The Duke of Albany is an initially rather weak-willed courtier easily governed by his sharp-tongued wife Goneril, King Lear's eldest daughter. To his credit, Albany eventually recognizes his wife's treachery and deceit, supporting her father's political and military position both in speech and deed. In some editions Albany utters the play's closing lines.
BURGUNDY
The Duke of Burgundy is one of two suitors for the hand of Cordelia, Lear's youngest daughter. Burgundy refuses to wed Cordelia when Lear disinherits her.
CAIUS
Caius is the name assumed by the banished Earl of Kent. Unrecognized by Lear or the king's entourage, Caius/Kent enters Lear's service as a plain-spoken man whose insults to and fighting with Oswald later land Caius in the stocks, by order of Cornwall and Regan. Caius does not reveal himself to Lear as Kent until the very end of the play.
CORDELIA
The youngest daughter of Lear, Cordelia refuses to participate in the king's "love test" and is therefore disinherited by her father. Accepted as bride by the King of France when the Duke of Burgundy refuses to take her without a dowry, Cordelia leaves with her betrothed only to return as queen when the two nations become militarily involved. Reunited with Lear, largely due to the efforts of Kent, Cordelia is later arrested with Lear and is hung in the prison upon the order of Edmund.
CORNWALL
Husband of Lear's daughter Regan. The Duke of Cornwall supports his wife's decision to sever Lear form his knightly entourage. Locking Lear out of Gloucester's castle during a storm, Cornwall later gouges out Gloucester's eyes and is mortally wounded by one of the castle servants who deplored Cornwall's hideous behavior.
CURAN
Curan is a message-bearer. He brings two important pieces of news to Edmund: first, that Regan and Cornwall plan to visit Gloucester's castle; and second, that there are rumors of war between Cornwall and Albany.
DOCTOR
Appearing only late in the play, the Doctor is attached to the French encampment. With Cordelia he attends the sick and maddened Lear after the king has been brought form his ordeal of the storm on the heath.
EDGAR
Edgar is the legitimate, eldest son of the Earl of Gloucester. Estranged from his father because the bastard Edmund has falsely sullied Edgar's name, this rightful heir of the earldom disguises himself through most of the play. As Tom o' Bedlam, he witnesses Lear's declining sanity on the heath and guides the blinded Gloucester to the Dover cliffs (or at least to an area he describes to Gloucester as Dover). As a "poor man" he assists Gloucester and kills Oswald. Edgar, still disguised, kills Edmund in trial by combat, and in some editions he utters the last lines of the drama.
EDMUND
As the illegitimate (and younger) son of the Earl of Gloucester, Edmund is a power-hungry and evilly ambitious character who causes the rift between Gloucester and Edgar through lies and deceit. Loved and sought after by both Goneril and Regan, Edmund orders the hanging of Cordelia. Edgar kills him in a trial by combat near the play's conclusion.
FIRST SERVANT
As a servant in Gloucester's castle, this man urges Cornwall to stop his cruel blinding of Gloucester. He mortally wounds Cornwall in a sword fight before he is slain, from behind, by Regan.
FOOL
Officially serving as Lear's court jester, the Fool is also a sounding board and wise commentator upon many of the ironies and injustices present in various dramatic situations. The Fool plainly disapproves of Lear's division of the kingdom and renunciation of power. He sees Goneril and Regan for the evildoers that they are, and he commiserates with Lear during the storm on the heath. The Fool disappears after the storm and his whereabouts are never clearly explained. Lear exclaims while carrying Cordelia's body that his fool is dead, and some commentators have suggested that the fool and Cordelia may have been played by one actor.
GENTLEMAN
This unnamed Gentleman of the realm does not recognize the Earl of
Kent, who is disguised as Caius, yet gives the Earl news of Lear's suffering on he heath. He carries messages from Kent to Dover and brings Kent's signet ring to Cordelia. He also appears later in the countryside and delivers information about current military events to Edgar, Gloucester, and Lear.
GLOUCESTER
The Earl of Gloucester opens the play with Kent, establishing his paternity of both Edgar and the bastard Edmund. Good at heart and loyal to Lear, Gloucester is easily swayed by the lies of Edmund, who plays upon Gloucester's belief in the stars and the gods to defame Edgar. Blinded by Cornwall for giving aid to Lear, Gloucester attempts suicide on what he thinks are the cliffs of Dover, however, Edgar in the guise first of Tom o' Bedlam and later as a "poor man" watches over and protects his father. Gloucester dies of a "burst" heart upon reunion and reconciliation with his son Edgar.
