King Lear
King Lear
King Lear
Play by Shakespeare
Summary of the plot or story
The story of King Lear, an aging monarch who is headstrong old man who is
blind to his weaknesses, decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three
daughters, according to which one recites the best declaration of love. Goneril
and Regan who are the selfish daughters of Lear who pretend to love him but
later treat him cruelly. Cordelia who is the loyal and unselfish daughter of Lear.
He disowns her after confusing her honesty with insolence. Edgar is Gloucester's
loyal son and heir and Edmund is Gloucester's evil bastard son. At first the
family appear to be loving and caring but this could not be further from the
truth. As the characters unfold we find greed, betrayal, lust for power, and
cruelty. In other words, they are anything but normal and caring. The end of the
play ends in death everywhere. Regan dies after being poisoned by Goneril.
Goneril stabs herself to death. Edgar reveals his true identity to his father, but
the old man dies. Mortally wounded, Edmund becomes remorseful and
countermands his order to hang Cordelia. But it is too late, and Cordelia dies.
.Lear, now a broken man, falls upon Cordelia and also dies
"Cry ' Havoc ' and let slip the dogs of war". Julius Caesar Quote (Act III, Sc. I)
" In the twinkling of an eye". The Merchant of Venice Quote Act ii. scene. 2
"The course of true love never did run smooth". A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Quote (Act I, Scene I)
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as
sweet". Romeo and Juliet Quote ( Act II, Sc. II)
Love, hate, anger, revenge, prejudice, humour, jealousy, revenge, deceit - we can
relate to all of the emotions and all of the people that the great Bard has given to
us.
styles of writing, some very effective and others not as much. One of the
of experiencing a secondary storyline going along with the main plot that
does it degrade it? Is the Gloucester's plot really needed? Many argue
essay will try to prove that the parallel plot used in " King Lear " is
Like any other kind of literature " King Lear " contains many themes;
one of which is the "parent-child relationship" conflict. Relationship
problems are very common, not only in novels but also in everyday life.
Lear starts the entire dilemma of hate and destruction by his foolish
desire for flattery. He divides his kingdom between two of his daughters
and the never ending crave for power and wealth begins. As we can assume
from the play's title, Lear and his daughters are part of the main plot.
trouble with his two sons, Edgar and Edmund. This parallel plot that ties
in with the main one sometimes actually comes into unison and characters
difficulties with their children. We can even say that Gloucester's plot
acts as an "echo" since it repeats some of the events which took place
Goneril and Regan can be said to be cold and evil judging from the
Edmund's character cruises along the same tracks - "power and wealth is the
goal". All three have disrespected their father and caused major
opportunity to experience the dilemmas and their answers not just once, but
twice. The reader can catch up on any previously overlooked points even
The parallel plot also allows the story to be more eventful, more
dramatic and tragic. There are more characters introduced and length of
the play increases. The original story would be much shorter and duller.
By using the extra plot, more action is allowed and more interest may arise
from the reader or audience. Also the play becomes more realistic when the
scene is filled with people and everyone has various assignments. The
Even though Gloucester and Lear interact with each other in the
play, they are considered two different plots. Without the minor plot, the
play would not get as much detail and the point would not be proven as
effective as it is. The ideas would not be passed through as they were
accomplished with the use of it. The play gains a lot through the addition
As we can see from the above arguments, the parallel plot is really
Shakespeare ignored the plot in the first place, his point would not be
understand the play better and improve it. The answer to many who question
the parallel plot and it's presence is simple. The plot is necessary and
without it, the play would not reach the position at which it stands right
parallel plot, he was increasing the value of his own work. Gloucester's