1. King Lear - Lear, Act IV Scene 4
By Shakespeare
King Lear
When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.
- Lear, Act IV Scene 4
What does that mean?

2. Dramatis Personae Lear – king of Britain Goneril – his eldest daughter
Regan – his second daughter
Cordelia – his youngest and favorite daughter
Albany – Goneril’s husband
Cornwall – Regan’s husband
Kent – a faithful nobleman
Gloucester – another loyal nobleman
Edgar – Gloucester’s rightful son
Edmund – a bastard of Gloucester
Fool – a loyal clown who entertains Lear

3. Our story begins a long, long time ago, in a place far, far away…
Setting: England
Time: ??

4. Lear and his three daughters

5. At Lear’s castle…
Lear decides to give up his throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters
His daughter, Cordelia, has two suitors – the king of France and duke of Burgundy
Lear asks his daughters how much they love him
Goneril and Regan flatter, but Cordelia says that she loves him no more than a daughter loves her father
“Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth: I love your majesty according to my bond; nor more nor less.”

6. Angered, Lear disowns Cordelia and divides his kingdom between Goneril and Regan
Kent tries to defend Cordelia, but Lear banishes him from Britain
Lear gives Cordelia to the king of France, and though Cordelia is not happy about leaving her father with her sisters, she leaves England with her husband
Lear gives his power to Albany and Cornwall, the husbands of Goneril and Regan

7. The treachery begins…
Lear settles down to live with Goneril with 100 of his knights
Goneril tells her steward, Oswald, to be disrespectful towards Lear
Kent returns, disguised as a man named Caius and defends Lear
Goneril offends Lear and dismisses 50 of his knights
Lear is angered and storms out of Goneril’s palace with his knights and Fool
He sends Caius (Kent) with a letter to Gloucester

8. Meanwhile…
Edmund shows his father Gloucester a forged letter that said that Edgar was planning to take over his lands
Edmund pretends to help Edgar, but is actually plotting to have Edgar removed
He persuades Edgar to flee and wounds himself to make it seem that Edgar attacked him
Gloucester is convinced and vows to capture Edgar

9. Betrayed! Kent (Caius) gets into a fight with Oswald
Cornwall and Regan break up the fight
The loyal Caius is placed in the stocks for 24 hours
Lear arrives and demands that Caius; Regan refuses, but allows Lear to stay at her palace
Regan dismisses all of Lear’s knights, and Lear leaves in anger

10. Lear goes insane
Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall are glad that Lear is gone, but Gloucester is worried for his king’s health
A storm approaches and Lear and his last servants (Caius and the Fool) walk into a health
Lear stands in the rain and curses his daughters

11. The storm builds up
Kent sends a man to Dover to tell Cordelia of her father’s plight
Kent brings Lear into a nearby cave, where they meet Edgar, who disguises himself as a madman (“Poor Tom”)
Gloucester then arrives and takes them to a farmhouse
Edmund decides to betray his father

12. He tells Cornwall that Gloucester was helping Lear
At the farmhouse, Gloucester tells Lear, the Fool, and Caius to flee because Cornwall was planning to kill them
Cornwall arrives and captures Gloucester
Gloucester is tortured, his eyes are ripped out
A servant wounds Cornwall and helps Gloucester escape
They meet Edgar (in disguise still as a madman) and Edgar leads his blind father the rest of the way to Dover, where a French army under Cordelia is stationed
Gloucester realizes that he had mistaken Edgar

13. Blind Gloucester

14. The plot tightens
On the way to Dover, Edgar and Gloucester meet Oswald
Edgar fights Oswald and kills him; he finds a letter from Goneril to Edmund, telling him to kill Albany so that she could marry him
We learn that Cornwall had died from the wound, and the Regan is also in love with Edmund…
There is conflict between sisters now

15. The storm breaks… At Dover, Cordelia sends a sentry to find her father
Father and daughter are finally reunited
Lear is unconscious when they find him, but when he wakes, he recognizes Cordelia and asks for her forgiveness

16. The final battle The English and French are at war
At the English camp, Goneril argues with Albany and fights with Regan for Edmund
Albany decides to cooperate with Goneril and Regan only because of the French invasion
The French army under Cordelia loses, and she and her father are captured by the evil Edmund
Edmund sends them to jail and orders the captain to have both of them hanged

17. The ending…
Edgar brings Goneril’s letter to Albany, and he decides to fight against Goneril and Regan
Another battle occurs, and in the climactic scene, Edgar fights Edmund and wounds his evil half-brother
Edmund admits to all his crimes and repents
Meanwhile Goneril poisons her sister Regan and commits suicide herself after learning of Edmund’s defeat

18. Edgar and Caius sent people to save Lear and Cordelia
The save Lear, but they are too late for Cordelia
Lear enters, holding Cordelia’s body
Howl, howl, howl, howl! O! you are men of stones: had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so that heaven's vaults should crack. She's gone for ever. I know when one is dead, and when one lives; she's dead as earth. - Lear, Act V Scene 3
Edgar reveals himself to his dying father, Gloucester
Caius reveals himself as Kent to Lear, who in grief over Cordelia finally recognizes his most loyal servant
Lear though is completely mad and dies of grief over his daughter’s death
Albany and Kent are left to restore order following the tragedy

19. Lear carrying Cordelia

20. The End

21. Questions to talk about…
What is Lear’s weakness?
Was Cordelia’s answer to her father appropriate?
Why do you think Lear went insane?
Did Lear deserve what happened to him?
Who do you think displayed the greatest courage in the play?
Who do you feel the most sympathy for? Why?
Who do you think has the most admirable character?
Who is the true hero of the play?
What is the significance of insanity? What does it symbolize?
Do you see a parallel between different characters?
How many people died in this play?
Where is the climax of the story?
What is the theme of the play?
Would the play have the same effect on you if it ended as “they lived happily ever after”? Do you think a tragic ending is better, or a happy one? Why?