King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare.

The title character descends into madness after foolishly

disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences
for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king. It has been
widely adapted for the stage and motion pictures, and the role of Lear has been coveted and played by many of
the world's most accomplished actors.
The play was written between 1603 and 1606 and later revised. Shakespeare's earlier version, The True
Chronicle of the History of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters, was published in quarto
in 1608. The Tragedy of King Lear, a more theatrical version, was included in the 1623 First Folio. Modern
editors usually conflate the two, though some insist that each version has its individual integrity that should be
preserved.
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After the Restoration, the play was often revised with a happy ending for audiences who disliked its dark and
depressing tone, but since the 19th century Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his
supreme achievements. The tragedy is particularly noted for its probing observations on the nature of human
suffering and kinship.
King Lear is widely regarded as Shakespeare's crowning artistic achievement. The scenes in which a mad Lear
rages naked on a stormy heath against his deceitful daughters and nature itself are considered by many scholars
to be the finest example of tragic lyricism in the English language. Shakespeare took his main plot line of an
aged monarch abused by his children from a folk tale that appeared first in written form in the 12th century and
was based on spoken stories that originated much further into the Middle Ages. In several written versions of
"Lear," the king does not go mad, his "good" daughter does not die, and the tale has a happy ending.
This is not the case with Shakespeare's Lear, a tragedy of such consuming force that audiences and readers are
left to wonder whether there is any meaning to the physical and moral carnage with which King Lear concludes.
Like the noble Kent, seeing a mad, pathetic Lear with the murdered Cordelia in his arms, the profound brutality
of the tale compels us to wonder, "Is this the promised end?" (V.iii.264). That very question stands at the divide
between traditional critics of King Lear who find a heroic pattern in the story and modern readers who see no
redeeming or purgative dimension to the play at all, the message being the bare futility of the human condition
with Lear as Everyman.
King Lear Summary
From the legendary story of King Lear, Shakespeare presents a dramatic version of the relationships between
parents and their children. Lear, king of ancient Britain, decides to divide his kingdom among his three
daughters: Goneril and Regan, the wives of the Duke of Albany and the Duke of Cornwall, and Cordelia, his
youngest and favorite. In an attempt to give the largest bounty to the one who loves him most, the king asks
for his daughters expressions of affection. He receives embellished speeches of endearment from the older two,
but Cordelia modestly speaks the truth, angering her father who disinherits her and banishes her forever. Trying
to intercede on Cordelias behalf, the Earl of Kent also is banished. The King of France marries Lears
dowerless daughter. Meanwhile, the Earl of Gloucester is deceived by his illegitimate son, Edmund, who leads
him to believe that Edgar, the earls legitimate son, is plotting to murder his father. Lears plans to live with his
two older daughters are immediately thwarted when Goneril turns on him, reducing his train of followers by
half. In shock from...
Expressions of affection