Summary of King Lear
King Lear is a tragic play which revolves around a King’s life that undergoes a massive change due to his impulsive decision. It is written by William Shakespeare and this article will help you in learning about the King Lear summary efficiently. King Lear was an elderly king who decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters before retirement. Thus, he asks them to express their love for him.
The oldest two flatter him a lot but the third one stays silent. This angers King Lear and he banishes her. Moreover, he divides the kingdom only between the two. After that, the eldest daughters reject him and force him to flee. The third daughter, who loves him dearly, fights for justice for her father. However, she loses the battle and is executed. Lear also dies of sorrow. Hence, King Lear summary tells us what a tragedy the story is.
King Lear Summary in English
King Lear is one of the greatest tragedies written by William Shakespeare. It tells us a story about a king whose ego gets the better of him. King Lear Summary will help us get a better understanding of it. King Lear is an elderly king whose time for retirement is near. He decides to split the kingdom amongst his three daughters.
Before the division, he conducts a contest. It requires all three daughters to express their love for their father. He expects his youngest daughter, Cordelia to win as she loves him the most. The two older ones, Goneril and Regan, start flattering him. However, Cordelia doesn’t say anything as she cannot express her love in words.
King Lear gets furious at her for saying nothing. After that, he divides the land amongst his two elder daughters only. The King of France still marries Cordelia despite her having no land.
On the other hand, Gloucester is also facing problems at home. His illegitimate son, Edmund, convinces him that his legitimate son, Edgar, wants him dead. Thus, Edgar flees and disguises as a crazy beggar.
After the division by Lear, both the daughters start treating him badly. This drives him mad so he runs off into a storm. Kent and his fool join Lear there. Moreover, Edgar also joins them and together they lead him out of the storm.
Finally, he reunites with Cordelia who is upset at her father’s condition. She decides to go at war to bring justice to her father. Back at the kingdom, Goneril and Regan are falling in love with Edmund.
Goneril poisons her sister Regan so she does not get together with Edmund. Cordelia loses the war and is taken a prisoner along with her father. Edmund conspires to have her killed. Further, Edmund fights a duel with Edgar. He kills Edgar in the duel.
On the other hand, Goneril kills herself due to the guilt of killing her sister. They execute Cordelia for treason and thus, King Lear also dies out of grief at her death. So, we see how Lear becomes a tragic hero.
To sum it up, King Lear summary takes us through the transformation brought in Lear’s life. Moreover, it also explains the reasons which lead to his death. Besides, it is also a perfect example of where one receives a punishment exceeding his crime.
Conclusion of King Lear Summary
King Lear summary tells us a great deal about flawed relationships we have with our parents. In addition, it also throws light on the personal greed of humans and the extent to which one is willing to go for it.
The wonderful summary thank you for this.
They did not belong to the family of gorden cook and you also didn’t write the spelling correct it’s James cook 😶😑
What’s funny is that Miss Fairchild said the line- “Money isn’t everything. But people always misunderstand things and remain stupid-” when she herself misunderstood the situation.