English XII Ch 20 King Lear SQ & Notes FSc FA ICS ICom KPK FBISE
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Answer: King Lear was blessed with a long life by God as he was more than fourscore years old. Being a king, he had to look after all the government affairs and management responsibilities keenly and thoroughly. He was performing his duty as the sovereign of his land quite well but that made him worn out and weary.
The old king knew it very well that soon his time to depart from this world would come and he had to leave all his wealth, property and fortune to her daughters as he had no son. So, he decided to choose any one of his daughters to endow his throne to be taken care of after his demise. He called his daughters one by one and asked them to justify the question logically and persuasively as to what extent they love their old father i.e. the king of the land.
Answer: To retire from his tiresome responsibility of ruling a vast kingdom from youth to such a ripe old age, King Lear decided to part his fortune, wealth and kingdom among three of his daughters according to their love and affection which they would show towards him. The king tested the love and loyalty of his daughters by asking them a very simple but critical question about the extent of love which they behold in their chests for him as their father, not as a king.
Answer: Both the elder daughters of king Goneril and Regan flattered him with their flowery conversation and false justification of their love, transported King Lear into the realm of another world, he was flying high in the air. When it was the turn of Cordelia, the dearest daughter of the king to show and symbolize her love and affection towards her father through words or actions, it disappointed the king to a great extent. Whatever Cordelia said was unbelievable to listen and bear for the king.
Cordelia neither used any gratifying declaration nor any long fake speech to satisfy her father. She told King Lear that she loved him from the core of her heart and respects him too but unlike her sisters, she couldn’t give all her love to her father as after marriage half of the love must be the right of her husband. According to her, this was the fair and just game of love which she had to play to make her father as well as her husband happy and satisfied. This put King Lear into a rage and he by losing all his senses declared that he disinherited Cordelia from all his property, fortune and kingdom as a punishment for showing such a meagre love towards him.
Answer:
Goneril and Regan became delighted after each taking one-third of their father’s property and kingdom. Both of them turned selfish towards their father. When it was Gonerill turn to keep King Lear with her in the castle, she started showing the disgusting attitude towards him. According to her, he seemed to be a burden on their expense as King wanted a hundred knights to be all alert for him. General on and off threw cold looks at the old king that gave a very agitated feeling to King Lear and irritated him too. He decided to move to his other daughter Regan to spend the rest of her days peacefully over there.
When he entered the palace of Regan and her husband, their servants said that the masters were tired due to travelling that’s why unable to welcome him. On the strict orders of the King, both of them appeared before the King but along with them came Gonerill too and that surprised the king. General put all her efforts to make Regan against her father and succeeded too. As Regan also gave harsh look to the old king and treated him quite badly and asked him to go back to Gonerill’s palace and live there with less number of his devoted knights.
Q 6. What role did the Earl of Kent, Caius play in the play, King Lear?
Answer: The Earl of Kent was a trustworthy and faithful servant of the king. He played his due role throughout the play. When King Lear announced that he would disinherit Cordelia from all his wealth and fortune, the Earl of Kent tried his level best to convince the king to give a second thought to his decision, but the king didn’t listen to him.
Rather than the king gave orders for the banishment of Earl of Kent from the land of Britain. When the king went to Gonerill’s palace to live with them, being an honest person the Earl of Kent disguised himself to assist and stay close to his master so to provide him maximum security and comfort. He introduced himself as Caius to the king and said that he is an ordinary man. The Earl of Kent taught a ruthless lesson to the steward of Goneril on showing the cold-blooded attitude towards the old king.
When the king left the palace of Regan after being humiliated, he started his journey on a stormy night towards the unseen destination; at that time to the Earl of Kent Caius stopped the king for taking such a weird step. He was such an honest person that he refused the offer of the Duke of Albany to rule the kingdom with Edgar. He rejected it by saying that with the death of his master, he considered himself a lifeless person too as his sole job on this earth was to serve the king.
Answer: Cordelia even after being disinherited from his father in the beginning still played the role of a caring, affectionate daughter as the play further moved on. When Goneril and Regan mistreated their father with their cold attitude and disrespectful behaviour, the old king became so distressed, disheartened and disappointed that he left the palace of Regan and moved into the wilderness. After roaming into desolateness, he lost his sense and started behaving like an insane.
