The Most Evil Character in King Lear: Goneril Essay

The power that Lear gives to Goneril and Regan makes them treacherous and deceitful. Lear offers his

The most prevailing images in King Lear are the images (metaphoric and actual) of nature. The concept of nature seems to consume the dialogue, monologues, and setting.

King Lear's oldest daughter, Goneril, is the most villainous among the siblings. She is steered by power and lust thus committing wicked deeds.When to call upon to by King Lear to profess her love she created lies within her speech and said: “ Sir, I love you more than words can wield matter” conversely Goneril plots with Oswald and Regan to reduce King Lear's authority and power. The readers discover her true identity when Goneril has a conversation with Regan “We must do something, and I’th’ hea.” (Act I.II. 355). This proves how Shakespear explicitly establishes Goneril’s intentions at the onset of the play. Goneril intentions are to betray her father and cut all ties with him promptly. The first plan she executes is to ask Oswald, her servant to behave in a rude manner to King Lear and his knights to ignite a dispute. The second move she devises is to reduce King Lear's knights “ This man hath good counsel. A hundred knights” ( I, iv, 340). Thirdly, Goneril closes the doors on King Lear when there was a storm outside this prove that she is a cold-blooded daughter. Lastly, she supports the idea of prosecuting anyone who tries to aid King Lear “Pluck out his eyes.” (III, vii, 6) Not only she commits horrible actions to her Father but, also have an affair with Edmund while married to Albany due to her selfish and narcissistic attitude she

Though King Lear, of Shakespeare's play, King Lear, wrongs both Cordelia and Kent in his harsh treatment against them, the unjust actions of Regan and Goneril against King Lear cause him to be "a man more sinned against than sinning" (3.2.60-61).

Whenever the issue of power allocation arises, there usually emerge a few individuals who, given only a moderate amount of authority, overstep their bounds to exert more dominance than they rightfully own; such is the case with Goneril. Yet, although Goneril certainly errs in betraying the very father that bestowed a large dominion upon her, King Lear deserves much of the blame for Goneril's haughtiness. After grossly misinterpreting the reticence of his heretofore prized daughter Cordelia, Lear divides his kingdom between the mendacious Goneril and the scheming Regan, thereby leaving the fate of the land at their unskilled mercies. Naturally, Goneril relishes her newfound control, so

Nothing makes a story like a good villain, or in this case, good villainess. They are the people we love to hate and yearn to watch burn. Goneril, of Shakespeare’s King Lear, is no exception. Her evils flamed from the very beginning of the play with her lack of sincerity in professing her love for her father:

Regan and Goneril turn their backs on him after they ascend to the throne. King Lear is thus betrayed

The definition of tragedy in Webster’s dictionary is, "drama of elevated theme and diction and with unhappy ending; sad event, serious accident, calamity."  However, the application of this terminology in Shakespearean Tragedy is more expressive.  Tragedy does not only mean death or calamity, but in fact, it refers to a series of steps that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero and eventually to his tragic death.  Lear, the main character in King Lear was affirmed as the tragic hero because the play meets all the requirements of a tragedy.   In order for a character to be qualified as a tragic hero, he must be in a high status on the social chain and the hero also possesses a tragic flaw that initiates the

There are many interpretations of Oliver Cromwell as he lived in the 17th century, he was seen differently at that time than he is seen today. There are different interpretations because historians might have been biased because they were on one side at that time and unbiased now. Another reason could be that people at that time knew more about him then people do now. However, religion and nationality changed people’s minds too.

In addition to this, Albany, Goneril’s husband, is not present for the entirety of this conversation between the king and Goneril. This particular scene portrays Goneril as assertive and in charge. The fact that her husband was not present is a sign of Goneril’s independence. When Albany arrives, he states "MY lord, I am guiltless, as I am ignorant / Of what hath moved you" (1.4.258-259). As Albany joins the conversation between King Lear and Goneril, he does not understand why the king is upset. This demonstrates how Albany is not informed on all the things his wife takes part in, once again reinforcing the notion that Goneril is independent, particularly from her husband, which was uncommon in the

The hunger for power is the root of the tragic outcome in King Lear. There are 3 characters that embodied this theme exactly. King Lear with his loss of power made him lash out. The way Edmund was treated made him want the power he could never have and deceive anyone to get it. Goneril’s hunger for power made her go against those she supposedly loved. These three characters aren’t only to blame for their own tragedies but the tragedies of every character.

Reacting with rage at this notion, Lear proceeds to beat his forehead with his fist in frustration: “O Lear, Lear, Lear!/Beat at this gate that let thy folly in/And thy dear judgement out!” (1.4.267-269). Lear believes that he is still the ruler, despite giving up his kingdom, and as such feels that Goneril should obey him. He obviously regrets his decision to give Goneril any power. Later, Regan and Goneril cause Lear further suffering by undermining their father’s sense of authority, without hesitation. They do this by severely diminishing the number of knights they will allow him to keep under his rule:

Shakespeare's good characters, in the play King Lear, are considered good because they are loyal even when they are disguised from or unrecognizable by those to whom they owe loyalty. In addition, their loyalty does not waver even when they are banished or mistreated by those to whom they are loyal. Cordelia, Edgar and Kent are all characters that exemplify this goodness and unwavering loyalty.

In this soliloquy, the audience gets its first glimpse of the character of Goneril. The full spectrum of her greed and selfishness will not be revealed until later, but this is certainly a good sample of her personality. Her profession of love is so large that it seems almost artificial, and it also seems motivated by the fact that possession of land is involved. Still, Lear seems immensely pleased by her statement, and requests a similar profession of love from his other daughter, Regan. She obliges, and in her declaration she tells her father that she loves him even more than Goneril does. Regan emerges from her

     The play, “King Lear” by William Shakespeare, starts with noblemen Kent and Gloucester having a conversation and the audience finds out that Gloucester has two sons. Edgar who is his heir, and Edmund his unimportant son. This info. leads to the mini-plot. Then, Lear enters to say that he is going to end his life’s tasks and problems. He then points to the map, he tells the people there that he will split his land into three parts. They are going to be given to his three daughters. The two oldest, Goneril and Regan, tell their father that their love for him goes beyond expectations. The youngest one, Cordelia, tells him that she loves him, but only as she should love her father. He is then