King Lear, ACT II - Scene III. quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Where is Edgar when he speaks this scene's soliloquy?

   • Inside Gloucester's castle
   • Correct answer: In the open country
   • At a guarded seaport
   • In a poor farmhouse

   The scene is set in the open country, where Edgar is alone after escaping the search.

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2. 2

   Question 2. How did Edgar avoid being captured during the hunt?

   • He bribed a guard at the port
   • He disguised himself as a soldier
   • Correct answer: He hid in the hollow of a tree
   • He hid among the sheep in a cote

   Edgar says that "by the happy hollow of a tree" he escaped the hunt.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why does Edgar decide he cannot simply escape by sea?

   • Correct answer: Every port is guarded and watched for him
   • He has no money to pay for a ship
   • He refuses to abandon his father
   • He fears that Edmund waits at the docks

   "No port is free": guards and unusual vigilance attend every place to capture him.

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4. 4

   Question 4. Which detail is NOT part of the disguise Edgar plans for himself?

   • Grime on his face
   • A blanket around his loins
   • Hair tangled into knots
   • Correct answer: A patched and hooded cloak

   Edgar plans filth, a blanket and knotted hair with "presented nakedness"; he mentions no cloak.

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5. 5

   Question 5. According to Edgar, how do Bedlam beggars get charity from poor farms and villages?

   • By singing hymns in the crowded market squares
   • Correct answer: By frightening people with curses or prayers
   • By working in the mills for bread
   • By showing letters from their parish

   They use "lunatic bans" and prayers, showing their wounded arms, to "Enforce their charity."

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Edgar mean by "Edgar I nothing am"?

   • He is ashamed of his own past deeds
   • He plans to give up his claim to land
   • Correct answer: In disguise he stops being himself
   • He believes his father has disowned him

   As Poor Tom he may survive, but his identity as Edgar is erased.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What effect does presenting Edgar's plan as a soliloquy have on the audience?

   • It hides Edgar's motives until the end of the play
   • It shows Edgar plotting revenge on Edmund
   • It reveals that Edgar has truly gone mad
   • Correct answer: It lets the audience know who Poor Tom really is

   Hearing the plan alone with Edgar, the audience will recognize Poor Tom when others do not, creating dramatic irony.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually occur in Act 2, Scene 3?

   • Edgar says he heard himself proclaimed as a wanted man.

     Happened

   • Edgar meets a real Bedlam beggar on the road.

     Didn't happen

   • Edgar tries out the cry "Poor Turlygod! poor Tom!"

     Happened

   • Edgar curses Edmund by name for betraying him.

     Didn't happen

   • Edgar resolves to face the weather half naked.

     Happened

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does "penury" mean in: "That ever penury, in contempt of man, / Brought near to beast"?

   • Harsh punishment
   • Correct answer: Extreme poverty
   • Deep madness
   • Bitter shame

   Penury is extreme poverty, which Edgar imagines reducing a man almost to an animal.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does "pelting" mean in: "Poor pelting villages, sheepcotes, and mills"?

    • Correct answer: Paltry and insignificant
    • Stormy and rain-soaked
    • Crowded and noisy
    • Distant and hidden

    Pelting means paltry or petty; the villages are small and poor.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "vigilance" mean in: "That guard and most unusual vigilance / Does not attend my taking"?

    • Bold and daring courage
    • Sudden cruel anger
    • Quick speed
    • Correct answer: Careful watchfulness

    Vigilance means watchfulness; guards everywhere are on the lookout to take Edgar.

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