The Monologuer: William Shakespeare - King Lear read by Goneril Play Synopsis › Preparing for retirement, King Lear decides to split his land evenly amongst his three daughters - Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Before he bestows these gifts upon his daughters, he gives them a test in which they must profess their love for him. Both Goneril and Regan shower the king with vows of love. Cordelia says she loves Lear as a father and will love her husband as a wife should. Hearing this, Lear disinherits Cordelia and the King of France marries her. Lear's remaining daughters, Goneril and Regan also begin to rebel, and eventually Lear is cast out of his home and driven to madness. Meanwhile, an elderly nobleman named Gloucester also experiences familial turmoil. His illegitimate son, Edmund manages to convince him that his legitimate son, Edgar is plotting to assassinate him and consequently sends out a manhunt. Edgar is forced into hiding and disguises himself as a poor beggar. After learning of the King's troubles, Gloucester sets out to help him but is found for treason and is blinded. His son, Edgar leads him to safety where King Lear is also hiding.

The English army defeats the French army led by Cordelia in the effort of finding her father, and both Cordelia and Lear are captured. Over a course of unfortunate events, Edmund, Regan, Goneril, Gloucester, Cordelia, and Lear perish. Goneril says: This admiration, sir, is much o' the savour Of other your new pranks. I do beseech you To understand my purposes aright: As you are old and reverend, you should be wise. Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires; Men so disorder'd, so debosh'd and bold, That this our court, infected with their manners, Shows like a riotous inn: epicurism and lust Make it more like a tavern or a brothel Than a graced palace. The shame itself doth speak For instant remedy: be then desired By her, that else will take the thing she begs, A little to disquantity your train; And the remainder, that shall still depend, To be such men as may besort your age, And know themselves and you.

Details The Tragedy of King Lear: Plot Summary 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. Meanwhile, the King of France, present at court and overwhelmed by Cordelia's honesty and virtue, asks for her hand in marriage, despite her loss of a sizable dowry. Cordelia accepts the King of France's proposal, and reluctantly leaves Lear with her two cunning sisters.

Kent, although banished by Lear, remains to try to protect the unwitting King from the evils of his two remaining children. He disguises himself and takes a job as Lear's servant. Now that Lear has turned over all his wealth and land to Regan and Goneril, their true natures surface at once. Lear and his few companions, including some knights, a fool, and the disguised Kent, go to live with Goneril, but she reveals that she plans to treat him like the old man he is while he is under her roof. So Lear decides to stay instead with his other daughter, and he sends Kent ahead to deliver a letter to Regan, preparing her for his arrival. However, when Lear arrives at Regan's castle, he is horrified to see that Kent has been placed in stocks. Kent is soon set free, but before Lear can uncover who placed his servant in the stocks, Goneril arrives, and Lear realizes that Regan is conspiring with her sister against him. Gloucester arrives back at Regan's castle in time to hear that the two sisters are planning to murder the King. He rushes away immediately to warn Kent to send Lear to Dover, where they will find protection.

Kent, Lear, and the Fool leave at once, while Edgar remains behind in the shadows. Sadly, Regan and Goneril discover Gloucester has warned Lear of their plot, and Cornwall, Regan's husband, gouges out Gloucester's eyes. A servant tries to help Gloucester and attacks Cornwall with a sword � a blow later to prove fatal. News arrives that Cordelia has raised an army of French troops that have landed at Dover. Regan and Goneril ready their troops to fight and they head to Dover. Meanwhile, Kent has heard the news of Cordelia's return, and sets off with Lear hoping that father and daughter can be reunited. Gloucester too tries to make his way to Dover, and on the way, finds his own lost son, Edgar. Tired from his ordeal, Lear sleeps through the battle between Cordelia and her sisters. When Lear awakes he is told that Cordelia has been defeated. Lear takes the news well, thinking that he will be jailed with his beloved Cordelia � away from his evil offspring. However, the orders have come, not for Cordelia's imprisonment, but for her death. Despite their victory, the evil natures of Goneril and Regan soon destroy them.

Both in love with Gloucester's conniving son, Edmund (who gave the order for Cordelia to be executed), Goneril poisons Regan. But when Goneril discovers that Edmund has been fatally wounded by Edgar, Goneril kills herself as well. As Edmund takes his last breath he repents and the order to execute Cordelia is reversed. But the reversal comes too late and Cordelia is hanged. Lear appears, carrying the body of Cordelia in his arms. Mad with grief, Lear bends over Cordelia's body, looking for a sign of life. The strain overcomes Lear and he falls dead on top of his daughter. Kent declares that he will follow his master into the afterlife and the noble Edgar becomes the ruler of Britain. How to cite this article: Mabillard, Amanda. King Lear Plot Summary. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2004. < >.

____ King Lear Classics — Tales from Shakespeare King Lear Lear, King of Britain, had three daughters: Goneril, wife to the Duke of Albany; Regan, wife to the Duke of Cornwall; and Cordelia, a young maid, for whose love the King of France and Duke of Burgundy were joint suitors, and were at this time making stay for that purpose in the court of Lear. The old king, worn out with age and the fatigues of government, he being more than fourscore years old, determined to take no further part in state affairs, but to leave the management to younger strengths, that he might have time to prepare for death, which must at no long period ensue. With this intent he called his three daughters to him, to know from their own lips which of them loved him best, that he might part his kingdom among them in such proportions as their affection for him should seem to deserve.

Goneril, the eldest, declared that she loved her father more than words could give out, that he was dearer to her than the light of her own eyes, dearer than life and liberty, with a deal of such professing stuff, which is easy to counterfeit where there is no real love, only a few fine words delivered with confidence being wanted in that case. The king, delighted to hear from her own mouth this assurance of her love, and thinking truly that her heart went with it, in a fit of fatherly fondness bestowed upon her and her husband one-third of his ample kingdom. Then calling to him his second daughter he demanded what she had to say. Regan, who was made of the same hollow metal as her sister, was not a whit behind in her professions, but rather declared that what her sister had spoken came short of the love which she professed to bear for his Highness; in so much that she found all other joys dead in comparison with the pleasure which she took in the love of her dear king and father.

Lear blessed himself in having such loving children, as he thought; and could do no less, after the handsome assurances which Regan had made, than bestow a third of his kingdom upon her and her husband, equal in size to that which he had already given away to Goneril. Then turning to his youngest daughter, Cordelia, whom he called his joy, he asked what she had to say,thinking no doubt that she would glad his ears with the same loving speeches which her sisters had uttered, or rather that her expressions would be so much stronger than theirs, as she had always been his darling, and favored by him above either of them. But Cordelia, disgusted with the flattery of her sisters, whose hearts she knew were far from their lips, and seeing that all their coaxing speeches were only intended to wheedle the old king out of his dominions, that they and their husbands might reign in his lifetime, made no other reply but this—that she loved his Majesty according to her duty, neither more nor less. The king, shocked with this appearance of ingratitude in his favorite child, desired her to consider her words and to mend her speech, lest it should mar her fortunes.

Cordelia then told her father that he was her father, that he had given her breeding, and loved her; that she returned those duties back as was most fit, and did obey him, love him, and most honor him. But that she could not frame her mouth to such large speeches as her sisters had done, or promise to love nothing else in the world. Why had her sisters husbands if (as they said) they had no love for anything but their father? If she should ever wed, she was sure the lord to whom she gave her husband would want half her love, half of her care and duty; she should never marry like her sisters, to love her father all. Cordelia, who in earnest loved her old father even almost extravagantly as her sisters pretended to do, would have plainly told him so at any other time, in more daughter-like and loving terms, and without these qualifications, which did indeed sound a little ungracious; but after the crafty, flattering speeches of her sisters, which she had seen draw such extravagant rewards, she thought the handsomest thing she could do was to love and be silent.

