king-lear.ppt
- 1. King Lear When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools. - Lear, Act IV Scene 4 By Shakespeare What does that mean?
- 2. Dramatis Personae ► Lear – king of Britain ► Goneril – his eldest daughter ► Regan – his second daughter ► Cordelia – his youngest and favorite daughter ► Albany – Goneril’s husband ► Cornwall – Regan’s husband ► Kent – a faithful nobleman ► Gloucester – another loyal nobleman ► Edgar – Gloucester’s rightful son ► Edmund – a bastard of Gloucester ► Fool – a loyal clown who entertains Lear
- 3. Our story begins a long, long time ago, in a place far, far away… ► Setting: England ► Time: ??
- 4. Lear and his three daughters
- 5. At Lear’s castle… ► Lear decides to give up his throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters ► His daughter, Cordelia, has two suitors – the king of France and duke of Burgundy ► Lear asks his daughters how much they love him ► Goneril and Regan flatter, but Cordelia says that she loves him no more than a daughter loves her father “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth: I love your majesty according to my bond; nor more nor less.”
- 6. ► Angered, Lear disowns Cordelia and divides his kingdom between Goneril and Regan ► Kent tries to defend Cordelia, but Lear banishes him from Britain ► Lear gives Cordelia to the king of France, and though Cordelia is not happy about leaving her father with her sisters, she leaves England with her husband ► Lear gives his power to Albany and Cornwall, the husbands of Goneril and Regan
- 7. The treachery begins… ► Lear settles down to live with Goneril with 100 of his knights ► Goneril tells her steward, Oswald, to be disrespectful towards Lear ► Kent returns, disguised as a man named Caius and defends Lear ► Goneril offends Lear and dismisses 50 of his knights ► Lear is angered and storms out of Goneril’s palace with his knights and Fool ► He sends Caius (Kent) with a letter to Gloucester
- 8. Meanwhile… ►Edmund shows his father Gloucester a forged letter that said that Edgar was planning to take over his lands ►Edmund pretends to help Edgar, but is actually plotting to have Edgar removed ►He persuades Edgar to flee and wounds himself to make it seem that Edgar attacked him ►Gloucester is convinced and vows to capture Edgar
- 9. Betrayed! ► Kent (Caius) gets into a fight with Oswald ► Cornwall and Regan break up the fight ► The loyal Caius is placed in the stocks for 24 hours ► Lear arrives and demands that Caius; Regan refuses, but allows Lear to stay at her palace ► Regan dismisses all of Lear’s knights, and Lear leaves in anger
- 10. Lear goes insane ► Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall are glad that Lear is gone, but Gloucester is worried for his king’s health ► A storm approaches and Lear and his last servants (Caius and the Fool) walk into a health ► Lear stands in the rain and curses his daughters
- 11. The storm builds up ► Kent sends a man to Dover to tell Cordelia of her father’s plight ► Kent brings Lear into a nearby cave, where they meet Edgar, who disguises himself as a madman (“Poor Tom”) ► Gloucester then arrives and takes them to a farmhouse ► Edmund decides to betray his father
- 12. ► He tells Cornwall that Gloucester was helping Lear ► At the farmhouse, Gloucester tells Lear, the Fool, and Caius to flee because Cornwall was planning to kill them ► Cornwall arrives and captures Gloucester ► Gloucester is tortured, his eyes are ripped out ► A servant wounds Cornwall and helps Gloucester escape ► They meet Edgar (in disguise still as a madman) and Edgar leads his blind father the rest of the way to Dover, where a French army under Cordelia is stationed ► Gloucester realizes that he had mistaken Edgar
- 13. Blind Gloucester
- 14. The plot tightens ► On the way to Dover, Edgar and Gloucester meet Oswald ► Edgar fights Oswald and kills him; he finds a letter from Goneril to Edmund, telling him to kill Albany so that she could marry him ► We learn that Cornwall had died from the wound, and the Regan is also in love with Edmund… ► There is conflict between sisters now
- 15. The storm breaks… ► At Dover, Cordelia sends a sentry to find her father ► Father and daughter are finally reunited ► Lear is unconscious when they find him, but when he wakes, he recognizes Cordelia and asks for her forgiveness
- 16. The final battle ►The English and French are at war ►At the English camp, Goneril argues with Albany and fights with Regan for Edmund ►Albany decides to cooperate with Goneril and Regan only because of the French invasion ►The French army under Cordelia loses, and she and her father are captured by the evil Edmund ►Edmund sends them to jail and orders the captain to have both of them hanged
- 17. The ending… ► Edgar brings Goneril’s letter to Albany, and he decides to fight against Goneril and Regan ► Another battle occurs, and in the climactic scene, Edgar fights Edmund and wounds his evil half-brother ► Edmund admits to all his crimes and repents ► Meanwhile Goneril poisons her sister Regan and commits suicide herself after learning of Edmund’s defeat
- 18. ► Edgar and Caius sent people to save Lear and Cordelia ► The save Lear, but they are too late for Cordelia ► Lear enters, holding Cordelia’s body ► Howl, howl, howl, howl! O! you are men of stones: had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so that heaven's vaults should crack. She's gone for ever. I know when one is dead, and when one lives; she's dead as earth. - Lear, Act V Scene 3 ► Edgar reveals himself to his dying father, Gloucester ► Caius reveals himself as Kent to Lear, who in grief over Cordelia finally recognizes his most loyal servant ► Lear though is completely mad and dies of grief over his daughter’s death ► Albany and Kent are left to restore order following the tragedy
- 20. The End
- 21. Questions to talk about… ► What is Lear’s weakness? ► Was Cordelia’s answer to her father appropriate? ► Why do you think Lear went insane? ► Did Lear deserve what happened to him? ► Who do you think displayed the greatest courage in the play? ► Who do you feel the most sympathy for? Why? ► Who do you think has the most admirable character? ► Who is the true hero of the play? ► What is the significance of insanity? What does it symbolize? ► Do you see a parallel between different characters? ► How many people died in this play? ► Where is the climax of the story? ► What is the theme of the play? ► Would the play have the same effect on you if it ended as “they lived happily ever after”? Do you think a tragic ending is better, or a happy one? Why?