| King Lear | aging king of Britain, values are hallow, wants to maintain the power of king but be unburdened by the responsibilities, inspires loyalty |
| Cordelia | Lear’s youngest daughter, disowned for refusing to say how much she loves Lear, remains loyal to Lear despite his cruelty to her, |
| Goneril | Lear’s ruthless older daughter, wife of duke of Albany, amoral/ treacherous, challenges Lear’s authority, initiates an affair with Edmund, wrests military power away from her husband |
| Regan | Lear’s middle daughter, wife of the duke of Cornwall, also ruthless/ aggressive, also tries to compete for Edmund, as bad as a person as her sister |
| Gloucester | nobleman loyal to Lear, adulterer with a bastard son (Edmund), trust the wrong son, unable to prevent Lear from being turned out of his own house, later demonstrates great bravery |
| Edgar | Gloucester’s older/ legit son, plays different roles= fool then mad beggar, armored champion to avenge his brother’s treason |
| Edmund | Gloucester’s younger illigit son, resents his status as bastard, wants to take all of Glouster’s and Edgar’s possessions, imparts destruction on all the characters |
| Kent | nobleman, loyal to Lear, disguised as a peasant = calls himself Caius |
| Misc. | Duke of ALBANY- husband to Lear’s daughter Goneril, good at heart and rejects Goneral, Regan, Cornwall but is too late to see their flaws. Duke of CORNWALL- husband to Regan, cruel/ violent, works to persecute Lear/ Gloucester. FOOL- Lear’s jester.Oswald- chief servant, helps his mistress in her conspiracies |
| places | Ancient, pre-christian Britain |
King Lear people and places
July 22, 2019