This put her affection out of suspicion of mercenary ends, and showed that she loved, but not for gain; and that her professions, the less ostentatious they were, had so much the more of truth and sincerity than her sisters'.

This plainness of speech, which Lear called pride, so enraged the old monarch—who in his best of times always showed much of spleen and rashness, and in whom the dotage incident to old age had so clouded over his reason that he could not discern truth from flattery, nor a gaypainted speech from words that came from the heart—that in a fury of resentment he retracted the third part of his kingdom which yet remained, and which he had reserved for Cordelia, and gave it away from her, sharing it equally between her two sisters and their husbands, the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall, whom he now called to him and in presence of all his courtiers, bestowing a coronet between them, invested them jointly with all the power, revenue, and execution of government, only retaining to himself the name of king; all the rest of royalty he resigned, with this reservation, that himself, with a hundred knights for his attendants, was to be maintained by monthly course in each of his daughters' palaces in turn.

So preposterous a disposal of his kingdom, so little guided by reason, and so much by passion, filled all his courtiers with astonishment and sorrow; but none of them had the courage to interpose between this incensed king and his wrath, except the Earl of Kent, who was beginning to speak a good word for Cordelia, when the passionate Lear on pain of death commanded him to desist; but the good Kent was not so to be repelled. He had been ever loyal to Lear, whom he had honored as a king, loved as a father, followed as a master; and he had never esteemed his life further than as a pawn to wage against his royal master's enemies, nor feared to lose it when Lear's safety was the motive; nor, now that Lear was most his own enemy, did this faithful servant of the king forget his old principles, but manfully opposed Lear to do Lear good; and was unmannerly only because Lear was mad.

He had been a most faithful counselor in times past to the king, and he besought him now that he would see with his eyes (as he had done in many weighty matters) and go by his advice still, and in his best consideration recall this hideous rashness; for he would answer with his life his judgment that Lear's youngest daughter did not love him least, nor were those empty-hearted whose low sound gave no token of hollowness. When power bowed to flattery, honor was bound to plainness. For Lear's threats, what could he do to him whose life was already at his service? That should not hinder duty from speaking. The honest freedom of this good Earl of Kent only stirred up the king's wrath the more, and, like a frantic patient who kills his physician and loves his mortal disease, he banished this true servant, and allotted him but five days to make his preparations for departure; but if on the sixth his hated person was found within the realm of Britain, that moment was to be his death.

And Kent bade farewell to the king, and said that, since he chose to show himself in such fashion, it was but banishment to stay there; and before he went he recommended Cordelia to the protection of the gods, the maid who had so rightly thought and so discreetly spoken; and only wished that her sisters' large speeches might be answered with deeds of love; and then he went, as he said, to shape his old course to a new country. The King of France and Duke of Burgundy were now called in to hear the determination of Lear about his youngest daughter, and to know whether they would persist in their courtship to Cordelia, now that she was under her father's displeasure and had no fortune but her own person to recommend her. And the Duke of Burgundy declined the match, and would not take her to wife upon such conditions.

But the King of France, understanding what the nature of the fault had been which had lost her the love of her father—that it was only a tardiness of speech and the not being able to frame her tongue to flattery like her sisters—took this young maid by the hand and, saying that her virtues were a dowry above a kingdom, bade Cordelia to take farewell of her sisters and of her father, though he had been unkind, and she should go with him and be Queen of him and of fair France, and reign over fairer possessions than her sisters. And he called the Duke of Burgundy, in contempt, a waterish duke, because his love for this young maid had in a moment run all away like water. Then Cordelia with weeping eyes took leave of her sisters, and besought them to love their father well and make good their professions; and they sullenly told her not to prescribe to them, for they knew their duty, but to strive to content her husband, who had taken her (as they tauntingly expressed it) as Fortune's alms.

And Cordelia with a heavy heart departed, for she knew the cunning of her sisters and she wished her father in better hands than she was about to leave him in. Cordelia was no sooner gone than the devilish dispositions of her sisters began to show themselves 'in their true colors. Even before the expiration of the first month, which Lear was to spend by agreement ,with his , daughter, Goneril, the old king began to find out the difference between promises and performances. This wretch, having got from her father all that he had to bestow, even to the giving away of the crown from off his head, began to grudge even those small remnants of royalty which the old man had reserved to himself, to please his fancy with the idea of being still a king. She could not bear to see him and his knights.

Every time she met her father she put on a frowning countenance; and when the old man wanted to speak with her she would feign sickness or anything to get rid of the sight of him, for it was plain that she esteemed his old age a useless burden and his attendants an unnecessary expense; not only she herself slackened in her expressions of duty to the king, but by her example, and (it is to be feared) not without her private instructions, her very servants affected to treat him with neglect, and would either refuse to obey his orders or still more contemptuously pretend not to hear them. Lear could not but perceive this alteration in the behavior of his daughter, but he shut his eyes against it as long as he could, as people commonly are unwilling to believe the unpleasant consequences which their own mistakes and obstinacy have brought upon them. True love and fidelity are no more to be estranged by ILL, than falsehood and hollow-heartedness can be conciliated by GOOD, USAGE.

This eminently appears in the instance of the good Earl of Kent, who, though banished by Lear, and his life made forfeit if he were found in Britain, chose to stay and abide all consequences as long as there was a chance of his being useful to the king his master. See to what mean shifts and disguises poor loyalty is forced to submit sometimes; yet it counts nothing base or unworthy so as it can but do service where it owes an obligation! In the disguise of a serving-man, all his greatness and pomp laid aside, this good earl proffered his services to the king, who, not knowing him to be Kent in that disguise, but pleased with a certain plainness, or rather bluntness, in his answers, which the earl put on (so different from that smooth, oily flattery which he had so much reason to be sick of, having found the effects not answerable in his daughter), a bargain was quickly struck, and Lear took Kent into his service by the name of Caius, as he called himself, never suspecting him to be his once great favorite, the high and mighty Earl of Kent.

This Caius quickly found means to show his fidelity and love to his royal master, for, Goneril's steward that same day behaving in a disrespectful manner to Lear, and giving him saucy looks and language, as no doubt he was secretly encouraged to do by his mistress, Caius, not enduring to hear so open an affront put upon his Majesty, made no more ado, but presently tripped up his heels and laid the unmannerly slave in the kennel; for which friendly service Lear became more and more attached to him. Nor was Kent the only friend Lear had.

In his degree, and as far as so insignificant a personage could show his love, the poor fool, or jester, that had been of his palace while Lear had a palace, as it was the custom of kings and great personages at that time to keep a fool (as he was called) to make them sport after serious business—this poor fool clung to Lear after he had given away his crown, and by his witty sayings would keep up his good-humor, though he could not refrain sometimes from jeering at his master for his imprudence in uncrowning himself and giving all away to his daughters; at which time, as he rhymingly expressed it, these daughters— “For sudden joy did weep, And I for sorrow sung, That such a king should play bo-peep And go the fools among.” And in such wild sayings, and scraps of songs, of which he had plenty, this pleasant, honest fool poured out his heart even in the presence of Goneril herself, in many a bitter taunt and jest which cut to the quick, such as comparing the king to the hedgesparrow, who feeds the young of the cuckoo till they grow old enough, and then has its head bit off for

 its pains; and saying that an ass may know when the cart draws the horse (meaning that Lear's daughters, that ought to go behind, now ranked before their father); and that Lear was no longer Lear, but the shadow of Lear.

