King Lear Character Fact Files

• Lear can be described as = Insecure, Unstable, Unpredictable, Cruel
• Anagaorisis means the startling discovery that produces a change from ignorance to knowledge
• Eregious is a conduct that is outrageous in comparison to a normal standard of conduct
• Lear has the realisation that human life is essentially tragic and that he is a tragic hero.
• Lear confesses that he is a 'very foolish fond old man' this proves his humanity and self-awareness. E.g character development
• Goneril can be described as = selfish, maniuplative, murderer and bully
• Goneril contracts her obligation to look after her father and seeks to control him. Forcing him to comment, "How sharper than a serpents tooth it is/To have a thankless child"
• As the play develops so does Goneril's selfish quest for power
• Regan can be described as a 'fallen woman' as she is 'a woman of loose morals'
• Regan can be described as spiteful, hypocritical and ambitious but as the play develops she turns into a sexual sadist
• Regan's lust eventually leads to her death
• Cordelia can be described as loyal, loving and honest
• Cordelia's can be described as = devotion, kindness, beauty, and honesty
• Some critics claim Cordelia's perfection makes it difficult for an audience to like her. Cordelia's beauty is presented in a religious terms and she becomes a sacrifice to the dark, selfish forces represented by Edmund
• Goneril and Regan have been compared with Lady Macbeth because all three characters use sexually charged language when talking about men
• Gloucester can be described as = superstitious and gullible. He was concerned about Kent's banishment thus he does have some redeeming qualities
• Gloucester said, "If I die for it - as no less is threatened me - the king my old master must be relieved". His fatal mistake was to entrust the information with Edmund who told Cornwall. This leads to his blinding
• Edgar begins as a credulous character but by the end of the play is nominated king. He can be described as = tender, kind, loving and has a weak personality
• Some critics, see Edgar as a fully developed and unusually sensitive man who feels other's anguish as keenly as his own
• Shakespeare uses the storm scene to symbolise the chaos that reigns throughout the play. The storm also represents the tempestuous relationship between father and daughter
• In Act 4 Scene 6, Gloucester asks himself if he will ever find happiness again. He then realises that he cannot live without his eyes so decides to kill himself. However, he changes his mind once he meets Edgar disguised as Poor Tom
• For George Brandes (1895), Cordelia was 'the living emblem of womanly dignity'