King Lear Video Summary

king lear is a tragedy written by william shakespeare around 1605 drawing on various accounts of a mythological british king named lear shakespeare's version centers on lear's descent into madness and destitution after handing the kingdom over to his greedy and selfish daughters regan and goneril shakespeare imbued king lear with themes like the dangers of a divided kingdom in order to appeal to king james his patron today king lear is respected as one of shakespeare's crowning achievements at the start of the play king lear is discussing the division of his kingdom with the earls of kent and gloucester seeking to retire lear has decided to divide his realm into three parts entrusting them according to which of his three daughters loves him the most goneril the eldest bathes her father in flattery followed by regan who attempts to outdo her sister but cordelia lear's favorite finds her sisters insincere telling her father that she loves him according to her bond no more nor less furious at cordelia's earnest answer lear strips her of her inheritance and title the earl of kent speaks out in defense of cordelia but lear will hear none of it and banishes kent from the country lear then summons the duke of burgundy and the king of france both of whom have proposed marriage to cordelia learning of her disinheritance the duke of burgundy withdraws his proposal but the king of france is endeared by cordelia's honesty and makes her his life the new queen of france true to his word lear divides his kingdom between goneril and regan awarding dominion over the regions to the daughter's new husbands the dukes of albany and cornwall privately goneral and regan call lear a foolish old man confirming cordelia's estimation of their insincerity and plot to seize their father's power decides to split his time between gonerals and regan's homes but the sisters order their servants to treat lear coldly and undermine his authority at every turn depriving him of his knights and servants meanwhile kent has disguised himself as caius lear's servant in an attempt to stay in the country in retaliation for his loyalty to lear goneril and regan place kent in the stocks betrayed and outraged leer flees to the heath with his fool and the disguised kent just as a violent storm begins to rage meanwhile the earl of gloucester's bastard son edmund decides to steal the land and legitimacy of his half-brother edgar by manipulating his father and brother against each other to this end edmond shows his father a forged letter in which his brother asks for edmond's help with overturning their father glossar urges edmond not to jump to conclusions that is until edmond returns with a self-inflicted wound which he blames on edgar prompting gloucester to initiate a manhunt for his allegedly traitorous son soon gloucester receives a letter informing him of goneril and regan's schemes against their father he decides to help lear who is slowly going mad to take shelter in dover on his way gloucester encounters edgar but does not recognize him as edgar has disguised himself as a witless beggar named poor tom to escape his father's misplaced wrath while his father is away edmond informs regan's husband cornwall of gloucester's allegiance to lear edmond adds that glossary failed to tell cornwall of an impending attack by the french army under cordelia's rule in reward cornwall promotes edmund as the new earl of gloucester and gouges out the deposed gloucester's eyes sending the blind man out into the storm overwhelmed with fury at what he has seen a servant in the household attacks cornwall killing him wandering the heath the blind gloucester laments his decision to trust edmund and expresses his wish to die still disguised as poor tom edgar encounters his father and promises to help him take his life instead edgar tricks his now blind father into believing he has survived to fall from a dover cliff heralding the event as a miracle they soon encounter lear who is now completely mad at the same time edmund becomes romantically entangled with both the widowed regan and her sister goneril whose husband the duke of albany is beginning to side with lear in an attempt to win edmond over gonero orders her servant oswald to deliver a letter to edmund that details her plan to kill albany so that she can marry him but it is intercepted by the disguised edgar who kills oswald and tells albany of gonerel's treacherous plan meanwhile clashing with the french army the british emerged victorious capturing the french queen cordelia and lear who has been recovered by the french camp edmond orders their execution and although they are reunited lear has been sedated by cordelia's doctor and barely understands who she is at the same time the widowed regan declares her plans to marry edmund but albany tells her that edmund has promised to marry goneril suddenly regan falls ill goneril has poisoned her declaring edmond to traitor albany calls for a duel disguised in armor edgar appears drawing his sword on his brother fatally wounding edmund edgar then reveals his identity telling his brother that gloucester died of happiness after learning that edgar was alive with her plan to marry edmund exposed goneril takes her own life the devastated lear soon enters with cordelia's lifeless body before dying edmond admits that he and goneril had ordered cordelia hanged to make it look like she committed suicide albany restores lear to rulership but lear is inconsolable in the wake of cordelia's death lear dies and kent and edgar are installed as equal rulers kent declines the position stating that he will soon follow lear leaving edgar to claim the kingship you

Channel: GradeSaver

Views: 163,025

Keywords: Shakespeare play, King Lear, tragedy, play, William Shakespeare, classic literature, plays, Shakespeare theater, Regan, Goneril, King James, Earl of Kent, Earl of Gloucester, Cordelia, Duke of Burgundy, King of France, Queen of France, bastard son, Edmund, half-brother, Edgar, traitorous son, Cornwall, Oswald, Albany, kingship, King of Britain, Lord Chamberlain, James Burbage, The Theatre, Elizabethan plays, tragic comedy, king's men, King James I, court, betrayal, joker, fool, first folio

Id: 4NQG2Q4czHE

Length: 7min 45sec (465 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 28 2022