King Lear William Shakespeare

Act One Scene I: Key Points Gloucester and Kent speak about the king’s decision to divide his kingdom. Gloucester introduces his illegitimate son Edmund to Kent. Lear announces his abdication of the throne and says that he will divide his kingdom between his three daughters. He calls on each daughter to express their love for him. Goneril and Regan flatter the king and receive their share of his land. Cordelia cannot speak falsely and refuses to flatter the king. Lear flies into a rage and disowns her. Kent tells Lear that he is acting foolishly, and is subsequently banished. The King of France takes Cordelia for his wife and they depart for France. Goneril and Regan speak together of the need to control Lear and limit his influence. He will divide his time between them.

Lear RASH: Lear is an extremely rash and hot-heated individual. He appears to have very little control over his temper. He cannot recognise that Cordelia is simply incapable of translating her genuine love for him into flattering words, and he banishes her in a merciless fashion. The same traits are shown when he banishes Kent. The king cannot distinguish between those who genuinely love and care for him and those who flatter him for their own advancement. AN ARROGANT & VAIN KING: Although he is the hero of the play, Lear does not make a good first impression. He appears an arrogant and domineering figure. The way he divides the kingdom reveals his ego and he accepts the flattering declarations of his two daughters without question, never suspecting they’re playing on his vanity. The king appears to expect everyone around him to serve him without question. The language he uses to humiliate Cordelia is brutal and unforgiving: “a wretch whom nature is ashamed / Almost to acknowledge hers.”

Lear POLITICALLY NAÏVE: INCAPABLE OF LETTING GO OF POWER: Lear divides his kingdom between his daughters but seems incapable of letting go of power completely. He will “retain / The name and all th’ addition to a king”. He tells Goneril and Regan that they will take turns to house him and his knights, without realising that they do not have to do so since they are now in power. POLITICALLY NAÏVE: Although on the surface Lear’s plan to divide the kingdom may appear to be wise, on closer examination it is flawed. He makes it clear that if she speaks correctly, Cordelia will receive the most valuable section of land. This hardly seems to be a formula for future peace amongst his daughters.

Cordelia TOTALLY HONEST: Unlike her sisters, Cordelia is completely honest and incapable of flattery. As soon as she hears Goneril begin to flatter Lear, she knows there is trouble in store for her: “What shall Cordelia do? Love, and be silent” A LOVING DAUGHTER: Whatever about the bluntness of her honesty, it is also clear that Cordelia deeply loves her father. She declares her sadness at having to leave him, and expresses her fears for his safety at the hands of her sisters.

Act One Scene II: Key Points Edmund speaks about the social stigma attached to being an illegitimate child and how custom forbids him from inheriting his father’s land. Instead, it will go to Gloucester’s legitimate son Edgar. He reveals how he intends to trick his father into giving him Edgar’s inheritance. When Gloucester arrives, Edmund pretends to hide a letter, which he says he received from Edgar. The fake letter outlines Edgar’s plans to kill his father and gain his inheritance. Gloucester believes the letter is genuine and is filled with rage. When Edmund later meets Edgar, he alarms his brother by telling him that he has offended his father and that his life is now in danger. He advises Edgar to hide himself in Edmund’s house and to arm himself.

This scene kicks off the sub-plot of the play. A Key Moment! This scene kicks off the sub-plot of the play. Edmund’s scheming to trick his father and have Edgar eliminated mirrors the scheming of Goneril and Regan. From this point on, the two plots will run parallel and will intertwine.

CLEVER AND MANIPULATIVE: AN AMBITIOUS VILLAIN: Edmund reveals his true self in this scene. He is determined to gain his father’s land and to destroy his brother. The source of his anger is the unfair treatment of illegitimate sons. He fails to see why an accident of birth should disadvantage him. CLEVER AND MANIPULATIVE: Edmund’s intelligence and cunning is made very clear in this scene. He artfully uses the forged letter to convince Gloucester that Edgar is his enemy. He is also easily able to fool his brother with his fake concern for his safety. Edmund

Gloucester A GULLIBLE FATHER: Gloucester does not make a very good impression in this scene. He is too easily fooled by Edmund and is ready to think the worst of Edgar. He does not stop to ask why Edgar would write such damning thoughts in a letter rather than approaching Edmund in person. Gloucester’s anger mirrors that of King Lear. He has very little hesitation in believing the worst of Edgar.

Act One Scene III: Key Points Goneril speaks to Oswald about how Lear and his advisors/knights are proving troublesome. She instructs Oswald to be rude and cold when dealing with the King. She says that she will write to Regan to advise her to act the same.

Goneril PLOTTING: Goneril starts her schemes against Lear in this scene by adopting a policy of rudeness towards him. Again, as in the first scene, she is the sister who takes the first initiative. Goneril claims she has been forced to do so by the unruly behavior of Lear and his knights. Yet she is also concerned that Lear continues to act as if he still ruled the country. She wishes to provoke a conflict that will allow her to remove Lear as a threat to her and Regan’s authority.

