King Lear | Characters & Character Analysis

King Lear Characters

Albany (Duke of Albany):

The duke of Albany is Goneril's husband. He is a nobleman with lands of his own, but he inherits half of Lear's kingdom through Goneril. Because Lear's kingdom is divided, tension exists between Albany and Cornwall, Regan's husband. It is rumored that Cornwall and Albany might war against each other. Instead, they end up combining their efforts against the French contingent which has landed at Dover and is trying to redeem Lear and reinstall him as king at the direction of Cordelia. When Lear goes to live with Goneril and Albany, Albany finds out after the event that Goneril has cast her father out. He sympathizes with Lear, but since Lear is Goneril's father, he does not actively intervene. Later, after Goneril and Regan have forced Lear out into the storm, Albany criticizes Goneril's treatment of her father. He says to her, "You are not worth the dust which the...
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