| A tragedy of epic preportions. Unparalelled in sadness and dispair, showing the true spirts of good and evil. Through the eyes of a mortal, you feel like a man among gods. |
 Cast: [top] King Lear - King of Britain Goneril - Lear's oldest daughter Duke of Albany - Her husband Oswald - her steward Regan - Lear's Second Daughter Duke of Cornwall - Her husband Cordelia - Lear's youngest Daughter King of France - Her suitor, then husband Duke of Burgandy - Her other suitor Earl of Kent - King Lear's Friend Fool - King Lear's jester Earl of Gloucester Edgar - His oldest and legitimate son Edmund - His younger and illegitimate son Curan - Gentleman who lives with them Old Man - Tennant of Gloucester's. Doctor Lots of soldiers, knights, Officers, servants, gentlemen, and extras. In my own words... [top] 1 : 1 The play starts with the decision of King Lear's to no longer govern. He wants to split his kingdom into parts to be governed by his three daughters. In order to determine who gets what land, he asks them to tell how much they love him. The Goneril and Regan flourishingly tell of their devotion, and receive land, but Cordelia refuses to say anything. She loves him too much to translate into words. Lear thinks her an ungrateful wench, and banishes her from his kingdom. The Earl of Kent pleads with the King to rethink his judgement, that Cordelia's past service (to which the other daughters had no) should stand as merit. Lear deems him ungrateful, and banishes him as well. The King of France, being a suitor to Cordelia, still wants to marry her. The King of France, Cordelia, and the Earl of Kent leave. Lear will keep one hundred knights and live with Goneril and Regan at their castles each month. 1 : 2 At the Earl of Gloucester's (Gloucester) castle, Edmund plots to usurp his brother's inheritance. He tricks his father into thinking Edgar is plotting to take his life by producing a letter. Then, he makes Edgar think his father is displeased with him. 1 : 3 Goneril, hosting Lear and his knights, tells Oswald of her displeasure at having to put up with so many riotous knights. She tells Oswald to not treat them hospitably and to tell Lear she will not be seen. 1 : 4 The Earl of Kent returns disguised to help King Learn and make sure his decision does not backfire on him. Lear accepts him, and he becomes part of Lear entourage. Lear, ready for dinner, calls Goneril forth as well as his fool. Goneril, fed up with the knights, tells her father to dismiss half of them or else not to stay there. Lear scold her for her lack of love and prepares to leave. 1 : 5 The King trades wits with his fool, and sends the disguised Kent ahead to announce his visit to Regan. 2 : 1 Edmund tricks Edgar into thinking his father is ploting to kill him and gets him to flee into the night. Then, as his brother leaves, he cuts himself. When his cries are heard, his father sees what Edgar has done as part of treachery. Gloucester names Edmund his rightful heir and puts a death warrant on Edgar. Regan and Cornwall arrive and hear of these events. All welcome Edmund into their service. 2 : 2 Kent, waiting outside Gloucester's castle for response to his message, meets up with Oswald. Kent picks a fight with Oswald, who has just arrived with a message from Goneril. Oswald cries out into the night and wakes the whole castle. Cornwall then puts Kent into the stocks (wooden restraints). Everyone leaves, and Kent falls asleep. 2 : 3 Edgar, fled, disguises himself as a crazy beggar named Poor Tom. Tom's a-cold. 2 : 4 Arriving at Gloucester's castle, Lear sees his messenger in the stocks. He goes in only to find Gloucester, who says that Regan and Cornwall will not see him. Gloucester, wanting all to be at peace, goes and gets Regan and Cornwall. They set Kent free and Regan tells her father to return to Goneril's castle and ask for forgiveness. He refuses, saying that he no longer considers her one of his daughters. Goneril arrives, and she and Regan deduce that Lear doesn't need any knights or attendants. They say that they will gladly house him if for only him. Lear finds himself shunned by his daughters and so rushes out into a raging tempest in grief. 3 : 1 Kent, looking for the King in the storm, finds a gentleman doing likewise. He learns that Lear has only his fool as company. Kent tells the gentleman that French forces are advancing on England, led by Cordelia. They exit separately to look of Lear. 3 : 2 Lear, grief-stricken, wanders through the storm. His fool begs him to return to Gloucester's, but he refuses. Kent finds him and leads them to a hovel (I assume this is some sort of cave). 3 : 3 Gloucester tells Edmund that France is advancing on England, and says that he is glad of the news. He fears Cornwall and Albany are at unrest and wants to restore Lear to the throne. He leaves to find Lear (presumably to all join Cordelia's side). 3 : 4 Kent, Lear, and the fool approach the hovel and come across Edgar (disguised as a crazy beggar). Lear refuses to take shelter, wanting to tempt fate through the elements. Gloucester finds them, and takes them to a house. 3 : 5 Edmund, producing the letter telling of the French attack, tells Cornwall of Gloucester's treachery. Cornwall names Edmund Earl of Gloucester and wants to capture his father. 3 : 6 In the house they found for shelter, Lear falls deeper into madness. He imagines Regan and Goneril on trial, with he, the fool, Edgar, and Kent as the tribunal. Gloucester returns with news of a plot on Lear's life. He tells everyone to get Lear to Dover where Cordelia is. 3 : 7 Cornwall sends men to get Gloucester, and tells Goneril and Edmund to get Albany to raise his forces against the French army. Gloucester captured, Cornwall takes out his eyes. In the process, a servant fed up with the evil of the house, wounds Cornwall (and then gets killed). Cornwall exits wounded with Regan. Servants still loyal to Gloucester help him recover and escape. 4 : 1 Edgar, still in disguise, meets his blinded father and agrees to lead him to Dover. Actually, he tells him to lead him to Cliffs near Dover. 