Act One Scene IV: Key Points Kent disguises himself and goes to Goneril’s castle to be with Lear. He presents himself as a poor man who wishes to serve the king and his services are accepted. Oswald is disrespectful to the king and is beaten by Lear and Kent. The king’s Fool appears and mocks Lear for being foolish enough to give away his kingdom. Goneril confronts Lear and tells him that his men are poorly behaved and their numbers will have to be reduced. Lear, shocked and enraged that his own daughter would treat him this way, curses Goneril and laments his decision to banish Cordelia and give away his land. He says that he will leave Goneril’s castle and go to stay with Regan. Goneril, however, writes to Regan to advise her of events. Albany suggests to Goneril that she is acting harshly towards her father, but his words are ignored.

A key moment . . . . Goneril’s humiliation of Lear in this scene is the first time that the king begins to realise the new reality created by his surrender of power. Expecting to live a dignified old age, he now knows that at least one of his daughters is a treacherous and merciless person who cares nothing for him.

Lear PRIDE AND KNOWLEDGE: Only now does Lear finally begin to realise his huge foolishness is having given power to Goneril and Regan, and of having banished Cordelia. He still has misplaced faith in Regan, but unfortunately for Lear, his trials have only just begun. Once Lear finally sees that Goneril is now his enemy, his anger reveals itself in a tirade of hatred. He calls on Nature to make Goneril barren or if she does conceive to make her child an enemy of her. Lear wants Nature to avenge him because he feels that Goneril has betrayed the natural duties of gratitude that children have towards their parents. AN ARROGANT KING: At the beginning of this scene, we see Lear still acting and talking like a man in power. He orders his food to be fetched immediately when he returns from hunting. Likewise, the way he talks to the disguised Kent also shows his commanding nature. Lear still commands and expects his orders to be obeyed instantly. He cannot understand why he is not being treated with the same respect as before: “I think the world’s / asleep”. Lear seems to only vaguely realise that things in the kingdom have changed and that he is now at the mercy of his daughters.

Goneril CONFIDENT: Goneril’s confidence is shown by the way she appears to be acting completely independently of her husband Albany. He has no idea what is going on and it is clear that Goneril has kept him in the dark. She also feels he does not need to know the reasons behind her schemes: “Never afflict yourself to know the cause”. Her dominating nature is also clear in the way she cuts Albany off mid-sentence several times. She tells him straight out that he suffers from “want of wisdom”. A HEARTLESS DAUGHTER: In this scene, Goneril takes the first public step in her plan to eliminate her father. In doing so, she displays complete heartlessness and cruelty. She initially addresses Lear in extremely cold and unfeeling language. Lear is so taken aback that he wonders who Goneril has become: “Are you our daughter?” Goneril knows that threatening to reduce the number of Lear’s knights means publically asserting her new power and the real helplessness of Lear. She is making it clear for all to see that her and her father have now swapped roles. DISTRUSTFUL: Goneril’s distrust of others is total. She even seems to lack faith in her partner-in-crime Regan. She has written her a letter warning her of Lear’s arrival but cannot be sure if Regan will go along with her plan. The seeds of further plotting and betrayal are already present.

The Fool THE TRUTH-TELLER The figure of the Fool traditionally had two roles; that of entertaining the audience with slapstick comedy and that of acting as the voice of truth through means of songs and riddles. The Fool can tell the truth because he is at the bottom of society and can go no lower. He is therefore immune from punishment. Ironically, his low position gives him the power to speak more truthfully than others who are trying to protect their place in society. He speaks honestly about Lear’s powerlessness now that he has given his kingdom away. He says that Kent is a fool for volunteering to follow Lear, a man with no power. The Fool also understands the true nature of Goneril logn before Lear does. He sees that Lear has now “mad’st thy / daughters thy mothers”. Although sometimes the Fool might seem a little cruel in the way he seems to taunt Lear, we know that he loves his master and is only trying to awaken him to the reality of his new situation. The Fool

Act One Scene V: Key Points Lear sends Kent ahead to Regan with a letter in which he outlines his side of the story. The Fools jokes with Lear and criticises him for his lack of wisdom. Lear suddenly fears that he will lose his sanity.

The Fool CRUELLY KIND: The Fool shows his affection and love for Lear in this scene by trying to gently awaken him to the awful truth of his situation. His riddles and jokes, as well as being an attempt to cheer up the king, are an indirect way of warning his master about Regan so that Lear can protect himself. The Fool shows that he is intelligent; he knows that Regan will act no differently to Goneril. The Fool cares only for Lear’s welfare.

Lear SELF-AWARENESS: The king is gradually realising the terrible consequences of his actions. He knows now that he treated Cordelia in a monstrously unjust way: “I did her wrong”. More tellingly, he has a sudden intuition of his fate and is terrified by the idea of it: “let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven”. Our sympathy for Lear grows as we now see him teetering towards madness. CONFUSED: In this scene we see that Lear is still in a state of shock after his humiliation at the hands of his daughter. He is obviously very distracted and confused. He only half-listens to the Fool’s riddles and mumbles his thoughts aloud.