King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare.
The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of
his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman
Celtic king. It has been widely adapted for the stage and motion
pictures, and the role of Lear has been coveted and played by many of
the world's most accomplished actors.
The play was written between 1603 and 1606 and later revised. Shakespeare's earlier version, The True Chronicle of the History of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters, was published in quarto in 1608. The Tragedy of King Lear, a more theatrical version, was included in the 1623 First Folio.
Modern editors usually conflate the two, though some insist that each
version has its individual integrity that should be preserved.
After the Restoration,
the play was often revised with a happy ending for audiences who
disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the 19th century
Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his supreme
achievements. The tragedy is particularly noted for its probing
observations on the nature of human suffering and kinship. George Bernard Shaw wrote, "No man will ever write a
Synopsis
King Lear, who is elderly and wants to retire from power, decides to
divide his realm among his three daughters, and offers the largest share
to the one who loves him best. Goneril and Regan both proclaim in
fulsome terms that they love him more than anything in the world, which
pleases him. For Cordelia, there is nothing to compare her love to, nor
words to properly express it; she speaks honestly but bluntly, which
infuriates him. In his anger he disinherits her, and divides the kingdom
between Regan and Goneril. Kent objects to this unfair treatment. Lear
is further enraged by Kent's protests, and banishes him from the
country. Lear summons the Duke of Burgundy and the King of France, who
have both proposed marriage to Cordelia. Learning that Cordelia has been
disinherited, the Duke of Burgundy withdraws his suit, but the King of France is impressed by her honesty and marries her anyway
Lear announces he will live alternately with Goneril and Regan, and
their husbands, the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall respectively. He
reserves to himself a retinue of one hundred knights, to be supported by
his daughters. Goneril and Regan speak privately, revealing that their
declarations of love were fake, and they view Lear as an old and foolish
man.
Edmund resents his illegitimate status, and plots to dispose of his
legitimate older brother Edgar. He tricks their father Gloucester with a
forged letter, making him think Edgar plans to usurp the estate. Kent
returns from exile in disguise under the name of Caius, and Lear hires
him as a servant. Lear discovers that now that Goneril has power, she no
longer respects him. She orders him to behave better and reduces his
retinue. Enraged, Lear departs for Regan's home. The Fool mocks Lear's
misfortune. Edmund fakes an attack by Edgar, and Gloucester is
completely taken in. He disinherits Edgar and proclaims him an outlaw.
Bearing Lear's message to Regan, Kent-as-Caius meets Oswald at Gloucester's home, quarrels with him, and is put in the stocks
by Regan and her husband Cornwall. When Lear arrives, he objects to the
mistreatment of his messenger, but Regan is as dismissive of her father
as Goneril was. Lear is enraged but impotent. Goneril arrives and
supports Regan's argument against him. Lear yields completely to his
rage. He rushes out into a storm to rant
against his ungrateful daughters, accompanied by the mocking Fool. Kent
later follows to protect him. Gloucester protests against Lear's
mistreatment. Wandering on the heath after the storm, Lear meets Edgar, in the guise of a madman named Tom o' Bedlam. Edgar babbles madly while Lear denounces his daughters. Kent leads them all to shelter.
Edmund betrays Gloucester to Cornwall, Regan, and Goneril. He shows a letter from his father to the King of France
asking for help against them; and in fact a French army has landed in
Britain. Once Edmund leaves with Goneril to warn Albany about the
invasion, Gloucester is arrested, and Cornwall gouges out Gloucester's eyes.
As he is doing so, a servant is overcome with rage by what he is
witnessing and attacks Cornwall, mortally wounding him. Regan kills the
servant, and tells Gloucester that Edmund betrayed him; then she turns
him out to wander the heath
too. Edgar, in his madman's guise, meets his blinded father on the
heath. Gloucester, not recognising him, begs Tom to lead him to a cliff
at Dover so that he may jump to his death.