4 : 2 Goneril and Edmund, arriving at Albany's castle, hear from Oswald that Albany thinks Gloucester's treachery not treachery at all. Goneril sends Edmund back to Regan to gather an army there. Albany then meets up with Goneril and chastises her for her mistreatment of Lear. A messenger than brings news of Gloucester's blinding and of Cornwall's death. Goneril leaves, up to no good. Albany hears of everything and vows o revenge Gloucester and Lear. 4 : 3 Kent and a gentleman discuss Cordelia's love for Lear and Lear's present status. Lear is in Dover, but to ashamed to show himself to Cordelia, the daughter he wrongly scorned. 4 : 4 Cordelia prepares for battle with the English forces, and sends out a search part to find her beloved father. 4 : 5 Regan hears of Goneril's intention to kill her husband and marry Edmund from Oswald. She, wanting Edmund for herself, tells Oswald to dissuade Goneril from her plan. 4 : 6 Edgar (still disguised), knowing his father to be suicidal, wants to dissuade him from such grief. He tells his father that he is on the verge of the cliffs, and leaves. His father jumps.....onto the ground before him. Edgar returns dressed as a peasant and says that the gods intervened to save his father. Lear then meets them, crazy. He talks of the general malaise of the world, and then runs away when Cordelia's search party enters. Oswald then finds Gloucester. Since Gloucester is ordered dead, Oswald advances to kill him. Edgar steps between them and defends his father, killing Oswald. On him, Edgar finds letters telling of the plot against Albany's life. They then go off to avoid the battle. 4 : 7 Lear, remedied of his madness, is reunited with Cordelia. He begs for forgiveness and she says all was never wrong. They are united again triumphantly. They then go off together to lead the French army. 5 : 1 Albany joins his forces with those of Regan, warring only for the age-old grudge of France vs. England. Edgar, disguised, tells Albany of the plot against his life. He says a challenger to back up the claims will be produced when necessary. Edmund, alone, ponders over which sister to marry. He also says that if England is victorious, he will have Lear and Cordelia killed. 5 : 2 Edgar sits his father down, and leaves. He then comes back and gets him. During the period, the French forces are defeated. (Never saw it coming, did ya?!) 5 : 3 Lear and Cordelia captured, Edmund orders them to prison. Lear says that they will tell tales, sing, and grow happy together in jail, while the rest are despairing. Edmund then secretly orders their execution. Albany and the rest enter, and he orders the challenger forward who can prove the plot against him true. Edgar enters, donned in full armor, and denounces his brother. Edmund and Edgar fight, and Edmund is wounded before Edgar backs off. During this, Regan exits feeling sick because of her feelings for Edmund. After the fight, Albany questions Goneril about the plot. Hanging on by a limb, she leaves. Edgar reveals his identity and tells of his being forced to live as a crazy beggar. He also says that Gloucester has died. News then arrives that Goneril has poisoned Regan and then knifed herself in grief at all the events. Kent enters, no longer in disguise, looking for King Lear and Cordelia. Edmund, not quite dead yet, confesses that he sent for them to be murdered. They send someone to stop the execution. Lear then enters carrying Cordelia's body. She had been strangled, and Lear killed the assassin. Edmund dies. Lear, at the verge of being restored to the throne, also dies.  In my humble opinion... [top] Wow. Its 5 am on Sunday, the last day of Winter Break, and I have to go to school tomorrow. I'm so nervous, that I just spent the last 4 hours writing the above. So, all of you thank me for my toil... But, really, it was no toil. This turned out to be my most favorite play, aside from Hamlet (which will forever hold a spot as my best). Everything about it was just so......so......damn good. The plot reeks of wit, and the dialog is poetic with imagery beyond comprehension. First of all, I gotta give my props to Cordelia. She was taken for granted, and still continued to love. She loved her father with all her heart, and died with him. Its a relationship that I admire, having never had the pleasure of a civil father-son relationship (tragic, I know.. I never even got a chance to make things right before he died. hell, I never even got any support anyway from those around me... sorry for the tangent.). Anyway, I can totally identify with Cordelia, so, I love her. She will always hold a place in my heart. Other things, like the phrase "Out, vile jelly" and the image of a blood smeared knife giving off steam in the cold, were images worthy of my nightmares. Those, and others, make this play an epic. The fool, offered contradictions and worldly observations that would humble anyone. He could understand the world with an air that was eerie at times. This was not just good writing on Shakespeare's part....this was immortal wit incarnate. Like the fool, Edgar in disguise spouted talk that makes him look crazy. Like the fool, his gibberish had coherency! Dammit, coherency! Imagine it! I get the impression that Jodi Foster got in Contact. Remember when the blind guy was listening to the 'noise' in one of the signals and said he heard patterns in it? Its like that! Its a profound difference of mythic proportions! So, I implore all who have not read it to read it. All who have read it, read it again. I cannot give this play the justice it deserves. Anyway, for listening material, I had a few problems. Punk was too fast, and so was ska. Slow ones like Alanis wouldn't work either. I found the key: romantic music. Don't ask me how or why I know, but just believe me that it works. Like Sneaker Pimps with '6 Underground', Duran Duran, or Barenaked Ladies with 'In the car' work great. Oh, and a warning. Don't listen to any of the depressing stuff while reading it. That Creed crap is liable to kill you. Jeff ; - ) More... [top] Enjoying King Lear - A very comprehensive study of the play. Better than this page alone. King Lear - A movie. I'm pretty sure this is the same one I rented.
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