King Lear by Shakespeare
King Lear is a famous tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was written in 1604-05 and performed at court in 1606. The quarto printed in 1608. It is a Tragedy in literary genre.
➔ The source of the play is ‘The Chronicles of Holinshed, Sydney’s Arcadia and The Mirror of Magistrates.
➔ Lear, King of Britain a plutent and unwise oldman, has three daughters.
➔ The setting of the play was in Britain.
➔ ‘King Lear’s Wife’ a poetic play by Gordon Bottomley in 1915.
➔ Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, a poem by Robert Browning published in Men and Women. The title of the poem drives from a snatch of song recited by Edgar in King Lear.
Characters of King Lear
- Duke of Albany – He maintains his integrity in spite of marriage to the wicked Goneril.
- Duke of Burgundy – the wat’rish suitor of Cordelia
- Edgar – The Legitimate son of the earl of Gloucester.
- Earl of Gloucester – Father of Edgar and the bastard Edmund.
- Goneril – The Eldest daughter of King Lear, who is married to Albany.
- Earl of Kent – Loyal follower of King Lear
- Poor Tom – A name assumed by one who feins madness.
- Regan – The second daughter of King Lear, who is married to Cornwall.
- Lear, King of Britain –
- Duke of Cornwall –
- King of France –
- Edmund –
- Cordelia –
- Oswald –
Quotes and Lines from King Lear
“Ripeness is all”
“Who is that can tell me who I am” – King Lear
“As flies to wonton boys, are we to the Gods; They kill us for their sport.”
“Do you see this? look her, look, her lips, look there, look there!”
“I am a man more sinned against than sinning.”
“When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools”
“Nothing will come of nothing; speak again”
“The prince of darkness is a gentlemen”
“Many a true world hath been spoken in jest”
“Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hast been wise”
“Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say”
“And worse I may be yet; the worse is not
So long as we can say , this is the worst”
“How sharper than a serpant’s tooth it is to have a themselves child!”
“In jest, there is truth”
“This cold night will turn us all to fools and madman”
“Tis the times’ plague, when madmen lead the blind.”
“Love’s not love
when it is mingled with
regards that stand
Aloof from th’ entire point.”
“The art of our necessities is strange
That can make vile things precious.”
“when we our betters see bearing our woes,
we scarcely think our miseries our foes”
“You are not worth the dust which the rude wind blows in your face.”
“When the
mind’s free
The body’s delicate”
‘Nothing can come of nothing”
“More fools know jack fool than jack fool knows.”
“Time shall unfold what plaited cunning hides:
Who cover faults, at last shame them derides.”
“O, reason not the nee!”
“Jesters do oft prove prophets”
“Love and be silent”
“Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile;
Filths savour but themselves.”
“O! that way madness lies.”
“Fare thee well king; sith thus thou wilt appear,
Freedom lives hence, and banishment is here.”
“Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well”
“Now, Gods, stands up for bastards!”
“Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, and thou no breath at all”
“Thou losest here, a better where to find.”
“Were all the letters sun, I could not see one.”
“I am even
The natural fools of fortune”
“The let-alone lies no is your good will”
“The worst is not not, so long as we can say, this is the worst.”
Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides
Who cover faults, at last shame them derides.
(Cordelia, Act I Scene I)
Love’s not love
When is mingled with regards that stand
Aloof from the entire point will you have her?
She is herself a dowry?
(King of France, Act I Scene I)
It is the stars
The stars above us, govern our conditions,
Else one self mate and mate could not beget!
Such different issues.
(Earl of Kent, Act IV Scene III)
You do me wrong to take me out o’ the grave:
Thou art O soul in bliss: but I am bound
Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears
Do scald like molten lead.
(King Lear, Act IV Scene VII)
No, no, no, no! Come, let’ away to prison:
We two alone will sign like birds I’ the cage:
When thou dost ask me blessing, I’ll kneel down,
And ask of thee forgiveness: so we’ll live
(King Lear, Act V Scene III)
The weight of this sad time we must obey
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young
Shall never see so much, nor live so long.
(Duke of Albany, Act V Scene III)
I pray, weep not
If you have poison for me, I will drink it,
for I know you do not love me,
sisters your
Have, as I do remember, done me wrong:
You have some cause; they had not
(King Lear, Act IV Scene VII)
The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us:
The dark and vicious place where thee he got
Cost him his eyes
(Edgar to Edmund, Act V Scene III)
King Lear Questions –
1 “Who is that can tell me who I am?” Who says?
- King Lear
- Cordelia
- Prospero
- Duke Orisino
Ans: a
2 “As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods;
They kill us for their sport.” Who utters?
- Gloucester in King Lear
- King Lear in King Lear
- Cordelia in King Lear
- None of these
Ans: a
3. “We are not the first Who, with best meaning, have incurred the worst.” Who utters?
- Cordelia
- Viola
- Beatrice
- Rosalind
Ans: a
4. “Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips, Look there, look there!” Who says?
- Lear
- Cordelia Sao
- Maria
- Antony
Ans: a
5. “I am a man More sinner against than sinning.” These lines are from King Lear. The speaker is:
- Edgar
- Edmund
- King Lear
- None of these
Ans: c
6. “The art of our necessities is strange
That can make vile things precious”
These lines are from King Lear. The speaker is:
- Edgar
- Edmund
- King Lear
- None of these
Ans: c
7. Which of the following is the dominant theme of Shakespeare’s famous play ‘King Lear’?
(a) Jealousy
(c) Revenge
(b) Ambition
(d) Filial Ingratitude
Ans: (d) ‘King Lear’ is a tragedy by William
8. “As flies to wanton boys, are we to the Gods; They kill us for their sport” – Who uttered these lines?
(a) Gloucester in King Lear
(b) King Lear in King Lear
(c) Othello in Othello
(d) Hamlet in Hamlet
9. “Ripeness is all” occurs in :
(a) King Lear
(b) Hamlet
(c) Macbeth
(d) Julius Caesar
10. In ‘King Lear’ for what reason does Kent assume a disguise?
(a) To continue to serve Lear, though Lear has banished him
(b) To spy on Edmund
(c) To antagonize Goneril and Regan
(d) To revenge upon Lear for banishing him
Ans (a) Kent assumed a disguise, to continue to serve Lear, though Lear has banished him.
11. ‘Things without all remedy Should be without regard : What is done is done.’
The above lines are from the play
(a) Macbeth
(b) King Lear
(c) Hamlet
(d) Othello
Ans: (b) These lines are extracted from William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Act III Scene II, spoken by Lady Macbeth. It is famous for dramatic success by Eliot.
12. Fill in the gap. King Lear had………daughters.
(a) two
(b) three
(c) four
(d) five
Ans: (b) King Lear had three daughters – Goneril was eldest, Regan was second daughter and Cordelia was the youngest daughter.
13. In which Shakespearean play does Curan appear?
(a) Othello
(b) Macbeth
(c) King Lear
(d) Hamlet
Ans: (c) King Lear is a tragedy written by Shakespeare
14. Cordelia came to help her father because
(a) he had given her the lion’s share of his kingdom
(b) he had deprived her of her share in the kingdom
(c) out of her genuine love for him
(d) she hated her elder sisters
Ans. (c) Cordelia is a fictional character in
15. Who is King Lear’s second daughter’s husband?
(a) Duke of Cornwall (b) Earl of Kent
(c) Duke of Burgundy (d) Duke of Albany
Ans: (a) ‘King Lear’ is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is regarded best among four great tragedies of Shakespeare as, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello and King Lear. Duke of Cornwall is the husband of King Lear’s second daughter – Regan.
