Topic Three (1.3): Reading the Play – Act II
Introduction
In this topic, you will continue to read King Lear. You will now focus on Act II, making detailed notes and annotations as you go, taking the same careful approach to each scene as you did for Act I.
Read and Make Notes
Read and make notes on Act II, on pages 216 to 258, using the resources and guidance below.
Tasks
- Deal with one scene at a time.
- For every scene, you should:
- Highlight important quotations as you go along;
- Read the accompanying notes in the text at the same time;
- Use the Sparknotes summary and analysis to consolidate your understanding once you have finished reading:
EXPLORE – Scene by Scene Summary and Analysis (Sparknotes) Links to an external site.
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- Make a very brief summary of the scene, listing key events using simple bullet points. This will be an important ‘map’ of the events of the play to which you can refer later on.
Consolidate
- Now you have read Act II of King Lear, you will find it helpful to consolidate what you have learnt by watching the following videos from MASSOLIT.
- Jot down any key points on your Critical Viewpoints Grid as you watch the videos.
WATCH – Act 2, Scene 2: Oswald and Kent – King Lear (MASSOLIT) Links to an external site.
WATCH – Act 2, Scene 3: Edgar Becomes Poor Tom – King Lear (MASSOLIT) Links to an external site.
WATCH – Act 2, Scene 4: Reason Not the Need! – King Lear (MASSOLIT) Links to an external site.
Terminology
Make sure you understand any new literary terminology covered in this topic. You may like to make flashcards of key terms now, to help you with revision later on.