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Name______________________________________________King Lear Act IV: Defining Power

Our Week’s ObjectiveThis week we will focus on writing strong, evidence-based CER-paragraphs that explicitly work to answer an AP prompt about power and its effects on the individual. Our goal will be to continue developing and strengthening our analysis strategies. At the end of the week, you engage in a timed writing that asks you to respond to this same prompt.

AP Literature Prompt (2005)One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.

Playing with the Prompt:

HomeworkAll homework is due at the start of the following class. Late work will only be accepted for ONE week after the due date.

Monday Read 4.1 – 4.3; Reading Questions; Finish ParagraphTuesday Read 4.4 – middle of 4.6 (bottom of page 94); Reading Questions; ParagraphWednesday Read 4.6 – 4.7; Reading Questions; ParagraphThursday Complete Any Missing WorkFriday Read 5.1 – 5.2; Complete Reading Questions

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http://hoocher.com/Benjamin_West/Benjamin_West.htm

ANALYSIS STRATEGIESWhen choosing a strategy, ask yourself:

How does this quote connect back to the claim? What is something insightful and new that you can say about this evidence? What might the average reader not notice or think when reading this evidence? How does this quote prove or demonstrate the claim you are making?

1. Create ConnectionsCreate connections between the work’s ideas and themes and those found in a) other works (from the same period, genre, author, etc.) or b) our world.

2. Explain a Character’s TraitsAuthors spend a tremendous amount of time and energy choosing just the right words, plotlines, and settings used to paint a picture of a character. What does this character look like? What is the character’s background? What do we know about this person? Why does this matter?

3. Speculate on a Character’s Intentions A good reader acts as a psychoanalyst to characters encountered in a work of literature. Why is this character making the choices he is? What does this character want to have happen? Why does this character treat other characters the way he does? What urges or desires drive this character? What is this character not telling us?

4. Identify and Explain Figurative Language and Extended AllegoriesGood authors often use similes, metaphors, allegories, and allusions in their works. Mark moments of figurative language (a word that means all of these things). Determine what the figurative language means. How do they change the meaning of the poem? Is the author alluding to – or making reference to – an older story or work of literature? If so, how does that change our understanding of the poem?

5. Determine the Author’s IntentionsThis can be related to the author’s biography and it’s impact on the work. But, we can also speculate on the author’s broader intentions based on other works written by the author or other author’s writing during the same period. What do you think the author wants us to walk away thinking after reading this? What does the author want to see change in his or her world?

6. Create Cultural InferencesEach work either reflects or creates a system of values, ethics, and social norms. What can we say about the cultural norms of the author’s world based on this work? In what ways does the work create a unique set of cultural norms? How does the author’s work either reflect back on his world?

7. Explain the Significance of the Work’s ToneA work’s feeling is central to understanding the text’s characters, setting, conflict, resolution, and purpose. What feeling is conveyed throughout the work? How does this feeling – or tone – come to define who lives in this story and why they are doing what they do? How is the reader meant to feel after reading this work?

8. Explain the Significance of the Work’s SettingWorks of literature are nearly always set in specific places, time periods, and seasons for a reason. The author may want to reimagine the past, make us think about the present, or provide a warning about what may happen in the future if our society continues down a certain path. Why has this author set his work in this time period? What are we meant to think or imagine?

9. Consider the Author’s Use of Diction, Syntax, and DialectDifferent authors use different words (diction), sentence structures (syntax), and dialects (varying types of speech found in different communities and regions) for literary effect. What does the author’s choice of words and sentence styles tell us about events in the story? The characters? The story’s message? Why does it matter if a character speaks (or doesn’t speak) a certain way? What does this tell us about where the character’s background?

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MODEL CER ANALYSIS

DirectionsThroughout the week we will focus on analyzing textual evidence from King Lear as we repeatedly respond to an AP Literature prompt. Our first close reading will serve as a model and comes from 3.6, a moment where Gloucester’s son Edgar – dressed as Bedlam Tom – has an epiphany while standing outside the farmhouse where they’ve moved King Lear. Together we will review a model claim, analyze textual evidence, and write responses using one analysis strategy.


Prompt as QuestionsTurn this prompt into a series of questions that relate to King Lear.