Goneril discovers that she finds Edmund more attractive than her
honest husband Albany, whom she regards as cowardly. Albany has
developed a conscience - he is disgusted by the sisters' treatment of
Lear, and the mutilation of Gloucester, and denounces his wife. Goneril
sends Edmund back to Regan; receiving news of Cornwall's death, she
fears her newly widowed sister may steal Edmund and sends him a letter
through Oswald. Kent leads Lear to the French army, which is commanded
by Cordelia. But Lear is half-mad and terribly embarrassed by his
earlier follies. At Regan's instigation, Albany joins his forces with
hers against the French. Goneril's suspicions about Regan's motives are
confirmed and returned, as Regan rightly guesses the meaning of her
letter and declares to Oswald that she is a more appropriate match for
Edmund. Edgar pretends to lead Gloucester to a cliff, then changes his
voice and tells Gloucester he has miraculously survived a great fall.
Lear appears, by now completely mad. He rants that the whole world is
corrupt and runs off.
Oswald appears, still looking for Edmund. On Regan's orders, he tries
to kill Gloucester but is killed by Edgar. In Oswald's pocket, Edgar
finds Goneril's letter, in which she encourages Edmund to kill her
husband and take her as his wife. Kent and Cordelia take charge of Lear,
whose madness slowly passes. Regan, Goneril, Albany, and Edmund meet
with their forces. Albany insists that they fight the French invaders
but not harm Lear or Cordelia. The two sisters lust for Edmund, who has
made promises to both. He considers the dilemma and plots the deaths of
Albany, Lear, and Cordelia. Edgar gives Goneril's letter to Albany. The
armies meet in battle, the British defeat the French, and Lear and
Cordelia are captured. Edmund sends them off with secret orders for
execution.
The victorious British leaders meet, and the recently widowed Regan
now declares she will marry Edmund. But Albany exposes the intrigues of
Edmund and Goneril and proclaims Edmund a traitor. Regan falls ill, and
is escorted offstage, where she dies. It is stated that Goneril slipped
poison into her food. Edmund defies Albany, who calls for a trial by combat.
Edgar appears in his own clothes, and challenges Edmund to a duel.
Edgar wounds Edmund fatally, though he does not die immediately. Albany
confronts Goneril with the letter which was intended to be his death
warrant; she flees in shame and rage. Edgar reveals himself, and reports
that Gloucester died offstage from the shock and joy of learning that
Edgar is alive, after Edgar revealed himself to his father.
Offstage, Goneril, with all her evil plans thwarted, commits suicide.
The dying Edmund decides, though he admits it is against his own
character, to try and save Lear and Cordelia; however, his confession
comes too late. Soon after Albany sends men to countermand Edmund's
orders, Lear enters bearing Cordelia's corpse in his arms, having
survived by killing the executioner. Lear now recognizes Kent, but fails
to make the connection between Kent and his alter-ego, Caius. Albany
urges Lear to resume his throne, but like Gloucester, the trials Lear
has been through have finally overwhelmed him, and he dies. Albany then
asks Kent and Edgar to take charge of the throne. Kent declines,
explaining that his master is calling him on a journey. It is unclear
whether Kent intends to commit suicide, following Lear into death, or
feels he is going to die in the same manner as Lear and Gloucester.
Finally, either Albany (in the Quarto version) or Edgar (in the Folio
version) has the final speech, with the implication that he will now
become king.
Points of debate
The play opens with a formal ceremony in which King Lear seemingly
divides his kingdom among his daughters according to their avowals of
their love for him. If this were a test, it would make most sense for
Lear to hear out all three daughters before starting to divide the
kingdom. David Ball posits an alternative interpretation.[20]
He bases this analysis on the conversation between Kent and Gloucester
which are the first seven lines of the play and serve to help the
audience understand the context of the drama about to unfold.
Ball interprets this statement to mean that the court already knows
how the King is going to divide his kingdom; that the outcome of the
ceremony is already decided and publicly known. Nor do Kent and
Gloucester express the slightest surprise about the division.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that the King's "contest" has more to do with his control over the unmarried Cordelia.
