King Lear, ACT I - Scene IV. quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. The first time Lear calls to Oswald and asks where his daughter is, how does the steward respond?

   • He bows low and promises to bring Goneril at once
   • Correct answer: He says 'So please you' and walks out without answering
   • He tells Lear that Goneril is resting and cannot be disturbed
   • He hands Lear a letter Goneril wrote complaining of his knights

   Oswald says only 'So please you' and exits, the first open sign that Goneril's household no longer obeys the king.

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2. 2

   Question 2. When the knight mentions the household's coldness, what does Lear admit he had blamed his own sense of neglect on?

   • The poor manners of the young servants in Goneril's house
   • The long journey that had left him tired and short-tempered
   • Correct answer: His own jealous curiosity rather than any real unkindness
   • The Fool's constant jokes, which had soured his own mood

   Lear says he had noticed a faint neglect but 'blamed as mine own jealous curiosity' rather than as deliberate unkindness.

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3. 3

   Question 3. When Kent dismisses the Fool's rhyme with 'This is nothing, fool,' what does the Fool compare his unpaid speech to?

   • Correct answer: The breath of an unfeed lawyer
   • The promise of a beggar at the gate
   • The song of a bird kept in a cage
   • The oath of a soldier who has deserted

   The Fool says his speech is 'like the breath of an unfeed lawyer,' worth nothing because nobody paid for it, which leads into his question about making use of nothing.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Lear do as he cries 'O Lear, Lear, Lear!' after recalling Cordelia's fault?

   • He draws his sword and threatens to strike Goneril down
   • He kneels and begs the gods to bring Cordelia back to him
   • He tears off his crown and throws it at Albany's feet
   • Correct answer: He strikes his own head, the gate that let his folly in

   The stage direction reads 'Strikes his head' as Lear blames the 'gate that let thy folly in / And thy dear judgment out.'

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5. 5

   Question 5. When Lear returns to the stage, what has he discovered about his followers?

   • That all hundred knights have been ordered to leave at dawn
   • Correct answer: That fifty of them have been dismissed within a fortnight
   • That his knights have quarreled and half have deserted him
   • That Goneril has hired his knights to serve in her own guard

   Lear cries, 'What, fifty of my followers at a clap? / Within a fortnight?' Goneril has already cut his train in half.

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6. 6

   Question 6. According to the Fool, why has he taken to singing so many songs lately?

   • Because Cordelia taught him new songs before she sailed to France
   • Because Goneril pays him to sing whenever the king grows angry
   • Correct answer: Because Lear made his daughters his mother and gave them the rod
   • Because the knights demand ballads at dinner every single night

   The Fool says he has sung ever since Lear 'mad'st thy daughters thy mother,' handing them the rod. The king has turned himself into a child who plays bo-peep.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Goneril mean when she tells Albany, 'Let me still take away the harms I fear, / Not fear still to be taken'?

   • Correct answer: She would rather strike first than wait to be harmed by her father
   • She hopes Albany will protect her from Lear's angry knights
   • She fears that Regan will side with their father against her
   • She regrets offending Lear and wants to make peace with him

   Goneril argues that it is safer to remove a threat in advance than to live in fear of it, a cold justification for disarming her father.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does 'abatement' mean in: 'There's a great abatement of kindness appears as well in the general dependants as in the Duke himself also and your daughter'?

   • A sudden increase
   • Correct answer: A noticeable lessening
   • A careful pretense
   • A public show of respect

   Abatement means a lessening or reduction; the knight sees that the household's kindness toward Lear has shrunk.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does Goneril ask Lear to do when she begs him 'A little to disquantity your train'?

   • Dress his men in plainer clothes
   • Send his men ahead to Regan's house
   • Correct answer: Reduce the number of his followers
   • Pay his men from his own purse

   To disquantity is to reduce in amount; Goneril wants fewer knights in Lear's train.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'cadent' mean in Lear's curse: 'With cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks'?

    • Bitter
    • Frozen
    • Hidden
    • Correct answer: Falling

    Cadent means falling; Lear wishes that her tears will run down her face so often they wear grooves in her cheeks.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Which of these events actually happen in Act 1, Scene 4?

    • Lear asks the disguised Kent how old he is.

      Happened

    • Kent reveals his true identity to the Fool.

      Didn't happen

    • Lear gives Kent money for tripping Oswald.

      Happened

    • Oswald draws a weapon after Lear strikes him.

      Didn't happen

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12. 12

    Question 12. Which of these events actually happen in Act 1, Scene 4?

    • Albany tells Lear he does not know what has angered him.

      Happened

    • Goneril orders the Fool to follow his master.

      Happened

    • Lear leaves to find Cordelia in France.

      Didn't happen

    • Albany orders Oswald not to carry the letter.

      Didn't happen

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