Claim – A debatable argument responding to a prompt

Evidence – Choose the text that best support your claim and will be fruitful for analysis

In Act III, scene VI, Edgar has an epiphany after being reduced to poverty and disguises by brother’s lies. In this new broken state, he realizes that self-discovery can come from accepting the harsh realities of one’s downfall. The resulting truths allow one to regain a sense of power over oneself. Edgar’s realization complicates our understanding of power in King Lear, as the noble men who once ruled the kingdom – King Lear, Kent, Gloucester – are forced to reevaluate themselves and their world after losing everything.

EDGAR When we our betters see bearing our woes,We scarcely think our miseries our foes.Who alone suffers suffers most i' the mind,Leaving free things and happy shows behind:But then the mind much sufferance doth o'er skip,When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship.How light and portable my pain seems now,When that which makes me bend makes the king bow,He childed as I father'd! Tom, away!Mark the high noises; and thyself bewray,When false opinion, whose wrong thought defiles thee,In thy just proof, repeals and reconciles thee.What will hap more to-night, safe 'scape the king!Lurk, lurk. (3.6)

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Analysis – Explicate one piece of textual evidence; connect to your claim (choose one analysis strategy)

Metacognition – Why did you select this analysis strategy? How does it best support your claim?

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CER Paragraph (4.1)




Evidence – Choose the text that best support your claim and will be fruitful for analysis (circle one quote)

In Act IV, scene 1, _________________ has a series of epiphanies in which he realizes __________________ (Edgar or Gloucester)

_____________________________________________________ about power. ______________’s realization (What does this character realize about power?) (Edgar or Gloucester)

______________________ our understanding of power in King Lear because __________________________ (reaffirms, alters, or complicates)

________________________________________________________________________________________ . (Explain how this character’s epiphany either reaffirms, alters, or complicates our understanding of power in the play)

EDGARYet better thus, and known to be contemned,Than still contemned and flattered. To be worst,The lowest and most dejected thing of fortuneStands still in esperance, lives not in fear.The lamentable change is from the best;The worst returns to laughter. Welcome, then,Thou unsubstantial air that I embrace!The wretch that thou hast blown unto the worstOwes nothing to thy blasts. (4.1.1-9)

EDGAR(aside) O gods! Who is ’t can say “I am at the worst”?I am worse than e'er I was… (aside) And worse I may be yet. The worst is notSo long as we can say “This is the worst.”

(4.1.24-5, 26-7)

GLOUCESTERI have no way, and therefore want no eyes.I stumbled when I saw. Full oft ’tis seen,Our means secure us and our mere defectsProve our commodities. O dear son Edgar,The food of thy abusèd father’s wrath,Might I but live to see thee in my touch,I’d say I had eyes again! (4.1.21-27)

GLOUCESTERHe has some reason, else he could not beg.I' th' last night’s storm I such a fellow saw,Which made me think a man a worm. My sonCame then into my mind, and yet my mindWas then scarce friends with him. I have heard more since.As flies to wanton boys are we to th' gods.They kill us for their sport. (4.1.31-37)

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4.1 – 4.3 Summary

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CER Paragraph (4.2-4.3)




Evidence – Provide evidence that best supports your claim and will be fruitful for analysis

In Act IV, scene 2, _________________ reveal his/her beliefs about power in Britain, specifically __________(Goneril or Albany)

________________________________________________________________. ______________’s revelation (What does this character realize about power?) (Goneril or Albany)

______________________ our understanding of power in King Lear because __________________________ (reaffirms, alters, or complicates)

________________________________________________________________________________________. (Explain how this character’s revelation reaffirms, alters, or complicates our understanding of power in the play)

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4.4 – midway 4.6 Summary

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CER Paragraph (4.4 – midway 4.6)




Evidence – Provide evidence that best supports your claim and will be fruitful for analysis

Choose one character. What have we learned about power through this character in this scene?

How does this new information reinforce, contradict, or complicate what we know about power in King Lear?

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Midway 4.6 – 4.7 Summary

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Act Four In-Class Essay


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King LearAct 4 Summary (from Sparknotes)

Summary: Act 4, scene 1

Edgar talks to himself on the heath, reflecting that his situation is not as bad as it could be. He is immediately presented with the horrifying sight of his blinded father. Gloucester is led by an old man who has been a tenant of both Gloucester and Gloucester’s father for eighty years. Edgar hears Gloucester tell the old man that if he could only touch his son Edgar again, it would be worth more to him than his lost eyesight. But Edgar chooses to remain disguised as Poor Tom rather than reveal himself to his father. Gloucester asks the old man to bring some clothing to cover Tom, and he asks Tom to lead him to Dover. Edgar agrees. Specifically, Gloucester asks to be led to the top of the highest cliff.