Themes, Motifs & Symbols
Themes
Justice
King Lear is a brutal play, filled with human cruelty and awful, seemingly meaningless disasters. The play’s succession of terrible events raises an obvious question for the characters—namely, whether there is any possibility of justice in the world, or whether the world is fundamentally indifferent or even hostile to humankind. Various characters offer their opinions: “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; / They kill us for their sport,” Gloucester muses, realizing it foolish for humankind to assume that the natural world works in parallel with socially or morally convenient notions of justice (4.1.37–38). Edgar, on the other hand, insists that “the gods are just,” believing that individuals get what they deserve (5.3.169). But, in the end, we are left with only a terrifying uncertainty—although the wicked die, the good die along with them, culminating in the awful image of Lear cradling Cordelia’s body in his arms. There is goodness in the world of the play, but there is also madness and death, and it is difficult to tell which triumphs in the end.Authority versus Chaos
King Lear is about political authority as much as it is about family dynamics. Lear is not only a father but also a king, and when he gives away his authority to the unworthy and evil Goneril and Regan, he delivers not only himself and his family but all of Britain into chaos and cruelty. As the two wicked sisters indulge their appetite for power and Edmund begins his own ascension, the kingdom descends into civil strife, and we realize that Lear has destroyed not only his own authority but all authority in Britain. The stable, hierarchal order that Lear initially represents falls apart and disorder engulfs the realm.The failure of authority in the face of chaos recurs in Lear’s wanderings on the heath during the storm. Witnessing the powerful forces of the natural world, Lear comes to understand that he, like the rest of humankind, is insignificant in the world. This realization proves much more important than the realization of his loss of political control, as it compels him to re-prioritize his values and become humble and caring. With this newfound understanding of himself, Lear hopes to be able to confront the chaos in the political realm as well.
Reconciliation
Darkness and unhappiness pervade King Lear, and the devastating Act 5 represents one of the most tragic endings in all of literature. Nevertheless, the play presents the central relationship—that between Lear and Cordelia—as a dramatic embodiment of true, self-sacrificing love. Rather than despising Lear for banishing her, Cordelia remains devoted, even from afar, and eventually brings an army from a foreign country to rescue him from his tormentors. Lear, meanwhile, learns a tremendously cruel lesson in humility and eventually reaches the point where he can reunite joyfully with Cordelia and experience the balm of her forgiving love. Lear’s recognition of the error of his ways is an ingredient vital to reconciliation with Cordelia, not because Cordelia feels wronged by him but because he has understood the sincerity and depth of her love for him. His maturation enables him to bring Cordelia back into his good graces, a testament to love’s ability to flourish, even if only fleetingly, amid the horror and chaos that engulf the rest of the play.Motifs
Madness
Insanity occupies a central place in the play and is associated with both disorder and hidden wisdom. The Fool, who offers Lear insight in the early sections of the play, offers his counsel in a seemingly mad babble. Later, when Lear himself goes mad, the turmoil in his mind mirrors the chaos that has descended upon his kingdom.
At the same time, however, it also provides him with
important wisdom by reducing him to his bare humanity, stripped
of all royal pretensions. Lear thus learns humility. He is joined
in his real madness by Edgar’s feigned insanity, which also contains
nuggets of wisdom for the king to mine. Meanwhile, Edgar’s time
as a supposedly insane beggar hardens him and prepares him to defeat
Edmund at the close of the play.Betrayal
Betrayals play a critical role in the play and show the workings of wickedness in both the familial and political realms—here, brothers betray brothers and children betray fathers. Goneril and Regan’s betrayal of Lear raises them to power in Britain, where Edmund, who has betrayed both Edgar and Gloucester, joins them. However, the play suggests that betrayers inevitably turn on one another, showing how Goneril and Regan fall out when they both become attracted to Edmund, and how their jealousies of one another ultimately lead to mutual destruction. Additionally, it is important to remember that the entire play is set in motion by Lear’s blind, foolish betrayal of Cordelia’s love for him, which reinforces that at the heart of every betrayal lies a skewed set of values.Symbols
The Storm
As Lear wanders about a desolate heath in Act
3, a terrible storm, strongly but ambiguously symbolic, rages
overhead. In part, the storm echoes Lear’s inner turmoil and mounting
madness: it is a physical, turbulent natural reflection of Lear’s
internal confusion. At the same time, the storm embodies the awesome
power of nature, which forces the powerless king to recognize his
own mortality and human frailty and to cultivate a sense of humility
for the first time. The storm may also symbolize some kind of divine
justice, as if nature itself is angry about the events in the play.
Finally, the meteorological chaos also symbolizes the political
disarray that has engulfed Lear’s Britain.
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