similar characters
king lear and glocester
lear and gloucester are as both were fooled by their off spring into giving up their wealth/power. throughout the entire play they are taken advantage of and betrayed.both men put their trust into the children/child who would betray them and cheat them out of their wealth; gloucester trusted edmund, the bastard, over edgar, his legitimate heir. lear on the other hand trusted goneril and regan, his two greedy daughters over the only child that truly loved him, cordelia. both are blind to the faults of their children; at the end however, gloucester does indeed end up physically blind, but, his eyes are figuratively opened. lear is able to see but his eyes are only opened at the end of the play.
both men were also high ranking individuals in society.
goneril and regan
both women were daughters of lear. their character are both similar. both women seem to be power hungry. we see this first when lear asks for a confession of their love. goneril goes first as she is the oldest. she goes on and on about how much she loves lear; regan, when its her turn, says she feels exactly as her sister does, much like a lazy copy -cat. to impress lear however she adds a few more lines.
both sisters employ flattery to gain their fathers wealth and power.
both women are also very jealous. we see this when edmund sleeps with both sisters and pitts their lust for him against each other. in a fit of jealousy, gonerli kills her sister (and partner in crime) regan.
different characters
cordelia and her sister
at the beginning of the play one is able to see what type of personalities the three daughters of king lear posses. cordelia is somewhat shy/under-spoken but honest while goneril and regan are tricksters.
when lear asked his children to put their love into words, and based on their statements the kingdom will be divided amongst them. goneril an regan express their love in a very extravagant fashion, claiming to love him more than freedom and life itself. one i able to see however, that the two oldest daughters are not really genuine.
cordelia on the other hand, honestly states that she loves lear as much as is required of her, no moer, no less. cordelia does not attempt to over emphasize her love, thereby lying, in order to gain a larger portion of the kingdom.
unlike her sisters, she is genuine and honest with her father about her feelings towards him, unfortunately, her arrogant father does not realize this until he has lost her.
