King Lear - Why I chose this monologue questions

Q1: It related to my playing age because Goneril is a young woman, with authority and possession granted to her. I believe her power demands her character to be tall and therefore of high status, while using an English accent due it's Shakespearian origin.

Q2: This text interested me so much because of the spite and hatethat goneril   demonises and thrusts upon her father. It creates a very contrasting and daring role to play in comparison with my contemporary. The theme of cunningness and slyness in the text also intrigued me and reveals her character as develish and mischievous and I could relate to her hatred due to an iconic figure in my life where we do not 'see eye-to-eye'.

Q3: The emotional journey of the piece began very angry and unforgiving and then developed into a cunningness revealed by the characters future-ideas and plans. Goneril is persistent in her evil ambition and this is obvious in the text.

Q4: Goneril's post sure is very high and straight due to her recognition that she is of power and high status in the world in which she lives. Therefore, I had to think about moving my body in a way of that I though I was above everyone. The undercurrent of raw authority is always evident in her character and the way she speaks and using her voice. I played around with being direct, commanding, and loud as well as playful, sly, and oblivious by changing the inflection and pitch in my voice to see which worked better at what points. Showing clarity of thought was important as you see her evil ideas and vicious plans unfold through her facial expression and eyes. Using gaps and silences entangled with breath control allowed those thought processes to be seen and remained important in certain areas in the text. For example, when Goneril speaks of 'If you should come slack of former services'.. Breath, thought clarity and voice are all used heavily to convey cunningness.

Q5: My research h helped me lots because I had to figure out the slightly more modern translation in order to understand exactly what I was saying and therefore the intention of the words on the audience and the communicative message. I read the before and after scenes to gain context and looked into the overall plot of the play which have me an idea of the thoughts and feelings of Gkneril and why she reacts the way she does to certain things e.g the hate for her foolish and weak father. I read analytical notes of her character to understand the reasons for her thoughts and actions and gain an insight into her power status and therefore movement and posture possibilities. I watched one short clip on Yiutube of her monologue and realised how I didn't want to perform it and therefore made more informed choices. I found all the research incredibly helpful as it helped me intrinsically understand Goneril's character better whilst also learning the meaning behind the Shakespearian language.