King Lear written by William Shakespeare Not all works of literature are only read. Some are performed. These are plays, or dramas. Think of it as a musical without music. Plays have been written and performed for centuries. The most famous playwright being William Shakespeare. If you haven't heard of him you are living in a cave. Is the cave nice? All of his plays are meticulously analyzed in schools. There is actually a reason for that. Shakespeare wrote with themes that never change and we can all identify with. Maybe not relate, but understand. Love, lust, hate, revenge, dread, insanity. His works are a cornucopia of these themes that we all will experience. Unless you are in that cave I mentioned. King Lear is no different. This play has it all; love, lust, hate, revenge, dread, insanity. I did not read this play. I saw it performed the way it was first presented to the world. And now the beautifully dysfunctional cast of characters; King Lear- king of Britain planning on retiring and dividing his kingdom up between his three daughters. Goneril- Power hungry eldest daughter to King Lear married to the Duke of Albany. Antagonist. Regan- Ambitious cruel middle daughter married to the Duke of Cornwall. Antagonist. Cordelia- Sweet and true youngest daughter later married to King of France. (I think she won in the husband department) Earl of Kent- Remains loyal to the king throughout the play. The Fool- He is there with the king giving advice in his jokes. Mainly he is just there.
Earl of Gloster
Earl of Gloster- Usualy played as a man, but in the play I saw it is a woman. It doesn't make a difference really. Father of Edgar and Edmund. His name sounds like a pokemon. "Go Gloster!" "Gloster has fainted." I think it's funny. Edgar-Legitamate older son of Gloster. Protaganist. Edmund- Younger bastard son of Gloster. Antagonist. This is a tragedy. Act I scene 1 King Lear has grown tired with age. He plans to divide his kingdom and relenquish his power to his three daughters. Before doing so he tests them. He asks that they declare how much they love him and that is how he will divide the land between them. Goneril and Regan give speechs of love, but Cordelia refuses saying she can not express her love for her father in words. Even though it is revealed she loved the king most and she was his favorite daughter he flys into a rage and disown her. Even though she now has no dowry the King of France weds her because they love one another. Cordelia leaves to live in France. The Earl of Kent, the king's closest advisor, sticks up for her, and then the king out of anger banishes him. The kingdom is divided between the two older sisters.
Act I scene 2 Edmund is introduced being bitter and jealous that his brother, Edgar, is legitamate while he himself is not. Edmund plots to frame Edgar with a conspiracy to kill their father. Society looks down on the illigitamate and Edmund plans to get the title and wealth from his father anyway. He ends his soliliquey saying, "Now, gods, stand up for bastards!"(Act I scene 2 line 22). In result of Edmunds clever scheme Edgar is is on the run because his father now believes through forged letters that Edgar is planning to kill him. The poor guy is confused because he is completely innocent.
Act I scene 3 King Lear after giving up his throne still expected to be treated as a king and live out his days alternating living with both Goneril and Regan. However when he arrives at Goneril's estate he is treated rudely by all of her servents. This confuses him. Act I scene 4 The loyal Kent sees that his king needs him in his old age, and even though he is banished he returns under the alius, Caius. The king charmed hires Kent as a messenger. The Fool tells jokes. Then Goneril enters. She refuses King Lears request that he keep one hundred royal knights with him. King Lear is infuriated when Goneril starts betraying him. The result of this heated encounter is Goneril sends her father away. Unsetteled King Lear has been blindsided. He beilieved Goneril loved him and now he has been disrespected and he begins to unhinge. Act I scene 5 King Lear leaves to live with Regan, and sends a message to her via Kent. The Fool predicts that Regan will treat the King the same as Goneril. Act II scene 1 Cornwall comes to visit Edmund. Edmund finds his brothers hiding place and tells him to run. When Corwall arrives Edmund has shot hims self in the leg and explains how his brother wounded him in an escape attempt. Which is false. Now there is no doubt that Edgar is plotting to kill Gloster, and Gloster now wrongly trusts Edmund more than ever oblivious to Edgar's actual loyalty and innocence. Act II scene 2 Kent arrives at Regan's place with his message from King Lear, but though a spat with Oswald, he ends up in the stocks. Also Kent reads a letter Cordilia sent him saying she would try to help to help her father from France. Only she knows Kent's true identity.
Act II scene 3 Edgar has been in hiding. He disguises himself and a poor beggar. At this part in the play he strips down to his undergarments(tighty whiteys) and covers himself with mud. During the majority of the rest of the play he runs around like this. Not complaining. Act II scene 4 King Lear arrives at Regan's estate, and is outraged to find his messenger in the stocks. Regan refuses to house her father, and Lear departs into the brewing storm furious and heart broken. His sanity is fading. Act III scene 1 Released from the stocks, Kent goes out into the storm to find King Lear. He sends word to Cordilia. Act III scene 2 Kent finds King Lear and his Fool in the storm and convinces to take shelter from the storm. Act III scene 3 Gloster is disturbed when he hears that King Lear has been locked out in the storm by both of his daughters. He tells Edmund that she is going to go out to find the poor king. Edmund rejoices and plan to now betray his father by telling the two sisters that Gloster is conspiring with the king to reclaim England. Cordilla of set has received word that her father is in trouble, so France invades England.
