He seems to be motivated by action. He is a character that likes to be in the middle of things and be doing more than one thing at the same time. For instance he seems to come alive when the situation arises with the dividing of the kingdom, the letter incident and the plot to frame Edgar.
Edmund is introduced to us at the start of the play as the bastard son. When Kent talks to him, he answers him very politely and very respectfully. He does not seem to mind the open mocking and taunting. This silence is symbolic, as he has no voice or rights within society.
Shakespeare keeps Edmund’s true feelings and character hidden from us until the start of 1.2. The opening soliloquy shows the reasoning of the discontented malcontent.
He does not understand why he is treated so badly when he posses equal qualities to his legitimate sibling. He wants to “grow” and “prosper”, and gain his father’s “land”. The extent of his defiance is shown by the last line where he says “gods, stand up for bastards”.
Edmund is also cunning and posses Machiavellian qualities. He writes a letter pretending to be the legitimate brother, Edgar, saying how he wants his father dead, so he can receive his inheritance.
We see Edmund’s hate and anger he feels towards his father when he is alone again and says “the whoremaster man” is responsible for his own fortunes and actions. This and his beliefs outlined in his opening soliloquy shows how he rejects the hierarchy that has made his father and legitimate sibling so prosperous.
Towards the end of act 1 scene 2 we are introduced to the legitimate son, Edgar. We do not learn much about the character as he changes roles a lot throughout the play. He seems to be a friendly character that is motivated by trust. He wholly believes the story that Edmund is telling him and does not question it once.
The main personality in the play is clearly King Lear. He is a very open character and displays his feelings well. Although King Lear does not know it he is making a great mistake by splitting up his kingdom.
We discover that although Lear is king and thought of as a noble man with a lot of supremacy, he is not that intelligent.
The entrance of Lear would be presented in a way that shows his immense power and authority. This is then in a direct contrast to the test trying to find out “who loves” Lear most. This is an act of foolishness and shows Lear’s egotistical behaviour.
Lear does this because he has never known any different. People have always looked up to him and told him what he wanted to hear, and have never being brave enough to tell him if he makes a mistake.
He is obviously motivated by people, including his family how good, powerful and superb he is. This is of course ludicrous as many of these compliments are not true, however they are given because he is the king.
Lear uses an interesting metaphor to describe his rage and torment. When Kent tries to calm him down he says, “Come not between his dragon and his wrath”. It is interesting as he describes himself as the dragon and his anger and fury as the wrath. This is a good metaphor and suits his animal like and rash behaviour.
Lear is blind and irresponsible as a father and as a ruler. The fact that the king is thinking about giving up his crown would have alarmed and shocked the Jacobean audience. This is because there was such controversy over who would succeed Elizabeth I.
He is a stubborn man and does not like to accept his responsibility in anything that goes wrong. He struggles to accept the blame for his elder daughter’s cruel ways and will not fully acknowledge his foolishness in 1.1.
We also discover that Lear is an angry man and has a very short temper. When Cordelia does not take part in his “love test” he starts to rant and rave. He swears by the “sun”, the “night” and “hecate” (a goddess of the night), that he will disown her. This would have been very effective and offensive, in the time of the play.
Lear is motivated by power and wealth, as most influential figures were in those days. He wants to retain the trappings of majesty but without having the “cares and business” of ruling the land. This is selfish and is shown by the way that he still expects people’s full respect when he has given up his throne.
Kent realises that Lear is making a dreadful mistake by splitting up his kingdom, and tries to inform him of this. Although Kent is only trying to do what is best for the king and the kingdom, Lear dismisses these facts and banishes him for challenging his rule. This shows how Lear hates to be questioned and does not like being proven wrong.
This also shows us about Kent’s personality, motivations and his loyalty to the king. We discover that Kent’s main characteristics are his loyalty and his bluntness. It is the first that motivates him and the latter that causes him trouble.
He is the only one brave enough to stand up to the King, as he does not like seeing his master and his friend making mistakes. We also see that he is a passionate man and can easily switch from polite to brusque. This is shown as he gets more and more annoyed by Lear’s refusal to back down and see his mistake. He tries to calm the king down and get his attention by calling him my “lord” and my “liege”. However he then gets more annoyed and starts to insult the king and refers to him as the “old man”. This may not sound much but this would have been an act of gross misconduct.
Most people think that Kent is a wholly positive figure. And the advice he provides is sound, and his warnings are all justified by the events in the play. However some people may argue that he is a conservative, backward looking figure. There evidence consists of the fact that he does not want a change in the kingdom, and he constantly uses the “old language” of Lear’s court.
The other main characters in the play consist of Lear’s three daughters. Lear’s love test at the start of the play does not ask for true honesty, but it invite or demands flattery. The daughter’s responses to this test show a lot about their character and beliefs.
Goneril and Regan are very alike, which is probably one of the reasons why they bicker. The love test brings out the worst in them and makes them crawl and virtually beg to their father. It is a pitiful site however Lear is blind and accepts these false comments.
They see it as a competition and try and out do each other by crawling up to their father. Goneril starts and says that her love for her father makes “speech unable”. Then Regan follows her sister but says that she feels the same as Goneril but she has “come to short”.
Goneril and Regan are ruthless and spiteful all the way through the play. This is shown well in the first scene by their lying and deceitfulness towards their own father. However, this lying could also be classed as quite clever. The two daughters were quick too pick up on the fact that they could quite easily gain a lot of land and wealth, just by telling a few lies. They both possess the quickness and intelligence, which their father lacks.
We can see the bickering start to develop just through the first scene. They both want as much as possible and
Jealous, treacherous, immoral; these two display all the most distressing features of inhumanity, murdering and maiming without remorse.
Cordelia is a more honest, trusting, and devoted character. She plays a major contrast to Goneril and Regan, who are neither honest nor trusting. By not taking part in the “love test” she establishes herself as a repository of virtue. It also makes it clear to us how authentic her love for her father really is.
Once Goneril and Regan have lied and being deceitful to their father, Lear asks Cordelia how much she loves him. She simply replies “nothing” when he asks her what she has to say.
This shows how brave and how she stands by her morals. She could have quite easily given in and followed her two sisters. However she held back and did the right thing. She is able to speak her love more honestly and truthfully than her sisters.
Her strength and integrity are shown again when she scorns Burgundy and parts frostily from her sisters.
Some may argue that Cordelia is awkward and stubborn. She could have easily made up comments to gain land and keep the peace within the family.
Overall act one scene, one and two, provide us with an excellent opening to introduce us to the characters and show us their personalities. We also discover what motivates the characters and what are their main qualities.
Shakespeare does this purposely so we get to know the characters, and see how they develop throughout the play. He uses different tactics and strategies to make us feel like we know the characters. He also uses the main plot of the play to create a sub plot within it. This makes us feel that something could happen at any moment.
