Topic > Plot Summary of Shakespeare's "King Lear"

Lear, the king of Great Britain, decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, but first asks them to tell how much they love him. Of the three daughters, only Cordelia, the youngest, tells him that she has nothing to say about how much she loves her father. King Lear then becomes angry at Cordelia and disowns her. The Duke of Burgundy, who previously wanted Cordelia as his wife, changes his mind as soon as Lear tells him that she is now without a dowry. The king of France, however, still wants to marry her and Cordelia leaves with him. When Kent, Lear's servant, tries to tell his king that he has made a mistake, Lear becomes even more furious and banishes Kent from the kingdom. Lear then divides the kingdom between Regan and Goneril and says he will live with the two accompanied in turn by a hundred of his knights. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Meanwhile, Edmund, the bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester, who is jealous of Gloucester's legitimate son Edgar, makes plans against his father and half-brother. Edmund tells Gloucester that Edgar wants to kill him. This forces Edgar to run away and disguise himself as Tom O'Bedlam. Lear first goes to live with Goneril. He becomes angry at his father and his knights and orders Oswald and the rest of his servants to be rude to Lear and his knights. After disguising himself, Kent returns and is accepted into Lear's service. When Goneril finally meets Lear, she tells him that she is tired of her knights quarreling and rebelling and asks him to get rid of half of them. Lear gets angry once again and walks away from Regan, thinking that she will be kinder and more welcoming. When Lear arrives at the castle he is angry because Regan and Cornwall refuse to see him. When Regan and Goneril finally see him, they say that they will not let him stay with them unless he gets rid of all his knights. Furious, Lear runs outside into a storm and his two daughters lock him out of the castle. Kent then goes out to find Lear and finds a gentleman who tells him that the king is near. Meanwhile, King Lear is raging and the Fool is trying to convince him to return to his daughters and seek refuge. When Kent finally finds Lear, the king is alone with the Fool. Kent then leads them to a nearby shack for shelter, but Lear does not want to go in and the Fool enters alone. He doesn't stay there long and runs off with Tom O'Bedlam, who is actually Edgar in disguise, chasing him. When Lear notices that Edgar is naked, he also takes off his clothes. At this time Gloucester finds them and tries to convince the king to come to the castle with him. Lear says he will come, but only if he can take Edgar with him. He shelters the group in a cabin outside his castle and urges Kent to take Lear to his daughter Cordelia. When Gloucester returns to his castle, Cornwall and Regan blind him as punishment for helping Lear. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay After being driven from the gates, Gloucester is led by Edgar to Dover. At Dover Oswald tries to kill Gloucester, but Edgar intervenes and kills Oswald. When Lear wakes up he sees Cordelia and asks for forgiveness, and she forgives him. Soon after, there is a battle between the French and British armies, and the French lose. As a result, Lear and Cordelia are captured and taken to prison. Albany challenges Edmund and names Edgar his champion. The two duel and Edgar wins. After the duel Edgar reveals himself to Gloucester, who then dies. Edmund tells everyone that he ordered Cordelia's execution, and he too dies shortly after. Goneril poisons Regan and then kills himself. Eventually, Lear sees that Cordelia is also dead and dies of grief.