The Villains of King Lear

In Shakespeare's "King Lear" there were five important villains: Edmund, Cornwall, Oswald, Regan, and Goneril. Although they were all evil characters, there were differences in their villainy.

Edmund was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Gloucester. When he was born, the stars were in an alignment that prophesied Edmund would become evil. I don't believe that Edmund ever truly wanted to be evil, but he became evil because he felt that he must. After Edmund had been stabbed in a duel with his brother, Edgar, he admitted to all of the villainous acts he had committed. Additionally, just before he died, Edmund confessed that he had ordered the captain of his army to murder Cordelia. Edmund attempted to stop the murder before he passed away, but was, unfortunately, too late.

The Duke of Cornwall was not a prominent character in King Lear. He did, however, commit the atrocious act of gouging out Gloucester's eyes. Cornwall seemed to be a very cold, harsh character. However, I believe that the evil he committed was for his wife, Regan.

Regan was King Lear's middle child. She, along with her husband, was responsible for allowing Gloucester to go blind by gouging out his eyes. Regan, however did not seem to be as harsh as her elder sister, Goneril; in fact, I believe she became evil because she was following her sister's lead. Regan seemed to be following her sister's wishes throughout the play. For example, after Goneril had banished Lear from her castle, Regan would not allow Lear to stay with her either; when Goneril wanted to have an affair with Edmund, Regan did also; and when Goneril decided to send her armies to attack Cordelia's, their youngest sister, armies Regan did too.


Oswald, Goneril's servant, also followed Goneril's wishes. Oswald did not commit any great, evil act. He did Goneril's bidding, however, and was thus sent out to do evil tasks. What can be looked upon as his redeeming quality, however, was that he served Goneril with unwavering loyalty.

Goneril was the most evil, vicious, power- hungry character in "King Lear"; every move she made was for personal gain. She banished her father from her castle, she sent her armies to attack her youngest sister, she cheated on her loving husband with Edmund, and she ended up murdering Regan and committing suicide at the finale of the play. Goneril was the root of most of the evil and disasters in "King Lear". Goneril never showed any remorse for all the hurt and suffering she caused, and she was without any redeeming qualities.