Examining the Villainous Characters of Shakespeares King...

King Lear by William Shakespeare is one of the ionic plays that depict behavior of mankind as either good or bad. As one of the earliest plays to show cast good vs. evil, King Lear paved the way for other such symbolic plays to written. Goneril, Regan, and Edmund, three of the characters from Shakespeare’s King Lear, are symbols of evil with in human society to its greatest entity. These three are the most highlighted villains in the play. A villain is a bad or evil person, usually the antagonist of the play. Throughout this play one question stands unanswered; who is the most villainous of the three. In order to decide which character is the most villainous, fist each character must be spotlighted. Goneril is the oldest of Lear’s†¦show more content†¦When her sister joins her at her house, she unites with her and tells her father â€Å"the old man and ‘s people can’t be well bestowed.† (Act. 2, Sc. 4, ll. 286-287) She sends father out in the treacherous storm. As a daughter Regan is expected to respect her father, even after he gave up all of his royal power. Her husband Cornwall was also blindsided by Regan’s actions. Edmund is the mean bastard son of Gloucester a noble man. Edmund’s father loves him as much as he loves his legitimate son Edgar. Edmund believes he is much better then his brother and would go to any length to prove that. First he gives his father a phony letter describing how Edgar wants to kill his father and how he will do it soon. Then Edmund wounds himself and then tells his father that Edgar did it. Edmund’s father Gloucester is so blind that he does not see Edmund’s true nature. Gloucester turns to Edmund and says, â€Å"Where is the villain, Edmund.† (Act. 2, Sc. 1, ll. 37) Edmund is still not satisfied with all the he has done so he decides to cause more ciaos. When the Duke of Cornwall came to visit Edmund, Edmund convinced him that Gloucester was a committing treason. Cornwall and his wife Regan asked Edmund to go seek his father so he can be properly punished. The least villainous of the three is definitely Regan because she had less evil activity. She was blinded by her feeling for Edmund that she did not see her