Edmund (King Lear) Edmund (King Lear) Edmund or Edmond is a fictional character and the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's "King Lear". He is the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester, and the younger brother of Edgar, the Earl's legitimate son. Early on in the play, Edmund resolves to get rid of his brother, then his father, and become Earl in his own right. He later flirts with both Goneril and Regan and attempts to play them off against each other. Shakespeare's source for the subplot of Edmund, Edgar and Gloucester was a tale from Philip Sidney's "Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia" of
Cordelia (King Lear) like how a mother cares for her baby. Cordelia (King Lear) Cordelia is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's tragic play, "King Lear". She is the youngest of King Lear's three daughters, and his favourite. After her elderly father offers her the opportunity to profess her love to him in return for one third of the land in his kingdom, she refuses and is banished for the majority of the play. Shakespeare had numerous resources to consult while writing "King Lear". The oldest source in print was Geoffrey of Monmouth's "The History of the Kings of Britain", c.1136. This is