For which free speeches he was once or twice threatened to be whipped. The coolness and falling off of respect which Lear had begun to perceive were not all which this foolish fond father was to suffer from his unworthy daughter. She now plainly told him that his staying in her palace was inconvenient so long as he insisted upon keeping up an establishment of a hundred knights; that this establishment was useless and expensive and only served to fill her court with riot and feasting; and she prayed him that he would lessen their number and keep none but old men about him, such as himself, and fitting his age. Lear at first could not believe his eyes or ears, nor that it was his daughter who spoke so unkindly. He could not believe that she who had received a crown from him could seek to cut off his train and grudge him the respect due to his old age.

But she persisting in her undutiful demand, the old man's rage was so excited that he called her a detested kite and said that she spoke an untruth; and so indeed she did, for the hundred knights were all men of choice behavior and sobriety of manners, skilled in all particulars of duty, and not given to rioting or feasting, as she said. And he bid his horses to be prepared, for he would go to his other daughter, Regan, he and his hundred knights; and he spoke of ingratitude, and said it was a marble-hearted devil, and showed more hideous in a child than the sea-monster. And he cursed his eldest daughter, Goneril, so as was terrible to hear, praying that she might never have a child, or, if she had, that it might live to return that scorn and contempt upon her which she had shown to him; that she might feel how sharper than a serpent's tooth it was to have a thankless child.

And Goneril's husband, the Duke of Albany, beginning to excuse himself for any share which Lear might suppose he had in the unkindness, Lear would not hear him out, but in a rage ordered his horses to be saddled and set out with his followers for the abode of Regan, his other daughter. And Lear thought to himself how small the fault of Cordelia (if it was a fault) now appeared in comparison with her sister's, and he wept; and then he was ashamed that such a creature as Goneril should have so much power over his manhood as to make him weep. Regan and her husband were keeping their court in great pomp and state at their palace; and Lear despatched his servant Caius with letters to his daughter, that she might be prepared for his reception, while he and his train followed after. But it seems that Goneril had been beforehand with him, sending letters also to Regan, accusing her father of waywardness and ill-humors, and advising her not to receive so great a train as he was bringing with him.

This messenger arrived at the same time with Caius, and Caius and he met, and who should it be but Caius's old enemy the steward, whom he had formerly tripped up by the heels for his saucy behavior to Lear. Caius not liking the fellow's look, and, suspecting what he came for, began to revile him and challenged him to fight, which the fellow refusing, Caius, in a fit of honest passion, beat him soundly, as such a mischief-maker and carrier of wicked messages deserved; which coming to the ears of Regan and her husband, they ordered Caius to be put in the stocks, though he was a messenger from the king her father and in that character demanded the highest respect. So that the first thing the king saw when he entered the castle was his faithful servant Caius sitting in that disgraceful situation.

This was but a bad omen of the reception which he was to expect; but a worse followed when, upon inquiry for his daughter and her husband, he was told they were weary with traveling all night and could not see him; and when, lastly, upon his insisting in a positive and angry manner to see them, they came to greet him, whom should he see in their company but the hated Goneril, who had come to tell her own story and set her sister against the king her father! This sight much moved the old man, and still more to see Regan take her by the hand; and he asked Goneril if she was not ashamed to look upon his old white beard. And Regan advised him to go home again with Goneril, and live with her peaceably, dismissing half of his attendants, and to ask her forgiveness; for he was old and wanted discretion, and must be ruled and led by persons that had more discretion than himself.

And Lear showed how preposterous that would sound, if he were to go down on his knees and beg of his own daughter for food and raiment; and he argued against such an unnatural dependence, declaring his resolution never to return with her, but to stay where he was with Regan, he and his hundred knights; for he said that she had not forgot the half of the kingdom which he had endowed her with, and that her eyes were not fierce like Goneril's, but mild and kind. And he said that rather than return to Goneril, with half his train cut off, he would go over to France and beg a wretched pension of the king there, who had married his youngest daughter without a portion. But he was mistaken in expecting kinder treatment of Regan than he had experienced from her sister Goneril. As if willing to outdo her sister in unfilial behavior, she declared that she thought fifty knights too many to wait upon him; that five-and-twenty were enough. Then Lear, nigh heartbroken, turned to Goneril and said that he would go back with her, for her fifty doubled five-and-twenty, and so her love was twice as much as Regan's.

But Goneril excused herself, and said, what need of so many as five-and twenty? or even ten? or five? when he might be waited upon by her servants or her sister's servants? So these two wicked daughters, as if they strove to exceed each other in cruelty to their old father, who had been so good to them, by little and little would have abated him of all his train, all respect (little enough for him that once commanded a kingdom) which was left him to show that he had once been a king! Not that a splendid train is essential to happiness, but from a king to a beggar is a hard change, from commanding millions to be without one attendant; and it was the ingratitude in his daughters' denying more than what he would suffer by the want of it, which pierced this poor king to the heart; in so much that, with this double ill-usage, and vexation for having so foolishly given away a kingdom, his wits began to be unsettled, and while he said he knew not what, he vowed revenge against those unnatural hags and to make examples of them that should be a terror to the earth!

While he was thus idly threatening what his weak arm could never execute, night came on, and a loud storm of thunder and lightning with rain; and his daughters still persisting in their resolution not to admit his followers, he called for his horses, and chose rather to encounter the utmost fury of the storm abroad than stay under the same roof with these ungrateful daughters; and they, saying that the injuries which wilful men procure to themselves are their just punishment, suffered him to go in that condition and shut their doors upon him. The winds were high, and the rain and storm increased, when the old man sallied forth to combat with the elements, less sharp than his daughters' unkindness. For many miles about there was scarce a bush; and there upon a heath, exposed to the fury of the storm in a dark night, did King Lear wander out, and defy the winds and the thunder; and he bid the winds to blow the earth into the sea, or swell the waves of the sea till they drowned the earth, that no token might remain of any such ungrateful animal as man.

The old king was now left with no other companion than the poor fool, who still abided with him, with his merry conceits striving to outjest misfortune, saying it was but a naughty night to swim in, and truly the king had better go in and ask his daughter's blessing: But he that has a little tiny wit— With heigh ho, the wind and the rain,— Must make content with his fortunes fit Though the rain it raineth every day, and swearing it was a brave night to cool a lady's pride. Thus poorly accompanied, this once great monarch was found by his ever-faithful servant the good Earl of Kent, now transformed to Caius, who ever followed close at his side, though the king did not know him to be the earl; and be said: “Alas, sir, are you here? Creatures that love night love not such nights as these. This dreadful storm has driven the beasts to their hiding-places. Man's nature cannot endure the affliction or the fear.” And Lear rebuked him and said these lesser evils were not felt where a greater malady was fixed.

When the mind is at ease the body has leisure to be delicate, but the tempest in his mind did take all feeling else from his senses but of that which beat at his heart. And he spoke of filial ingratitude, and said it was all one as if the mouth should tear the hand for lifting food to it; for parents were hands and food and everything to children. But the good Caius still persisting in his entreaties that the king would not stay out in the open air, at last persuaded him to enter a little wretched hovel which stood upon the heath, where the fool first entering, suddenly ran back terrified, saying that he had seen a spirit.

