King Lear Panel Discussion
Act 1 Discussion Questions for Groups 1-3:
1. Why does Lear need to know if his daughters love him? He’s already the king. Isn’t that good enough?
2. Is Lear really a tragic hero? What are his flaws?
3. What is King Lear’s attitude toward the fool?
Act 2 Discussion Questions for Groups 1-3:
1. We are given Edmund’s root of hatred; what isGoneril’s and Regan’s?
2. What does the storm symbolize?
3. Although there are many women in the play, there are no mothers. What is the effect of this absence?
Act 3 Discussion Questions for Groups 1-3:
1. What is the effect of Lear’s use of apostrophe (addressing inanimate objects or forces) in 3.2?
2. (3.2) Lear says that he is “a man more sinned against than sinning”. Who has hurt Lear, and in what ways?
3. Lear wonders (3.4) what it would be like to have nothing, and to be nothing--the opposite of his previous existence. To what extent is this a sane thing to muse about?
Act 4 Discussion Questions for Groups 1-3:
1. Why does Edgar not reveal himself to Gloucester, despite Gloucester talking about how he regrets pushing him away?
2. In 4.1, Edgar says, “The lowest and most dejected thing of fortune / Stands still in esperance, lives not in fear” (i.e., The lowliest and most dejected creatures live without fear and still harbor hope. ) Is this true? Explain.
3. Lear says, “Through tattered clothes great vices do appear; / Robes and furred gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold, / And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks. / Arm it in rags, a pigmy’s straw does pierce it” (4.6)
Act 5 Discussion Questions for Groups 1-3:
1. In what way are the final lines of the play fitting? Do they leave anything unresolved?
2. When Gloucester says he would like to sit and die (5.2), is Edgar’s response appropriate? Why or why not?
3. Why does Edmund confess his wrongdoings before he dies?
King Lear Panel Discussion
Act 1 Discussion Questions for Groups 4-6:
4. Is the character of the Fool necessary to point out all the flaws of Lear’s choices?
5. Is it Edmund’s fault that he is bitter against his father and brother?
6. How do you explain Shakespeare saying Cordelia is more attractive/lovely after she was “cast away”?
Act 2 Discussion Questions for Groups 4-6:
4. Why does Edgar choose the particular disguise of Poor Tom? What does this say about society?
5. We learn more about Kent in this act. Explain how scene 2 further develops Kent’s character.
6. What does the Fool’s speech about the eel pie mean? (2.4)
Act 3 Discussion Questions for Groups 4-6:
4. In what ways are Lear and Poor Tom similar?
5. When Kent tries to get Lear to come out of the storm, why does Lear refuse? (3.4)
6. Why does Lear undress in the storm? (3.4)
Act 4 Discussion Questions for Groups 4-6:
4. Do you think that Edgar’s choice not to reveal himself will have a negative effect on Gloucester’s wellbeing?
5. In 4.6, Lear enters, wearing a crown of flowers and weeds. What could this represent?
6. At 4.6.145, Lear says, “behold the great image of authority: a dog’s obeyed in office” (i.e., even a dog is obeyed sometimes, when a beggar runs from a mutt). Is Lear lamenting the loss of his authority or is he voicing a new understanding of what authority is?
Act 5 Discussion Questions for Groups 4-6:
4. Why does Lear alternate between thinking that Cordelia is alive and thinking that she’s dead? (Besides the fact that his mental state is impaired--what is Shakespeare suggesting?)
5. What quality has Lear kept through all his changes of fortune?
6. Why it is the character of Edgar who says the final lines of the play? What is the effect of having Edgar say the lines?