Aspects of tragedy: example student response

Here's an example student response to a Section A question in the sample assessment materials for A-level English Literature B, followed by an examiner commentary on the response.

Paper 1A, Section A

King Lear

Read the extract below and then answer the question.

Explore the significance of this extract in relation to the tragedy of the play as a whole.

Remember to include in your answer relevant analysis of Shakespeare's dramatic methods.

Band 3 response

The setting for this extract is Gloucester's castle and it begins with Kent in the stocks. The setting is an important context. The castle suggests an old world - ancient Britain. Lear, the Fool and a gentleman come in. Lear has just left Goneril's castle in anger and has gone to Regan's. She has deliberately left home and gone to Gloucester's castle where Lear has now come. Kent has been stocked by Regan and Cornwall because he quarrelled with Goneril's servant, Oswald.

The passage begins with Lear speaking to the Gentleman showing he does not understand why Regan is not at home. This is ironic as the audience knows exactly why she is not there. Lear then sees Kent in the stocks and seems to think it is a joke - 'Makest thou this shame thy pastime'. The Fool continues with the lightheartedness by suggesting that Kent wears 'cruel garters' because he was over lusty at the legs. Lear then becomes very serious and asks who has put Kent in the stocks as it is an insult to him - whoever did it has 'thy place mistook'. When Kent says it is Cornwall and Regan, Lear will not believe it. There is a quick fire exchange of 'No' 'Yes' 'No, I say' to show Lear's disbelief and his growing anger. His anger gets stronger as he swears 'By Jupiter'.  His anger is also shown by the questions that he asks and by his repetition. Lear then explains his reasons for his anger, saying that Cornwall and Regan would not have set Kent in the stocks because it would be 'worse than murder' to show such disrespect to him. This is an important social context and tells us what was considered normal in the 17th century.  He calls their actions a 'violent outrage'. It seems that he then calms down a little as he asks Kent to explain quickly why this has happened. Kent answers clearly at some length, always showing respect to Lear - 'My Lord', 'your highness'. This is another social context showing the different positions of master and servant and the expected way that servants should speak to kings. This is again ironic as Lear is no longer king.  Kent retells the story of when he took Lear's letters to Regans house and Oswald came with letters from Goneril. Kent says that after Regan read the letters they decided to leave their home and 'commanded' him to follow in a cold way. He says that when he arrived at Gloucester's castle he saw Oswald and because Oswald had been rude to Lear, he drew his sword against him. Oswald screamed and Regan and Cornwall punished Kent by stocking him. The Fool offers a final comment on this - 'Winter's not gone yet if the wild geese fly that way'. He suggests that more bad things will follow.

This section is tragic because Lear is clearly being abused by his daughters and he is getting isolated even though the Fool is still with him.  He is also isolated on the heath when he goes mad. Other tragic aspects are Lear's anger which is his tragic flaw and the fact that he has not accepted he is no longer king. He gave away his land and power at the start of the play, but he still expects everyone to still treat him like a king. Although he is not as angry here as he was with Cordelia when he banished her and with Goneril when he cursed her and wished her to have monsters as children, he still does not seem to be able to think clearly about what will happen if his anger gets out of control. He doesn't think that Regan will be as terrible to him as Goneril even though the Fool had warned him that she would be. This is another flaw of Lear's - he is blind to reality. He thinks things will happen as he imagines them. When Regan later arrives she is every bit as bad as Goneril and she locks the doors of Gloucester's castle against Lear, locking him out in the storm. This is all part of Lear's tragic fall. He was a king who was strong and had power and now he has no power and he clearly does not understand what is going on. This will probably make audiences sad because Lear is an old man. When Kent gives his long speech it would be interesting to watch Lear's reactions on stage. Nothing Kent says will make him feel better and it is clear his anger will be growing. Some audiences might think that he needs to learn how to control his anger and not everyone will feel sympathetic towards him.

Although Regan and Cornwall are not present in this scene, their actions are. They have put Kent in the stocks and have done this to deliberately upset Lear and to show him that they now have power. They are clearly the play's tragic villains. Putting Kent in the stocks is very disrespectful. Regan is more disrespectful later to Gloucester when she plucks the hairs from his beard and she and Cornwall are worse villains when they gouge out Gloucester's eyes. We have already seen that Goneril is a villain when she told Lear that he could not have a hundred knights living at her house. Even though he had made this a condition of giving her the land she changes the terms. Regan also does this after the events in this extract. She even asks why Lear needs one knight.

Overall this is an interesting part of the play as it prepares the audience for the tragic events that are to come. At this stage in the play, if we were watching it, we would want to know how Regan will speak to Lear when they meet and whether Lear will still be angry.

Examiner commentary

This is a straightforward response which relies heavily on description of the passage.  What the student does here is provide a commentary, though there is not much analysis. The student is aware of the assessment objectives and makes a conscious effort to include them in a relevant way, though the ideas are not developed and are not very insightful. At times the candidate writes about the characters as if they are real.

AO1

The essay is organised though the candidate structures ideas by 'going through' the passage in the first half of the answer and then makes comments on aspects of tragedy. The expression is clear and there is some use of critical concepts like irony and tragic flaw which are understood. The writing is accurate though not sophisticated.

AO2

There is an understanding that King Lear is a play and that audiences are part of the theatrical experience.  There is some sense of how Shakespeare has structured the play to shape meanings but ideas are not developed. There is a little comment on language but given that the candidate has the passage at hand, opportunities to explore the significance of methods are not taken.

AO3

There is some relevant contextual awareness but again the ideas are not developed. The candidate has a sense of the social and political contexts that are operating in the passage, for example the master- servant dynamic, but more could be done with this. The same is true of the context of setting. There is some attempt to link these contexts with the generic context of tragedy.

AO4

In the second part of the answer, the candidate relevantly comments on the significance of the extract to the wider tragic genre. This is the strongest part of the answer. Some tragic aspects are identified - Lear's isolation, his tragic flaws, his tragic fall and Regan as tragic villain - and there is some valid discussion of the ideas with relevant general connection to the whole play.

AO5

The candidate engages with significance in a straightforward way and is able to write about some meanings. There is also an attempt to show that audiences might respond to Lear in different ways.

This response is consistent with the Band 3 descriptors; straightforward and relevant.

This resource is part of the Aspects of tragedy resource package.