King Lear

King Lear is a play that explores the relationship between appearance and reality, and the tragic consequences of trusting in appearance more than reality. Lear divides his kingdom between his two...

Lear and Gloucester are both very similar in that they are betrayed and stripped of power by their children. Both wander as outcasts after having been powerful and high status people. A chief...

Shakespeare, speaking through King Lear, is using poetic license here. It is common knowledge that every baby cries as soon as it emerges from its mother's womb. If it doesn't cry of its own...

The meaning of the Fool's prophecy in Act 3, Scene 2 has been debated. It is cryptic. There are even some scholars who suppose that Shakespeare did not write it or that it has been misprinted....

Good question. It's a passage that puzzles a lot of readers. Here it is: LEARWe two alone will sing like birds i' the cage:When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down,And ask of thee...

The quote "Have more than thou showest, speak less than thou knowest, lend less than thou owest" suggests that it is best to be judicious or sensible when it comes to dealing with others in life...

The subplot of King Lear focuses on the Earl of Gloucester’s loss of power as he misjudges his children’s intentions with regard to their inheritance. Gloucester’s illegitimate son Edmund convinces...

For me the most important overall message (And I say "most important," because this is Shakespeare and there are, potentially, ump-teen "overall" messages.) would have to relate to the fact that...

One of the main themes in King Lear is the relationship between appearance and reality. When Lear calls upon his daughters to profess their love for him publicly, he's much more concerned with the...

To what the first educator said above, I would add that the motif of "nothing" recurs throughout this play, with the audience invited to ponder on what "nothing" means. Gloucester says to Edmund...

These lines are spoken by Edgar when, in his disguise as a poor, mad beggar, he comes upon his father, the Duke of Gloucester, who has been cruelly blinded and cast out by his enemies. Gloucester...

Both Lear and Gloucester, who are in many way parallel characters deceived by evil children, learn to understand the difference between appearance and reality and to realize that power can blind...

I tend to agree with the previous post by mfrison. The line implies that it is foolish to gild a butterfly since it is already naturally beautiful and does not need artificial enhancement. It...

The significance of the opening scene of King Lear lies in the fact that it establishes a number of important dramatic elements that will be developed throughout the rest of the play. First and...

King Lear is still relevant today because Shakespeare has a real knack for writing things that contain universal themes. King Lear is no different. One of the core pieces of this play is the...

When Lear says "Blow winds and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow!" he is calling upon the storm to do its worst, both to him and to the world. One can tell that he is doing both because of what he says...

Stage directions perform a variety of different functions. On one hand, a playwright's stage directions allow the actors to know who should enter the stage and from where they should enter or exit...

As far as King Lear is concerned, his relationships with his daughters are based on his power and authority, both as a king and as a father. When his two elder daughters grow up and marry other...

The main plot and subplot in King Lear make the play exceedingly complicated, especially since both old men are forced to leave their homes and roam the countryside in different places. Added to...

In William Shakespeare’s play, King Lear has all three flaws that are listed—and many more. One could argue that his central flaw, which turns into a tragic flaw, is self-centeredness. While he is...

A soliloquy is one variant of a monologue, which is a speech spoken by a single character. The soliloquy is spoken by the character alone on the stage, giving the impression of conveying an...

In act III, scene 6, Lear—with his new, exiled "court" consisting of his Fool, Edgar, and Kent—stages a mock trial of his treacherous daughters, Goneril and Regan. On one level, the scene shows, as...

These words are spoken by Gloucester, unknowingly, to his son Edgar. At this point, Gloucester has hit a very low ebb; his eyes have been gouged out by Lear's daughter, Regan, and he is thinking of...

France and Burgundy are, as Lear explains, "rivals" in Cordelia's love and have been waiting in "amorous sojourn" in Lear's court for some time. Lear knows that both of these suitors are interested...

In his play King Lear, William Shakespeare implies that adversity can have a number of different effects on the human spirit. In particular, the play shows that by suffering adversity oneself, one...

