Subjects · Leaving Cert English
Leaving Cert English: King Lear
How often King Lear comes up on the English papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.
HL Asked on 4 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025.
Quick ones on King Lear.
- Two
- Three
- Four
- The Earl of Kent
- The Duke of Cornwall
- The Duke of Albany
- The Duke of Cornwall
- The King of France
- The Duke of Albany
Show the answers
(a) Three
(b) The Duke of Albany
(c) The Duke of Cornwall
Higher Level
Asked on 4 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025.
Every paper, year by year
| Year | Where it came up |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Not asked |
| 2025 | Single Text |
| 2024 | Not asked |
| 2023 | Not asked |
| 2022 | Not asked |
| 2021 | Single Text |
| 2019 | Not asked |
| 2018 | Single Text |
| 2017 | Not asked |
| 2016 | Single Text |
Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.
More King Lear questions
King Lear, 2 marks
Who deals the Duke of Cornwall his fatal wound?
- Edgar, in disguise
- Albany, his brother-in-law
- One of his own servants
Show the answer
One of his own servants
Appalled by Gloucester's blinding, the servant fights Cornwall; Regan kills the servant, but Cornwall later dies of his wound.
King Lear, 2 marks
Who kills Edmund?
- Albany, by his own sword
- Edgar, in single combat
- Kent, in a duel at dawn
Show the answer
Edgar, in single combat
Edgar, in disguise, challenges his half-brother. Dying, Edmund tries to do some good by revoking his order to kill Cordelia.
King Lear, 2 marks
How does Cordelia die?
- She is hanged in prison on Edmund's orders
- She is killed in battle against the British
- She is poisoned by Regan out of jealousy
Show the answer
She is hanged in prison on Edmund's orders
The reprieve comes too late. Her death so shocked audiences that Nahum Tate rewrote the play in 1681 with a happy ending.