Essay Topics for King Lear

English 102.08558

Honors Section

Spring 2013

Dr. Van Slyck

Essay Topics for King Lear (essay due April 25)

1.     Essay about character:  character is revealed by speech, action (especially change in action), gesture, by what other characters say about the individual, and symbolically, by setting. What kind of a man is King Lear and how is he a tragic figure according to the classic definition (see Aristotle in coursepak).  What is his major flaw or error?  Consider also Bradley’s definition of tragedy and tragic waste and contrast Lear at beginning and end of play.  Does he have recognition?  When, where?  Do you feel sympathy for him at end?  Why?  Why not?

2.     Essay about theme:  what main idea seems particularly important in the work?  What values are embodied in the idea?  Is the idea associated with a major character? Here is a list of important themes: loyalty, nature, madness, justice, pride, jealousy, greed, suffering, mortality, chaos. . .  Choose one theme and trace it through several characters and scenes.  Come up with a claim about the meaning of this theme in King Lear.

3.     Essay about symbolism: what symbols can be located in the work?  How is a particular symbol related to a character or theme? For example, hands (loyalty, betrayal) and eyes (blindness, insight) appear repeatedly throughout the play.  Burgundy refuses to take Cordelia’s hand; Lear is shocked when Regan takes Goneril’s hand.  Late in the play Gloucester begs to take Lear’s hand and Lear replies, “Let me wipe it first.  It smells of mortality.”  Trace one image and make a claim about its symbolic significance.

4.     Essay about setting: does the author provide extensive visual, symbolic, dramatic detail throughout the text?  How is that detail related to character and/or theme? For example, what is the symbolic significance of the storm in King Lear?  How is the storm related to the character of Lear?  Choose at least three quotations that reveal Lear’s connection to the storm.  Create a thesis statement that makes a claim about this connection.

Special note: I have asked you to find an important speech in the text (6-10) lines.  Find one that fits the topic you are interested in above and let that speech introduce your essay and your thesis.  Speeches must be memorized and we will begin RECITATION Tuesday April 16.

Please see my handout on guidelines for strong writing in coursepak.  All essays for English 102 should be 600 to 800 words (minimum).  You should include a heading in upper left corner (name, course, essay #, date, my name.)  The essays should be typed, double-spaced, using 12 point font, Times New Roman.  You should include a Work(s) Cited entry with page numbers for parenthetical documentation using original page numbers (or line numbers if it is a play); if the story or play is from an online source, still use line numbers for play; just the author’s name after quotation from story will suffice.  We will go over these details in class.