2. King Lear is a tragedy by William
Shakespeare. The play's action
centers around an aging king who
decides to divvy up his kingdom
between his three daughters
(Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia) in
order to avoid any conflict after his
death. Lear's actions end up
destroying his family, tearing apart
the kingdom, and causing a big old
war, leaving just about everyone
dead by the play's end
Shakespeare's most important
source is probably the second
edition of The Chronicles of England,
Scotlande, and Irelande by Raphael
Holinshed, published in 1587, which
includes the story of "King Leir," an
ancient British monarch who divides
his kingdom between three
daughters, Gonorilla, Regan, and
Cordeilla.
3. Characters :
Lear, King of Britain, is a powerful and important
man. But he's getting near retirement age, Lear
thinks he can hand over the hard work of ruling the
kingdom to his children and relax. He wants to enjoy
the power of still being king without any of the
responsibility.
Goneril, eldest daughter of Lear, and the wife of the
duke of Albany. Goneril is jealous, treacherous, and
amoral.
Regan, second daughter of Lear, and potentially
less wicked of Lear's two evil daughters. Slightly
more passive, Regan can't oppose her father on her
own. She's more likely to get men to do her dirty
work for her than to attend to it herself
4. Cordelia is King Lear's favorite daughter
until she refuses to flatter the old man and
gets booted out of the kingdom without a
dowry. Soon after, she marries the King of
France and raises an army to fight her
wicked sisters and win back her father's
land.
Earl of Gloucester: A powerful lord in Lear's
court, In the power struggle that follows Lear's
retirement, this pits Gloucester against the
younger generation: Lear's elder daughters
and their husbands. Gloucester's blinding in
the play makes literal his emotional blindness
towards his two sons, Edgar and Edmund. Only
when he becomes blind does Gloucester gain
true insight into who his children really are –
and which of them actually loves him.
5. Duke of Albany, husband to Goneril
Duke of Cornwall, husband to Regan
Earl of Kent : Kent is Lear's servant. He's also the guy Lear
banishes in the first act after Kent warns his king not to
disown Cordelia. The thing to know about Kent is that he is
loyalty personified. He would do anything for Lear, even
though the King treats him badly and kicks him out of the
kingdom.
Edgar and Edmund, sons of Gloucester
6. King Lear: Plot Summary
The story opens in ancient Britain, where the elderly King
Lear is deciding to give up his power and divide his
realm amongst his three daughters, Cordelia, Regan,
and Goneril. Lear's plan is to give the largest piece of his
kingdom to the child who professes to love him the most,
certain that his favorite daughter, Cordelia, will win the
challenge. Goneril and Regan, corrupt and deceitful, lie
to their father with sappy and excessive declarations of
affection. Cordelia, however, refuses to engage in Lear's
game, and replies simply that she loves him as a
daughter should. Her lackluster retort, despite its
sincerity, enrages Lear, and he disowns Cordelia
completely. When Lear's dear friend, the Earl of Kent,
tries to speak on Cordelia's behalf, Lear banishes him
from the kingdom
7. When the loyal Gloucester realizes that Lear’s daughters have
turned against their father, he decides to help Lear in spite of
the danger. Regan and her husband, Cornwall, discover him
helping Lear, accuse him of treason, blind him, and turn him
out to wander the countryside. He ends up being led by his
disguised son, Edgar, toward the city of Dover, where Lear has
also been brought.
In Dover, a French army lands as part of an invasion led by
Cordelia in an effort to save her father. There was a battle.
Finally, after a lot of fussing, Lear reunites with his loving
daughter Cordelia (who says she doesn't hate Lear, even
though he totally disowned her). Soon after, Cordelia's French
forces lose the battle against Regan and Goneril's British army
and Lear and Cordelia are captured. Edmund takes this
opportunity to secretly order their executions.
8. The End
While Lear and Cordelia sit in prison, Regan and Goneril scuffle
with each other over who gets the dreamy (-so evil) Edmund In a
rage, Albany demands that Edmund and Goneril, having an
affair and planning to kill him. Before Edmund can be taken to
jail, Edgar shows up and stabs his evil brother in the guts. Then
Regan dies, having been poisoned by Goneril. Edgar reveals his
true identity to his father Gloucester, who is surprised, has a heart
attack, and promptly dies. Goneril commits suicide. Before
Edmund (who has been stabbed) dies, he says he's sorry for
being so bad and reveals that he's sent someone to kill Cordelia
and Lear – if they want to do something about it, they had better
act quickly, but it's too late for Cordelia, who has already been
hanged by Edmund's executioners. Lear enters with his dead
daughter in his arms. When Lear realizes what has become of his
family, he dies of a broken heart. Albany and Edgar are the only
ones left to govern the kingdom.
9. Quotes
Quote #1
Meantime we shall express our darker purpose. Give
me the map there. Know that we have divided In three
our kingdom: (1.1.2)
Here, King Lear says he wants to divide his kingdom into
three parts.
Quote#2
KING LEAR Be your tears wet? yes, 'faith. I pray, weep not: If
you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you do not love
me; for your sisters Have, as I do remember, done me
wrong: You have some cause, they have not. CORDELIA No
cause, no cause. (4.7.5)
This is, perhaps, the most tender of moments in the play. When
Lear awakens and finds his daughter at his bedside, he
acknowledges the way he's hurt Cordelia and admits that she
has "some cause" to wish him harm. Yet, despite everything,
Cordelia finds it within herself to utter "no cause, no cause."
10. Quote #3
Good my lord,
You have begot me, bred me, loved me: I
Return those duties back as are right fit,
Obey you, love you, and most honour you.
Why have my sisters husbands, if they say
They love you all? Haply, when I shall wed,
That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry
Half my love with him, half my care and duty:
Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters,
To love my father all. (1.1.6)
When Lear demands his daughters profess their love to him,
Goneril and Regan lay it on pretty thick – professing they love
Lear "the most." Here, Cordelia points out that Goneril and Regan
are being disloyal to their husbands because, as married women,
Goneril and Regan owe much of their love and "duties" to their
spouses.
