2001 Paper 2 Section 1

Outline Some points to consider: Cordelia's suffering in act one, scene one is extremely memorable. One cannot fail to sympathise with the daughter whose only fault was to 'Love and be silent'. She is humiliated and banished by a father she loved, in front of the court. Her offer of marriage by the Duke of Burgundy is also withdrawn. Kent's suffering is memorable. Lear casts him off because he is a loyal servant who cannot stay quiet when Lear makes a mistake. Lear's suffering causes him to become a better person and enables him to adopt the role of tragic hero. It's not surprising then that his scenes of suffering are memorable ones. In act two, scene four, we see Lear's 'tigers not daughters' outwitting him and causing him such pain that he says 'O fool, I shall go mad.' In act three, scene four, Lear, who was stripped of all power and dignity by his daughters, strips himself of his clothes. This image of the once proud and regal King divesting himself of the basics of man is both moving and memorable. Lear's suffering has caused him to go mad. He realises that 'His wits begin t'unsettle'. In act three, scene seven, Gloucester becomes the victim of the evildoers in the play. The cruelty of the sisters plucking out the old man's eyes is indelibly printed in one's mind. In this scene Gloucester experiences great physical and mental suffering. He endures the pain of his eyes but also realises that he has been betrayed by Edmund and that 'Edgar was abus'd'. In act four, scene six, Edgar, disguised, leads Gloucester to his intended suicide. There is great tenderness in Gloucester's dying wish to 'bless' Edgar and in Edgar's wish to assuage his father's guilt. The reconciliation scene between Cordelia and Lear (act 4, scene 4) has to be the most moving and memorable in the play. We witness a completely changed Lear, humble and repentant, kneeling in front of his daughter offering to drink poison. Her forgiveness and their emotion are extremely poignant. The final scene has both tenderness and great suffering. Lear appears with the dead Cordelia in his arms.