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How do you revise Shakespeare? King Lear

I'm doing A2 English Literature... and I'll tell you right now.. I haven't written a good essay on King Lear all year.. With less than a month to go to the exam, I'm getting very worried.

I don't know where to start with revision!

What quotes do I learn?! How do I organise my notes?

What I'm really struggling with is AO2.

Really need some ideas.

Thanks :s-smilie:

Reply 1

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Reply 2

pavarotti

Hi,
I'm in the same boat as you. Or maybe I just have a rubbish teacher? Either way, every Lear essay I write comes back with 'clumsy' or 'vague' in every margin.
What board are you on? I'm doing a closed text examination (WJEC) but I've found that an audiobook that my dad got me is really good for memorizing the quotes. Or else we could do as TSR suggested and 'Learn Together'.

Reply 3

sunexotic

Original post by pavarotti

Sorry, just saw this now... argh four days, yeah I'm doing WJEC too.

Lear's really bugging me. So much to do. Trying to revise links to Oedipus the King now. But yeah it's really about the AO2, and context :s-smilie:

Have you tried writing any essay plans?

Reply 4

sunexotic

Also methinks it's too late for audiobooks haha.
Listened to the audiobook of Oedipus the King last night though. So yeah revision's going well.

Reply 5

pavarotti

Original post by sunexotic

Have you tried writing any essay plans?

It's got to the stage now where I'm ignoring the fact that Lear even exists and I'm just revising for my M1 exam which is on the same day. Even though I know that I'm going to do fine on that.
I'm going to do a couple of plans, then write one which my teacher sent me ("Truth's a dog must to kennel") and then just work through quotes to try some language points for AO2. I'm really f*cked for this exam :/

Reply 6

Jaegon Targaryen

Original post by pavarotti

I'm not on the wjec exam board , but on the OCR board AO3 and AO2 are the most important.

That means knowing the critical history and quotes that can fit well with numerous themes .

Original post by sunexotic

Have you tried writing any essay plans?

I'm not too familiar with Oedipius but I know Greek Tragedy enough to know that it likely follows the narrative of Hero who makes a tragic mistake or posses a tragic flaw (Harmatia) goes through enough suffering to come to an Agnorisis (reveal of the truth) and then undergoes a catharsis (purguration of pity and terror in the greek theatre ) , draw parallels with the characters of Gloucester and Lear who go through similar arcs.

You could also conclude that unlike athenian tragedy , Shakespeare defies the odds of Reneissance tragedy with its truly unpredictable ending "seems explicitly designed to fall like a bolt from a cleared sky" - A.C bradley . This is because there is no justification for the death of Cordelia and Lear .

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 7

pavarotti

Original post by Jaegon Targaryen

I'm not too familiar with Oedipus but I know Greek Tragedy enough to know that it likely follows the narrative of Hero who makes a tragic mistake or posses a tragic flaw (Harmatia) goes through enough suffering to come to an Agnorisis (reveal of the truth) and then undergoes a catharsis (purguration of pity and terror in the greek theatre ) , draw parallels with the characters of Gloucester and Lear who go through similar arcs.

You could also conclude that unlike athenian tragedy , Shakespeare defies the odds of Reneissance tragedy with its truly unpredictable ending "seems explicitly designed to fall like a bolt from a cleared sky" - A.C bradley . This is because there is no justification for the death of Cordelia and Lear .

.... I think you may have just single-handedly saved my grade.

Reply 8

Jaegon Targaryen

Original post by pavarotti

.... I think you may have just single-handedly saved my grade.

Thats only the tip of the iceberg ! There seems to be so much more you have to know ...

Best of luck !

Reply 9

sunexotic

Original post by pavarotti

Ah, I don't even think I'm at the essay plan stage yet..How are you learning these quotes... cos I have no idea how I'm going to get all this into my head by Friday. Also you gotta use quizlet for critics and context! It's just the remembering that's the problem :s-smilie:

Reply 10

lily18

Im truly screwed for this exam, i have king lear and oedipus, my teacher has done a few essay plans for us to read over but they are huge!! its like she's written the essay and levelled it as a plan. Its helpful but way to much to actually be beneficial for revision. I can hardly remember anything and my exam is on thursday! i feel your pain but i have no advise to actually give you as I'm screwed :smile:

))))))))))

Reply 11

Nads265

To revise Lear I-1. Know 5 quotes for each character so u can whip it out in an embedded quote or analyse. (Symbolism, met, atmosphere etc)2. Context flash cards LOTS OF THEM. (Eg Edmund coke quote, paganism, Shakespeares beliefs, the church etc)3. Critics critics critics. Use ones which u can use for a few points and weave in (Salgado, no nature only human nature) also lean critics which u can contrast it with/ get another view or perspective 4. Intro needs to be concise, give overall argument and briefly mention points u will make.5. You need to be quick to make them links between AOs, maybe practice doing different plans for essays in 5 mins (helps u think quick on ur feet) 6. Do not be vague. They will sniff it through. Just act like u know what ur on about, even if u have no clue 🙃👍