King Lear 2
Study Guide Questions for Act I, Scene II
If you are looking for the beginning of the study for Shakespeare’s “King Lear” then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Despotism, Fate vs. Freedom, Betrayal
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
What is Edmund plotting as Scene II opens?
What item is Edmund holding when his father, the Earl of Gloucester, arrives?
In what manner did Edmund claim he came to possess the item?
What did Edmund claim that he had heard Edgar “oft maintain?”
What did Edmund persuade his father to do in order to supposedly better “derive” Edgar’s “intent” towards their father?
What did the Earl of Gloucester say about “these late eclipses in the sun and moon?”
According to the Earl of Gloucester, why was Kent banished from King Lear’s kingdom?
What did Edmund tell Edgar about their father?
What advice did Edmund give to Edgar?
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
When Edmund said, “Wherefore should I stand in the plague of custom” what was he talking about?
In what ways did Edmund compare himself to his brother (Edgar) and what did he find to be the case?
Why might Edmund have hastily put away the item he was holding (while in the plain sight of his father)?
When Edmund said to his father, “I hope, for my brother’s justification, he wrote this but as an essay or taste of my virtue” what did he mean by that?
Why might Edmund have claimed to find the letter in the way he said he did?
In Edmund’s speech about “the sun, the moon, and the stars” what is his main point?
Why might Edmund have advised his brother to “go armed” wherever he went?
What comparisons might we draw between King Lear in Scene I and the Earl of Gloucester in Scene II? Why might these similarities be important to the story?
In the various interactions between Edmund and his father and Edmund and his brother, what are several things which Edmud has done in order to try to control the situation to his advantage? What makes those things to his advantage?
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
In a court of law the term “hearsay” refers to a witness’ attempt to appeal to a statement (or statements) which were made by someone else outside of the court as a means of supporting the claim they are currently making before the court. For example, if a witness on the stand said “I know that company president, Tom Jones, stole the money from the company because I overheard Bill Myers, the chief Financial Officer, telling someone else at the company picnic last April that Tom had done so.” Hearsay is considered inadmissible in American courts of law. Relate this concept of hearsay to our current reading. Why might the issue of hearsay be relevant to the situation the Earl of Gloucester finds himself in? Do you think hearsay should or should not be admissible in court? Explain why you think as you do.
What can we learn from this present reading about unscrupulous men (men without principles or concern for what is just and right)? What kinds of people do such men most readily prey upon? How might we be able to guard ourselves against the designs of wicked and manipulative people? Give several examples of what wicked men look for in their attempts to exploit others and give several examples of how we might try to become foolproof.
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Read Matthew 26:57-68. Does this passage contain an example of “hearsay?” Why or why not?
How is Deuteronomy 19:15 relevant to our current reading assignment?