The husband of Lear's older daughter, Goneril, and a Duke. Albany is kind and generous, in contrast to his malicious wife, and criticizes her for her treacherous behavior toward her father. However, he realizes the viciousness of the other characters he is aligned with (namely, Edmund and Regan) too late in the play to prevent the evil that they cause.
Albany Quotes in King Lear
The King Lear quotes below are all either spoken by Albany or refer to Albany. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Get the entire King Lear LitChart as a printable PDF.
Albany Character Timeline in King Lear
The timeline below shows where the character Albany appears in King Lear. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, scene 1
Lear enters with Albany, Cornwall, Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, and their attendants. Having sent Gloucester to fetch Cordelia's suitors, the...
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Act 1, scene 4
As Lear departs, Albany enters, tentatively criticizing the lack of hospitality that Goneril has shown to her father. Goneril...
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Act 2, scene 1
...court, Curran mentions to Edmund that there are rumors of imminent war between Cornwall and Albany. Curran also mentions that Cornwall and Regan will be arriving to stay at Gloucester's castle...
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Act 3, scene 1
...the Gentleman is on his side, Kent confides in him that there is division between Albany and Cornwall, which is still a secret. And he asks the Gentleman to go to...
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Act 3, scene 3
...shown to their father. Edmund agrees. Gloucester then tells Edmund that there is division between Albany and Cornwall and that he has received a letter with further information, too dangerous to...
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Act 3, scene 7
...the army of France has landed, and telling her to send it to her husband Albany, he sends servants to find Gloucester. Then Cornwall tells Edmund to leave, as the revenge...
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Act 4, scene 2
...traveled from Gloucester's—now Edmund's—castle, Goneril and Edmund arrive at Goneril's palace. Oswald emerges, reporting that Albany is "changed" (2.1.4) and that everything that should upset him pleases him. Goneril, irritated, tells...
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Act 4, scene 6
...the letter in it—which is from Goneril to Edmund, attempting to persuade him to murder Albany and marry her. Shocked, Edgar resolves to head off and find the "murderous lechers" (304)...
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Act 5, scene 1
Edmund, leading the British forces with Regan, sends a messenger to Albany to confirm that Albany will send his forces to join theirs. Regan, meanwhile, pesters Edmund...
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Act 5, scene 3
Albany, Goneril, Regan and other soldiers enter to the sound of a flourish from a trumpet....
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