Explore the characterisation of the three sisters in the opening of the play, ‘King Lear’.

Shakespeare opens King Lear by introducing the audience to the King’s failing health, and his requirement to distribute his wealth and property amongst his three daughters; Cordelia, Goneril and Reagan. The initial portrayal of the sisters is fairly ironic, as they carry out their father’s love test thus catalysing the entirety of the play. Shakespeare villainies Cordelia, as she opposes her father, pursuing her own moral ground and thus facing the repercussions of that. This essay will explore how Shakespeare characterises the sisters, and differentiates between the three in order to foreshadow the future of the play. Shakespeare portrays the character of Goneril at first glance as a woman concerned about appearances, wealth and holding shallow values especially when opposed to her sister, Cordelia. In her monologue, she claims her love for her father to be ‘beyond what can be valued, rich or rare’ thus pleasing her father and obtaining his inheritance, presenting at surface value, the ideal daughter, extensively loving of her father. Her duplicity is not yet made apparent and perhaps Shakespeare intended for the audience to be shocked by her character later on in the play. However, there is some indication particularly as Shakespeare has deployed the exaggeration emphasised by ‘beyond’ implying her love to be unrealistic, thus foreshadowing the exposure of Goneril as an antagonist later on in the play. Her love is furthered as materialistic due to Shakespeare’s use of the ‘rich or rare’ imagery as it imitates an idea of wealth as opposed to love or compassion. This may be implying to her speech being only a manipulative method through which she can obtain her inheritance, or it may well be Shakespeare characterising her as someone who thinks and expresses herself through materialistic schemes. Shakespeare never mentions a mother to the sisters throughout the play and King Lear often refers to Cordelia as his favourite, ‘I loved her most’, and as a result there is suggestion that Goneril is neglected as a child. This lack of compassionate love may very well be why she is so concerned about physical wealth rather than love, and is presented further on in the play as less compassionate than her younger sister Cordelia.