Seeing, Storms and Madness: King Lear

Animal Imagery

All of the animals listed below are connected to Goneril or Regan at some stage during the play. Get students to identify who uses the imagery and what attributes it emphasises in the daughters. How well do these skills and attributes reflect the daughters' characters?

Animal	Attribute	Spoken by	
detested kite	sharp claws, predatory nature, smooth plumage, calculating killer, preys on those smaller than itself	 	
ass	 	 	
cuckoo	 	 	
crab	 	 	
wild geese	 	 	
mongrel/cur	 	 	
eels	 	 	
vulture	 	 	
serpent (...like, gilded...)	 	 	
lion	 	 	
belly pinched wolf	 	 	
pelican	 	 	
boar	 	 	
dog (obeyed in office)	 	 	
adder	 	 	
tiger	 	 	

© Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand (First published 1998)