Act 2 Scene 4 Flashcards
(11 cards)
reason?
Quote: “O reason not the need.” – Lear
Context: Lear protests Regan’s demand to reduce his knights.
AO1 (Meaning): Lear insists that love and human dignity are not about necessity — he wants respect, not survival.
AO2 (Methods): Declarative imperative; paradox between “reason” and “need” reveals Lear’s emotional logic.
AO3 (Context): Kings were expected to be provided for. The idea of a king begging strips him of status.
AO5 (Critical): Some critics see this as Lear’s tragic misunderstanding of power; others read it as a proto-humanist cry for emotional truth.
Lear no power, he will do such things
Quote: “I will have such revenges on you both… I will do such things…” – Lear
Context: Lear rages after being betrayed by both daughters.
AO1 (Meaning): He spirals into a rage-filled threat with no actual plan — showing instability and emotional overload.
AO2 (Methods): Anaphora and ellipsis show psychological breakdown and tragic fragmentation.
AO3 (Context): Madness was feared and often seen as divine punishment — Lear’s instability reflects societal anxiety.
AO5 (Critical): Some see this as the tipping point into madness; others argue it’s a final attempt to assert power.
what you think mans gonna weep
Quote: “You think I’ll weep? No, I’ll not weep.” – Lear
Context: Lear is on the verge of crying, but resists.
AO1 (Meaning): Refusal to show emotion marks a shift into stoic, destructive internalisation — Lear is losing the ability to process pain.
AO2 (Methods): Repetition and short syntax create tension; denial heightens pathos.
AO3 (Context): Masculinity in Jacobean culture discouraged weeping — this could reflect suppressed identity.
AO5 (Critical): A tragic refusal of catharsis — critics link this to Lear’s eventual breakdown in the storm.
double the knights, double the love
Quote: “Thy fifty yet double five and twenty…” – Lear
Context: Lear responds to Regan and Goneril’s argument about how many knights he needs.
AO1 (Meaning): He measures love by numbers, revealing his tragic flaw: materialism over emotional understanding.
AO2 (Methods): Mathematical logic reveals emotional illogic; ironic tone emerges.
AO3 (Context): The king’s retinue reflected his dignity. To reduce it was to diminish him.
AO5 (Critical): A failed attempt to rationalise affection — critics see this as the collapse of Lear’s emotional economy.
nature and beasts
Quote: “Allow not nature more than nature needs, man’s life is as cheap as beast’s.” – Lear
Context: Lear argues that humans need more than the bare minimum to live with dignity.
AO1 (Meaning): Lear reflects on the difference between bare survival and human honour.
AO2 (Methods): Natural imagery; comparison of man to beast shows existential realisation.
AO3 (Context): Jacobean society saw divine hierarchy — humans had higher worth than animals.
AO5 (Critical): Seen as one of Lear’s earliest flashes of insight — critics debate whether it’s genuine or deluded.
you don’t dress nice to keep warm
Quote: “Thou art a lady if only to go warm were gorgeous.” – Lear
Context: Lear mocks Goneril and Regan’s superficiality.
AO1 (Meaning): Strips their identity down to appearances — shows Lear’s growing cynicism.
AO2 (Methods): Sarcasm, class/gender commentary, visual language.
AO3 (Context): Jacobean women were often defined by appearance; Lear critiques that standard.
AO5 (Critical): Could be read as Lear’s misogyny or his clarity in seeing through social masks.
3x repeated question
Quote: “Who put my man in the stocks?” – Lear
Context: Lear repeats this question when Kent is imprisoned.
AO1 (Meaning): Lear’s loss of control — he is no longer respected.
AO2 (Methods): Repetition reflects both rising anger and diminishing authority.
AO3 (Context): Stocks symbolised public humiliation. Lear’s servant being punished = Lear being humiliated by proxy.
AO5 (Critical): Critic
Lear calls Gods
Quote: “Send down and take my part.” – Lear
Context: Lear calls upon the gods to intervene.
AO1 (Meaning): Desperation. Lear no longer trusts his daughters or human justice.
AO2 (Methods): Imperative plea — spiritual crisis.
AO3 (Context): Divine Right of Kings — belief that kings ruled by God’s will.
AO5 (Critical): Could be seen as Lear seeking divine validation — or as a sign that even the gods have abandoned him.
he thinks kent is in the stocks as a joke
⸻
Quote: “Ha? Mak’st thou this shame thy pastime?” – Lear
Context: Lear confronts Regan about placing Kent in the stocks.
AO1 (Meaning): Lear sees this as a personal humiliation — sign of familial betrayal.
AO2 (Methods): Rhetorical question; incredulity. Shows emotional volatility.
AO3 (Context): A king’s servant being shamed = a king being shamed.
AO5 (Critical): Could be read as Lear’s last stand before breakdown begins.
Woman’s disease in womb
Quote: “Hysterica passio” – Lear
Context: Lear refers to a choking sensation caused by overwhelming emotion.
AO1 (Meaning): Lear compares his grief to a traditionally feminine disorder — ironic and tragic.
AO2 (Methods): Medical language, irony.
AO3 (Context): Hysteria was thought to be a female affliction in Jacobean medicine.
AO5 (Critical): Feminist critics link this to Lear’s fear of emasculation and gender collapse.
begging for basic necessities
Quote: “On my knees I beg that you’ll vouchsafe me raiment, bed and food.” – Lear
Context: Lear humiliates himself by begging Regan and Goneril for basic necessities.
AO1 (Meaning): The king reduced to a beggar — the peak of his tragic fall from power.
AO2 (Methods): Triple structure (“raiment, bed and food”) and visual image of kneeling evokes deep pathos.
AO3 (Context): Contrasts Lear’s original power with current vulnerability.
AO5 (Critical): Critics debate whether this is Lear’s moment of humility or final humiliation.