This made the Earl of Kent gloomy so he managed to take him to his dear youngest daughter Cordelia. On seeing her father in such a pitiable and miserable condition, she called the best of the best physicians of her French kingdom and asked them to give extraordinary treatment to his father to bring him to a sensible life again. She even offered all her gold and jewels to that physician who proved himself in recovering her beloved father back to the life of a normal person. When the king recovered from his lunacy, Cordelia asked for forgiveness from her father and kissed him to show her true love, compassion, and warmth.
Answer: Edmund was the natural son of the late Earl of Gloucester. He was a shrewd individual that why he became successful in disinheriting his brother Edgar, the lawful heir from his earldom. Edmund became earl himself due to his sinful plots and actions. Due to his spiteful nature and evil characteristics traits, he was a perfect suit either to Goneril or Regan as they both were as wicked and shrewd as Edmund.
Answer: After the death of her husband the Duke of Cornwall, Regan showed her intentions to marry the Earl of Gloucester. This made Goneril jealous of Regan’s proceedings to snatch earl from her. Goneril’s envy from her sister grew wild to such an extent that she decided to take the life of her dear sister and kill Regan by giving her poison.
Answer: Being jealous of her sister Regan, Goneril made an evil plot to get rid of Regan who showed her desire to marry earl of Gloucester after her husband’s death. Goneril decided to take her sister’s life with the help of poison. Her wicked plan was sensed by her husband so he imprisoned her for her cruel thoughts and action and her hidden love and passion for the earl that was not at all acceptable by the Duke of Albany. The punishment and imprisonment have given to Goneril by her husband and failure to get her love, Goneril lost her senses and in wrath put an end to her life with her own dear hands.
Answer: After the death of King Lear and his three daughters, it was a difficult task to select the appropriate one to ascend the throne of Britain. The Duke of Albany, the husband of Goneril being guiltless in all his acts and not involved in the murder of Cordelia, was always against the wicked attitude of his wife towards her father. He never motivated his wife to show ingratitude, malice and cold behaviour towards King Lear, her father. It was due to his kind nature, innocent acts and true spirit that he ascended the throne of Britain and run it as successfully as King Lear.
Answer: Parents are one of the greatest blessings of Allah Almighty. They strive hard throughout their lives to provide ease and comfort to their children. They are not only responsible for their food and clothing but have the duty to provide them with good education to make them civilized members of society. Therefore, when parents turn old after fulfilling all their duties and responsibilities sincerely, it comes the turn of their children to fulfil all their needs and requirements wholly and obediently.
Parents upon reaching their ripe old age should be treated with love, care, kindness, affection, humbleness, and devotion. Kindness towards parents holds the first place in the gentle treatment of the old parents. Hazrat Ibn Abbas narrates the following Hadith of the Holy Prophet (PBUH):
“Dutiful and good-natured children who cast one loving and affectionate look at their parents, receive from The Almighty blessing equivalent to one approved Hajj (pilgrimage).” (Muslim)
It is not less than sin for the children who disrespect their parents at old age, shout at them and think them as a useless thing at their homes devoid of emotions, feelings or sensible thoughts. As it is said in the Holy Quran:
“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour.”
Children should show mercy towards their old parents and consider it their duty to obey, respect and honour them. Parents should be given free hand to participate in all the important affairs of the house. They should not feel outcast in the four walls of their own home.
We as children should not forget the times when we were so young to talk or convey our messages, tumble while taking little steps, unable to clean our face, satisfy our hunger or feed ourselves, that was the time when parents hold our hands with tender love and made us learn various activities that always help us out in our future lives. It is there in the Quran that:
“And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small.’
If old parents become sick, ill or injured, their children have to take care of them with heart, soul, and money too.
In a nutshell, it is evident that parents are not a burden on their children but are a means towards Heaven or Hell. If children treat them with respect, love, and kindness, they would go to Heaven as their parents pray to Allah for their success in this world and hereafter too. On the other hand, the children who disrespect their old parents and treat them badly have to bear the horrific fire of the Hell.
