King Lear Study Guide

1. King Lear banishes which of the following people from his kingdom?

• Kent
• the Fool
• Gloucester
• Regan

2. Lear is the king of which country?

• Ireland
• Denmark
• Britain
• France

3. Which suitor of Cordelia refuses to marry her after she is disinherited?

• Edmund
• Kent
• Burgundy
• France

4. Why does Cordelia refuse to flatter Lear as her sisters have done?

• She is scared of her sisters as they have threatened to harm Lear if she competes for his affections.
• She cannot think of a good answer to give them so is silent instead.
• She finds them insincere and does not want to stoop to their level of hypocrisy.
• She has promised France that she would not accept her division of the kingdom.

5. Who parallel's Lear in the subplot storyline?

• Edmund
• Kent
• Gloucester
• Edgar

6. How does Edmund first deceive Gloucester into believing that Edgar is plotting against him?

• He has several servants and attendants tell Gloucester of rumors about Edgar's loyalty.
• He pretends to hide a letter which he had fabricated, incriminating Edgar.
• He tells Gloucester of several very suspicious purchases Edgar has made.
• He stages a suspicious conversation with Edgar while Gloucester overhears.

7. Which of these characters could NOT be considered evil?

• Albany
• Edmund
• Goneril
• Regan

8. Which character spoke these lines, "I love your Majesty/ According to my bond, no more nor less" ?

• Albany
• Lear
• Gloucester
• Cordelia

9. Which act solidifies Lear's trust for his new servant, Caius (Kent disguised)?

• Caius finds Lear a place of shelter in the storm at a neighbor's residence
• Caius insults Goneril, defending Lear's claim that his knights are not rowdy
• The Fool immediately ridicules Caius as he would ridicule Lear
• Caius trips Oswald after Lear has struck him because he is being impolite

10. Why is Kent put in the stocks at Gloucester's castle?

• Caius insults and then strikes Oswald, the servant, who cries out
• Cornwall tries to show Regan how he is not afraid to use his authority
• Regan thinks the act may drive her father over the edge and out of her hands
• Caius refuses to act coldly toward Lear as Regan has instructed him