King Lear

King Lear is a tragedy in five acts written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1603 and 1606, widely considered one of his greatest works. It deals with the ancient Celtic myth of King Leir, who divided his kingdom between two of his three daughters, with disastrous results.

Synopsis

Act I

King Lear decides in his old age to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Wishing to hear flattery, he gives them each the chance to compete for larger portions of the kingdom by outdoing one another in their professions of love for him. Cordelia, though she loves her father, can't bring herself to flatter him like the other two, and refuses to speak when asked. This sends Lear into a rage, after which he disowns her and gives her portion to Goneril and Reagan, despite the protests of his liege, the Earl of Kent. Lear banishes him as well. Cordelia, for whom Lear had also been seeking a husband at the same meeting, is quickly rejected by the Duke of Burgundy. The King of France, however, sees through Lear's sudden change of heart and takes Cordelia as his bride. They depart for France. Meanwhile, Goneril and Regan talk among themselves of how their father appears to be losing his mind, and begin to conspire against him.

The next scene takes place inside the Earl of Gloster's castle. Gloster's bastard son, Edmund, is in the process of forging a letter from Edward, his half-brother and the rightful heir, in which Edward supposedly expresses a wish to kill his father. When Gloster enters the room, Edmund pretends to hide the letter, prompting Gloster's curiosity. Upon reading it, Gloster asks Edmund to seek out Edward so that he can be punished. As he leaves, Edward enters, and Edmund warns him deceitfully that their father appears angry enough to kill him, advising him to flee and never return.

King Lear has since taken up residence in the castle which belongs to Goneril and her husband, the Duke of Albany. Goneril is angry with Lear for striking her servant, Oswald. She tells Oswald to give Lear and his 100-knight entourage a cold reception, in the hope that this will drive them away from the castle. The banished Earl of Kent enters the castle in disguise to offer his service to Lear, who accepts after a short interrogation. Oswald comes to Lear, and refuses to answer his inquiries, departing rudely, and refusing to recognize him as the king. Lear strikes him again, and Kent violently pushes him out of the room. Lear's fool comes in, and humorously ridicules Lear for abdicating his kingdom, reminding him that he'd given up all of the privileges that came with them. Goneril enters, and complains bitterly to Lear that his rowdy entourage has been wreaking havoc in the castle. Enraged at her impudence, Lear leaves for Reagan's castle, only to find out that Goneril had already dismissed 50 of his knights. He re-enters to threaten her with certain death once he reunites with Regan and leaves again. The fool and Kent leave shortly behind him. Goneril sends Oswald to Regan's castle with a letter, asking him to tell her a trumped-up story about Lear's reasons for leaving. Unaware of this, Lear sends Kent to the Earl of Gloster with letters of his own.

Act II

In Gloster's castle, Edmund attempts to start rumors of war between the dukes of Albany and Cornwall, the husbands of Goneril and Regan. Edward returns, and Edmund shoos him away with the warning that Gloster knows where he has been hiding. Hearing Gloster coming, Edmund draws his sword and wounds himself in the arm, telling his father that he received the blow from Edward while trying to defend their father's honor. Gloster vies to catch Edward, and to make Edmund his heir.