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KL act 1 scene 1 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - This language suggests the vulnerability of a baby
        
        He is humiliated by Cordelia's refusal to partake in his love test
- - - - We learn that inheritance and property issues are at stake when Kent and Gloucester discuss the division of the kingdom
      - Ideas of favouritism are also introduced in the first exchange
    - - It is symbolic of his position as the bastard son, who has no 'voice', rights or position in society
      - It also means that Shakespeare can keep Edmund's true character concealed at this point, so that his opening soliloquy in the next scene is exciting and surprising
        
        Edmund's polite exterior conceals his evil nature, suggesting that the difference between appearances and reality is a key theme in the play
      - Gloucester takes his control over Edmund for granted, shown by the brief, even brutal lines he speaks about Edmund's past and future
        
        he jokes easily about Edmund's bastardy, suggesting that he has rather lax morals
  - - - In Act 1, scene 1 Lear shows many times that he is most concerned with appearances, and does not see clearly. He is fooled by G + R's superficial speeches and fails to recognise Cordelia and Kent's honesty
  - - - Her strength of character and integrity are shown again when she scorns Burgundy and parts frostily from her sisters
        
        Some see her as stubborn and destructive like her father
    - - They hope to alert Lear to his false, materialistic values
- - - - Cordelia may seem harsh in refusing to express affection for her father on this important occasion, but she is making a protest at the complacency and poor judgement which have led him to divide and imperil the kingdom
      - She has the natural love of a child for her parent and believes her father should recognise this without the flattery offered by her sisters
      - By rejecting Cordelia's truthfulness, Lear begins the destruction of his world and his identity
      - The word 'nothing' will occur in the play ironically as he is stripped of his power, wealth and even reason
  - - - Rhetorical question
      - As Cordelia's first utterance in the play, her self questioning and imperative answer introduce and ethos for her character that values genuine emotion over the rhetoric and sycophancy of G + R
      - In Cordelia's view, to 'speak love' is to be silent. Love does not require elaborate language
      - Cordelia's aside is also intended to guide audience reaction to Lear's demands and the other sisters' answers. She highlights the shallowness of their flattering speech which is motivated by greed
- - - - The personal drams of king lear revolves around the destruction of family relationships. Tragedy emerges from bonds broken between parents and children and the loss of ties between siblings
        
        Lear, misreading Cordelia's understated, but true, devotion to him renounces his 'parental care' of her. The rejection is twofold. Lear withdraws his 'fathers heart'; he also strips Cordelia of the financial and political support that formerly made her attractive to suitors
        
        Driven by greed and ambition, Goneril and Regan fail to show any solidarity with their sister.
        
        At the end of the scene, G + R also, despite their strong professions of love for Lear, they both betray him in order to consolidate their political authority
        
        It is already apparent that Gloucester and Edmund do not have the typical father son relationship and that there is disdain from both sides, despite Gloucester claiming he loves them both equally . This causes tension between Edmund and Edgar and Edmund and Gloucester
      - This theme allows the chance to talk about whether fates are deserved or not and whether characters like Edmund, Goneril and Regan are justified in their action - morality
    - - At the beginning, Lear is an authority figure, embodying order in his own person and commanding it from his family and followers
        
        This is why Goneril and Regan participate in the love test and why Gloucester and others just watch the ceremony unfold despite knowing it is a bad idea
      - Authority and order both exist at a family and national level
  - - - As his choice of the verb 'crawl' suggests, lear has a sense that old age forces the individual to remember his or her animal aspect - that is, the fact that human beings, like animals, are subjected to the forces of physical nature.
- - - - When gloucester dies edmund would get nothing because he is an illegitimate son
        
        This is why he begins his task to overthrow his brother and father to gain land and money that he previously wouldn't