My King, My Friend a Book Report

In King Lear, there are different relationships between masters and servants. Lear is the king who gives all of his land to two of his daughters, Goneril and Regan. Lear's daughters then proceed to degrade him and to get rid of his followers. In a rage over the loss of power, Lear goes out into a storm, challenging it to kill him. In the end, his third daughter, Cordelia, who has married the prince of France, comes to take her father's land back from her sisters and to rescue her father. In King Lear, loyalty is a major theme. Goneril and Regan are not loyal to Lear and start to treat him as if he is dying as soon as he divides his lands. Even though his daughters start to treat him this way, Lear continues to have his loyal servants, his guards, his fool, and his nobelmen. Kent and Glouster are 2 of the most prominent nobelmen that stay by Lear's side and stand up for him against his daughters. Glouster loses his eyes because of it where Kent has to watch as Lear and Cordelia die. Shakespeare uses master servant relationships and loyalty to progress and to support the major themes of his plays. This is especially obvious in the relationships in King Lear. Three major master-servant relationships in King Lear are the relationships between Lear and his Fool, Goneril and Oswald, and Lear and Kent. These relationships are important throughout the play.

King Lear and Kent have a complex relationship. Kent is banished from the country after having stood up for Cordelia, Lear's third daughter. Lear is furious because his daughter does not tell him that she loves him more than anything, and Kent steps in to try and calm him down. Even though Lear is furious he still has sense to warn Kent about his foul mood "The bow is bent and drawn. Make from the shaft" (Act 1 Scene 1 Line 146). In warning Kent he is showing that he also respects Kent, which is a way of gaining respect from those around you. The fact that Kent feels as though he can speak honestly and openly to Lear no matter what mood he is in, shows how much mutual respect Lear and Kent have for each other. And example of Kent speaking what he is thinking happens in the scene where Kent is banished in act 1 scene 1 "Do, kill thy physician, and the fee bestow upon thy foul disease. Revoke thy gift, or whilst I can vent clamor from my throat I'll tell thee thou dost evil."

During much of the relationship that we see between Lear and Kent, Kent is disguised as a peasant so that he can continue to live and be a servant to Lear. "Now banished Kent, If thou canst serve where thou dost stand condemned, So may it come thy master, whom thou lovest shall find thee full of labors" (Act 1 Scene 4 Lines 4-7). This shows how Kent decides to work for Lear even though he is banished. Kent also continues to want to work for Lear, even though Regan puts him in stocks.