Context (Leaving Cert English): Flashcards
📚Flashcards
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15 cards from this deck
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Practise the cards
15 cards from this deck
Who wrote King Lear?
Who wrote King Lear?
William Shakespeare
When was King Lear written?
When was King Lear written?
1603-1606
Genre of King Lear
Genre of King Lear
Tragedy
King Lear's main plot
King Lear's main plot
Ageing king divides kingdom among 3 daughters
Which daughters betray King Lear
Which daughters betray King Lear
The two older, greedy ones
Early historical view of King Lear
Early historical view of King Lear
Theatrical failure - too complex, dark, violent
Particularly shocking scene in play
Particularly shocking scene in play
On-stage blinding of Gloucester
Which innocent character dies
Which innocent character dies
Cordelia
Change in 18th-century adaptation
Change in 18th-century adaptation
Gave it a happy ending
When perception of King Lear changed
When perception of King Lear changed
1960s
Historical events that changed reception
Historical events that changed reception
Holocaust and two World Wars
Themes now seen as realistic in play
Themes now seen as realistic in play
Human suffering and existential dread
Critic who compared it to Beckett
Critic who compared it to Beckett
Jan Kott
What Jan Kott compared King Lear to
What Jan Kott compared King Lear to
Samuel Beckett's existentialist plays
What King Lear depicts powerfully
What King Lear depicts powerfully
Human nature and societal flaws