How do Edmund's actions when turning his father in to Cornwall indicate that he is dishonest?

10. What warning does Regan ask Oswald to give to Goneril?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What character traits of King Lear appear in his daughters and how do these traits affect his relationships with his daughters? Use examples from the text to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

What role does nature play in King Lear? Support your answer with examples from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Blindness is a theme throughout King Lear. Where is this theme in evidence in the play, what different kinds of blindness are present in the play, and how does blindness effect the play? Please support your answer with examples from the text.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 479 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample