1. The enormity of the tragedy, and of the depiction of human wickedness in this play, together with the violence and disgust that is embodied in so much of the play’s imagery, all prompt a question crucial to the tragic genre: How can human dignity be reconciled with human failure and wickedness? There are several possible answers, and here are some possibilities you might consider:
a) A religious interpretation is suggested by the numerous religious references—albeit to pagan religion; these include remarks such as Edgar’s in 5.3: “The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices/ Make instruments to plague us” (169-70). Despite the fact that the people in King Lear are all pre-Christian pagans, many critics have seen Christian symbolism in this play, viewing Cordelia as a Christ figure. Try to develop this view, and consider how it relates to the Aristotelian idea of tragedy, the tragic hero (and heroine), and the role of hamartia, or tragic flaw.
b) There is also the possibility of a different sort of religious interpretation, in which there is a kind of non-Christian redemption or at least a kind of carthasis or a feeling of acceptance and reconciliation for the audience viewing the fate of the play’s different characters. What kind of (non-Christian) acceptance or carthasis might the play provide for the audience?

2. Politics and political ideas are important in King Lear, which after all is a story of royal abdication, followed, ultimately, by French invasion and civil war. The play was written between 1603 and 1606. It had been greatly feared that civil war would break out after the death of Elizabeth in 1603, and the peaceful accession of James was a huge relief to the nation. (The numerous references to the end of the world are indicative of this political anxiety.) What political viewpoint can you find in the play about the causes of social and political unrest? How would you categorize the play’s sympathies; are they progressive or conservative?

3. Consider the play’s imagery and the effect of the image patterns on the atmosphere of the play as a whole. Some of the things to consider include imagery of disease and mutilation (including self-mutilation). Furthermore, negation or nihilism seems to be underlined over and over again, by the obviously repeated use of the word “nothing” in scene after scene—starting with Cordelia’s remark that she has “nothing” to say and Lear’s response that “Nothing will come of nothing.” Make lists of the different image-patterns and their occurrence in the play, and develop an argument about the poetic and mythological effect of these image patterns.

4. What does it mean to say there can be an analogy between family and state? What happens to the word family by comparison with the state? What happens to the word state by comparison with the family? Compare the family/state analogy to other metaphors for state, e.g., a “ship of state” or the “body politic.” What does the play imply about family?

5. By the end of Act 1, everything is well on its way to serious disorder. What is the basis of this disorder? What do you think the play seems to imply about politics; about kings and subjects; and about the nature of political power?

6. The main plot (Lear-Goneril-Regan-Cordelia) is paralleled by the subplot (Gloucester-Edmund-Edgar), which, by the way, was not in Shakespeare’s sources. What difference does having the subplot make to the play? Can you imagine the play without Gloucester, Edmund, and Edgar? Why are they valuable?

7. What do you make of the numerous references to seeing, sight, blindness, etc.?

8. A number of times, Lear asks or is told who he is. Why is that?

9. Many of Shakespeare's plays have a character who is "the wise fool." Some readers argue that these characters help to move the story along by informing the main characters through comic verse; some say the fool acts as a foil to one of the main characters in the story. Try to determine the purpose of Lear's Fool in this play. What do you make of him? Compare/contrast him with other fools you have encountered in your reading of other Shakespearean and/or Renaissance plays. What is his relationship with Lear? How do they interact? Why does the Fool disappear from the rest of the play when he does?

10. There are many women in the play, but no mothers. What effect do you think the absence of mothers creates? Can you imagine Lear’s wife? Goneril’s children? Edmund’s mother? What difference would such characters have made to the play?

11. The story of King Leir that came down to Shakespeare was set in approximately 800 BCE. Google this time period—say, 1100 to 700 BCE—and see what you can learn about King Leir and his life and times. See if you can find the original story and tell it to the rest of us.

12. Look up the term feudal in the OED. When was this term used? Can you see any pointers to feudal social structure or feudal values in the play? By the same token, look up the word bond in the OED. Can you find any definitions or examples of usage that you think help to interpret King Lear? What does Cordelia mean when she says she loves her father according to her bond (1.1.90)? What does Gloucester mean (1.2.101)? How about Edmund (2.1.46ff.)?

