Kent

Also known as: Caius / Earl of Kent · Family: Lear's court · Role: nobleman · First appears: King Lear · Act I, Scene I

Kent is a nobleman of Lear’s court and a friend of Gloucester. At the opening of the play, he declares his fealty to King Lear: “Royal Lear, Whom I have ever honour’d as my king, Lov’d as my father, as my master follow’d, As my great patron thought on in my prayers.” When King Lear banishes him and threatens death should he return, Kent remains near him in disguise, and King Lear accepts him as a servant. He leaves Goneril’s household with King Lear, carries letters to Gloucester, and follows him as the king departs in fury toward the storm.

In Act II, Kent becomes an enemy of Oswald, attacking him for serving against King Lear. At Regan’s insistence he is put in the stocks, though Cornwall admits placing him there; he is later released. He recognizes a letter from Cordelia, learning that she knows of his concealed course, and then reports the division between Albany and Cornwall, the arrival of French forces, and the occupation of the ports. At Dover, he sends Cordelia a ring that will reveal his hidden identity, brings King Lear to shelter in a hovel, and later helps Gloucester and the Fool carry him toward Dover for protection.

By Act V, Kent and Cordelia are allies, with Cordelia praising his goodness. He is also a friend of Albany, and King Lear finally recognizes him as “your friend.”