But upon examination this spirit proved to be nothing more than a poor Bedlam beggar who had crept into this deserted hovel for shelter, and with his talk about devils frighted the fool, one of those poor lunatics who are either mad, or feign to be so, the better to extort charity from the compassionate country people, who go about the country calling themselves poor Tom and poor Turlygood, saying, “Who gives anything to poor Tom?” sticking pins and nails and sprigs of rosemary into their arms to make them bleed; and with horrible actions, partly by prayers, and partly with lunatic curses, they move or terrify the ignorant country folk into giving them alms. This poor fellow was such a one; and the king, seeing him in so wretched a plight, with nothing but a blanket about his loins to cover his nakedness, could not be persuaded but that the fellow was some father who had given all away to his daughters and brought himself to that pass; for nothing, he thought, could bring a man to such wretchedness but the having unkind daughters.

And from this and many such wild speeches which he uttered the good Caius plainly perceived that he was not in his perfect mind, but that his daughters' ill-usage had really made him go mad. And now the loyalty of this worthy Earl of Kent showed itself in more essential services than he had hitherto found opportunity to perform. For with the assistance of some of the king's attendants who remained loyal he had the person of his royal master removed at daybreak to the castle of Dover, where his own friends and influence, as Earl of Kent, chiefly lay; and himself, embarking for France, hastened to the court of Cordelia, and did there in such moving terms represent the pitiful condition of her royal father, and set out in such lively colors the inhumanity of her sisters, that this good and loving child with many tears besought the king, her husband, that he would give her leave to embark for England, with a sufficient power to subdue these cruel daughters and their husbands and restore the old king, her father, to his throne; which being granted, she set forth, and with a royal army landed at Dover.

Lear, having by some chance escaped from the guardians which' the good Earl of Kent had put over him to take care of him in his lunacy, was found by some of Cordelia's train, wandering about the fields near Dover, in a pitiable condition, stark mad, and singing aloud to himself, with a crown upon his head which he had made of straw and nettles and other wild weeds that he had picked up in the corn-fields. By the advice of the physicians, Cordelia, though earnestly desirous of seeing her father, was prevailed upon to put off the meeting till, by sleep and the operation of herbs which they gave him, he should be restored to greater composure. By the aid of these skilful physicians, to whom Cordelia promised all her gold and jewels for the recovery of the old king, Lear was soon in a condition to see his daughter.

A tender sight it was to see the meeting between this father and daughter; to see the struggles between the joy of this poor old king at beholding again his once darling child, and the shame at receiving such filial kindness from her whom he had cast off for so small a fault in his displeasure; both these passions struggling with the remains of his malady, which in his half-crazed brain sometimes made him that he scarce remembered where he was or who it was tb at so kindly kissed him and spoke to him. And then he would beg the standers-by not to laugh at him if he were mistaken in thinking this lady to be his daughter Cordelia! And then to see him fall on his knees to beg pardon of his child; and she, good lady, kneeling all the while to ask a blessing of him, and telling him that it did not become him to kneel, but it was her duty, for she was his child, his true and very child Cordelia!

And she kissed him (as she said) to kiss away all her sisters' unkindness, and said that they might be ashamed of themselves, to turn their old kind father with his white beard out into the cold air, when her enemy's dog, though it had bit her (as she prettily expressed it), should have stayed by her fire such a night as that, and warmed himself. And she told her father how she had come from France with purpose to bring him assistance; and he said that she must forget and forgive, for he was old and foolish and did not know what he did; but that to be sure she had great cause not to love him, but her sisters had none. And Cordelia said that she had no cause, no more than they had. So we will leave this old king in the protection of his dutiful and loving child, where, by the help of sleep and medicine, she and her physicians at length succeeded in winding up the untuned and jarring senses which the cruelty of his other daughters had so violently shaken. Let us return to say a word or two about those cruel daughters.

These monsters of ingratitude, who had been so false to their old father, could not be expected to prove more faithful to their own husbands. They soon grew tired of paying even the appearance of duty and affection, and in an open way showed they had fixed their loves upon another. It happened that the object of their guilty loves was the same. It was Edmund, a natural son of the late Earl of Gloucester, who by his treacheries had succeeded in disinheriting his brother Edgar, the lawful heir, from his earldom, and by his wicked practices was now earl himself; a wicked man, and a fit object for the love of such wicked creatures as Goneril and Regan.

It falling out about this time that the Duke of Cornwall, Regan's husband, died, Regan immediately declared her intention of wedding this Earl of Gloucester, which rousing the jealousy of her sister, to whom as well as to Regan this wicked earl had at sundry times professed love, Goneril found means to make away with her sister by poison; but being detected in her practices, and imprisoned by her husband, the Duke of Albany, for this deed, and for her guilty passion for the earl which had come to his ears, she, in a fit of disappointed love and rage, shortly put an end to her own life. Thus the justice of Heaven at last overtook these wicked daughters. While the eyes of all men were upon this event, admiring the justice displayed in their deserved deaths, the same eyes were suddenly taken off from this sight to admire at the mysterious ways of the same power in the melancholy fate of the young and virtuous daughter, the Lady Cordelia, whose good deeds did seem to deserve a more fortunate conclusion. But it is an awful truth that innocence and piety are not always successful in this world.

The forces which Goneril and Regan had sent out under the command of the bad Earl of Gloucester were victorious, and Cordelia, by the practices of this wicked earl, who did not like that any should stand between him and the throne, ended her life in prison. Thus heaven took this innocent lady to itself in her young years, after showing her to the world an illustrious example of filial duty. Lear did not long survive this kind child. Before he died, the good Earl of Kent, who had still attended his old master's steps from the first of his daughters' ill-usage to this sad period of his decay, tried to make him understand that it was he who had followed him under the name of Caius; but Lear's care-crazed brain at that time could not comprehend how that could be, or how Kent and Caius could be the same person, so Kent thought it needless to trouble him with explanations at such a time; and, Lear soon after expiring, this faithful servant to the king, between age and grief for his old master's vexations, soon followed him to the grave.

How the judgment of Heaven overtook the bad Earl of Gloucester, whose treasons were discovered, and himself slain in single combat with his brother, the lawful earl, and how Goneril's husband, the Duke of Albany, who was innocent of the death of Cordelia, and had never encouraged his lady in her wicked proceedings against her father, ascended the throne of Britain after the death of Lear, it is needless here to narrate, Lear and his three daughters being dead, whose adventures alone concern our story. What's It All About, Shakespeare?: King Lear’s Girls | Have Goneril, Regan and Cordelia Been Royally Screwed Up by Their Father? King Lear’s Girls | Have Goneril, Regan and Cordelia Been Royally Screwed Up by Their Father? Cordelia, Regan and Goneril: King Lear's Daughters King Lear is one of Shakespeare's best loved plays, but there are often conflicting views about its female characters. On thing is for sure, Lear girls are breaking the mould right, left and centre. I’ve written about feminism in Shakespeare - or, more accurately, feminist views retrospectively attached to Shakespeare’s work in the past.