13. Examine Edmund’s use of the words nature, natural (1.2.1ff), and unnatural (2.1.49)? How does Lear use this term (1.1.212)? What do you make of Lear’s suggestion that they “anatomize Regan” to “see what breeds about her heart”? He wants to know whether there is “any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts” (3.6.71ff). Track other uses of these terms and contextualize their meanings and usages.

14. At several points, the play seems to anticipate remedies or restorations (Kent reads the letter from Cordelia: 2.2.153-161; word comes of an army from France: 3.1.30; there’s the journey to Dover: 3.6.85ff.; Cordelia prays for Earth’s natural remedies: 4.4.15; a gentleman calls Cordelia the “one daughter/ Who redeems nature”: 4.6.200). What function do these promises serve?

15. There are a number of powerful curses in the play—“Here I disclaim all my paternal care” (1.1.110ff.) and “Into her womb convey sterility” (1.4.259ff). What is their function in the play? Do these curses work? Explain how they do or how they don’t bring about the desired effect.

16. What can you say about the blinding of Gloucester (3.7.68ff) and about his foreshadowing of it (3.7.58ff)? In the structure of the play, what is Gloucester’s relation to Lear?

17. Do the meeting and reconciliation of Lear and Cordelia (4.7ff) bring a sense of resolution to the play? Describe the meeting in detail and carefully derive closure from this scene—what’s the feeling you’re left with at the end of Act 5? Explain and contextualize, please.

18. In 4.1.5ff, Goneril and Regan compete for Edmund. The state almost becomes a prize with which to lure him. How do they deteriorate as they begin quarreling over this potential lover? How come?

19. Shakespeare often introduces the themes of his play at the very beginning. Examine 1.1.1-27, identify the main issues and themes that are discussed, and show how they foreshadow the outcome of the play.

20. The play ends with Edgar speaking. In what way does Edgar’s speech seem to be a fitting end to the play? In what way is it not fitting? How come he’s got the last word? And what's with the reference to seeing when both Gloucester and Lear, the two "oldest" to whom Edgar might be referring here, were essentially blind?

The weight of this sad time we must obey;
Speak what we fell, not what we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young
Shall never see so much, nor live so long.
Exeunt, with a dead march

20. In Act 2, what is the significance of Edmund's usury of power? Edmund, younger than Edgar and illegitimate, is not entitled to the same power or prestige as his brother. Merit was irrelevant in determining social status of the royals. Primogeniture was the order of the day. Although Edmund's methods of taking power are questionable to say the least, how can his actions be understood and perhaps even justified? Describe Edmund’s scheme and contextualize its constituent parts and consequences.

21. Identify the scenes in Act 3 which Shakespeare intended to be staged outside and which inside. Then consider what the significance of "outside" or "inside" might mean for the scene. How does Shakespeare seem to be using inside and outside settings to express the play's themes? Are there any similarities between all the "inside" scenes, the "outside" scenes? Symbolically, what might "inside" and "outside" come to represent in the play?

22. Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia are three of the most famous, and unhappy, sisters in literature. Explain their various roles in the play by following their actions and by tracing their dramatic development (or lack thereof). What’s wrong with them? Why do you suppose they act the way they do? Are there any significant changes in their behaviors as the story unfolds?

23. In 3.2, the central character proclaims "I am a man more sinn'd against than sinning." In a well-developed and well-supported essay, explain whether or not you agree with that statement. Also, choose another Shakespearean play you have read this semester in which a character seems to be "more sinn'd against than sinning." Identify the character and, using specific references to the text, indicate the reasons why that character feels this way and whether you believe the feeling is justified. Compare and contrast the two Shakespearean characters and their respective fates. How are they similar; how are they different? What’s their hamartia; what’s the carthasis like? How does the resolution of the play justify or reconcile the events leading up to it?

24. Frequently a literary character is thrust into a predicament that makes little or no rational sense. As a result, the character either concedes to the situation's absurdity or takes actions to defy it. Using King Lear and another Shakespearean play you have read this semester, discuss how the central characters in both works encounter an irrational predicament. Then, in a well-organized essay, assess the courses the characters take to resolve it and demonstrate how the characters' actions contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole.