By William Shakespeare

Synopsis:

The play opens as the aging King Lear divides his kingdom into three parcels: one for each of his daughters. Although his two elder daughters, Goneril and Regan, are only too eager to profess their love for the King, the youngest, Cordelia, cannot bring herself to display the same degree of insincere adoration. Angered, Lear disowns her despite the protests of his faithful follower, the Earl of Kent, whom he banishes. Cordelia is left with nothing, but the King of France marries her despite this for her virtue and the injustice she has suffered. Lear expresses his plans to split his time between his daughters’ households, and the two privately plot against him and what they consider grave injustices.

Later, Edmund, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester, plots against his half-brother Edgar and father by convincing Gloucester that Edgar is planning to kill him to get his inheritance before the end of his father’s natural life. Then, informing Edgar of his father’s rage he advises the legitimate son to run away. Eventually, Edgar senses foul play and disguises himself as “Poor Tom,” a crazy beggar, to protect himself.

The banished Kent returns in disguise as well, joining Lear’s retinue at Goneril and her husband Albany’s home. Also in the party is Lear’s Fool, who constantly reminds him of his folly in giving up his kingdom to live at the mercy of his daughters. Goneril is inhospitable; demanding that Lear give up half of his following knights, and a furious Lear storms out and declares that he will stay with Regan instead. Upon his arrival, she and her husband, Cornwall, try to send him back to Goneril because they are not prepared for him. Goneril arrives and the two sisters anger their father to the point that he goes out into a raging storm with only his Fool, joined later by Kent and a disguised Edgar. Gloucester arrives and offers them lodging and means to reach Dover, where the King of France and Cordelia will be waiting.

Meanwhile, Edmund betrays his father’s confidence and shares the plans to travel to Dover with Cornwall, Regan, and Goneril. Accusing him of treason, they pluck out his eyes, at which point Cornwall and a servant fight and are both killed. Gloucester finally realizes that Edmund was plotting against both Edgar and himself—ironically, now that he is blind, he sees the truth. He travels to Dover with the aid of Edgar, still in disguise as Poor Tom. When Gloucester asks to be taken to a high cliff so that he can leap off, Edgar takes him instead to a small mound, then convinces him that he survived a miraculous fall. The two encounter a now-mad Lear, and finally the King is reunited with Cordelia in Dover.

One of Goneril’s servants attack Edgar and Gloucester, but Edgar kills him and finds a letter he carries, in which Goneril urges Edmund to kill Albany so that they can be married. Edgar gives the letter to Albany and tells him that a champion will appear to fight Edmund when called for. He then reveals his true identity to his father, who dies from the shock.