Which daughter was most evil and responsible for the King's demise?

First of all, it is quiet clear that the King was responsible for his own demise because of his foolishness. As to which daughter was most evil it is not too clear for both Regan and Goneril were vying for the title. Cordelia on the other hand was far from evil, all she wanted was nothing but good for her father while her other two sisters were more interested in the wealth and could not care less about the King.

From my point of view between Goneril and Regan in terms of the evil done to their father no one exceeded the other; they were equally evil. From the onset instead of being sincere to the King they both resorted to flattering him; telling him just what they knew he wanted to hear just to gain the wealth he had set aside for all three of them. Cordelia in contrast was nothing but sincere, though to the King that was not good enough. He would rather be flattered by her with meaningless words than with the words of the true feelings of her heart. The King was foolish and misjudged which of his daughters to trust and because of they qualities came his downfall.

Goneril and Regan can be seen as equally evil as stated before. While the father was staying with Goneril she told her servants to misbehave, disobey and disrespect him. She could not stand her father being there and could not wait for the day that he would go to Regan's house. Regan defends Goneril when the father complains of
his treatment at the hands of her sister. She tells him, her sister would not do those things he speaks of and that he should not speak of her sister in that way. They both treat him badly and in turn back each other up. They even went as far as to make plans to the effect of securing their wealth and ensuring that the father cannot change his decisions when he divided the kingdom along with other decisions. They did it in a way that if he were to make changes it would be too late. Moreover the King was responsible for his own demise for he was too blind to see the truth and that was the beginning of his downfall. His ignorance, arrogance and misjudgments led to his downfall more than the evil works of Goneril and Regan.

King Lear Study Questions

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1.Who are the two nobles in the opening scene and what are they talking about?

The two noble are Gloucester and Kent, they are talking about King Lear and him about to divide his kingdom. However the conversation changes and Lord Kent asks Gloucester to introduce his son Edmund. He introduces his him and explains that he is a bastards being raised away from home, but he still loves him anyways.

2.How do you think that Edmund must be feeling at this moment?

He is angry.

3.What does Old King Lear plan to do with his kingdom? What is the test that he proposes to the daughters?

He plans to divide his kingdom among his daughters and his test is for them to tell him how much they love him.

4.How do each of the first two daughters answer the old man?

They answer with flattery and they tell him that they love him more than anything else in the world.

5.What is Cordelia's answer and why does she answer as she does? What does her reference to "nothing" suggest about the use of this motif in the rest of the play?

Cordelia says, “Nothing my Lord.” She is silent and says she has no words to describe how much she loves her father.

6.Do you think that Cordelia is being cruel in refusing to play her father's game? Why?

No, because her love is sincere and she does not want to be fake like her other sisters.

7.How does Lear react to Cordelia's response? How does Lord Kent react to Lear's response?

He gets angry and disowns her and divides her share of the kingdom among her other two sisters. The Earl of Kent disagrees. He thinks that the King is not in his right mind to reward flattery over sincerity.

8.How might the references to sight and blindness become important for the rest of the play?

They become important to the rest of the play because it is the King’s inability to see or be aware of what is actually going on which causes his misjudgment that leads to his downfall. Also, both King Lear and Gloucester are blinded by the fakeness of their children which ends up in both of their downfalls.

9.How do France and Burgandy each react to the news that Cordelia will not receive any dower and what does their reaction tell us about their characters?

Burgandy withdrawals his offer of marriage but France is impressed by Cordeila’s honesty and decides to make her his Queen. Burgandy’s withdrawals shows he was only going to marry her because of her wealth and France still wanting to marry her shows that he is a man of integrity.

10.What does Cordelia mean when she says to her sisters, "I know you what you are." What do the sisters say about their father near the end of the scene?

Cordelia mean that she knows them for who they are. The two sisters say that their father has always loved Cordeila best and his bad judgment in disowning her is now obvious.

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11. What are the two views of nature contrasted in the action and dialogue of this scene?

The two views of nature contrasted in the action and dialogue of this scene are at first it was seen as good and beautiful and to the latter part it was viewed as evil.

12. What parallels do you see between this scene and the first one?

The parallels between this scene and the first is that the first was with good intentions and this one was the plot of evil intentions.

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13.A couple of months have now passed; what is bothering Goneril at this point and what does she instruct her servant Oswald to do about it?

Goneril is bothered because her father hit one of her attendance for scolding his fool. She feels that he wrongs her and he constantly comes up with a horrible new offense. She states his knights are getting out of control and so is he. She instruct her servant Oswald and his fellow servants to be as lazy and neglectful as he pleases around her father.

