Saint Louis College

City of San Fernando, La Union

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND
ARCHITECTURE
SY 2017-2018

 THE NECKLACE
 KING LEAR

(SYNOPSIS AND ELEMENTS OF A STORY)

CASTILLO, DELAMAR KAYE I.

BS ARCHITECTURE 4

DR. AUGUSTINA C. DUMAGIN

INSTRUCTOR
 I. TITLE: THE NECKLACE
AUTHOR: Guy de Maupassant

II. SYNOPSIS

A young woman named Mathilde Loisel is married to a little clerk of the

Ministry of Public Instruction. They live a poor life, which Mathilde hates. One
day, they are invited to a grand ball where the rich people will be. Mathilde
buys a new gown from her husband’s savings intended to buy him a gun for
shooting larks, for his hobby. To go with that very elegant gown, she borrows a
diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier. At the ball, Mathilde is
prettier than any woman there. When they arrive home after that ball, she
discovers that the borrowed necklace is gone. She and her husband try to find
it, but are not able to, so they buy another one exactly the same, for thirty-four
thousand francs, from its original price of forty francs; such a very big amount
of money for the couple. They use up Mathilde’s husband's inheritance,
borrowed from usurers, and they work odd jobs for ten years just to make up
for that amount. After a decade, Mathilde sees Madame Forestier by chance,
and after those years, finally confesses that the necklace she returned was a
replacement. Madame Forestier is shocked, and tells her that the necklace she
lent her was fake, worth at most five hundred francs.

A. CHARACTERS

There are three main characters in this short story:

1.   Mathilde Loisel, the wife

2.   The little clerk of the Ministry of Public Instruction, the husband

3.   Madame Forestier, the friend who lent Mathilde a diamond necklace

B. PLOT
a)  Introduction

Mathilde, the main woman character in this short story, is being described as
unhappy because of her and her husband’s being poor.

b)  Rising Action

The complication starts when she and her husband are invited to a rich
people’s ball. She buys a new gown, and to go with it, she borrows an elegant
diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier.

c)  Climax

The peak of this short story is when Mathilde discovers that she lost the
diamond necklace.

d) Falling action

 To replace the lost diamond necklace, Mathilde and her husband buy another
one exactly the same, for thirty-four thousand francs, from its original price of
forty francs, such a very big amount of money for the couple. The eighteen
thousand francs was inherited by her husband from his father, and the rest of
the amount he borrows from various sources.

e)      Denouement

       The problem resolves itself, though in a negative manner, when Mathilde
and Madame Forestier meet again after ten years, and the latter tells the
former that the diamond necklace she borrowed was fake.

C. SETTING
a)  place – in Paris

b)  time- sometime in the 18th century

c)  weather conditions - good

d)  social conditions- Mathilde Loisel and her husband were poor

e)  mood or atmosphere – Mathilde is not contented of her poor life. When she
loses the borrowed diamond necklace, she and her husband become anxious.
Then they buy a new one to replace the lost one, and they live a stressful life in
order to pay their debts  incurred to buy such necklace.

D. POINT OF VIEW

The Point of View used in this short story is the Omniscient Limited.

The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it,
etc).  We know only what the character knows and what the author allows
him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the
author chooses to reveal them to us.

E. LITERARY DEVICES

The literary devices used in this story are Symbolism and Irony. For

Symbolism, the borrowed necklace symbolizes being wealthy and in a high
social status, which Mathilde has been longing to be. While wearing it, she
feels so superior.
Meanwhile, for Irony, such borrowed necklace looks so sophisticated but is
actually fake.

The fake necklace symbolizes:

a) A desire for one cannot have, Mme. L’s fakeness and the the greed for
material things.

b) The short glamorous appearance of Mme. Loisel during the ball that is
fake, like the necklace.

c) Appearance can be deceiving.

F. THEME

Things are not always as they appear to be and also Be content and be happy
on what you have are applicable to this story. That people may pay for terrible
price for greed.

The fatal flaw of Mme. L, her greed of material things, her desire to suit in high
status just like the necklace being fake.

G. CONFLICT

The conflict here are of Man vs. Himself, and Man vs. Society—Mathilde has
been struggling as a poor woman because of her desire to “fit in” the society.

a) INTERNAL
Mme. Loisel vs. herself: her excessive pride, materialism and shallowness
cause her emotional suffering as she feels she’s been deprived of
luxuries.

b) EXTERNAL
 Mme. Loisel vs. M. Loisel’s different value (although he is tolerant of her
behavior and wants to please her.)

I. TITLE: King Lear

AUTHOR: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

II. SYNOPSIS

Lear, King of Britain, in an attempt to avoid future strife, divides his kingdom
between his three daughters. His eldest two, Regan (wife of Cornwall) and
Gonerill (wife of Albany), respond to his request for a show of love, but Cordelia
is unable to, not wanting to be hypocritical. In a fit of rage, Lear banishes her
and she leaves to marry the King of France. When his advisor Kent attempts to
tell Lear he is doing wrong, he too is banished.

