When we first meet Lear,
he seems to be a powerful, decisive
figure. He commands the respect of
those around him and is clearly used
to being obeyed.
The storm on the heath
reflects the storm that is
in Lear's mind and, for a
short time, distracts him
from his sorrow and
anger at his daughters'
treatment of him:
Annotations:
king
His madness is his downfall - we
see him go from this powerful
authority to being a "old" King
with no power.
whilst out in the
storm Lear goes into
a crazed state of
emotion and starts
shouting at the
elements 'Here i
stand your slave a
poor infirm weak ans
despised old man'
Lear is strangely
optimistic when
brought to prison with
Cordelia 'come, lets
away to prison. we
two alone will sing like
birds i'th' cage.
The surest sign that the
once- proud king is
becoming insane is the
mocktrial he conducts,
in which two pieces of
furniture play the parts
of Goneril and Regan.
He claims that the Fool,
Poor Tom and Kent will
be the judges.
when Lear meets
Cordelia again he
begs for her
forgiveness and says
that even if she
wants to give him
poison, he will take it.
In the final, tragic scene, Lear
enters with the body of Cordelia in
his arms. He is utterly grief-stricken
'Shes gone for ever- Cordelia,
Cordelia stay a little Ha?'
Absurd love test
'which of you
shall we say
doth love us
most'
Annotations:
he was
He takes in Kent and
loves the Fool
showing that he
does care for the
lower class and
respects loyalty.
when Lear
meets poor tom
he sympathizes
with him he
regrets that he
didnt look after
the poor when
he was king
He banishes Kent
and disowns
Cordelia
Audiences feel sorry for him
he was treated horrendously
by his family 'I am a man
more sinned against than
sinning'
even when Lear
retires as king he
still expects to be
treated like one 'i
have perceived a
most faint neglect of
late'
Lear's capacity for change, then, for
humanity and humility, outweigh his
flaws, and errors and indiscretions
'It is through his
madness that
Lear comes to a
new outlook on
life' Critic Arnold
Kettle
His madness lets him learn the unjust
place that he had ruled, that he must
forgive Cordelia and that he must
understand the poor.
Lear is truly mad when
he is brought to Dover
to be with Cordelia. He
wanders in the fields
outside the French
camp, ashamed to face
Cordelia.
characteristics at the
beginning; vain,
egotistical, mad, naive, a
poor judge of character,
more interested in the
appearance than reality,
rash, impulsive,
arrogent
Protagonist- tragic hero
Cordelia
Her refusal to do
Lear's love test might
be her rebelling
against the conforms
of the male
characters?
Cordelia genuinely
loves her father,
but her refusal to
flatter him leads to
the tragedy that
unfolds
She is presented as the
perfect character who will
restore good to the land with
her return.
'Cordelia is an
opposition to Lear's
authority, She uses
silence, the only
possible way of
subversion for woman
of the middle ages
'Rubio
She is honest and just, her
"nothing" is the only bit of truth
spoken by the daughters.
Cordelia has no desire for
revenge, nor any need to
make her father suffer for
having misjudged her 'and
let this kiss Repair those
violent harms that my two
sisters have in thy
reverence made!'
Cordelia’s main
characteristics are
devotion, kindness,
beauty, and
honesty—honesty to
a fault, perhaps.
Cordelia could not be
any more different
than her sister
Cordelia's tears at the
news of her father's
treatment prove her
compassion and
establish that she is,
indeed, the opposite of
her sisters.
Gonerill
Goneril is controlling
from the start
After professing
her deep love for
her father and
receiving half of his
kingdom, she
betrays him and
plots his murder.
She takes away any authority that her
husband has and turns him against
her.
Goneril is Lear's eldest daughter.
After professing her deep love for
her father and receiving half of his
kingdom, she betrays him and
plots his murder.
Goneril and Regans
treatment of their
father merely
reverses the
existing patterns of
rule Kathleen McLuskie
Goneril knows exactly what
to say to flatter her father
'sir i do love you more than
words can wield the
matter deare than eyesight
space or liberty'
Regan
Regan and Cornwall
appear to be
conscientious and
reasonable people. Regan
appears genuinely upset
to learn of Edgar's
betrayal.
She becomes more dominant, telling Cornwall
to inflict more pain on Gloucester and leading
the army against Lear.
Regan is cruel and
callous er treatment
of Gloucester is
abominable 'And let
him smell his way to
Dover'
Regan's
plucking of
Gloucester's
beard reinforces
the point that
she has no
respect for age
or rank.