Goneril and Edmund arrive outside of her palace, and Goneril expresses surprise that Albany did not meet them on the way. Oswald tells her that Albany is displeased with Goneril’s and Regan’s actions, glad to hear that the French army had landed, and sorry to hear that Goneril is returning home.

Goneril realizes that Albany is no longer her ally and criticizes his cowardice, resolving to assert greater control over her husband’s military forces. She directs Edmund to return to Cornwall’s house and raise Cornwall’s troops for the fight against the French. She informs him that she will likewise take over power from her husband. She promises to send Oswald with messages. She bids Edmund goodbye with a kiss, strongly hinting that she wants to become his mistress.

As Edmund leaves, Albany enters. He harshly criticizes Goneril. He has not yet learned about Gloucester’s blinding, but he is outraged at the news that Lear has been driven mad by Goneril and Regan’s abuse. Goneril angrily insults Albany, accusing him of being a coward. She tells him that he ought to be preparing to fight against the French invaders. Albany retorts by calling her monstrous and condemns the evil that she has done to Lear.

A messenger arrives and delivers the news that Cornwall has died from the wound that he received while putting out Gloucester’s eyes. Albany reacts with horror to the report of Gloucester’s blinding and interprets Cornwall’s death as divine retribution. Meanwhile, Goneril displays mixed feelings about Cornwall’s death: on the one hand, it makes her sister Regan less powerful; on the other hand, it leaves Regan free to pursue Edmund herself. Goneril leaves to answer her sister’s letters.

Albany demands to know where Edmund was when his father was being blinded. When he hears that it was Edmund who betrayed Gloucester and that Edmund left the house specifically so that Cornwall could punish Gloucester, Albany resolves to take revenge upon Edmund and help Gloucester.


Kent, still disguised as an ordinary serving man, speaks with a gentleman in the French camp near Dover. The gentleman tells Kent that the king of France landed with his troops but quickly departed to deal with a problem at home. Kent’s letters have been brought to Cordelia, who is now the queen of France and who has been left in charge of the army. Kent questions the gentleman about Cordelia’s reaction to the letters, and the gentleman gives a moving account of Cordelia’s sorrow upon reading about her father’s mistreatment.

Kent tells the gentleman that Lear, who now wavers unpredictably between sanity and madness, has also arrived safely in Dover. Lear, however, refuses to see Cordelia because he is ashamed of the way he treated her. The gentleman informs Kent that the armies of both Albany and the late Cornwall are on the march, presumably to fight against the French troops.


Cordelia enters, leading her soldiers. Lear has hidden from her in the cornfields, draping himself in weeds and flowers and singing madly to himself. Cordelia sends one hundred of her soldiers to find Lear and bring him back. She consults with a doctor about Lear’s chances for recovering his sanity. The doctor tells her that what Lear most needs is sleep and that there are medicines that can make him sleep. A messenger brings Cordelia the news that the British armies of Cornwall and Albany are marching toward them. Cordelia expected this news, and her army

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stands ready to fight.


Back at Gloucester’s castle, Oswald tells Regan that Albany’s army has set out, although Albany has been dragging his feet about the expedition. It seems that Goneril is a “better soldier” than Albany (4.5.4). Regan is extremely curious about the letter that Oswald carries from Goneril to Edmund, but Oswald refuses to show it to her. Regan guesses that the letter concerns Goneril’s love affair with Edmund, and she tells Oswald plainly that she wants Edmund for herself. Regan reveals that she has already spoken with Edmund about this possibility; it would be more appropriate for Edmund to get involved with her, now a widow, than with Goneril, with whom such involvement would constitute adultery. She gives Oswald a token or a letter (the text doesn’t specify which) to deliver to Edmund, whenever he may find him. Finally, she promises Oswald a reward if he can find and kill Gloucester.


Still disguised, Edgar leads Gloucester toward Dover. Edgar pretends to take Gloucester to the cliff, telling him that they are going up steep ground and that they can hear the sea. Finally, he tells Gloucester that they are at the top of the cliff and that looking down from the great height gives him vertigo. He waits quietly nearby as Gloucester prays to the gods to forgive him. Gloucester can no longer bear his suffering and intends to commit suicide. He falls to the ground, fainting.

