For my infographic I focused on the character development of the Duke of Albany in the novel “King Lear”, written by William Shakespeare. The Duke of Albany is considered a dynamic character because we see personal growth within himself as the play progresses.
At the beginning of the novel, Albany is controlled and manipulated by his wife Goneril. On my infographic there is an image of hands that are chained together which represents how Albany is restrained by Gonerill. As a result of being controlled, Albany character is oblivious, meek, and passive. The first image is a representation of how Goneril is in control of Albany, making him oblivious to what is happening around him. In the image Goneril would be the person behind shielding the eyes of Albany. Albany shows signs of oblivion when he says to King Lear, "My lord, I am guiltless, as I am ignorant / Of what hath moved you" (1.4.270-271). At this point in the novel, Albany is unaware of how Goneril and Regan have been mistreating King Lear. Continuing on, meek perfectly sums up Albany’s character emphasizing how he is easily imposed on by Goneril. The puppet attached to the strings symbolizes how Albany is Goneril’s puppet. After Albany finds out about how King Lear has been treated by Goneril he attempts to tell her that what she did was wrong: "I cannot be so partial, Goneril, / To the great love I bear you-" (1.4.309-310). Albany is cut off and is clearly too submissive and passive to stand up for what he believes in.
Later on in the novel Albany gains more strength within himself to show his rational thinking and assertiveness. Oswald is the first to notice the change in Albany when he says to Goneril: "Madam, within, but never man so changed (...) / When I informed him, then he called me sot/ And told me I had turned the wrong side out” (4.2.3,8-9). Albany is finally starting to diverge paths from Regan, Goneril, and Cornwall because he knows that the way King Lear is treated is in no way humane. The image of the street sign symbolizes Albany splitting paths with Goneril, Regan and Cornwall. Not long after, Albany shows assertive behaviour by standing up for Lear to Goneril: "Filths savour but themselves. What have you done? / Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed?" (4.2.39-40). This is a big step forward for Albany’s development as a character.
At the end of the novel Albany really starts to become his own character that is courageous, bold and confident. He displays acts of courage when he leads his own half of an army. He points out that he is only fighting to ensure that the French don’t invade them when he says, "For this business, / It touches us as France invades our land, / Not bolds the King, with others, whom, I fear, / Most just and heavy causes make oppose" (5.1.24-27). Yet again this shows his rational thinking. In addition, Albany takes a bold step and confronts Goneril about her love towards Edmund. It takes great courage and confidence for him to say, "Shut your mouth, dame, / Or with this paper I shall stop it. (...) / Thou worse than any name, read thine own / evil" (5.3.153-154,156), in front of everyone to Goneril. Lastly, Albany shows how he is a moral and selfless character when he resigns from his role as King so Lear can die as King: “For us, we will resign, / During the life of this old Majesty, / To him our absolute power; " (5.3.298-300). Overall, throughout the novel the Duke of Albany’s character grows from being a submissive, shy character that is walked all over, into a strong, confident King.
At the beginning of the novel, Albany is controlled and manipulated by his wife Goneril. On my infographic there is an image of hands that are chained together which represents how Albany is restrained by Gonerill. As a result of being controlled, Albany character is oblivious, meek, and passive. The first image is a representation of how Goneril is in control of Albany, making him oblivious to what is happening around him. In the image Goneril would be the person behind shielding the eyes of Albany. Albany shows signs of oblivion when he says to King Lear, "My lord, I am guiltless, as I am ignorant / Of what hath moved you" (1.4.270-271). At this point in the novel, Albany is unaware of how Goneril and Regan have been mistreating King Lear. Continuing on, meek perfectly sums up Albany’s character emphasizing how he is easily imposed on by Goneril. The puppet attached to the strings symbolizes how Albany is Goneril’s puppet. After Albany finds out about how King Lear has been treated by Goneril he attempts to tell her that what she did was wrong: "I cannot be so partial, Goneril, / To the great love I bear you-" (1.4.309-310). Albany is cut off and is clearly too submissive and passive to stand up for what he believes in.
Later on in the novel Albany gains more strength within himself to show his rational thinking and assertiveness. Oswald is the first to notice the change in Albany when he says to Goneril: "Madam, within, but never man so changed (...) / When I informed him, then he called me sot/ And told me I had turned the wrong side out” (4.2.3,8-9). Albany is finally starting to diverge paths from Regan, Goneril, and Cornwall because he knows that the way King Lear is treated is in no way humane. The image of the street sign symbolizes Albany splitting paths with Goneril, Regan and Cornwall. Not long after, Albany shows assertive behaviour by standing up for Lear to Goneril: "Filths savour but themselves. What have you done? / Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed?" (4.2.39-40). This is a big step forward for Albany’s development as a character.
At the end of the novel Albany really starts to become his own character that is courageous, bold and confident. He displays acts of courage when he leads his own half of an army. He points out that he is only fighting to ensure that the French don’t invade them when he says, "For this business, / It touches us as France invades our land, / Not bolds the King, with others, whom, I fear, / Most just and heavy causes make oppose" (5.1.24-27). Yet again this shows his rational thinking. In addition, Albany takes a bold step and confronts Goneril about her love towards Edmund. It takes great courage and confidence for him to say, "Shut your mouth, dame, / Or with this paper I shall stop it. (...) / Thou worse than any name, read thine own / evil" (5.3.153-154,156), in front of everyone to Goneril. Lastly, Albany shows how he is a moral and selfless character when he resigns from his role as King so Lear can die as King: “For us, we will resign, / During the life of this old Majesty, / To him our absolute power; " (5.3.298-300). Overall, throughout the novel the Duke of Albany’s character grows from being a submissive, shy character that is walked all over, into a strong, confident King.