Her lust for Edmund
blinds her to what
her sister is plotting
against her as well as
turning her against
Goneril.
Regan blames Lear's old
age on him being a bad
judge of character 'Tis
the infirmity of his age'
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.
With a new resistance to his
wife, Albany joins the ranks
of characters who undergo
dramatic change during the
course of the play 'o Gonril,
You are not worth the dust
which the rude wind blows
in your face '
As Goneril's husband, Albany
grows in stature during the play
and ultimately finds the strength
to resist his wife's efforts to have
Lear killed.
Cornwall
Cornwall is much like Gonerill
and Regan; ruthless and
unpleasant.
You can tell Cornwall is mean
and power-hungry when he
puts Kent in the stocks for
failing to show a little respect,
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.'pluck out his
poor old eyes'
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.
He enjoys causing other
people pain, and he likes
being in power because
then nobody is allowed to
stop him.
Edmund
he feels cheated about his
position is society. ' the
younger rises when the old do
fall'
Edmund will go to any
lengths to get what he
wants
'Edmund has none of his
fathers
amiable,conservative
qualities' Arnold Kettle
Yet in the end, Edmund
repents and tries to rescind
his order to execute
Cordelia and Lear, and in
this small measure, he
does prove himself worthy
of Gloucester's blood.
Edmund is the main
reason for most of the
deaths in the play
Gloucester's
younger
illegitimate son is
an opportunist,
whose ambitions
lead him to form
a union with
Goneril and
Regan.
Edmund is used to getting what
he wants and somehow
manages to have both sisters
wrapped around his finger 'to
both theses sisters have i
sworn my love ..which of them
shall i take?
Edmund excuses the
betrayal of his own father,
having willingly and easily
left his father vulnerable
to Cornwall's anger.
Edgar
Edgar is manipulated
by his brother
Edmund
'The various roles Edgar plays are
the means by which he matures
into royalty ' Kenneth Muir
Edmund's
explanation that
Edgar is ‘a brother
noble, / Whose
nature is so far from
doing harms that he
suspects none’.
The manner in which Edgar
addresses his father indicates
compassion, understanding, and an
acceptance of his father's flaws.
he is gullible and
easily
manipulated.
He is the good
character that the
audience has faith in
and wants to see
succeed.
By the end we can
truly say that he is
an honourable
character as he is
the only charater
to not have
commited a crime
Edgar disguises himself as
a beggar called poor Tom.
Gloucester
By mistaking
Edmund's motives,
Gloucester is blind
to the events
occurring around
him, even before
Cornwall gouges
out his eyes.
Direct parallel
with Lear who
casts out his one
good daughter.
he deeply regrets not
believing Edgar 'O my follies
then Edgar was abused.
kind Gods. Forgive me that
and prosper him.
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.
Our first impression of
Gloucester is that he is a
foolish, insensitive,
superstitious man. He
introduces his son Edmund
to Kent, but jokes crudely
about Edmund's illegitimacy
and the fact that there was
‘good sport at his making’
We begin not liking
Gloucester but
throughout the lay we
see the real him Later,
Gloucester is willing to
sacrifice his own life for
the king. This heroic
behavior sets Gloucester
apart from his youngest
son,
Gloucester is
introduced as a father
who does not
understand his
children.
The Fool
Comic Relief - he
helps to form a
break during the
more tense
moments
Dramatic Chorus - he
narrates the play and
foreshadows what is
going to happen at
the end.
“The Fool does not follow any ideology. He rejects all
appearances of law, justice moral order… Lear, insisting
on his fictitious majesty, seems ridiculous to him… The
Fool knows that the only true madness is to recognise
this world as rational.” Jon Kott
He tells Lear the truth but is never
banished for it he is the only one that
can be completely honest with him
he helps lear realise
that it was a terrible
choice to give the
kindom away in the
foolish manner he did .
'Thou hadst little wit in
thy bald crown when
thou gavest thy golden
one away'
The Fool's use of irony,
sarcasm, and humor help to
ease the truth, and allows
him to moderate Lear's
behavior.
The Fool assumes
the role of Lear's
protector when
Cordelia is banished.
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.
Kent is so loyal towards Lear
that he even follows him into
the after life even after being
offered joint rule of the
kingdom with
"The world of King Lear
would be considerably
darker without Kent's
diligence"Rebecca Warren
He is a good
character - he
speaks the truth
throughout, he
cares for Lear and
Cordelia,
Kent is disgusted by the way
Lear's daughters treat him
'his dog- hearted daughters'