Answer: Yes, the maxim “greed is the root of all evils” applies to Gonerill and Regan in its true sense. It was their greed, lust, and avarice that made them cold-blooded towards their father who trusted them more than his dear daughter Cordelia. Their evil minds and wicked plans to snatch each and everything not only from their father but from Cordelia too forced them to face the irony of fate.
Both of them disrespected their father, Gonerill turned disloyal towards her husband and Regan too right after the death of her husband showed her utmost desire to marry Earl of Gloucester just to become richer than her other two sisters. That’s not all, yes it is the greed of power, wealth and fortune that parted the two loving souls of the sisters and so Gonerill tried to perform the evil, cunning and merciless act to kill her sister Regan by giving her prison to get rid of her.
She knew it well that her death paved her path towards her marriage with the Earl of Gloucester. But the Duke of Albany sensed her evil thoughts and imprisoned her for showing unfaithfulness towards him and that forced Gonerill to take her own life.
Answer: After the demise of Gonerill and Regan, it became evident that all the kingdom, wealth and fortune that King Lear left behind would go to Cordelia being the only survived soul of the legacy. But it was not acceptable to the Earl of Gloucester who had evil desires to hold the king’s throne. To get rid of Cordelia, he put her in prison for the rest of her life. Heaven didn’t want to see such an innocent soul-bearing injustice, torture and misery took her to itself in her blooming youth. In this way, Cordelia a name of honesty, trust, truthfulness, sympathy, and compassion was rewarded for her innocent nature.
Answer: Life, as we all know, is given to us for once from Allah Almighty. To live a life according to principles of Islam and sayings of the Holy Prophet (SAW) is of utmost importance as only it would benefit a man on the Day of Judgment. But Alas! People are focusing more on the matters of this life as compared to the life hereafter. It is quite a difficult task to lead a life free from greed and avarice in today’s materialistic lifestyle. People are running after making more and more money. That’s not all; they have a lust not only to get money but to accumulate it as much as possible for their future use. Although it seems an intricate task to carry out but not at all an impossible one to achieve and lead a contented life in both the worlds. Here are some suggestions which if carried out with honesty and truthfulness must give birth to a simple, greed free, contented life:
The first and the foremost need of the hour is to get in-depth knowledge about the lifestyle of our beloved Holy Prophet (SAW) and other prophets or Caliphs so to know how they led their lives according to the principles of Islam. Islam does not say that one should live a simple life to the extent that it goes back to Stone Age, rather it only stresses on having a modest life so that the greed and lust of getting more and more may not make one forget about its real-life, i.e. hereafter.
A Muslim should be reasonable and just in every matter of life, like in one`s dressing, behaviour, keeping and building nice relationships with family members and relatives, and in overall society etc. When one has understood the basic theme behind adopting self-control in life, it would eventually lead to a life free from greed and avarice.
Treatment of Greed according to Imam Jafar Sadiq (AS), “I guarantee for the moderate that he will not see poverty.”
Amir al-Momineen (AS) said: “Greed is the key to the trouble and carries man to hardship. It causes him to sin.”
Secondly, we should learn how to be thankful to Allah for all His blessings which He has given to us neglecting our sins, crimes, and dishonesty. If Allah does not give you anything that you wants in your life or any comfort that others are enjoying but you don’t, then always try to throw that comfort or luxury out of your mind as soon as possible by showing strong faith on Allah Almighty and His will.
Therefore, it must be said that to live a life free from greed or avarice just depend on the will power of an individual and his strong belief on Allah Almighty that whatever he has given to him or not given to him is in the best interest of that individual.
Answer: Title: “Greedy fisherman met his ill destiny”
A long time ago, there lived a fisherman named Shaukat near the coast of River Indus in the province of Sindh. He was a middle-aged thin individual with a thick curved moustache and a black beard. He was neither tall nor short. He used to wear a big floral turban on his head to protect him from the sun throughout the hot days of summers.
He lived with his wife and a six years old son in a small cottage made of bamboo sticks. He was in this business of fishery since his childhood as his forefathers also had the same profession to earn their livelihood. It was his routine ritual to woke up early in the morning, offer his prayers, take his breakfast that was a simple bread with a spoonful of homemade butter along with a hot delicious cup of cardamom tea. He was satisfied with his life.
