King Lear by William Shakespeare | Summary & Analysis

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Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth analysis of the plot, characters, symbols, and themes of William Shakespeare's play King Lear.

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William Shakespeare's tragic masterpiece King Lear investigates the nature of loyalty and familial connections. It is the story of an aging king who wishes to abdicate and divide his kingdom between his daughters: Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia.

When Goneril and Regan inundate him with flattery, Lear grants them their portions. Cordelia, however, refuses to declare her love in such unctuous terms. In misguided anger, he strips her of her inheritance.

Meanwhile, his loyal advisor the Earl of Gloucester is deceived into supporting his bastard son Edmund as his successor rather than his legitimate heir, Edgar.

As neither daughter wants him in her home, and both take actions to cast him out, Lear wanders into a storm. Lear rapidly descends into madness in the wake of these events, lashing out at those most loyal to him, including Gloucester and Cordelia.

The vacuum left by his abandonment of the throne leads to a rebellion and ultimately the insane king's misunderstanding of true love and fidelity culminates in cataclysm for all.

Considered the most famous playwright in history, William Shakespeare’s King Lear was written in 1605-06. In King Lear, he blends a story from Holinshed's Chronicles with an existing play on "King Leir." He comments on British anxiety over the nature of the monarchy as the Tudor Dynasty ended.

The tragedy contains many powerful symbols including the storm, representing the savage disorder in the kingdom and Lear’s mind, blindness representing both the love Lear can’t see and the literally dark world he wanders through, and the crown representing the betrayal by his daughters. Important themes include aging, family relations, and madness & foolishness.

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