And you could argue that my analysis of Goneril, Regan and Cordelia is verging on the Germaine Greer. However, I do believe that there is evidence within the play to support my view that Lear’s girls are a product of some shockingly bad parenting. It is evident that Shakespeare has written the women of King Lear in a way that is ambiguous and lends itself to the possibility of interpretation. Goneril and Regan, in particular, are hotly debated. It can, of course, be argued that they are the evildoers of the piece, but Shakespeare never creates two-dimensional characters. And there is some evidence within the play to suggest that the two elder daughters behave as they do in response to their treatment at the hands of Lear. The Female Characters of King Lear For example, the commencement of the play is a competition, orchestrated by Lear. He instigates the 'who loves Daddy most?' contest, which from Gloucester’s “…in the division of the kingdom it appears not which of the/Dukes he values most…” we know to be a completely arbitrary exercise. Lear also makes no secret that Cordelia is his favourite, and we can be fairly sure that he knows she loves him more than her elder sisters.

So, why does he put them to the test? Surely, the only outcome from this little exercise can be jealousy, resentment and rivalry? Therefore, can we blame Goneril and Regan for acting as they do? Goneril & Regan: Evil or Just Misunderstood Young Women? Are Goneril and Regan really all that bad? It seems to me that an audience’s dislike of Goneril and Regan is primarily created by their lust for power. However, in a male character this trait may not be so distasteful. I mean, we don’t feel quite as badly about Edmund, do we? So, it seems that it is the combination of femininity and power which is difficult to reconcile with, and that holds true even today. This is interesting, when we consider that King Lear was written approximately two years after the death of Elizabeth I. Perhaps, therefore, it is not simply the notion of a woman in a position of power that is problematic. Instead, the problem seems to arise when a woman is openly displaying ambition and succumbing to it with violent and, sometimes, cruel actions.

These seem to be typically ‘masculine’ behaviours and it appears that it's the abandoning of femininity (or typically held views regarding femininity) that an audience finds both repellent and fascinating in equal measure. From the outset, we are ostensibly offered a representation of Lear’s two elder daughters as scheming and Machiavellian. Cordelia: King Lear's Youngest Daughter Cordelia, meanwhile, appears to redeem womankind. Her honesty is both refreshing and dignified, which is in sharp contrast to her sisters' rehearsed and empty speeches. Despite her father’s obviously growing anger, Cordelia remains calm and refuses to participate in his perverse game. In fact, it seems that, of the three daughters, Cordelia has become most like her father. She certainly seems to have inherited his stubborn streak. Lear's Influence Upon His Girls King Lear has some unorthodox parenting techniques | Ian Holm as King Lear Not only this, but it is evident that Lear can be very cruel as well as mule-headed. First, we observe an instance of it in his overreaction to Cordelia’s insistence that she will not take part in the charade of dividing the kingdom.

Second, there is his callous outburst, this time directed towards Goneril, in which he prays to the gods that she be made infertile. At this particular point in the play, it seems that all Goneril has done to prompt his outburst is to ask that a portion of his entourage be dismissed. Lear's overreactions, and his cruelty to Goneril over something which is seemingly trivial, could be seen as stimulus for his daughters’ later malice. Through Lear's rages, and his bizarre way of measuring love, we are offered glimpses of his slightly unorthodox parenting style. Is it any wonder, therefore, that his daughters seem a little less than well-balanced? It is possible to view all three of Lear's daughters as victims of their father. One thing is certain, though, these women are extremely complex. Shakespeare has written three very full, interesting and diverse characters. The women of King Lear should not be considered as two-dimensional or singularly driven. Posted by Regan and Gonerill: Character Profile By Lee Jamieson Updated April 13, 2016.

Regan and Goneril from King Lear are two of the most abhorrent and subversive characters to be found in all of Shakespeare’s work. They are responsible for the most violent and shocking scene ever written by Shakespeare! Regan and Goneril The two elder sisters, Regan and Goneril, may at first inspire a little sympathy from an audience not being ‘favorites’ of their father. They may even garner a little understanding when they fear that Lear may easily treat them in the same way he treated Cordelia (or worse considering that she was his favorite). But soon we discover their true natures – equally devious and cruel. One wonders whether this unrelentingly unpleasant characterization of Regan and Goneril is there to cast a shadow over Lear’s character; to suggest that he in some way has this side to his nature. The audience’s sympathy towards Lear may be more ambiguous if they believe that his daughter’s have partly inherited his nature and are mimicking his past behavior; although this is of course balanced by the portrayal of his ‘favorite’ daughter Cordelia’s good nature. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge Made in their Father's Image?

We know that Lear can be vain and vengeful and cruel in the way that he treats Cordelia at the beginning of the play. The audience is asked to consider their feelings towards this man considering that his daughters’ cruelty may be a reflection of his own. An audiences’ response to Lear is therefore more complex and our compassion less forthcoming. In Act 1 Scene 1 Goneril and Regan compete with each other for their father’s attention and assets. Goneril tries to explain that she loves Lear more than her other sisters; “As much as child e’er loved or father found; A love that makes breath poor and speech unable. Beyond all manner of so much I love you” Regan tries to ‘out do’ her sister; “In my true heart I find she names my very deed of love – Only she comes too short…” The sisters are not even loyal to one another as they constantly vie for precedence with their father and later for Edmund’s affections. "Un-Feminine" Actions The sisters are very masculine in their actions and ambitions , subverting all accepted notions of femininity. This would have been particularly shocking for a Jacobean audience.

Goneril denies her husband Albany’s authority insisting that “the laws are mine, not thine” (Act 5 Scene 3). Goneril hatches a plan to oust her father from his seat of power by undermining him and ordering the servants to ignore his requests (emasculating her father in the process). The sisters pursue Edmund in a predatory way and both take part in some of the most horrific violence to be found in Shakespeare’s plays. Regan runs a servant through in Act 3 Scene 7 which would have been men’s work. The character’s unsympathetic treatment of their father is also unfeminine as they turf him out in to the countryside to fend for himself having previously acknowledged his infirmity and age; “the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with him” (Goneril Act 1 Scene 1) A woman would be expected to care for their ageing relatives . Even Albany, Goneril’s husband becomes shocked and disgusted with his wife’s behavior and distances himself from her. Both sisters participate in the most horrific scene of the play – the blinding of Gloucester.

Goneril suggests the means of torture; “Pluck out his… eyes!” (Act 3 Scene 7) Regan goads Gloucester and when his eye has been plucked out she says to her husband; “One side will mock another; th’other too” (Act 3 Scene 7). The sisters share the ambitious traits of Lady Macbeth but go further by participating and reveling in the violence that ensues. The murderous sisters embody a frightening and unwavering inhumanity as they kill and maim in the pursuit of self gratification. Eventually the sisters turn on each other; Goneril poisons Regan and then kills herself. The sisters have orchestrated their own downfall. However, the sisters appear to get away quite lightly; with regard to what they have done – in comparison to Lear’s fate and his initial ‘crime’ and Gloucester’s demise and previous actions. It could be argued that the harshest judgment is that no one laments their deaths. King Lear King Lear [ Next ] By John Hunter Allgood William Shakespeare: Born 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Married Anne Hathaway and had three children.