The Earl of Gloucester’s bastard son Edmund is planning to gain his brother
Edgar’s lands by disinheriting him. He convinces Gloucester that Edgar is
plotting against him, and then persuades his brother to flee from his father’s
anger. To avoid arrest, Edgar disguises himself as a mad beggar, Poor Tom.
Edmund is taken into Cornwall’s service.

Lear begins a series of visits to Gonerill and Regan, followed by a disguised and
loyal Kent. Kent insults Gonerill’s steward Oswald, and Lear takes him into his
service. Gonerill then quarrels with Lear, who leaves her castle to go to
Regan’s. Kent is sent ahead, but he quarrels again with Oswald, and is put in
the stocks by Regan, who supports her sister’s attitude. The sisters meet
together with Lear, and tell him to dismiss some and then all of his followers.
He leaves the castle in a rage, going out into a violent storm accompanied only
by his Fool and Kent. Lear harangues the storm, then meets Poor Tom, whom
he treats as a counsellor.

Gloucester tells Edmund of his intention to help Lear, and advises Kent to take
Lear to Dover, where Cordelia and a French army are to be found. But Edmund
has informed on Gloucester to Cornwall, and when Gloucester returns to the
castle he is accused of being a traitor, his eyes are put out, and he is thrown
out into the wilderness. In the melee, Cornwall is killed by a servant. Edgar
encounters his blind father, and, as Poor Tom, journeys with him to Dover,
where Gloucester finds Lear.

There is growing animosity between Albany and Gonerill, who is showing

increasing affection to Edmund, who also has a liaison with Regan. Oswald,
taking a letter from Gonerill to Edmund, encounters Gloucester, but before he
can harm him he is killed by Edgar. Lear is found by Cordelia’s army, and they
are reconciled, but they are then taken prisoner by Edmund’s soldiers, and
Edmund orders them both to be killed.

After the battle, Gonerill and Regan both encounter Edmund and display their
feelings for him.

Albany challenges Edmund, and a disguised Edgar appears to fight him. Regan
dies, poisoned by Gonerill, and Gonerill takes her own life when her husband
hears of her betrayal. Edmund is fatally wounded and Edgar reveals himself.
An order is sent to cancel Lear and Cordelia’s execution, but it arrives too late
to save Cordelia. Lear carries her in, and soon after dies of a broken heart.
Albany abdicates, leaving Kent and Edgar to rule the realm; but Kent
announces that he has a journey to go on like his master. Edgar reflects on the
future.

A. CHARACTERS

1. King Lear - The aging king of Britain and the protagonist of the play.
Lear is used to enjoying absolute power and to being flattered, and he
does not respond well to being contradicted or challenged.

2. Cordelia - Lear’s youngest daughter, disowned by her father for refusing

to flatter him. Cordelia is held in extremely high regard by all of the good
characters in the play—the king of France marries her for her virtue
alone, overlooking her lack of dowry.
3. Goneril - Lear’s ruthless oldest daughter and the wife of the duke of
Albany. Goneril is jealous, treacherous, and amoral.

4. Regan - Lear’s middle daughter and the wife of the duke of Cornwall.

Regan is as ruthless as Goneril and as aggressive in all the same ways.

5. Gloucester -  A nobleman loyal to King Lear whose rank, earl, is below

that of duke. 

6. Edgar - Gloucester’s older, legitimate son. Edgar plays many different

roles, starting out as a gullible fool easily tricked by his brother.

7. Edmund - Gloucester’s younger, illegitimate son. Edmund resents his

status as a bastard and schemes to usurp Gloucester’s title and
possessions from Edgar. 

8. Kent - A nobleman of the same rank as Gloucester who is loyal to King

Lear. Kent spends most of the play disguised as a peasant, calling
himself “Caius”.

9. Albany - The husband of Lear’s daughter Goneril. Albany is good at

heart, and he eventually denounces and opposes the cruelty of Goneril,
Regan, and Cornwall.

10. Cornwall - The husband of Lear’s daughter Regan. Unlike Albany,

Cornwall is domineering, cruel, and violent.

11. Fool - Lear’s jester, who uses double-talk and seemingly frivolous

songs to give Lear important advice.

12. Oswald - The steward, or chief servant, in Goneril’s house. Oswald

obeys his mistress’s commands and helps her in her conspiracies.

B. PLOT
 a) Exposition – introducing the main characters and the potential areas for
future dramatic conflict.

1) Lear and the truthful, uncompromising Cordelia

2) Lear and his other two daughters, Goneril and Regan
3) Gloucester and Edgar
4) the ‘good’ (as represented by Cordelia, Edgar and Kent) and those who are
clearly immoral and treacherous (Goneril, Regan and Edmund). 

b) Rising action, or complication, in which conflict and relationships are

developed.

