The Symbolism of Youth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and King Lea

In King Lear, there are five children. King Lear has three daughters. They are Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Goneril and Regan both tell the king how much they love him and how they worship him but they do not mean it. They are only saying good things so that good things will happen to them. King Lear is dividing up his kingdom at this time and the daughters know that whoever the king loves most will get the most land. Cordelia is the one that loves the king the most but because she will not say false things about her love for the king, she is disowned by Lear and given nothing. The theme of children being ungrateful and manipulative towards their parents is illustrated by Goneril and Regan. Goneril even plots against her own husband near the end of the play. This also shows us just how evil a woman she really is and how deceiving she was to the king.

so in King Lear, the character Gloucester has two sons named Edmund and Edgar. Edgar is the legitimate son of Gloucester who is always seen by others as the better and more worthy son. Edmund is the disgruntled illegitimate son of Gloucester who is angry that he is seen as less of a son, by some, because he is a bastard. Edmund lies to his father and sets up an elaborate plot to frame his brother in the plot to kill Gloucester. By creating such chaos around his brother, Edmund hopes to move up the proverbial ladder and gain more power than Edgar. Even though he knows that people are hunting down Edgar and are trying to kill him, Edmund is content to sit back and play the role of the good and honest son. The whole situation vividly illustrates what a lack of respect Edmund has for his father. It shows how one son will stop at nothing to advance himself in his political standing, even if it means having his brother and father killed. When Goneril and Regan both fall in love with Edmund at the end of the play, it is shown again just how evil and carefree Edmund really is when he says that he knows that he cannot be with one of the women while they are both still alive. He knows that one of the women will have to die before he can be with the other but Edmund is, nevertheless, untroubled. In King Lear, children are used to show the greed and deceitfulness of youth. Only two of the five children demonstrate the characteristics of loving sons and daughters. The other three are used by Shakespeare to paint the picture of lying, cheating youth with no sense of paternal respect.

Finally, towards the end of the play, young Siward confronts Macbeth and the two dual. Without remorse, Macbeth slays young Siward in what turned out to be the last but pos

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