1. Structure, characters, and themes
King Lear
Structure, characters, and themes

2. King Lear
King Lear
Goneril
Regan
Cordelia
Albany
Cornwall
France

3. King Lear Characters Main Plot Primary -- dynamic
Protagonist, changes through play
Lear
Antagonist, character revealed
Goneril, Regan
Secondary -- static
Reflection characters
Cordelia, Kent, Fool, France

4. King Lear Characters Sub Plot Good Gloucester, Edgar, change Evil
Edmund, character revealed
Reflection characters
Oswald, Albany, Cornwall, servant to Cornwall

5. King Lear Foils Character foiling Lear and Gloucester
Cordelia and Edgar
Goneril/Regan and Edmund
Plot foiling
Act 1, sc 1 & Act 5, sc 3
Act 3, sc 6 and sc 7

6. King Lear Motifs and Imagery
Seeing
Judging
Flattery
“the worst”
“unaccomodated man”
Patience
nothing
Imagery
Insults
Foul fiend, madness
Swearing by Gods
Astrology

7. King Lear Seeing motif Act 1
“Hence and avoid my sight” “Out of my sight!”
“See better, Lear”
“If it be nothing, I shall not need spectacles”
Act 3
“Pluck out his eyes”
“I would not see thy cruel nails pluck out his poor old eyes”
“I shall see the winged vengeance overtake such children”
“See it shalt thou never”

8. King Lear Seeing motif Act 4 “I stumbled when I saw”
“Might I but live to see thee in my touch, I’d say I had eyes again”
Act 5
“As for the mercy Which he intends to Lear and to Cordelia, The battle done, and they within our power, Shall never see his pardon”
“Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips, Look there, look there!”

9. King Lear Motifs and Imagery
Seeing
Judging
Flattery
“the worst”
“unaccomodated man”
Patience
nothing
Imagery
Insults
Foul fiend, madness
Swearing by Gods
Astrology

10. King Lear Themes Parent/child relationship Flattery Madness Judgment
Appearance vs. reality
world view of Renaissance Christian Humanist and Machiavellian