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14.Why does Kent wish to serve Lear? What does he discern in Lear's countenance and how is this ironic?

Kent wishes to serve Lear because he loves his master and he’ll find him very hard working even though Lear condemned him. He discerns by disguising himself as a beggar so that he could be able to protect his king. This is ironic because he was banished from the kingdom and yet he wants to help the king. Also, it is ironic on the part of the king because the same man he banishes is the same one he accepts to protect him unknowingly.

15.What is Kent's reaction to what Oswald's servant does to Lear?

Kent trips him and tells him to “get up and get out of here!” and then says to him that he will teach him to respect his betters.

16. Why is what the knight says about the Fool's pining away "since my young lady's going into France" important?

It is important because the fool knows most and says all but yet no one knows.

17.What is the Fool's function in this part of the play and what are at least three examples of how he fulfills this function?

The fool’s function in this part is to be a comic relief providing a commentary on the king’s folly in splitting his kingdom among his daughters.

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18.How does Edmund trick his brother Edgar into fleeing?

Edmund makes his brother believe that his father’s soldiers are after him and therefore he is no longer safe.

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19.How do Kent's actions with Oswald characterize him as a "plain dealer"?

Kent’s actions with Oswald characterizes him as a “plain dealer” for he shows the king his nice side while he is mean and insulting to Oswald. He seems to be a nice person but has a mean streak on the inside.

20.How might Kent's line "Nothing almost seems miracles/But misery" serve as a motto for the play?

“Nothing almost seems miracles/But misery” serves as a motto for the play because all but miracles occur in the play. All they see is misery.

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21. How is Edgar's disguising himself as a bedlam beggar an example of social criticism in the play? Why is Edgar's comment, "Edgar, I nothing am" important to the meaning of the play?

Edgar’s disguising himself as a bedlam beggar is an example of social criticism in the play for it shows that when you are at the bottom of the social scale that you are pitied for who you are and what you don’t have. Edgar's comment, "Edgar, I nothing am" is important to the meaning of the play because it shows that when you have nothing you are unknown and when you are unknown you are of no importance or meaningless.

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22. Why is Lear so angry that his servant Kent has been put in the stocks by Regan and Cornwall?

Lear is angry because he sees it as humiliating and only animals are treated in that way.

23. What is Regan's first response when Lear complains of his treatment at the hands of her sister?

She says he does not know how to appreciate her (Goneril) and that her sister would never fail in her duties as a daughter.

Reflections on King Lear

Why is King Lear seen as a tragic hero?
Firstly a tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that makes an error in judgment(known as the tragic flaw) that leads to his downfall. The hero's downfall is usually his own fault as a result of his own free will. King Lear is seen as a tragic hero for he made unwise decisions which in the end led to his demise. He divided his kingdom among his daughters based on flattery, Cordelia his last daughter was reluctant to flatter for she believed in honesty but because of this her father banished her from the kingdom. The king loved his last daughter very much and wanted to give her the largest portion but her refusal to flatter him made him change his mind, and in turn dividing the entire kingdom amongst Regan and Goneril who didn't really love him sincerely. King Lear's decision to banish his youngest daughter and divide his entire kingdom among the other to lead to his downfall. The king's poor judgement had an adverse effect in the end which was the cause of the loss of many lives including his. The king took no steps to safeguard some of his wealth and give it all away and his daughters to whom he gave it to did not love him enough to use it to take care of him as he in turn did for them. The two daughters that he gave everything to betrayed him and he was lefty with nothing. While he was in trouble and needed help they left him all alone, they even treated him badly. Cordelia the one he gave nothing to in the end put her life on the line for him by trying to fight a battle which resulted in her death. King Lear's rash decisions and poor judgement lead to his downfall which then lead to his death. He is seen as a tragic hero for he posses the characteristics of a tragic hero which are he was a nobleman who had a tragic flaw that then lead to his downfall, his actions resulted in awareness and self- knowledge and the audience must feel pity or fear for the character.

What are his tragic flaws?
A tragic flaw is a flaw in the character of the protagonist which leads to his sorrow or ruin.
His first flaw is his arrogance which leads to the loss of cordelia and Kent. This arrogance leads him not to listen which caused his tragic flaw. Another flaw is his ignorance which is seen through his carelessness and foolishness. He made foolish decisions. His flaw of arrogance led to his ignorance which caused him to make foolish ignorant decisions. He also had the flaw of misjudgement that caused him to make quick decisions which lead to his mistakes. He misjudges his daughters for he does not see which one really loves him and makes the decisions that lead to his destruction.