Act III scene 4 The storm rages on. The Fool who went in to check the shelter bounds out of it finding Edgar hiding there. The King having lost his mind asks the Edgar, disguised as the beggar, what made him loose his mind and become a beggar. Edgar tells the king that he used to have everything, but he lost it. The King in all of his insanity relates to the poor beggar. He sees that the beggar has no clothes(save for the tighty whiteys). The king in response strips down nude. This scene is very exciting. In the production I saw the set purposely falls apart and rain pours down from the ceiling. Being right before intermission I though this was quite cruel because I needed to use the restroom. Also In this semi-brief seen an elderly man runs around completely and utterly naked. No tighty whiteys provide for him. In this scene Gloster finds the King and they all take shelter. Gloster doesn't know that he will now be considered a traitor for this heroic act. Act III scene 5 Cornwall proclaims Edmund the new Earl of Gloster. Now all Edmund needs is to catch his father in the act of helping King Lear. Act III scene 6 In the shelter Edgar is humbled by the suffering of the King. Gloster leaves to find help, and comes back to tell Kent about a plan to kill Lear.
Act III scene 7 At Gloster's castle Gloster is apprehended by Cornwall and Regan. Gloster admits to helping the king proudly. They torture him. Corwall digs a knife into Gloster's eye socket and gouges out his eye. It lands on the ground. A servent loyal to Gloster steps in to stop it. He fights Cornwall fataly wounding him before Regan kills the servant with a thrown dagger. Cornwall in a rage tears out Gloster's remaining eyes before announcing "O, I am slain!"(72). Regan is now widowed and Gloster is released to wander blindly just being told that it was Edmund that betrayed him realizing now Edgar was always the one that loved him. Ironically Edgar, still disguised, is the one that find's Gloster blinded. Act IV scene 1 Edgar remains disguised as a mad beggar. Gloster lamenting over the events asks Edgar to take him to Dover to the top of a cliff with the intention of jumping off of it. Act IV scene 2 Goneril and Edmund arrive at her palace. Albany, Goneril's husband, has a good heart unlike his wife. Albany is disgusted with the sister's actions, and he doesn't even know about the blinding. Their marriage is crumbling. When Albany does find out about the blinding he decides to side with king Lear and tae down Edmund suspecting his betrayal. I started losing focus at this part in the play. I realized I had when Edmund and Goneril started making out. What just happened? Goneril is having an affair with Edmund.
Act IV scene 3
Cordelia has arrived, but King Lear refuses to see her because of his shame. A war is brewing between the three sisters.
Act IV scene 4
Cordilia is now back on set instead of just being mentioned off set. She is concerned about her father's sanity. There is a chance he might recover.
Act IV scene 5
Regan asks Oswald about a letter he carries from Goneril to Edmund. Oswald refuses to give up the letter, but Regan suspects it is about an affair between Goneril and Edmund. She feels that it would be more appropriate for Edmund to court her, a widow. She asks Oswald to deliver a letter from her to Edmund.
Act IV scene 6
Edgar still disguised leads his father to a fake cliff with a very small drop. He talls him that it is the mighty cliff and Gloster may now end his days. After Gloster falls on his face from the fake drop Edgar pretends now to be someone else. He marvels at how Gloster survived such a tremendous fall, and that there was a devil standing up there on the cliff tempting him to jump. Edgar did this to cleanse the suicidal thoughts from his fathers mind. Lear enters wearing a beautiful tiara of flowers and sticks cursing womankind running around on stage saying "Fie, fie, fie! pah! pah!” (126). An exterior of jolly madness shields his broken suffering interior of a man betrayed by the ones he thought loved him. Cordelia finally finds him. Edgar kills Oswald, "Slave, thou hast slain me," because Oswald had plans to kill Gloster and collect the reward from Regan. Edgar starting out a confused seemingly cowardly has now become a humble, wise, and brave hero. Edgar reads the letter that Goneril wrote to Edmund encouraging him to kill Albany.
Act IV scene 7
Cordilla forgives her disbelieving father.
Act V scene 1
Edgar appears disguised to Albany giving him the letter with the information containing the proven assassination conspiracy. Edmund makes out with Regan. He contemplates his situation,
"To both these sisters have I sworn my love;
Each jealous of the other, as the stung
Are of the adder. Which of them shall I take
Both? one? or neither?"(55-59).
He is so smug. Ah, Edmund you make me laugh. They emotions between these three is not love. They all know it is just lust and jealousy. I guess the bad boy act was popular even in Shakespeare's time.
Act V scene 2
The fight begins. Cordelia's side lost. She and King Lear are put in prison.
Act V scene 3
Cordelia gets an apology from her father. Edgar reveals himself and duels Edmund. Gloster is of set and after discovering Edgar's identity died out of happiness and despair.
-Now this is a tragedy, time for everyone to die-
Gonerila poisons Regan and she dies. Upon discovery Goneril kills herself, "O, she's dead!" (226). Edgar kills Edmund in combat. "Edmund is dead, my lord."(297). Edmund realized in the end that he was actually loved by both sisters "Yet Edmund was beloved." He does one last act by telling that Cordilia was sentenced to die. This is out of character because he asks them to stop it from happening. But, they are too late Cordilia was hung. King Lear carries her in. Rope still around her bruised neck and cries in despair, "Howl, howl, howl, howl!-O, you men of stone:"(259). Tears stream down his face he falls to his knees. Trying to wake her knowing she will never wake again. He dies still with hope that she will return. Edgar, Kent, and Albany are the only ones still living. Kent is elderly and feels close to death. Edgar and Albany are now the rulers.
Tragedy. We all like stories that have a happy ending, but some of the best and most stirring stories, don't. Love, lust, hate, revenge, dread, insanity. These themes live on.
