King Lear

Shakespeare's characters are described as being a stark contrast to each other, they are simple but represent good and evil as many productions put across such as Cinderella, with the two evil twin sisters, and Cinderella, the good, pretty one of the sisters. They have been described as "two malign" and "one benign." Shakespeare's characters in the play King Lear have also been described as two dimensional, just "good" or "evil," this is very deliberate by Shakespeare. This division between very good and very evil is very important to Shakespeare's cause.

There are many things that hint upon the actual natures of the three daughters, for instance, their names, Gonerill and Regan are harsh sounding, but Cordelia is softer and more gentle in sound. Cordelia is said to have a religious quality about her because when Lear and Cordelia are about to re-unite, the gentleman describes her grief in language that suggests a religious dimension to her presence.

...There she shook, the holy water from her heavenly eyes, and clamour moistened... She represents good, and forgiveness like most religious people would.

Also the things that they do, like when Regan gouges Gloucester's eyes out, this indicates at a sense of evil. Physical appearance and costume are also a very good thing to see their different natures. In the 1983 Michael Elliot TV production, Regan and gonerill were conscious of their positions and wore all black, but Cordelia was humble and wore white. Cordellia's asides indicate how shocked she is at how much her sisters can falsely flatter their father to get their allotment of the land. She can't use words, and can't find even find the words, she attempts to prove a point by not saying anything, but Lear doesn't hear what he wants to, so gets angry.
Join now!


There are other characters who are either very good or very bad, Kent is the only other person present to put truth and loyalty first, whatever the cost. Edmond is the other very bad character, and his only offset to his evil was an attempt to not get Lear and Cordelia killed.

Gonerill and Regan's concluding dialogue is so important because it dismisses any doubt that they actually did "love" their father. It proves to the audience that they don't love their father, but Cordelia is the one that actually does. The three daughters don't meet up ...

This is a preview of the whole essay