Oct 11, 2008

King Lear | Act I, Scene 3: Summary and Analysis

New Character:
Oswald: Goneril’s steward who willingly carries out the evil schemes of his mistress

Summary
This scene is set in the Duke of Albany’s palace, the home of Lear’s oldest daughter Goneril with whom he has been living since the division of the kingdom. Goneril questions her steward, Oswald, and finds that her father has struck her gentleman for chiding his Fool. She is distraught over the King’s behavior, claiming that he “upbraids us/ On every trifle.” She says too that his knights “grow riotous.” She is, in fact, so angry at her father that...