KING LEAR - PLOT SUMMARY

Shakespeare’s King Lear was based on a mythical story of an ancient king of

​ ing Lear, an aged monarch, has decided to divide his kingdom up among his
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three daughters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Goneril is married to the Duke of
Albany and Regan to the Duke of Cornwall. Cordelia is still single, and two men
are residing in court, competing for her hand in marriage (and her dowry) – the
King of France and the Duke of Burgundy.

When Lear calls his servants, retainers, court and family together he is pleased
with the obsequious flattery he receives at the hand of his two older daughters,
Goneril and Regan. He does not realize that they are probably already scheming
to take away all of his power. Lear has decided to give control over to his
daughters and their husbands but not to relinquish quite everything – he fully
expects to retain some influence at court and be given the respect due a
monarch of his age and experience.

Lear’s third daughter, his favorite, Cordelia, refuses to use false flattery with her
father and he is outraged and decides to cut her dowry down to a miniscule size.
The King of France, smitten by Cordelia, wishes to marry her regardless, and they
are sent from the kingdom back to France.

In a subplot that mirrors the main story, one of Lear’s supporters, the Earl of
Gloucester is soon betrayed by his illegitimate son Edmund – who tells him his
legitimate son Edgar is plotting against it. Goneril and Regan have already
turned against their father with the avid support of Regan’s husband the Duke of
Cornwall. They alienate the Earl of Kent, who is sent away by Lear, believing him to
be unfaithful to his King. In time, Gloucester is blinded by the Duke of Cornwall
and is helped by his son Edgar, now banished and disguised as a peasant.

One stormy night, after being bitterly disappointed by his second daughter,
Regan, Lear blunders out into the night, ranting that he cannot take such
treatment any longer. His Fool, formerly a servant of Cordelia’s, goes with him,
and protects the King, who is clearly becoming unhinged. Eventually, they hide in
a shelter with Edgar, who is posing as a peasant named Tom.

In time, the news comes that the King of France has landed, coming to the aid of
Lear. However, Edmund has managed to find enough troops to support his cause,
and attacks the French at Dover. Cordelia is in the camp there, and is reunited
with her father, and their differences resolved. Edmund takes Cordelia and Lear
prisoner, and Gloucester and Edgar are also at Dover, and Gloucester dies, but
not before Edgar reveals his true identity. Edmund defeats the French and
orders Cordelia to be hanged, which brings on Lear’s sudden death. Meanwhile,
Goneril has killed Regan and then herself as a result of their rivalry over Edmund.

Edgar kills Edmund and now that all the protagonists are gone, it is left up to him,
and the Earl of Kent to restore the kingdom.
KING LEAR - CHARACTER ANALYSIS
King Lear
King Lear is based upon a mythical character who may have been an early
monarch of Britain in pre-Christian time. The myth was still commonly known in
England during Shakespeare’s lifetime. In Shakespeare’s play, the King is old (in
his eighties) and has decided to divide his kingdom among his three daughters.
He becomes angry with his youngest daughter so divides it between the two older
daughters, Goneril and Regan. This in time leads to his downfall and his tragic
death.

Goneril
Goneril is the eldest of King Lear’s three daughters and the wife of the Duke of
Albany. After flattering her father and convincing him to give up his kingdom in
all but name, Goneril turns against her father once she has her portion and
begins to treat him poorly and in time, to plot his demise. Her husband turns
against her before the end of the play as she falls in love with Edmund, the son of
the Earl of Gloucester.

Regan
Regan is the second and middle daughter of King Lear and is much like her sister
Goneril. She plays up to and flatters her father who believes she and Goneril truly
love him. After she receives her portion of her father’s kingdom, she also turns
against him and feels little compassion for his miserable state. Regan is married
to the Duke of Cornwall, a nasty and vindictive man. Regan dies by poison at the
end of the play at the hands of her sister Goneril, who then kills herself.

Cordelia
Cordelia is the youngest of the three daughters of King Lear. At the beginning of
the play, she is being courted by the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy.
She decides to marry the King of France. When Lear is dividing up his kingdom in
the first scene of Act 1, Cordelia refuses to flatter him, but behaves as she has
always done. Lear banishes her and leaves her no land. In the end, Cordelia is
reunited with her father shortly before he dies.

