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King Lear Character Analysis

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I chose to develop my presentation from Shakespeare’s, King Lear. Written between 1604 and 1606, the play is arguable one of Shakespeare’s greatest and most gruesome tragedies. The play tells the story of an aging king Lear, who, to decide how to divide his Kingdom up, asks his three daughters to profess their love to him. To his surprise his favourite daughter Cordelia, refuses to partake in his test, and in a rage he banishes her from the kingdom. As the play progresses and Lear realises what a mistake he has made in disowning his only daughter that truly loves him, he descends slowly onto madness. His two remaining daughters Goneril and Regan quickly move to undermine the little power he has left, and soon Lear finds himself fleeing from his daughter homes into a raging storm. Meanwhile, the elderly nobleman Gloucester is tricked by his illegitimate son Edmund. Edmund claims that Gloucester’s true son Edgar, wishes to kill his father, and so Edgar is forced to flee the ensuing man hunt, disguising himself as a beggar called 'poor tom '. Realising Lear has been betrayed by his daughters, Gloucester tries to aid him, in response Regan accuses him of treason and gouges out his eyes. Cordelia eventually arrives in Dover accompanied by the French army and with the intention of coming to her father’s aid. However Cordelia is defeated by the English army, led by Edmund, and she and Lear are captured. In the climactic scenes, Goneril poisons her sister from jealousy over Edmund,

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