King Lear: Acts 3-4

Vocabulary

1. Choose the correct answer from a, b, c, or d.

1. We are going to ............ revenge on them for the problems they have caused us.

a. say

b. make

c. take

d. give

2. It’s never all right to be nasty to people online and we won’t ............ for it.

a. stand

b. hold

c. hand

d. run

3. I was so scared while I was looking over the edge of the cliff that my blood ran ............ .

a. hot

b. cold

c. wild

d. through

4. We used to be friends, but since he tried to make me look stupid, we’ve become ............ .

a. enemies

b. traitors

c. interrupters

d. camps

5. She was so ............ for power that she did everything she could to become queen.

a. early

b. angry

c. thirsty

d. hungry

6. He gained power in some parts of the country, but he wanted to ............ over all of it.

a. interrupt

b. kingdom

c. rule

d. power

7. It isn’t polite to start talking when someone else is speaking. You shouldn’t ............ people.

a. get rid of

b. betray

c. deceive

d. interrupt

8. All of our soldiers are going to sleep at the ............ in Calais tonight.

a. camp

b. Dover

c. steep

d. army

9. This hill is so ............, I’m not sure if I can climb to the top of it.

a. cliff

b. evil

c. steep

d. flat

10. Don’t leave any ............ items, like jewellery or mobile phones, in this room. Please take them with you.

a. valuable

b. enemy

c. guilty

d. stupid

11. My father has a lot of pain in his eyes and cannot see. Can anyone ............ him?

a. rule

b. run

c. edge

d. cure

12. Everyone is calling her a ............ because she shared some secret information with our enemies.

a. servant

b. traitor

c. beggar

d. messenger

Reading

2. Read this part of the play. Match the characters with the things they do in Acts 3 and 4.

1. Cornwall b. makes someone kneel in front of him and asks questions.
2. Regan c. throws someone out of their palace.
3. Edgar f. admits that he pretended to be someone else.
4. Gloucester a. asks someone to take him to the top of a cliff.
5. Goneril d. tells someone to take up their sword against the French.
6. Albany g. promises to get revenge on a person who attacked someone.
7. King Lear e. says he’s unhappy because his daughters have lied to him.

3. Answer the questions.

1. In Act III Scene v, what does the letter that Edmund shows Cornwall prove? The letter proves that Gloucester is a spy.

2. In Act III Scene vi, who is told to take King Lear to Dover in a carriage? Kent.

3. In Act III Scene vii, what does Cornwall decide to do to Gloucester? He decides to punish him.

4. In Act III Scene vii, which part of Gloucester’s body does Cornwall hit with his sword and injure? his face and eyes.

5. In Act IV Scene i, what does Edgar wish he didn’t have to pretend to be? a beggar.

6. In Act IV Scene i, where does Edgar promise to take Gloucester? a hight cliff in Dover.

7. In Act IV Scene ii, who decides to take revenge for what has happened to Gloucester? Albany.

8. In Act IV Scene iv, who does Cordelia want to find and see again? her father.

9. In Act IV Scene vi, why does Edgar want to make Gloucester think that he has fallen from a cliff and survived? He hopes it will cure him of his 'madness'.

10. At the end of Act IV Scene vi, who did Edgar and Gloucester meet? the king.

4. Read the quotations and choose the correct answer.

Cornwall: I can’t kill Gloucester because I don’t have the authority, but I can punish him. And although people won’t like this, they can't stop us.

1. Why does Cornwall decide not to kill Gloucester?
a. He doesn’t want to do it.
b. He doesn’t have the power to do it.

Albany: What have you done? You and Regan are tigers, not daughters. You’ve been cruel to your father, a kind old man.

2. Why does Albany compare Goneril and Regan to tigers?
a. He thinks they’re wild and dangerous.
b. He thinks they don’t want other people to come near to them.

Gloucester: Let go of my hand. Here’s a purse for you, my friend. Inside the purse is a valuable jewel. Leave me here; say goodbye to me and let me hear you walk away.

3. Why does Gloucester say this to Edgar?
a. He thinks he’s going to fall to his death.
b. He thinks that Edgar wants to steal from him.