GONERIL
The eldest daughter of Lear, the spiteful Goneril is married to the Duke of Albany. She is the first daughter with whom Lear lodges and therefore the first to mistreat him. As enamored of Edmund as is her sister Regan, Goneril finally poisons her sister and shortly after takes her own life, arrogant and remorseless to the very last.
KENT
The Earl of Kent is arguably the truest "king's man" in all of Shakespeare. Banished by Lear because of honest outspokenness, Kent enters Lear's service in the guise of Caius. Along with spending hours in the stocks for fighting with Oswald, Kent also is instrumental in sending vital messages to Cordelia and reuniting her with her father. Kent refuses Albany's offer to rule the kingdom with Edgar after the king dies; his plan is shortly to join his master Lear in death.
KING OF FRANCE
One of two suitors for the hand of Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia. France is honored to accept the dowerless princess to be his queen. He mounts a military offensive against Cornwall but is recalled to France, leaving Cordelia behind with the French troops. France is never actually seen in the play after the first act.
KNIGHT
One of a hundred knights serving in Lear's entourage, this courtier is the first to tell the king that Goneril's household is doing Lear a great disservice, as is Goneril herself.
LEAR
King Lear is a sovereign whose sufferings are brought about through poor judgment and the machinations of vicious offspring. Dividing his kingdom between Goneril and Regan after casting off his youngest daughter and his most trusted earl (Kent), Lear is subsequently cast off by both of his older daughters and suffers a madness borne of physical hardship and emotional distress. Reunited with Cordelia and on the way to recovery, Lear is once again shattered when Cordelia is hung in prison; he dies quite literally of grief at the play's end, embracing the lifeless form of Cordelia.
MONSIEUR LA FAR, MARSHAL OF FRANCE
Monsieur La Far is left in charge as Marshal of the French troops when the King of France is inexplicably recalled from Dover. The Marshal never appears in the play.
OLD MAN
This unnamed tenant of the Earl of Gloucester is sorely grieved over Gloucester's treatment at the hands of Cornwall and Regan. The Old Man promises to fulfill Gloucester's request that raiment be brought for Tom o' Bedlam, in whose company the Old Man finds the blinded Gloucester.
OSWALD
Oswald serves as steward in the house of Goneril. He willingly obeys his mistress' commands to slight Lear in service, and he engages in swordplay with Kent during a message-carrying mission to Regan. Edgar, in disguise as a poor man of the realm, later kills Oswald in the countryside.
POOR MAN
Identifying himself only as a "poor man," Edgar assumes this second disguise after Gloucester's presumed "fall" from the heights of the Dover cliffs. In this guise Edgar slays Oswald and leads Gloucester to safer grounds.
REGAN
Regan is the middle of the three daughters and wife to the Duke of Cornwall. She is unspeakably cruel. She urges Kent's placement in the stocks and extends his punishment there. She assists in turning her father out into the storm. Later, she applauds Cornwall as he gouges out Gloucester's eyes, slays (from behind) the servant who tries to stop Cornwall's cruelty, and plans to wed Edmund immediately upon the death of her husband. She dies from poison at the hand of her elder sister Goneril.
SECOND SERVANT
As servant in Gloucester's castle, this man is kind enough to make sure that the blinded Gloucester makes his way to Tom o' Bedlam and safety away from Regan.
THIRD SERVANT
Serving at Gloucester's castle, this servant obtains flax and egg whites to help staunch the bleeding after Cornwall plucks out the old Earl's eyes.
TOM O' BEDLAM
This is the first name and disguise assumed by Gloucester's elder son Edgar as he hides from those who seek to kill him. As the Bedlam beggar, Edgar observes the rigours that Lear faces on the heath and also guides the blind Gloucester to the supposed heights of the Dover cliffs. Poor Tom, or Tom o' Bedlam, is a common term assigned to lunatics of the period. Bedlam is a corruption of "Bethlehem," a London hospital beyond Bishopsgate used for lunatics from 1402. In 1547 when the king granted the hospital to the citizens, the inhabitants were sent begging with a metal badge on their arms and were then called Bedlams. The use of the name in this pre-Christian play is, therefore, anachronistic.
YOUNG FELLOW'S MOTHER
Unnamed and unseen, this woman is mentioned as the mother of Gloucester's illegitimate younger son, Edmund. Gloucester recalls her as "fair" to look upon and that she gave "good sport" in bed.