1590 he moved to London and began working as a playwright. Part owner of the Globe Theater. Wrote under both Elizabeth I and James I. Wrote thirty-seven plays and 154 sonnets. King Lear is considred one of his greatest plays along with Hamlet. Setting: 8th Century BC, all over England. The kingdom of King Lear during the turmoil brought on when Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters. Plot: The aging King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his daughters, but first puts them through a test of their love. Goneril and Regan express false love, but Cordelia has no words for Lear and is banished in his rage. The two evil daughters take control of the kingdom and neglect Lear, this leads to turmoil and unhappiness. Cordelia, Gloucester, Edgar, and Kent remain loyal to Lear and try to help him regain the kingdom from the evil daughters and Gloucesterï¿½s evil bastard son, Edmund. King Lear: Protagonist. The aging king of England. Gives up absolute power to divide the kingdom between his daughters.

He is at first disillusioned by his two evil daughtersï¿½ false love, but gradually comes to realize who is truly loyal. Cordelia: Learï¿½s youngest daughter, she is disowned for refusing to flatter him. She marries the King of France despite her lack of dowry and remains loyal to Lear despite his cruelty towards her. She leads an attack on England in an effort to rescue her father. Goneril: Learï¿½s oldest daughter and wife of the Duke of Albany. She is evil and ruthless in her desire for power. Regan: Learï¿½s middle daughter and wife of the Duke of Cornwall. As ruthless as Goneril. Both compete for Edmund. Glouster: A nobleman loyal to Lear. Father to the bastard, Edmund, and legitimate son, Edgar. Edmund deceives him into believing that Edgar is trying to kill him. Later proves loyal to Lear, despite losing his eyes at the hands of Edmund. Edgar: Gloucesterï¿½s oldest son, he is driven out because Gloucester thinks he is trying to kill him. He escapes by posing as a beggar that wanders the countryside.

Edmund: Gloucesterï¿½s younger and illegitimate son. Resents status as a bastard and plots to take control of Learï¿½s kingdom with Regan and Goneril. Kent: Nobleman loyal to Lear. He poses as a fool/peasant in order to continue serving Lear even after Lear banishes him. Very blunt and outspoken. Albany: Husband to Goneril, and is drawn into plan to control kingdom. He is good at heart and eventually denounces Goneril. Cornwall: Husband to Regan. He is cruel and violent and tries to persecute Lear and Gloucester. Motifs/Symbols: Madness, betrayal, and death. The weather- the storm symbolizes Learï¿½s rage and increasing insanity. Gloucesterï¿½s blindness symbolizes his actual blindness. Themes: Justice, Authority v. Chaos, reconciliation, love and forgiveness, and redemption. These themes grow as the play progresses, but are evident throughout. By Mackenzie Amis Author: William Shakespeare Setting: 8th century B.C.

in England, but play is based on several similar instances that occurred during Shakespeare's time Plot Summary: King Lear decides to leave the throne and split his wealth amongst his three daughters. In order to get their share of the inheritance, they must publicly profess their love to him. His oldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, make up false professions, and his youngest daughter does not give a satisfactory answer and is removed from the inheritance. Trouble begins when Lear discovers his oldest daughters do not really love him. As this is happening, the Earl of Gloucester is dealing with his two sons, Edmund the bastard and Edgar. Edmund convinces Gloucester that Edgar is planning to kill him, and Edgar must flee for his life. In the end, everyone learns about true love and its price. Lear, Cordelia, Goneril, and Regan die. Outstanding/Memorable Characters: King Lear is the King of Britain who does not understand what true love really is, and it takes the horrific and kind actions of his daughters to teach him. In the end, he goes mad and dies. Regan and Goneril are Lear's oldest daughters. They pretend to love him in order to get a larger portion of his inheritance.

In the end, Goneril kills Regan and Goneril commits suicide. Cordelia is Learï¿½s youngest daughter and the only one who truthfully tells Lear how much she loves him. Cordelia teaches Lear what love is and is killed at the end of the play. Her tragic death causes Lear to die. Gloucester is fooled by Edmund that Edgar plans to kill him. Gloucester must have his eyes taken from him in order to see the truth. Edgar and Edmund are Gloucester's sons. Edgar is the oldest, and Edmund is the illegitimate younger son. Edmund creates the story that Edgar is going to kill Gloucester. In the end, they dual and Edgar mortally wounds Edmund. Recurring Motifs/Symbols: Madness (The Fool is mad, yet he offers the best advice. Lear goes mad before he can discover the truth. Edgar is disguised as crazy poor Tom, but he is truthful). Blindness (Gloucester must have his eyes removed in order to see the truth about his sons. Both Lear and Gloucester are blind to the evils of their children). Storm (Lear is walking through a storm as he deals with a storm of problems).

Deceit (Goneril and Regan pretend to love their father when they actually do not). Themes: Love is not measured in materials (Lear learns from Cordelia what true love is). Appearance vs. Reality (Things are not always as they appear. Goneril and Regan appear to love their father most, but Cordelia actually does. Edmund appears to be truthful to his father when Edgar is really the most honorable). Death (Problems can be escaped through death, but new ones can start because of it.) Everyone is blind to something in their lives (Lear and Gloucester are blind to the motives of their children). Quotes: ï¿½How sharper than a serpentï¿½s tooth it is/ To have a thankless childï¿½ (I.iv.302-3). ï¿½As flies to wanton boys are we to thï¿½ gods;/ They kill us for their sportï¿½ (IV.i.41-2). ï¿½Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed?ï¿½ (IV.ii.49). Style/Structure: There are five acts with three to seven scenes in each.

The lines are in iambic pentameter, except when characters are mad. Play is written in a similar fashion to all other Shakespeare plays with some humor, irony, and double meanings. Humor keeps the audience interested especially the lower class. It is ironic that Lear must go mad and Gloucester blind in order to see the truth. Humorous characters like Fool appeal to the lower class, but the upper class can see how wise Fool is. Words also have multiple meanings. Sentences are mainly long, but there is a variety of structures. Tone: Reproachful (Lear to Cordelia before he learns the truth and to his subordinates). Angry (Lear and Albany to Goneril and Regan when the truth is learned. when he removes Gloucester's eyes). Loving/Caring (Lear and Cordelia after Lear discovers the meaning of true love). Point of view: Objective, which lets the viewer/reader concentrate on the actions of the play, get involved in it, and decide their own opinions By Craig Kedrowski William Shakespeare (1564 ï¿½ 1616): Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

He was not well educated as a child and did not attend a university. At the young age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. After his marriage he started out as an actor at the Globe Theatre but was not very successful. So in 1595 he started concentrating solely on writing plays (retired in 1611). Most of his plays were either tragic or comical but sometimes they were historical. His famous early works are Love's Labour's Lost (1593) and The Comedy of Errors (1590), but his most famous works are Romeo and Juliet (1595), Hamlet (1601), and Macbeth (1605). He is considered the best playwright that the world has had. Setting: The play took place in the eighth century B. C. in England. The play does not take place in a single place in England. The play is always moving around in England because of the war with France. The characters move in between Reganï¿½s, Gloucesterï¿½s, and Gonerilï¿½s castle. Plot: Aging King Lear asks which daughter loves him more, and Cordelia gives the only true answer.

But Lear thinks that Cordelia really does not love him, so he divides his kingdom between Regan and Goneril but is mistreated by them. Cordelia rescues Lear with Franceï¿½s army, but then they are defeated. In jail Cordelia is assassinated; Lear dies of grief. In a second story, Edmund tells Gloucester that Edgar is planing to kill him (Edmund is trying to kill him though). Gloucester then tries to catch Edgar, but Edgar has disguised himself as Poor Tom. Cornwall summons Gloucester and plucks out his eyes for treason, which causes Gloucester to attempt to commit suicide (Edgar saves him). In the final scene of the play everybody except Kent (dies shortly after), Edgar, and Albany die (see characters below to see how they died). Lear: The main character of the play. Father of Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. He is used to being in charge of his life, but when he splits his kingdom between his daughters, he doesnï¿½t receive the loyalty that he was expecting. He also appears to be shallow because he does not realize which daughter gave him the sincere answer.

