Goneril is a character in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's tragic play ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'' (1605). She is the eldest of

's three daughters. Along with her sister

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, Goneril is considered a villain, obsessed with power and overthrowing her elderly father as ruler of the kingdom of Britain. Shakespeare based the character on Gonorilla, a personage described by

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography ...

in his pseudo-historical chronicle ''

Historia regum Britanniae ''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. ...

'' ("History of the Kings of Britain", ) as the eldest of the British

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

Lear Lear or Leir may refer to: Acronyms * Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios, a Mexican association of revolutionary artists and writers * Low Energy Ion Ring, an ion pre-accelerator of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN ** Low Energy Antipr ...

's three daughters, alongside Regan and Cordeilla (the source for Cordelia) and the mother of

Marganus Marganus ('' Welsh:'' Margan) was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He was the son of Maglaurus, Duke of Albany, and Goneril, the daughter of King Leir. Marganus, grandson of Leir, despised the rule of his aunt ...

Role in play

Goneril is the oldest daughter of King Lear. She is married to the Duke of Albany. She is also one of the play's principal villains. In the first scene, her father asks each of his daughters to profess their love for him to receive their portion of the kingdom. Goneril's speech, while flattering, is not genuine as she only wishes to accrue power. After Lear banishes his youngest daughter Cordelia for failing to flatter him as Goneril and

did, Lear decides that he will spend half the year in Goneril's castle and the other half in Regan's. Because Goneril does not truly care about her aging father, she instructs her servants to neglect him, so that he might become frustrated enough to confront her, and then might leave. She believes that her father is an old madman, and that "old fools are babes again" (1.3.20) and must be set straight with reprimands as well as flattery. When Lear arrives at Goneril's castle with 100 knights who carry on with noisy debauchery, she demands that her father send some away and only retain those with manners. Lear erupts in anger and departs for Regan's castle. During Act 2, Goneril meets Regan and Lear at the Earl of Gloucester's house, where she supports her sister against her father, causing Lear to fly into a rage and rush into a thunderstorm. Goneril and Regan then order that the doors be shut on Lear. In Act 3, after learning that Gloucester has helped Lear escape to Dover to have a rendezvous with an invading French army, Goneril suggests that Cornwall pluck out Gloucester's eyes. Goneril takes a romantic interest in

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

, seeing him as more manly than her cowardly husband Albany. Albany is repulsed by Goneril's actions and denounces her, but she questions his manhood. In the play's final act, as the British forces (led by Cordelia) battle with the French army, Goneril discovers that Regan is pursuing Edmund, so she poisons her (offstage) to ensure Regan does not marry him. After Regan dies, Goneril kills herself. There is little explanation for her suicide, as it seems uncharacteristic of the self-serving woman presented throughout the play, but it is implied that the cause of her suicide is a mixture of the thwarting of her plans and her confession to poisoning Regan.

Analysis

Goneril is cruel and deceitful. The earliest example of her deceitfulness occurs in the first act. Without a male heir, Lear is prepared to divide his kingdom among his three daughters as long as they express their true love to him. Knowing her response will get her closer to the throne, Goneril professes, "Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter" (1.1. 53). She has no reservations about lying to her father. She finally begins to show her malicious character when Lear asks to stay with her and her husband. She tells him to send away his knights and servants because they are too loud and too numerous. Livid that he is being disrespected, Lear curses her and leaves. Goneril, the wife of the Duke of Albany (an archaic name for Scotland), has an intimate relationship with

, one that may have been played up in the earlier editions of ''King Lear''. She writes a note encouraging Edmund to kill her husband and marry her, but it is discovered. In the final act, Goneril discovers that Regan desires Edmund as well and poisons her sister's drink, killing her. However, once Edmund is mortally wounded, Goneril goes offstage and kills herself. While the reasons for Goneril's hatred of her father never are explained explicitly in the text, Stephen Reid hypothesizes that Goneril, as the eldest daughter, hates her father because he favors Cordelia over her. In Reid's eyes, "Lear's actual rejection of a daughter, Cordelia, awakened in both Goneril and Regan dim memories of their past and long repressed bitterness at his rejection of them, a bitterness they had never been able to express or come to terms with."

Performance history

Onscreen

Beatrice Straight Beatrice Whitney Straight (August 2, 1914 – April 7, 2001) was an American theatre, film and television actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was an Academy Award and Tony Award winner as well as an Emmy Award nominee. ...

. ''King Lear'' (1953, TV), directed by Andrew McCullough * Elza Radzina. ''Korol Lir'' (1971, USSR Film), directed by Grigori Kozintsev & Iosif Shapiro *

Irene Worth Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002) was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her given name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee". Worth made her Br ...

. ''King Lear'' (1971, UK Film), directed by Peter Brook * Rosalind Cash. ''King Lear'' (1974, TV), directed by Edwin Sherin * Beth Harris. ''King Lear'' (1976, TV), directed by Tony Davenall * Gillian Barge. ''King Lear'' (1982, TV), directed by Jonathan Miller *

Dorothy Tutin Dame Dorothy Tutin, (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two ''Evening Standard'' Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and ...

. ''King Lear'' (1983, TV), directed by Keith Elliott *

Barbara Flynn Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray, 5 August 1948) is an English actress. She first came to prominence playing Freda Ashton in the ITV drama series '' A Family at War'' (1970–1972). She went on to play the milk woman in the BBC comedy ...

. ''Performance King Lear'' (1998), directed by Richard Eyre * Caroline Lennon. ''King Lear'' (1999), directed by Brian Blessed & Tony Rotherham *

Frances Barber Frances Barber (née Brookes, born 13 May 1958) is an English actress. She received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays '' Camille'' (1985), and ''Uncle Vanya'' (1997). Her film appearances include three collaborations with Gar ...

. ''King Lear'' (2009, PBS), directed by Sir Trevor Nunn and Chris Hunt *

Kate Fleetwood Kate Fleetwood (born 24 September 1972) is an English actress. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Lady Macbeth in '' Macbeth'', which first opened at Chichester Festival Theatre and was transferred to the West End and B ...

. ''King Lear'' (2014,

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I grew ...

) directed by

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was knighted in the 2020 New Years Honours List. That s ...

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

. '' King Lear'' (2018, TV), directed by

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Mar ...

References

External links

*http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/king-lear/watch-the-play/487/ – PBS Production of ''

'' *http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=king+lear – All ''King Lear'' films *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4-fQbVohQ4 – ''King Lear'' video clips *https://archive.org/stream/truechroniclehis00greeuoft#page/n21/mode/2up – ''The True Chronicle Historie of King Leir'' Text (1605), anonymous *http://JackLynch.net/Texts/tatelear.html – ''The History of King Lear'' (1681) by Nahum Tate {{Authority control British traditional history Female Shakespearean characters Female characters in literature Literary characters introduced in 1605 Fictional suicides King Lear 8th-century BC women Ancient princesses Ancient European women Fictional sororicides Female literary villains Mythological princesses Shakespeare villains

Role in play

Analysis

Performance history

Onscreen

References

Further reading

External links