Some years back, his father on his death bed revealed a secret to him that the river is quite rich with delicious abundant fish in the middle. But he advised him never dare to go to the middle of the river especially towards the west as there reside some dangerous, man-eater sharks too. He made a promise to his father that he would never go to that side of the river.
One day, he was sitting quite depressed. On asking, he said to his wife Salma that he had a desire to see their son going to school and getting the education for his better future. He added by saying alas! We are not that much rich to afford the schooling of our son. Salma said that don’t worry and have faith in Allah Almighty he would help us.
After some days of this conversation, one of his best friends came to meet him. Shaukat shared his desire with his friend. He said that don’t be sad, you would turn rich if you would go to the middle of the river and caught some unusual fish in bulk and sell them into the city. Shaukat knew the fact and the promise he made to his father but he turned blind with the lust of wealth that he threw the promise and fear out of his mind. The very next day, without telling anything to his wife, Shaukat set out his journey towards the middle of the river; the dwelling of sharks.
He caught plenty of unique, delicious fish in abundance in just a few hours of his struggle. He was quite happy on his achievement that he started weaving his dreams about his better lifestyle soon to come. All of a sudden, two sharks appeared from nowhere showing their dreadful sharp teeth ready to attack their prey. They were so furious that they didn’t give a single moment to Shaukat to do something for his defence. In not more than ten minutes, the brutal sharks tore Shaukat into hundred pieces making the sparkling river water rippling with the blood of Shaukat.
Moral: Greed is a curse.
Writing Skills
Answer: King Lear was a clear depiction of kindness, cruelty, passion, sympathy, arrogance and insensibility. He was such a complex person that no one knew exactly what’s going on in his mind.
Personality: King Lear was fourscore years old. Being the ruler of Britain, he had a load of responsibility on his shoulders. He had white long hair and beard that are the clear indication of his age through the illustrations. He used to wear expensive clothes bejewelled with dazzling and precious gems. That’s not all; he wore a robe too over his clothing that gave an awesome look to his appearance. Although the king reached a ripe age still his health was fabulous, he was not at all fragile-looking old man. His headdress was also lavishly adorned with gems and jewels.
Characteristics traits: King Lear seemed to be an honest person at the beginning of the play as he wanted to divide his wealth, fortune and kingdom among his three daughters. But as the play moves further, it was apparent to the readers that he was a sort of person who appreciated the ones who flattered him with their sweet tongue and flowery conversation.
He was unable to differentiate between the true love of Cordelia and fake appreciation by his daughters Goneril and Regan. He being egoistical became furious on the statement of Cordelia about her love towards her father and in turn, disinherited Cordelia from all his kingdom and riches without even giving a second thought to his decision. He was such a short-tempered king that he gave orders of banishment of Earl of Kent, one of his faithful servants talking in favour of Cordelia. He soon came to know who was honest to him and who’s not, when both of his elder daughters threw him out of their palaces. He was sensitive too that’s why he couldn’t bear such kind of disrespect from his daughters that he lost his senses and became lunatic.
Answer:
Gonerill and Regan seem two names with two souls residing in two bodies but they are alike in their character traits and behaviour. One cannot find much difference between the characters of both the selfish daughters of King Lear, Gonerill and Regan. Let’s throw light on the characters of the daughters of the King one by one:
Gonerill: The name itself describes the character traits of the eldest daughter of King Lear Gonerill as she was as clever as a vixen and as wicked as a witch. She was not only greedy for power, wealth and strength but always had a desire to let down her other two sisters as much as possible.
She knew quite well how to ensnare her father in her love through fake speeches and flowery words. She convinced her father that she was the one who loves him the most and thus became successful in getting one-third of King’s land, wealth and fortune.
Right after grabbing the riches from her father, she quickly changed her attitude towards her father from kindness to cruelty, love to hatred, honour to disrespect, mercy to brutality. She showed a cold attitude towards her father, the old king and considered him a burden on her expense. She threw her honourable father out of her palace.