Duke of Albany
The Duke of Albany is married to Goneril, King Lear’s eldest daughter. As a man in
that time period, he has as much, if not more, influence in their portion of the
kingdom as his wife does. Albany is torn between supporting his wife and
supporting her father, but his sense of ethics and strong character win out in the
end as he turns against Goneril and supports Lear.

Duke of Cornwall
He is married to Regan, Lear’s middle daughter. As a man in that time period, he
has as much, if not more, influence in their portion of the kingdom as his wife
does. Unlike his brother-in-law Albany, Cornwall joins in his wife’s scheming
against her father to usurp his power. He also allies himself with Edmund, son of
Gloucester. In the end, he loses his life due to his scheming.
Earl of Gloucester
The Earl fights against the corruption of the daughters of his King but never
gives up his loyalty to Lear, even after losing his sight in an assault by the Duke of
Cornwall. A subplot of the play, Gloucester’s divided loyalties of his sons Edmund
and Edgar, mirror the machinations of Lear’s daughters against him. He goes to
Dover with his “good” son, disguised as a peasant, to lend support to his king.

Earl of Kent
A faithful supporter of the King, Kent gets wind that treachery is in the air, and is
placed in the stocks for hitting Goneril’s servant. Lear banishes him but Kent
stays in the area, taking on a disguise and getting himself hired as a servant to
the King. Throughout the play, he serves as Lear’s faithful servant and
intervenes on the old King’s behalf when necessary. At the end, he expresses his
feelings about his demise – the King is dead and he will soon die too as his work
on Earth is done.

Edgar
Edgar is the legitimate son of the King of Gloucester and is slightly older than his
half-brother Edmund. Edmund tricks their father into thinking Edgar is plotting
against him (the Earl) and Gloucester banishes Edgar. Edgar lives rough and
when his shelter is found by the King, Kent, and the Fool, pretends to be a
peasant (“Poor Tom”) who is out of his mind. In time, he rescues his father who
has been blinded.

Edmund
Edmund is the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester, the result of a brief
romance. Gloucester maintains he treats him no differently than his son Edgar,
who is legitimate. Edmund begrudges his brother his inheritance (he is not due
anything because he is illegitimate) and swears he will get rid of Edgar so he may
take what is “rightfully” his, as he feels he is the better man. Edmund sides with
Goneril and Regan and leads them both on, and his having an actual affair with
Goneril is almost certain.

Oswald
Goneril’s faithful steward, Oswald plots against her father for their King’s downfall.
He serves as a go-between and a spy. Oswald is seen as a weak person without
ethics, one who would sell anyone down the river to better his own position. This
is the Earl of Kent’s opinion of Oswald and Kent finds himself banished when he
expresses what he thinks. Oswald is the perfect obsequious servant and dies for
his mistress, Goneril.

Fool
The King’s Fool, who was originally Cordelia’s before she went to France, takes
over her role as Lear’s protector. He spends much of his time in the play spouting
nonsense doggerel and silly rhymes – disguised as pithy observations of what is
going on around him. The Fool accompanies Lear when he leaves the castle and
wanders around the heath and makes sure he comes to no harm.
King of France
Early in the play Lear mentions the King of France as a possible husband for
Cordelia and, in fact, he is staying with the court while he competes with another
suitor. Although Lear cuts Cordelia’s dowry down to a minimum, France still wants
to marry her, for he has grown to love her. Later he invades Lear’s kingdom when
it is threatened by those who have turned against the King.

Duke of Burgundy
The Duke of Burgundy is competing for Cordelia’s hand with the King of France.
He has no interest in her once Lear decides his youngest daughter will be cut out
of her share of his land and holdings. He serves as a contrast to the King of
France, who loves Cordelia despite her lack of dowry.

Servants
Various servants and other retainers appear in the play. In one pivotal scene,
after Cornwall blinds Gloucester, the Duke of Albany’s servants leave in disgust,
deserting their master for such heinous actions against an innocent man.