Essay Questions for English; King Lear
· Goneril and Regan are not evil; they are formidable women asserting themselves in an otherwise male-dominated world. Discuss.
· ‘In King Lear the good characters are imaginative and the evil characters are coolly rational.’ Do you agree with this view?
· To what extent is King Lear a play about sacrifice?
· To what extent is it true that the only relationships which Lear values in the play are those he has with his daughters?
· ‘Chaos from conflict of authority is the very essence of the play.’ How far do you agree with this view?
· ‘The end of the play proves that the universe is unjust and that human suffering has no meaning.’ Evaluate this view of King Lear.
· ‘King Lear’s tragedy stems from the fact that he has not taken enough care of his kingdom.’ To what extent can you agree with this view?
· ‘King Lear makes clear how fragile life is – how thinly divided happiness is from misery.’ To what extent is this the way you read the play?
· ‘King Lear promotes patience in enduring life’s hardships rather than striving against one’s fate.’ To what extent do you accept this view?
· ‘Gloucester is no less a tragic figure than his king.’ To what extent can you agree with this view?
· By considering the dramatic effects of King Lear, evaluate the view that ‘despite the appalling suffering, the world of the play is not without hope’.
Essay questions for English; Atonement
· How successful is Briony Tallis in achieving her "atonement?"
· "From this new and intimate perspective, she learned a simple, obvious thing she had always known, and everyone knew: that a person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn, not easily mended"
· What does "Atonement" tell us about social class in England in the 1930s? How much has it changed by the time the book reaches 1999?
· Would the reader be more or less likely to grant atonement to Briony, had it not been revealed that she was the one to write the entire novel?
· Discuss the significance of representations of class, gender and power i...
