Central themes
There are multiple themes in King Lear which include loyalty, family, and power. Loyalty is significant in the play since King lear's daughters betray him by using him to gain his wealth. However, his loyal daughter Cordelia is exiled for not expressing enough love which is ironic because he seeks loyalty. Goneril and Regan seek more and more power throughout the play and it becomes greed. They are not satisfied with their riches and continue to strip their father of his wealth until he has nothing. Family is extremely significant in this play because the entire play centers around family. King Lear betrays his most loyal daughter in the beginning by disowning her, yet he is betrayed by his other two deceitful daughters. Gloucester is also betrayed by his son Edmund because he envies his brother Edgar. The families in this play are dysfunctional since they are constantly betraying one another.