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| Plot Summary of King Lear |
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""Lear" is Shakespeare's grandest (not necessarily greatest) tragedy. From the seemingly intimate conflict between father and daughters, and between brothers, the Bard draws out the mammoth issues of fate, the nature of the gods, and forgiveness. Old King Lear divides up his kingdom capriciously between his three daughters, spurns the youngest and truest on a whim, and suffers the consequences. The son of one of his advisors, Gloucester, also plots the downfall of his good brother and ineffectual but good-hearted father. The elements seem to reflect if not conspire in Lear's fall into madness, in Gloucester's betrayal by his son, yet honest and true Cordelia, Kent, and Edgar manage to wrest some justice from an unfeeling universe that cracks and crumbles at the seams. Reading this play, or seeing it performed (especially without cuts!) is an exhausting experience."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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" King Lear decides that he is going divide his kingdom into three sections and give a section to each of his daughters. In order to decide how much land and power each daughter will get, Lear has all three make pledges of their love to him. The older two greedy daughters do so, lying to please Lear, but his favorite, so he cut her off and gave everything to his other scheming daughter and their husbands.
But after the girls get the land and the power, they no longer have any use for their father. Lear must then face the terrible mistake that he made in casting aside the only daughter who truly loved him."
Jess, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of King Lear |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- distant past/middle ages
Life of a profession:
- prince/nobleman/king/queen
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
Age:
- 40's-50's
- 60's-90's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- deluded
- emotionally unstable
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 ()
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Mountains/Cliffs
Yes
Mountains:
- falling off
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Weird Victorian/Shakespearean English?
Yes
Unusual Style:
- a lot of play on words
Is this a play?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- mostly dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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