TERM 1
Duncan
DEFINITION 1
The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for
the crown, murders. He is the model of a virtuous,
benevolent, and farsighted ruler. His death symbolizes the
destruction of an order in Scotland that can be restored only
when his line, in the person of Malcolm, once more occupies
the throne.
TERM 2
Fool
DEFINITION 2
Lear's jester, who uses double-talk and seemingly frivolous
song to give Lear important advice.
TERM 3
Sycorax
DEFINITION 3
An unseen character in The Tempest is a powerful witch and
the mother of Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of
the island on which Prospero, the hero of the play, is
stranded.
TERM 4
Cordelia
DEFINITION 4
Lear's youngest daughter, disowned b y her father for refusing to
flatter him. She is held in extremely h igh regard by all of the good
characters in the play--the king of Fr ance marries her for her
virtue alone, overlooking her lack of d owry. She remains loyal to
Lear despite his cruelty toward her, f orgives him, and displays a
mild and forbearing temperament ev en toward her evil sisters,
Goneril and Regan. Despite her obvio us virtues, her reticence
makes her motivations difficult to rea d, as in her refusal to declare
her love for her father at the beginn ing of the play.
TERM 5
Gloucester
DEFINITION 5
A nobleman loyal to King Lear whose rank, earl, is below that of
duke. The first thing we learn about G loucester is that he is an
adulterer, having fathered a bastard son, Edmund. His fate is in
many ways parallel to that of Lear: h e misjudges which of his
children to trust. He appears weak a nd ineffectual in the early
acts, when he is unable to prevent L ear from being turned out of
his own house, but he later demonst rates that he is also capable
of great bravery.