He also inspires devotion and respect from his servants (Gloucester, Kent, and Cordelia). Goneril: Daughter of Lear, sister of Regan and Cordelia, and wife of Albany. She was backstabbing, cunning and immoral. She has an affair with Edmund. She tried to take the power away from her husband, and poisoned Regan. Albany: The husband of Goneril. He has good intentions and denounces all of the evils of Regan and Cornwall. He is very indecisive though, and he joins, Learï¿½s side, too late in the play to make an effect. Regan: The daughter of Lear, sister of Goneril and Cordelia, and wife of Cornwall. She is just as evil and self-centered as her sister. She has an affair with Edmund. She also contributes to the blindness of Gloucester and is killed by Goneril. Cornwall: The husband of Regan. He is just as bad as his wife. He is dominating and power hungry. He persecutes both Lear and Gloucester. His servant, who is defending Gloucester, eventually kills him.

Cordelia: Daughter of Lear, sister of Goneril and Regan, and wife of France. She is the one real daughter that loves Lear for who he really is. Lear didnï¿½t know that she really cared so much about him so she was disowned, but at the end she comes with Franceï¿½s army to take Lear back to her. She is captured and put in jail, where the guard kills her. Kent: Loyal nobleman to Lear. Lear dismisses him when he questions his judgement about Cordelia. Kent disguises himself and becomes a poor servant to Lear. He dies shortly after the play ends. Gloucester: The father of Edgar and Edmund. He is tricked into thinking that Edgar wants to kill him, while Edmund plots to overthrow him. He is loyal to the King, so Cornwall plucks out his eyes. He then tries to commit suicide, but Edgar saves him. Edgar tells him everything that has gone on, and then he dies. Edgar: Legitimate son of Gloucester. Edmund frames him, so he has to disguise himself as Poor Tom. He saves his father from committing suicide and plans with Albany to get revenge on Edmund.

He faces Edmund in a duel, which he wins. Edgar is an honest and passionate character, who the reader favors. Edmund: The illegitimate son of Gloucester. He is very cunning and evil. He convinces Gloucester that Edgar was trying to kill him so that he could get Gloucesterï¿½s position. He then told Cornwall about Gloucesterï¿½s loyalty towards the king. He promises love to both Goneril and Regan. He defeats the French army and orders the death of Cordelia and Lear. He is killed in a duel with Edgar. Fool: Gives advice to the king and is very intelligent. He sings lots of songs with double meaning to them. Symbols / Motifs: Weather. Madness. Poison. Betrayal. Death. Blindness. Disguises. Swords. Duels. Themes: Being figuratively blind. Being literally blind. Reconciliation and forgiveness with people. False trust in somebody you should be able to trust. Revenge for unjust action. Justice for a wrongdoing. Authority figures against non-authority figures.

Quotes: ï¿½How sharper than a serpentï¿½s tooth it is to have a thankless childï¿½ (Lear ï¿½ 1.4.302-303). ï¿½I am a man more sinned against than sinningï¿½ (Lear ï¿½ 3.2.62-63). ï¿½Ay, every inch a kingï¿½ (Lear ï¿½ 4.6.127). Style: The style is written in order to make the reader, feel sorry at the end of the play. Shakespeare also uses complex language and is very descriptive. He has parallel syntax. It is written conversational like in order to have character conflicts. Tone: The tone is very dark and morbid. It has a few comical spots, usually from the fool. The tone is used to build the reader up for the tragic end, where everybody dies. Point of View: An objective point of view. Structure: A five act, with multiple scenes, play in blank verse.

By Lisa Wojnovich AUTHOR: William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is arguably the most famous and most celebrated author to write in English. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and making his career in London, he was a successful playwright during the reigns of both Elizabeth I and James I, eventually acting, writing, and directing as well as being a partner in the Globe Theater. He wrote many types of plays, including comedies, tragedies, and histories. The development of the English sonnet in the form we know it today is in part attributed to him; he wrote 154 as well as a few longer poems. Shakespeareï¿½s style is characterized by iambic pentameter, particularly black verse.

SETTING: Various places in England, including Learï¿½s castle, Albanyï¿½s castle, Gloucesterï¿½s castle (and near it), a hovel (or cave), Dover and thereabouts (the road to Dover, the battlefield, and the British and French camps); 8th century BC PLOT SUMMARY: Lear, angered with Cordelia, splits his kingdom between Regan and Goneril, who resent Learï¿½s presence after gaining control of the kingdom. Edmund plots to and succeeds in succeeding his half brother and father to their wealth, scheming with Goneril and Regan. After Lear goes mad, he is reunited with Cordelia, who is in England with the armies of France. The British forces defeat the French, all major characters die except Kent, Albany, and Edgar, and Albany is left with the throne by default. OUTSTANDING/MEMORABLE CHARACTERS: King Lear: Protagonist, the retired King of Britain; divides kingdom between two daughters and disinherits third through pride; goes mad; after his ï¿½Fall,ï¿½ regains sanity and third daughter; dies as play closes.

Goneril: Eldest daughter of Lear, wife of Duke of Albany; rejects Lear after receiving her share of kingdom, conspiring with Regan and Cornwall; conspires with bastard Edmund to kill Albany; poisons sister Regan over him and commits suicide afterward. Duke of Albany: Husband of Goneril; rebukes Goneril for her behavior toward Lear; fights with Cornwallï¿½s forces against France; Edgar tells him of Goneril and Edmundï¿½s plot; plans to return kingdom to Lear after the battle; becomes de facto ruler of Britain when Lear dies. Regan: Middle daughter of Lear, wife of Duke of Cornwall; rejects Lear after receiving her share of kingdom, conspiring with her husband Cornwall and sister Goneril; courts bastard Edmund after death of her husband; is poisoned by Goneril Duke of Cornwall: Husband of Regan; conspires with Goneril and Regan against Lear; deceived by Edmund into gouging out Gloucesterï¿½s eyes and giving his title to Edmund; dies from a wound from a servant attempting to stop Gloucesterï¿½s torture.

Cordelia: Learï¿½s third daughter, whom he disinherits for her honesty; marries King of France; return to Britain to save her father and the kingdom from her sisters; betrayed by Edmund and is assassinated on his orders. Earl of Kent: Loyal servant of Lear; banished by Lear but returns in disguise and continues to serve him; follows Lear throughout the play. Earl of Gloucester: Father of Edgar and the bastard Edmund; tricked by Edmund into casting off legal son Edmund; Servant of Lear; transfers loyalty to Cornwall but is disgusted by his and Reganï¿½s actions and attempts to help Lear again; betrayed by Edmund to Cornwall, who gouges his eyes out; dies of a heart attack at being reunited with Edgar. Edgar: Legitimate son of Gloucester, half brother of Edmund; thrown off by him in favor of Edmund; in the guise of a beggar, takes up with Lear; alerts Albany of plot between Goneril and Edmund; mortally wounds Edmund in service of Albany, who gives back his rightful rank.