Lear increasingly loses the respect he has been used to, as well as his power.
We see a chasm open up between the King and Goneril and Regan. The subplot
centred on Gloucester and his sons is also developed. At the same time we see
the beginning of the conspiracy which unites Edmund, Goneril and Regan.

c) Climax or crisis – the conflict reaches its height with perhaps an

impasse, but there is no going back regarding the protagonist’s fortunes.

This storm not only makes a huge physical impact but it also represents the
storm which rages in Lear’s mind as he begins to lose his sanity. The
Gloucester subplot also reaches its climax with the gouging out of the Earl’s
eyes, an act which also reveals the full extent of Cornwall and Regan’s cruelty.

d) Falling action – the catastrophe which engulfs the protagonist, although

more positive action may also be initiated.

Begins as King Lear moves towards its resolution. Edgar (although still

disguised) is reunited with his father and Cordelia returns to Lear. The King
also begins to recover his sanity. Amongst the elements that suggest that the
story may be moving towards a good-triumphing-over-evil happy conclusion
are the deaths of Cornwall and Oswald. Ultimately, however, these signs of a
more just world only serve to heighten the catastrophe that unfolds
 e) Resolution or dénouement, in which everything is untangled and the
action is brought to a close.

The ‘evil’ characters (Goneril, Regan, Edmund) all die but so too do Lear and
Cordelia. The play ends with Edgar as the one chosen to restore peace to the
kingdom.

C. SETTING

a) Place- Ancient Britain

b) time- several centuries before the arrival of Christianity

c) weather conditions -

d) social conditions-

e)   mood

D. POINT OF VIEW

By not having Lear himself deliver any soliloquies, King Lear subtly distances

us from the point of view of the characters who suffer (like Lear, Cordelia,
Gloucester, and Kent) while bringing us closer to evil characters. Lear is the
only one of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes to have no soliloquies at all, which,
along with the unflattering conversations other characters have about him,
make it hard for the audience to sympathise with him. Shakespeare typically
uses soliloquies to reveal the interior lives of his characters, but Lear is never
revealed to us in this way. Instead, in the first half of the play, Lear’s most
revealing speeches are his angry outbursts, which show us only the tyrannical
and egotistical side of his character. The play’s other characters present Lear in
an unsympathetic way as well.

E. LITERARY DEVICES

1) Personification
2) Apostrophe
3) Foreshadow
4) Imagery
5) Simili

F. THEME

a) Love, betrayal, revenge, loyalty, and foolishness

b) All things are not as they appear

c) Greed and lust for power corrupt human beings and bring their downfall

d) Fate turns humans into playthings

e) Advance age and wisdom do not go hand to hand

f) Suffering can transform a contemptible human being into a good person.

G. MOTIFS
a) Seeing
b) Judging
c) Flattery
d) Blindness
e) Madness
f) Betrayal
g) Nature and order
h) Animal

H. CONFLICT
 a) INTERNAL

Psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character

Different varieties:

Truth vs. reality

Id vs. superego

Pride vs. reality

Greed vs. morality

The resolution of which creates the plot’s suspense

Mental struggle arising form opposing demands or impulses.

1) Internal conflict with king Lear

Truth vs. reality

His pride is damaged when Cordelia refuses to compliment Lear like her
sisters, causing this inner conflict to manifest itself in anger towards Codelia,
seen in his cruel actions towards her.

2) Internal conflict with Edmund

a) Personal gain versus dignity

b) Good versus evil
c) Continuous hunger for power throughout the play
d) Jealous of Edgar and Edgars’ relationship with their father
e) Angry because he is Gloucesters’ illegitimate child

b) EXTERNAL

Struggle between a literary or dramatic character and an outside force such as

nature or another character, which drives the dramatic action of the plot.
 Different varieties:
Character vs. character
Character vs. nature
Character vs. society
Character vs. supernatural (god, demons, fate)

Usually between protagonist and antagonist

A struggle that occurs as a result of a character’s internal conflict.

1) External conflict with King Lear

Character vs. Character

a) King Lear experiences cruelties from Goneril and Regan and rages
against them.
b) Goneril and Regan take Lear’s power and reduce him to the level of an
animal.
c) He’s unable to bear the realization of his daughter terrible betrayal.
d) Conflicts between him and Cordelia, loses good daughter and suffers
with the evil daughter.

2) External conflict with Edmund

Character vs. Character

Edmund was unable to control his conscience that it took over and led him to
betray his father and brother.

a) Made his brother flee

b) Cut his arm and blamed it on Edgar
c) Contribute to father’s death
d) Plan fails and Edgar becomes ruler