King Lear, ACT III - Scene I. quiz

From King Lear by William Shakespeare

King Lear Act 3, Scene 1 summary: in the storm, Kent learns Lear is raging on the heath with only the Fool, and sends a Gentleman to Dover with a ring for Cordelia.

11 questions · about 12 minutes

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Questions and answers

  1. Question 1. How does the Gentleman answer when Kent asks who is there besides foul weather?

    • He gives his name and says he serves the Duke of Albany
    • Correct answer: He says he is a man whose mind is as unquiet as the weather
    • He refuses to answer until Kent names himself first
    • He says he is a messenger who has just ridden in from France with news

    The Gentleman calls himself 'One minded like the weather, most unquietly,' linking his troubled mind to the storm.

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  2. Question 2. According to the Gentleman, what is Lear trying to do with the storm?

    • Hide from it under a hedge with the Fool
    • Find a road back to Gloucester's castle
    • Correct answer: Command the wind to drown the earth in the sea
    • Pray to the gods to calm the wind and the rain at once

    Lear bids the wind blow the earth into the sea or swell the waters over the land, so that things might change or cease.

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  3. Question 3. Why does the Gentleman mention the bear, the lion and the wolf?

    • Correct answer: Even these wild beasts shelter tonight while Lear runs bareheaded
    • They have been driven from the forest onto the heath
    • Lear is calling his daughters these names in his rage
    • The Fool has been singing a song about all three of them

    On a night when even hungry animals keep their fur dry, Lear runs unbonneted, which shows how exposed and reckless he has become.

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  4. Question 4. What does Kent say is hidden 'With mutual cunning'?

    • A French army waiting off the coast near Dover for orders
    • Cordelia's plan to return to England in secret
    • Edmund's plot against his brother Edgar
    • Correct answer: A split between the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall

    Kent says there is division between Albany and Cornwall, though for now both cover it with cunning.

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  5. Question 5. What role do some of the dukes' servants secretly play, according to Kent?

    • Correct answer: They are spies who report on England to France
    • They are plotting to free Lear from his daughters
    • They are carrying letters between Goneril and Regan
    • They are guarding the ports against foreign ships

    Kent calls them 'to France the spies and speculations / Intelligent of our state,' meaning they pass English secrets to France.

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  6. Question 6. Why does Kent give the Gentleman his purse?

    • To pay for horses for the long ride to Dover
    • To buy shelter for the King and the Fool
    • Correct answer: To show that he is much more than he appears
    • To bribe the guards at the port to let him pass

    Kent offers the purse 'For confirmation that I am much more / Than my out-wall,' that is, more than his servant's disguise suggests.

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  7. Question 7. What plan do Kent and the Gentleman make at the end of the scene?

    • To meet again at Gloucester's castle by morning
    • Correct answer: To search different ways and shout when one finds Lear
    • To wait out the storm together and begin the search at daybreak
    • To ride to Dover together and bring help back

    Kent says that whoever first lights on the King should holla the other, so they split up to search.

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  8. Question 8. Which of these events actually occur in Act 3, Scene 1?

    • Kent recognizes the Gentleman when they meet on the heath.

      Happened

    • Lear enters and speaks to Kent in the storm.

      Didn't happen

    • Kent reports that a French force has secretly reached some English ports.

      Happened

    • Kent tells the Gentleman his real name.

      Didn't happen

    • Kent gives the Gentleman a ring to show Cordelia.

      Happened

    • The Gentleman agrees to stay and talk at length with Kent.

      Didn't happen

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  9. Question 9. What does 'unbonneted' mean in: 'Keep their fur dry, unbonneted he runs,'?

    • Without armor
    • Correct answer: Bareheaded
    • Barefoot and limping
    • Without a cloak

    Unbonneted means without a hat, so Lear runs with his head bare to the wind and rain.

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  10. Question 10. What does 'snuffs' mean in: 'Either in snuffs and packings of the Dukes,'?

    • Candle wicks
    • Secret letters
    • Small insults
    • Correct answer: Quarrels or huffs

    Snuffs are fits of resentment or quarrels, the signs of trouble Kent has noticed between the two dukes.

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  11. Question 11. What does 'plain' mean in: 'The King hath cause to plain.'?

    • Correct answer: To lament or complain
    • To speak simply
    • To travel over flat land
    • To make something clear

    Plain is an old form of complain, so the King has good reason to lament his treatment.

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Next: King Lear, ACT III - Scene II.