ACT 1 KING LEAR
Act 1 scene 1 summary
Gloucester calls Edmund a 'whoreson', Lear divides his kingdom in 3, basing it off a love test.
Cordelia is banished. Kent tries to reason w/ Lear but is banished. Cordelia is made Queen of
France. Goneril and Regan scheme to reduce Lear's remaining authority
Dividing his kingdom. Physical division symbolises the metaphorical cracks.
'Give me the map there, know that we have divided in three our kingdom'
Love test - 'say' suggests its not real love, but only for show.
'Which of you shall we say doth love us most that we our largest bounty may extend'
How he introduces Goneril contrasts the way he introduces Regan and Cordelia - shows cracks
already forming?
'Goneril, our eldest born speak first'
'what says our second daughter, our dearest Regan'
'-but now our joy'
Hyperbolic profession of love by Goneril - tripartite structure
'Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty'
Regan's profession of love
'only she comes too short, that I profess myself an enemy to all other joys'
Cordelia's refusal to take part and Lear's reaction - Lear's use of imperative shows how he is used
to commanding people - links to how Aristotle suggested the tragic hero must fall from a position
of power
'Nothing, my lord' (...) 'How, nothing will come of nothing, speak again'
Cordelia's reaction to the love-test - theme of filial relationships
'I love your majesty according to my bond, no more nor less'
Lear disowning Cordelia = plosive alliteration
'I disclaim all my paternal care, propinquity and property of blood'
Lear's threat towards Kent = dragon imagery (both powerful and fantastical, perhaps similar to
Lear's authority)
'Peace, Kent, come not between the dragon and his wrath'
Kent's understanding of the love test
'Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least'
France's perception of Cordelia = metaphor - although she no longer has monetary wealth, her
kindness and virtue is still considered valuable to France
'Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being poor'
Act 1 scene 1 summary
Gloucester calls Edmund a 'whoreson', Lear divides his kingdom in 3, basing it off a love test.
Cordelia is banished. Kent tries to reason w/ Lear but is banished. Cordelia is made Queen of
France. Goneril and Regan scheme to reduce Lear's remaining authority
Dividing his kingdom. Physical division symbolises the metaphorical cracks.
'Give me the map there, know that we have divided in three our kingdom'
Love test - 'say' suggests its not real love, but only for show.
'Which of you shall we say doth love us most that we our largest bounty may extend'
How he introduces Goneril contrasts the way he introduces Regan and Cordelia - shows cracks
already forming?
'Goneril, our eldest born speak first'
'what says our second daughter, our dearest Regan'
'-but now our joy'
Hyperbolic profession of love by Goneril - tripartite structure
'Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty'
Regan's profession of love
'only she comes too short, that I profess myself an enemy to all other joys'
Cordelia's refusal to take part and Lear's reaction - Lear's use of imperative shows how he is used
to commanding people - links to how Aristotle suggested the tragic hero must fall from a position
of power
'Nothing, my lord' (...) 'How, nothing will come of nothing, speak again'
Cordelia's reaction to the love-test - theme of filial relationships
'I love your majesty according to my bond, no more nor less'
Lear disowning Cordelia = plosive alliteration
'I disclaim all my paternal care, propinquity and property of blood'
Lear's threat towards Kent = dragon imagery (both powerful and fantastical, perhaps similar to
Lear's authority)
'Peace, Kent, come not between the dragon and his wrath'
Kent's understanding of the love test
'Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least'
France's perception of Cordelia = metaphor - although she no longer has monetary wealth, her
kindness and virtue is still considered valuable to France
'Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich being poor'
