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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. Why does Lear, in an aside, tell his daughter the workman is being executed?

2. What does the Gravedigger's Boy find in the well?

3. Which character says, "They are my sheep and if one of them is lost I'd take fire to hell to bring him out"?

4. What does Lear find on the ground in Act 1, Scene 5?

5. Who does the Boy's Wife see outside the house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the Ghost die? How does Lear react?

2. What is the argument between Lear and the Gravedigger's Wife? How do these characters feel about each other?

3. Describe the symbolic relevance of the cradle and the wall. Compare and contrast the two.

4. What does Lear say about the Farmer's Son joining the army? How does this show a change in his character?

5. Why does Carpenter refuse to untie the prisoners once he has captured the soldiers in Act 2?

6. What is the significance of the location of Act 3, Scene 3?

7. How does Fontanelle feel about her husband? What does she say regarding him sexually?

8. Why does Cordelia refuse to take the captured soldier into her army?

9. Who is leading a revolution against Bodice and Fontanelle? How do we learn this information?

10. Why do Fontanelle and Bodice capture their husbands and keep them imprisoned?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe how Edward Bond's childhood and world events influenced his writing and particularly that of Lear. How does his theme reflect his social and political beliefs?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the characters of Lear and his daughters. How are their actions similar? How are they different? How are their motivations related?

Essay Topic 3

Define the term "foreshadowing." What are examples of foreshadowing in Bond's Lear? What is the purpose of his use of foreshadowing? Does it create tension? Does it set up irony? Does it reflect the theme?

(see the answer keys)

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