Lear & children

• 'which of you shall we say doth love us most?' - Lear 1,1


  • political & emotional misjudgement - shouldn't have children competing for love
  • terrible in all aspects
  • blurring of boundaries between private/ public - domestic discussions in front of court - errors in parenting
  • Lear's insecurities revealed - projecting his own insecurity onto his children by forcing them to beg for his validation & acceptance - burdening children to release burden - doesn't consider consequences to them or how he is destroying the nature of his family
• 'I love you more than words can wield the matter' 'Beyond what can be valued' - Goneril 1,1 



  • ironic as she goes on to use language listing all the ways she loves him - language can be unreliable -deception
  • view is unclear & love seems superficial -exaggerated & childlike - lacks deep meaning, no connection to father
  • hyperbolic language - lacks truth - manipulates language selfishly to obtain power
  • love gains meaning from the value we give it - inconceivable to obtain love without value behind it
  • can't possibly love father as much as she claims - deception will contribute to L's downfall
• 'My love's more ponderous than my tongue' - Cordelia 1,1 


  • love is more than her words - love not in words but in heart
  • claiming sisters' words are empty & don't carry same wight she holds in her heart
  • Cordelia's love is more meaningful & carries greater depth than R & G
  • silence speaks louder than the excessive language of her sisters
• when told to speak says 'Nothing, my lord' 'Nothing' - Cordelia (1.1) 


  • introduce theme of nothingness
  • presents Cordelia's moral superiority in contrast to the demands of her father - beginning for Lear's descent from kingly status to nothing
  • Lear repeats 'nothing' - shows his shock at her refusal to take part in public ceremony - juxtaposition of the meaning behind their 'nothing' demonstrates Lear's inability to understand his daughters
• 'Here I disclaim all paternal care'- Lear (1.1)


  • disappointed at daughter's refusal & not being used to disobedience he becomes overwhelmingly angry, in a way that clouds his judgement
  • suddenly swings from loving Cordelia the most to publicly disowning her - establishes irrational & rash aspects of character
  • error of judgement - fails to recognise her love
  • blinded by rage - deepens misjudgement & makes situation worse
• King of France asks Cordelia to marry him - 'without our grace, our love, our benison' (1.1) 


  • Lear refuses to give blessing - no longer daughter
  • France's respect & appreciation of Cordelia's moral courage heightens sense of how foolishly Lear is acting
  • contrast emphasises the disconnect between father & child - doesn't understand her
• 'he hath ever but slenderly known himself' - Regan (1.1) 


  • private convo between sisters
  • reveals Lear is seen to often by impulsive & hot-headed - always had poor judgemnt/ acted w rashness
  • know father well - how they know flattery would work
• Not wise to give away your power, reject the daughter who clearly does love you and yet still expect honour and obedience from the women whose hyperbolic language, and failures to defend their sister, have already led the audience to doubt their sincerity
• 'idle old man' - Goneril (1.3) 



  • Goneril refuses to respond to needs of King (keeping 100 knights), she is now in control - contrast to scene 1 - now views him as useless/ worthless & displays complete contempt for him
  • Lear may still see himself as King but Goneril views him as a feeble old fool
  • cold & uncompassionate - treats with cruelty & callousness, not w love & adoration she professed in scene 1 - establishes deception & lies
• Is Goneril & Edmund's behaviour in Act , Scene 2 justified? 


  • Goneril's behaviour partly justified as L's knights could be an unwelcomed responsibility, disturbing Goneril's sober, respectful household; OR she could be exaggerating, looking for excuses to dismantle her father’s retinue and teach him who is really in charge now
  • Even if the two old men we have met have behaved foolishly, it is also clear Goneril and Edmund are presented as lacking in compassion
  • this establishes tragic emotions of pity & terror - beginning to be felt
• 'Into her womb convey sterility' 'How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child' - Lear (1.4) 


  • ruthlessly cursing Goneril in extreme terms for her ungratefulness & betrayal
  • rather than blaming himself for giving up his power he turns on women & procreation - astonishing attack on his own line & possible descendants
  • Goneril has offended him w attempts to control his retinue, and cold and unloving tone. But, equally, the audience may be horrified by Lear’s passionate and violent ideas and language - tragic rage - descending into madness
• Lear has given up kingship so should Goneril really have to continue to treat him like one? However, she proclaimed she would do so in love test so Lear's expectations are not entirely ridiculous. It is his blindness to trusting her that leads to his downfall - victim of Goneril's deception
• What happens in Act 2 Scene 4?

  When Lear turns to Regan, she urges him to return to Goneril. Lear responds to Regan by complaining of Goneril. When Goneril arrives the daughters suggest Lear needs no train of men
• Lear 'kneels' to Regan (2.4)reversal

  • reversal of orderly family obligations
  • unnaturalness - indicates chaos
• 'you unnatural hags/ I will have revenges on you both' - Lear to Regan & Goneril (2.4)


  • calls upon heavens to curse daughters
  • deception of both daughters revealed: Regan initially appears to be a more sympathetic and gentle daughter - greets Lear with politeness, more competent at deception - kindness is only a momentary deception - like Goneril, Regan proves herself to be unyielding and cruel
  • daughters cruelty leads Lear into tragic rage
• 'Shut up your doors' - Regan - (2.4)


  • highlights cruelty as she casts Lear out onto the heath in the storm
  • harsh & monosyllabic - villainy of daughters
• 'I never gave you kingdom, called you children' - Lear (3.2)


  • in storm, Lear's sense of his daughters' betrayal of him dominates
  • elements of the storm are nothing compared to his daughters' cruelty
• 'burning shame detains him from Cordelia' - Kent (4.3)


  • Lear refuses to see Cordelia
  • despite madness, understands his mistake & finally feels shame for way he has treated Cordelia
• 'But love, dear love, and out aged father's right: Soon may I hear and see him' - Cordelia (4.4)


  • Cordelia is concerned about Lear & orders search for him
  • by coming back, she has put herself in danger; her love is thus totally unselfish, even self-sacrificing
  • She is present, not as the head of a French invasion, but as a rescuer and defender of her father
• 'I am bound upon a wheel of fire' - Lear (4.7)


  • metaphor for hell - when Lear awakes he thinks he is in hell, having been rescued by an angel
  • believes he is deserving of being in hell - reflects shame for way he has treated Cordelia - admission of sin & need for punishment
  • Cordelia is rescuing Lear from a hellish existence on Earth - reconciliation is helping to restore Lear's sanity
• 'hold your hands in benediction o'er me' - Cordelia (4.7)


  • begs for her father's blessing - last words in A1 he refused to give blessing - reflects Cordelia's unbroken love & forgiveness
  • unlike sisters Cordelia has no desire for revenge, nor need to make father suffer for having misjudged her
• 'We two alone will sing like birds i'the cage' - Lear (5.3)


  • will be happy suffering simply because he and Cordelia are together
  • this point Lear feels detached from things that used to concern him - doesn't care for power, politics, rest of world - only focus is on Cordelia
  • contemptous of other worldly, political happenings - believes they will live longer & be happier in their cage
  • moment of happiness undercut by dramatic irony that audience know Edm plans to kill them - tension rises further when speech follows by Edm: 'take them away'