Characters in "King Lear"

Characters in "King Lear"

1. Lear

   • Blind and irresponsible King and father.
   • Tragic hero: he is obsessed with pride and being told how much his daughters love him all the time.
     • His madness is his downfall - we see him go from this powerful authority to being a "old" King with no power.
   • Does he deserve to be punished for his acts at the beginning of the play?
   • He takes in Kent and loves the Fool showing that he does car for the lower class and respects loyalty.
   • Audiences feel sorry for him after what happens with Gonerill and Regan because he is an old man that is being treated wrongly.
   • His madness lets him learn the unjust place that he had ruled, that he must forgive Cordelia and that he must understand the poor.
   • He remains self-obsessed and vengeful - he doesn't have the realisation on his own and wants to punish his daughters.
   • By the end of the play Lear submits himself to Cordelia's power and only sees himself as her father.
   • He clearly cares for Cordelia as he kills the man that hanged her.

2. Cordelia

   • Her refusal to do Lear's love test might be her rebelling against the conforms of the male characters?
   • Does she make way for her sisters rebellion?
   • She is presented as the perfect character who will restore good to the land with her return.
     • When she comes back into the play in the final scene everything that she says and does is good.
     • She is honest and just, her "nothing" is the only bit of truth spoken by the daughters.
     • Is she too good to be true? Was she always going to die?
   • Cordelia's death highlights the fact that the play is a tragedy and shows the consequences of Lear's madness.
   • Cordelia, in comparison to Gonerill and Regan, is so good that her death is worth avenging.
   • She is shown as being pure and very feminine; one of two types of characters used in Jacobean drama.

3. Gonerill

   • Gonerill is controlling at the beginning of the play - stopping Lear's authority.
   • Gonerill is shown to be vicious as she is the one who has the idea to take out Gloucester's eyes.
   • She takes away any authority that her husband has and turns him against her.
     • She commits adultery and murder because of her lust for Edmond - turning everyone against her.
   • Would be shocking to an audience as she is subverting the stereotype of a good woman.
   • Some sympathy could be created for her as she is not Lear's favourite and never will be.

4. Regan

   • At the beginning of the play, Regan is seen as the passive sister and allows Gonerill to take control.
   • She becomes more dominant, telling Cornwall to inflict more pain on Gloucester and leading the army against Lear.
   • She is violent and masculine - running the servant through would have been a male thing to do.
   • She subverts everything that a woman was expected to be - she is jealous, treacherous and immoral.
   • Her lust for Edmond blinds her to what her sister is plotting against her as well as turning her against Gonerill.
   • Clearly defined villain - animal imagery to highlight her lack of femininity.

5. Albany

   • At the beginning it is suggested that he is so good and naiive that he has been taken in by Gonerill.
   • Doesn't say anything at the beginning so that the plot is focused on Lear and his daughters, which makes him look better later on.
   • He turns good at the end of the play and turns against Gonerill and Edmond, by arresting the latter.
   • He becomes a voice of justice at the end - he assumes the power and allows Edgar to speak of Gloucester's death.
   • Too little, too late - he comes in too late and there is nothing that he can do to stop the deaths of good characters.
   • He has new energy and decisiveness when he returns, and brings the moral correctness with him.

6. Cornwall

   • Cornwall is much like Gonerill and Regan; ruthless and unpleasant.
   • He is taken in by what Edmond tells them implying that he is dubious and naiive.
   • He is working against Lear - he wants to have power, and the crown, and acts as if he is entitled to it throughout.
   • He is responsible for the most shocking moment in the play, Gloucester's blinding, showing that he is violent and aggressive.
   • Cornwall's purpose is to show how far the characters can sink, and then he is disposed of.
     • The fact that he is murdered by his servant is justice and ironic - he betrayed Lear and his servant has betrayed him.
     • His death makes the sister's rivalry over Edmond better.

7. Edmond

   • The motive behind his evil doings is that fact that he feels cheated about his position is society.
   • He will go to any length to get what he wants, and uses trickery and deception to achieve his aims.
   • He wants to succeed in the society - his goddess is Nature; survial of the fittest.
   • He never apologises for his wickedness and keeps it going right to the end when he going for the throne of England.
   • Destructive - he gets everything that he wants and is responsible for the deaths of the three princesses. He shows that he is unstoppable.
   • He draws the audience in with his intelligence, his language and his success.
   • He is forced to fall when good returns, and he is defeated by his brother like he defeated him earlier.
   • His last line implies that he feels that loyalty is important, but he was doing it wrong.

8. Edgar

   • Edgar is shown as being a passive and trusting character in the first Act is easily played by his brother.
   • He believes Edmond so easily suggesting that he is too good and would never think of anyone being bad.
     • This proves his goodness because he is then forced to become a madman and then take control of his own life.
   • His madness helps Lear and allows him to help his father and have revenge against Edmond.
   • He is the good character that the audience has faith in and wants to see succeed.
   • He is the only character at the end of the play that has not committed a crime against family or state.
   • He also becomes a representation of justice at the end of the play - the most likely person to take over in Lear's place.

9. Gloucester

   • Blindness - Gloucester is totally blind to what Edmond is doing and ruthlessly casts Edgar out giving Edmond all the power.
     • Direct parallel with Lear who casts out his one good daughter.
   • Has no faith in Edgar, not trusting as a father.
   • Positive - he helps Lear out on the heath, denounces Gonerill and Regan and tries to reconcile with Edgar.
   • His pain reflects Lear's madness and his suicidal thoughts keep the end of the play bleak.
   • His willingness to die foreshadows the death at the end of the play.
   • Sympathy - he is a good character that is punished for being good.
   • He holds strong believes and looks to the gods for help.

10. The Fool

    • Comic Relief - he makes comments about characters, sings songs and breaks up the more distressing scenes.
    • Dramatic Chorus - he narrates the play and foreshadows what is going to happen at the end.
    • He tells Lear the truth but is never banished for it.
    • He acts as Lear's conscience - he gets him to realise his mistake with Cordelia.
    • To represent Lear's madness and how is becomes more and and more dependent on other characters.

11. Kent

    • Kent is detirmined to stay loyal to Lear throughout the whole play - he speaks the truth and comes back disguised when he is banished.
    • There is also suggestion that Kent tries to stick the old ways when things in the Kingdom are moving on - he does not want to help Poor Tom.
    • Kent represents the hierarchy from Lear's time that is lost at the beginning of the play.
    • He is a good character - he speaks the truth throughout, he cares for Lear and Cordelia, he stands up to the evil characters.
    • He becomes less important and shows less of his good in the second half - foreshadowing Lear's death?