Edgar wakes Gloucester up. He no longer pretends to be Poor Tom but now acts like an ordinary gentleman, although he still doesn’t tell Gloucester that he is his son. Edgar says that he saw him fall all the way from the cliffs of Dover and that it is a miracle that he is still alive. Clearly, Edgar states, the gods do not want Gloucester to die just yet. Edgar also informs Gloucester that he saw the creature who had been with him at the top of the cliff and that this creature was not a human being but a devil. Gloucester accepts Edgar’s explanation that the gods have preserved him and resolves to endure his sufferings patiently.

Lear, wandering across the plain, stumbles upon Edgar and Gloucester. Crowned with wild flowers, he is clearly mad. He babbles to Edgar and Gloucester, speaking both irrationally and with a strange perceptiveness. He recognizes Gloucester, alluding to Gloucester’s sin and source of shame—his adultery. Lear pardons Gloucester for this crime, but his thoughts then follow a chain of associations from adultery to copulation to womankind, culminating in a tirade against women and sexuality in general. Lear’s disgust carries him to the point of incoherence, as he deserts iambic pentameter (the verse form in which his speeches are written) and spits out the words “Fie, fie, fie! pah! pah!” (4.6.126).

Cordelia’s people enter seeking King Lear. Relieved to find him at last, they try to take him into custody to bring him to Cordelia. When Lear runs away, Cordelia’s men follow him.

Oswald comes across Edgar and Gloucester on the plain. He does not recognize Edgar, but he plans to kill Gloucester and collect the reward from Regan. Edgar adopts yet another persona, imitating the dialect of a peasant from the west of England. He defends Gloucester and kills Oswald with a cudgel. As he dies, Oswald entrusts Edgar with his letters.

Gloucester is disappointed not to have been killed. Edgar reads with interest the letter that Oswald carries to Edmund. In the letter, Goneril urges Edmund to kill Albany if he gets the opportunity, so that Edmund and Goneril can be together. Edgar is outraged; he decides to keep the letter and show it to Albany when the time is right. Meanwhile, he buries Oswald nearby and leads Gloucester off to temporary safety.


In the French camp, Cordelia speaks with Kent. She knows his real identity, but he wishes it to remain a secret to everyone else. Lear, who has been sleeping, is brought in to Cordelia. He only partially recognizes her. He says that he knows now that he is senile and not in his right mind, and he assumes that Cordelia hates him and wants to kill him, just as her sisters do. Cordelia tells him that she forgives him for banishing her.

Meanwhile, the news of Cornwall’s death is repeated in the camp, and we learn that Edmund is now leading Cornwall’s troops. The battle between France and England rapidly approaches.

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Reading QuestionsAct 4

4.11. What is the point of Edgar/Poor Tom's philosophical speech in 4.1? 2. What view of the universe has Gloucester reached in 4.1.37-38?3. What further anguish is Edgar/Poor Tom going to have to face? Where does Gloucester ask him to

lead him? Why? What will Edgar/Poor Tom get for it?

4.21. What, according to Oswald, is different about Albany?2. What has happened between Goneril and Edmund on the journey? 3. What does Albany accuse Goneril of doing?4. How does Goneril respond to the death of Cornwall?

4.31. What has happened to the King of France? Has Cordelia gone back with him?2. What sort of picture of Cordelia do we get from the Gentleman's description?

4.41. Where, according to Cordelia, is Lear now? What is he doing? How does she propose to help him?2. What is the effect of Cordelia's speech in 4.4.23-30? How does it echo the imagery of the

Gentleman's description in 4.3?

4.51. Why has Oswald come to Gloucester's house (where Regan still is)? Whom is he looking for?

Where has Edmund gone?2. What does Regan want Oswald to let her do? What message does she tell Oswald to give to

Edmund?

4.61. What happens in the Gloucester "suicide" scene?2. Why is Edgar doing this to his father? 3. We meet the mad Lear. What happens when he and Gloucester meet?4. How well does Lear seem to recognize Gloucester? What is the topic they talk about? What is

Edgar's response?5. How does Lear then respond to Gloucester, and what advice does he have for him? Does this mean

Lear is now sane? 6. How does the Gentleman describe Cordelia in 4.6? Does it match the earlier description of her in

4.3? What does he tell Edgar about the military situation?7. What does Edgar gain in killing Oswald?

4.71. How does Kent respond when Cordelia asks him to change into clothes more fitting to his station

(that is, to get out of his disguise)?2. How are Lear and Cordelia reunited, and what happens?3. What is the military situation? For the proper ending to the play, which army should win?

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