King Lear
Primary Characters
King Lear
: the aging King of Britian who offers his power to whichever of his three daughters supposedly loves him the most.
Goneril:
The eldest of Lear's daughers, she is ruthless and conniving. Wife of the Duke of Albany
Regan:
A brief synopsis
As the middle daughter of Lear, she is as evil and utterly without morals as her sister. Wife of the Duke of Cornwall
by Sheehan Hannan
Cordelia:
The youngest daughter of King Lear, her motivations are sometimes unclear.
She becomes married to the King of France based solely on her moral convictions,
as opposed to a political or financial marriage.
Gloucester:
An earl loyal to Lear. He has two sons, one legitimate, and the other illegitimate. Like
his king, he has trouble discerning which of his children to trust, and ends up making
an incorrect decision.
Edgar:
The eldest of the Earls two sons, Edgar is the legitimate one of the two. He takes
on a variety of disguises throughout the play.
Edmund:
The younger of the Earls sons, Edmund is a bastard who is nonetheless
loved by his father, he uses this power to take over Edgar's right to his
father's estate, title, etc. Comparable to Goneril and Regan.
Plot Synopsis
King Lear, the elderly King of Britian, has determined that he will divide his kingdom evenly amongst his three daughters,
Regan, Goneril, and Cordelia. But before he does so, he presents his daughters with a test: each of them must express to him how much she loves him. His two elder daughters, seeing power within their grasp, immediatly give flattering responses. Cordelia, his youngest daughter, says nothing, rather simply stating that she does not have any words to express her love for her father.
Regan
Goneril
Seething in anger, King Lear disowns Cordelia, who now has no dowry. The King of France,
who she has been courting, does not mind, and she gets married and goes off to France.
Sounds depressing huh? Though rather tragic overall,
King Lear does provide small bits of dark comedy, and
explores the true nature of justice against evildoers, as
well as the power of redemption.
Being rather camera shy, Cordelia didn't wish for her picture to be taken on the way
to France, so the King of France (T Payne) decided to take a picture of himself and his
two lackeys on their trip across the English channel back to his native land.
The king quickly regrets his decision, as his daughters eventually usurp the small amount
of power that he still has, driving him insane (like for real insane). He just kinda gives up and goes
out on the heath. While all this craziness is going on,
a similar situation is happening in the humble adobe of Gloucester.
The illustrious Earl of Gloucester,
with his pet cat, Snarfy.
The Earl's illegitimate son, Edmund, has managed to trick him into believing
that his legitimate son, Edgar, has got it out to kill him. Due to this, Edgar is forced
to take on the disguise of a crazy beggar (theres a lot of crazy people in this play),
and roam the heath. When he can't find Edgar (he's good with disguises), he returns his
attention to his king, and is subsequently accused of treason by Regan, who now holds
the reins of power. He is then blinded and tossed out onto the heath.
Edgar disguised as a crazy guy.
Edgar, Gloucester, Lear, and his companions all meet up in Dover, where a French army,
led by Cordelia, has arrived and will attempt to reattain the thrown for King Lear. Meanwhile
at the palace, Edmund becomes romantically involved with both Regan and Goneril, while
Goneril's husband, Albany begins to lean more and more toward the cause of King Lear. Due
this, Edmund and Goneril devise a plan to kill him.
The English and French troops clash at Dover, and the French are defeated. King Lear
and Cordelia are captured. In the climatic final last scene the is so typical in Greek and
Shakespearean drama, Goneril, our of jealousy over Edmund, poisons Regan, then commits suicide. Subsequently, her treachery is revealed to Albany. Edmund orders Cordelia to be killed in prison, and is killed himself by Edgar in single combat. Upon learning of his daughter's death, the distraught King Lear dies with the body of his daughter in his hands. Albany offers to lead the nation with Edgar and Kent, but Kent refuses. Albany and Edgar go
on to lead the English nation.