The tragedy of William Shakespeare's "King Lear". Summary

Great literary works, like their authors, will never become obsolete, and will remain loved for many, many more years. One of these authors is William Shakespeare. "King Lear", a summary of which is given below, is one of the most famous tragedies, written by him in the distant 1606 year.

So, the action takes place in Britain in the 15th century. The main characters: King of Britain Lear; The daughter of the king - Goneril, Regan and Cordelia; Count of Gloucester; Count Kent; Edgar is the son of Count Gloucester; Edmond is the illegitimate son of Count Gloucester; Dukes of Burgundy, Albanian and Cornish; The king of France. Next, we will describe the summary of "King Lear".

The old king feels that he does not live long, so he decides to share his kingdom between three beloved daughters. He calls them to himself and asks to talk about how much they love him. Gonerilia and Regan are scattered in sweet, but lying speeches, and the young simple-minded Cordelia honestly responds that she loves her father the way her daughter duty tells her. King Lear, the summary of the tragedy that we are telling you about, is not satisfied with this answer. Therefore, he deprives Cordelia of the inheritance and gives her share to Goneril and Regan.

A friend of the king, the noble Earl of Kent, is outraged by this behavior of the ruler, which is why he is expelled. The Duke of Burgundy, claiming Cordelia's hand, refuses to marry her, since she is now a dowry. However, she is married to the King of France. Cordelia, leaving her home, asks the sisters to take care of her father.

Perplexed situation and the Earl of Gloucester. He is so distressed and amazed that King Lear (the summary does not allow to reveal all the details) did so to his own daughter and close friend that he does not suspect that Edmond - his illegitimate son - wove an intrigue around him. He wants to take over part of the legacy of Edgar - the legitimate son, and therefore "substitutes" it. Edgar had to flee.

Meanwhile, King Lear (a brief summary does not convey the full atmosphere of this tragedy) is visiting the eldest daughter of Goneril, who married the Duke of Alban. She disrespectfully treats her father. She even ignores her husband's reproaches. Then Lear goes on a visit to Regan, who became the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. The king hopes that his middle daughter is more affable, but soon realizes that she is even worse than Goneril. Next to Lear is always Count Kent: he is betrayed to the king, so he disguised himself beyond recognition and hired him to serve.

Further, in the tragedy "King Lear", the brief content of which does not allow to describe in detail all the events, it is said that the king, realizing that he had betrayed Cordelia - the daughter who truly loved him, is going crazy. The Duke of Cornwall, before his death, snatches his eyes from Count Gloucester, who, in turn, understands that his son Edgar is not to blame for anything. It turns out that Edmond - a real traitor, besides the lover of Goneril and Regan. Gonerilja, learning that Edmond decided to stay with the widowed Regan, poisoned his sister, and then stabbed himself. Cordelia, learning that a misfortune has happened to her father, hurries to his aid. Both she and the king are taken prisoner. The tragedy ends with the fact that Cordelia was hanged, Edgar killed Edmond, and Lear died of grief.