Characters

The cast of King Lear

The people who make King Lear move — what they want, who they love, who they hate, and how each one fits the story. Tap any name to read more.

Husband of Gonerils

Duke of Albany

Conflicted nobleman and voice of moral authority

father; sister; sisters

Cordelia

The youngest daughter of King Lear; embodiment of filial love and honest truth · youngest daughter

Married to Regans

Duke of Cornwall

Ruthless antagonist; Regan's husband and co-conspirator in Lear's downfall

father; brothers

Edgar

Gloucester's loyal son, hunted fugitive, and agent of divine justice

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Edmund

Bastard schemer and Machiavellian villain

Father of Edmund (bastard) and Edgar (legitimate); former friend and ally of King Lears

Gloucester

Deceived nobleman and moral touchstone; victim of catastrophic blindness—literal and metaphorical · Elderly

father; sister; sister; husbands

Regan

Elder daughter of Lear; cruel flatterer turned ruthless conspirator

Goneril

Elder daughter of Lear; ruthless schemer who orchestrates her father's downfall

Goneril; Regan; Cordelias

King Lear

Tragic protagonist; an aging monarch undone by vanity, misjudgment, and the loss of everything · Eighty years old or more

Other characters

Kent

Loyal earl and voice of honest counsel; Lear's truest friend

The Fool

Lear's court jester and truth-teller

Oswald

Goneril's steward; instrument of cruelty toward King Lear

Gentleman

Loyal attendant and messenger; witness to the king's suffering and madness

Old Man

Faithful tenant and witness to suffering · eighty

Doctor

Physician attending King Lear's recovery

Messenger

Herald of political upheaval and military consequence