Edmund: Bastard son of Gloucester, half brother of Edgar; tricks Gloucester into throwing off Edmund; tricks Cornwall into arresting and blinding Gloucester; conspires with Goneril to kill Albany; contemplates marriage to both Goneril and Regan after Cornwallï¿½s death; orders assassination of Lear and Cordelia after battle; mortally wounded by Edgar. RECURRING MOTIFS/SYMBOLS: Madness/Chaos: The incorrectness of things and people. Deceit/Treachery: Half the characters are engaged in schemes. Weather: Pathetic fallacy; mirrors events and moods. Sight/Blindness: Blind characters are the ones who see the best; those with good vision are the ones, most often, who see the worst. Rightness/Honesty/Honor: Overall situations correct when characters possess these and worsen when they are lacking. Truth/Disguise: Disguise can be more revealing than truth. THEMES: Appearance and reality are often very different. Deceit, treachery, and dishonorableness doom their originators. Blindness is more revealing than the ability to see. Honorable people do not desert those fallen on hard times.

QUOTES: ï¿½I am a man / more sinned against than sinning.ï¿½ ï¿½ Lear (3.2.62-63) ï¿½Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile. / Filths savor but themselves.ï¿½ ï¿½ Albany (4.2.47-48) ï¿½The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices / Make instruments to plague us.ï¿½ ï¿½ Edgar (5.3.204-05) STRUCTURE/STYLE: Five-act play; predominantly blank verse (iambic pentameter), some prose, mainly among the lower class characters or those dealing with lower class characters (or those who are insane); creates alternate feelings of empathy, pathos, indignation, humor, etc. TONE: Attempts to create empathy for protagonist along with some overall moral judgment; antagonists appeared to get what they deserved. POINT OF VIEW: A play does not have one of the traditional points of view; the dialogue (and the specific limited first person points of view) makes it a play.

King Lear | Colorado Shakespeare Festival Colorado Shakespeare Festival June 1 2001 directed by Elizabeth Huddle Facing the end of his life, King Lear decides to divide his realm between his three daughters. Unlike her elder sisters Goneril and Regan, Cordelia refuses to overstate her love for their father. Infuriated by Cordelia's honesty, Lear disinherits her. The Earl of Kent intercedes on her behalf but only angers Lear further and is banished. The King of France agrees to marry Cordelia and whisks her away. The Earl of Gloucester is faced with his own family problems in the form of rivalry between his legitimate son Edgar and his bastard son Edmund. Edmund plots to become his father's lawful heir by portraying his brother as a traitor. His plot succeeds; Edgar is forced to flee for his life in the guise of a mad beggar. Goneril and Regan soon begin to resent caring for their father and demand that he dismiss his retinue. He refuses and is left to wander outdoors, crazed by his daughters' betrayals and accompanied only by his fool and the disguised Earl of Kent. Meanwhile, the scheming Edmund exposes his father Gloucester as a traitor and gains his title.

The old man is brutally blinded and led into the wilderness. As Edmund rises to power, Goneril and Regan enter into a bitter competition for his affection. When Cordelia learns how her sisters have abandoned their father she marshals an army and sets sail for England. Edgar and his father are reunited and Kent arranges for Lear to be brought to Cordelia's camp. The two reconcile and, with the French Army, face Goneril, Regan and Edmund's forces to decide the future of the kingdom. Date Further Reading Facing the end of his life, King Lear decides to divide his realm between his three daughters. Unlike her elder sisters Goneril and Regan, Cordelia refuses to overstate her love for their father. Infuriated by Cordelia's honesty, Lear disinherits her. The Earl of Kent intercedes on her behalf but only angers Lear further and is banished. The King of France agrees to marry Cordelia and whisks her away. The Earl of Gloucester is faced with his own family problems in the form of rivalry between his legitimate son Edgar and his bastard son Edmund. Edmund plots to become his father's lawful heir by portraying his brother as a traitor.

His plot succeeds; Edgar is forced to flee for his life in the guise of a mad beggar. Goneril and Regan soon begin to resent caring for their father and demand that he dismiss his retinue. He refuses and is left to wander outdoors, crazed by his daughters' betrayals and accompanied only by his fool and the disguised Earl of Kent. Meanwhile, the scheming Edmund exposes his father Gloucester as a traitor and gains his title. The old man is brutally blinded and led into the wilderness. As Edmund rises to power, Goneril and Regan enter into a bitter competition for his affection. When Cordelia learns how her sisters have abandoned their father she marshals an army and sets sail for England. Edgar and his father are reunited and Kent arranges for Lear to be brought to Cordelia's camp. The two reconcile and, with the French Army, face Goneril, Regan and Edmund's forces to decide the future of the kingdom. In director Liz Huddle's words, King Lear is "a magnificent teaching fable" with symbolic characters living in the world of a pre-Christian morality play.

Her production is reminiscent of Story Theatre: actors enter, put on a few simple costume pieces, and use their imaginations--and ours--to bring Shakespeare's poetry to life. Huddle envisions Lear's madness as a percussive storm blown from eternity. It erupts not to punish him but to prepare him for a spiritual redemption we all can share. The story will be told on a simple yet dynamic set that designer Joe Varga characterizes as a re-configured Elizabethan stage. Inspired by sculptor Gillian Jagger's Spiral, Varga creates a fragmented world of earthy textures. Composed of ramps, platforms and flats, his design is versatile, flexible and honed to the essentials. Very few props will be used, only those absolutely necessary to bring this tale to life. Costume designer Anne Watson supports Huddle's vision with simple yet elegant clothing that can be quickly layered to create new looks. While her designs are suggestive of the Elizabethan age, they intentionally conform to no single historical period and always contain a touch of modernity. Director Liz Huddle and her collaborators invite audiences to enter the beautiful world of Shakespeare's poetry, lose themselves in the fable, and leave knowing it was only a fairy tale.

2017 Plays William Shakespeare – King Lear Act 1 Scene 1 | Genius More on Genius About “King Lear Act 1 Scene 1” In this first scene of Shakespeare’s classic drama King Lear, the king announces that he will effectively retire and divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters: Regan, Goneril, and Cordelia. In exchange for their inheritance, Lear requests that each daughter publicly express her love for him. Goneril and Regan agree to the bargain and flatter him. Cordelia, the youngest daughter, refuses to play the game. Saying in an aside that her love is “richer than her tongue” (runs deeper than verbal flattery), she then tells her father that she loves him simply according to her “bond” as daughter, and that to give him all her love would leave none for husband or family. Furious, Lear declares her a “stranger to [his] heart” and denies her any inheritance, instead splitting the kingdom between his other two daughters and their husbands. Lear’s faithful servant, Kent, defends Cordelia and tries to reason with the king. Lear banishes him from the kingdom.

He warns Cordelia’s two suitors, the Duke of Burgundy and the King of France, that they will receive no dowry if they marry her. Burgundy backs off, but the King of France declares he will marry her regardless. Cordelia says a tearful and angry goodbye to her sisters and exits with her new fiance. Left alone, Regan and Goneril discuss the impulsiveness and hot temper of their aging father, and begin plotting to “do something” about him so as to ensure their power. Hidden This page is accessible to Verified artists on the song Locked This song has been locked and is considered "done." You need 600 IQ to add annotations to locked songs. "King Lear Act 1 Scene 1" Track Info

Question: What Shakespearean king had three daughters: Regan, Goneril and Cordelia?
Answer: King Lear