That’s not all; she also turned Regan against her father by telling her the forged tales of his behavior and conduct. The last plot of Gonerill’s wickedness appeared almost at the end of the play when she decided to get rid of her sister Regan by giving her poison just to marry Earl of Gloucester who was an affluent person. But her shrewdness took her to another path where dejectedness and guilt welcomed her with open arms and forced her to take her own life by killing herself.
Regan: Regan was not less than her elder sister in flattery and evilness. She too influenced her father and showed her intense love to him by uttering long sweet talk. She was also successful in getting one-third of King’s wealth and fortune.
She treated her father as Gonerill treated him at her palace with disgrace and selfishness. She asked her father to leave her palace and live somewhere else.
Regan too showed her avarice for more riches and fortune and thus wanted to marry Earl of Gloucester after her husband’s death but she didn’t get success as she was murdered by her loving sister Gonerill.
Answer: Cordelia the youngest daughter of King Lear is the most likeable character of the whole play due to some qualities that justify her innocent character wholly and truly:
True devotee: Cordelia was so pure in her feelings of love, care and affection towards her father that she didn’t say a word that would just please her father but was merely a lie. Although she knew it well that the more she would flatter her father, the more share she would be getting out of his father’s kingdom. But she was not that sort of youth.
Moderate: Cordelia was not at all a greedy daughter of her father like her two elder sisters. Even after listening her father’s verdict against her disinheriting her from all the fortune, she never showed any disrespect to her father except the tears that fell from her eyes not due to being disinherited but just because of her father’s mere trust on her.
Compassionate and Generous: As soon as Cordelia received the news of her father’s terrible condition, she sent her army to bring her father to the palace. She called the best physicians of her kingdom and ordered them to make her father as fit as before and she would give all her gold and jewels to the one who would do that.
Cordelia had an angelic touch to her persona that had the power to magnetize anyone towards her.
Answer: King Lear ruled his kingdom for a long time so he decided to retire from his job by distributing his wealth and fortune among his three daughters. Gonerill and Regan became successful in influencing their father with their flattery words and expression and thus each got one-third of King’s wealth and fortune. On the other hand, Cordelia being truthful, honest and loyal to his dear father was unable to convince him that’s why the King disinherited her from his wealth and riches. The king of France married Cordelia in France without any riches.
The Earl of Kent asked the King to re-think about Cordelia’s fate. After listening to this, the King banished the Earl of Kent from his kingdom. Gonerill and Regan treated their father quite badly after having their share. The Earl of Kent returned to serve his honourable master in the disguise of an ordinary man named as Caiuse. The climax happened at Regan’s palace when the King being over-burdened with the insensitive, cold and humiliating attitude of his daughters went out in the wilderness and lost his senses.
The Earl of Kent sent that news to Cordelia. She then sent her army to bring her father to her palace where she showed utmost concern towards her father’s health and condition. Due to her efforts, King Lear regained his lost strength and sense too.
Gonerill and Regan being greedy for power and wealth wanted to marry Earl of Gloucester. Considering Regan a hurdle in achieving his wicked objective, Gonerill made a plan to kill her by giving her poison. The Duke of Albany, Gonerill’s husband imprisoned her where she felt guilty of her acts and took her own life.
Cordelia also received an unfortunate fate when she was put in prison till her death by the Earl of Gloucester. The Earl of Gloucester killed himself in the fight with his brother. Earl of Kent refused to ascend the throne by saying that his sole duty on earth was to serve his master faithfully and with the demise of his master he considered his death.
Exercise 1
Exercise 3
| When does the plane leave? | |
| Robert: | What’s the time? |
| Emily: | Ten past two, dear. |
| Robert | When does the plane leave? |
| Emily: | Not until a quarter to four. |
| Robert: | Why did we get here so early? |
| Emily: | Because you said we must allow plenty of time for traffic jams and accidents. |
| Robert: | Where’s my briefcase? What have you done with my briefcase? |
| Emily: | It’s there, dear, between your feet. |
| Robert: | Oh, yes. Here it is! Emily! Where are you going? |
| Emily: | I’m going to ask that gentleman what they are announcing over the loudspeaker. |
| Robert: | Which gentleman, Emily? Who is he? |
| Emily: | I don’t know. But he looked as though…… |
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