Fool That lord that counsell'd thee To give away thy land, Come place him here by me, Do thou for him stand: The sweet and bitter fool Will presently appear; The one in motley here, The other...

Lear has asked his three daughters to tell him how much they love him, promising to give the most desirable one-third of his kingdom to the one who expresses her love most convincingly. The old man...

The climax of this play definitely comes in Act V scene 3, which is when Lear and Cordelia have been captured by Edmund and they are brought on stage. What makes this scene the climax is that the...

We can summarize this line as a statement on being careful in the social world. Have tact. Be careful. Be cagey. "Don't put all your cards on the table." At least, try to refrain from exposing...

Clear instances of evil include Edmund betraying his father, brother, Goneril, and Regan by turning their father out into the storm; Regan blinding Gloucester; Edmund engaging in affairs with both...

One reason as to why King Lear could be seen as the best tragedy is because its ending is unclear in terms of its tragic implications. On one hand, the ending could be seen as profoundly moral...

As he is aging and thinking about succession, King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his daughters. If this were the entirety of his plan, it would appear sensible. However, he does not...

In this emotionally intense scene, Shakespeare has Lear uses pathetic fallacy, the literary device of allowing weather or nature to reflect an emotional state. In the opening, Lear perceives a...

The setting of King Lear is a mythologized ancient Britain; a pagan land, where Christianity and its moral values are unknown. This is crucial because the world of Lear is one in which each...

Old age and death are both significant themes in William Shakespeare's play, King Lear. There are several ways in which the characters in the play are confronted with their own mortality. An...

When Lear regains consciousness in Cordelia's tent he thinks he is still dead and that she is an angel. His imagination of being dead and in hell is so vivid that he can still see the instruments...

By the time Lear departs from this mortal coil, he's pretty much given up the ghost. Long before his physical death, his spirit was gradually worn down due to the series of tragic events set in...

The relationship between blindness and madness can also be seen in the abundant figurative language that links the two, often ironically. When professing her love for her father, Goneril says her...

It is hard not to hear these words from Cordelia, said to her beloved father, Lear, and not to scream silently at Lear in the hope of making him realise just how stupid he is being! Cordelia,...

My perspective on Shakespeare'sKing Learis that the main theme is the painful fact that each succeeding generation pushes out the generation that came before it and was responsible for its...

The two main places where I see redemption in King Lear are in the stories of King Lear and Gloucester, respectively. Both Lear and Gloucester sin, if you will, early in the play. Lear is cruel to...

In King Lear, Act II, Scene 4, the Fool says to Lear Fathers that wear rags Do make their children blind; But fathers that bear bags Shall see their children kind. This statement follows Lear's...

Loyalty and betrayal in King Lear are tied to the theme of appearance and reality. In family matters, those who appear the most loyal are the most disloyal, while those who appear disloyal are the...

This quotation is taken from act one, scene one of the play. In this scene, King Lear summons his three daughters to him and informs them that he intends to divide his kingdom between the three of...

These lines show that the relationship between Goneril and her husband, Albany, has completely disintegrated. They treat each other with contempt and loathing. Albany now despises Goneril for the...

In King Lear, Shakespeare rips the veil away from one of our most cherished ideas: that children love their parents. It is a difficult and even horrifying play because it shines a relentless...

King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester are similar in numerous ways. They both fall from high positions in old age and bewail their fate. They both have children who betray them and other children...

All three of King Lear's daughters meet their demise in the final act of the play. Goneril and Regan both die at the hand of Goneril; Regan begins to display symptoms of illness until eventually...

Lear is a king with a king's mentality. I agree with mshurn in that his most prominent trait as the play opens is his great pride. Lear has internalized the potency and the privilege of his...

Similes (comparisons using the words “like” or “as”) appear frequently in the first two acts of William Shakespeare’s King Lear and contribute in various ways to the effectiveness of those acts....