King Lear by William Shakespeare (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of King Lear with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of King Lear by William Shakespeare, a tragic tale about the consequences of betrayal and ambition. The titular character, King Lear, makes the mistake of dividing his entire kingdom between his scheming elder daughters, Goneril and Regan, who are actively plotting against him, while disinheriting his loyal youngest daughter, Cordelia. Stripped of power and rapidly descending into madness, Lear is left to wander the barren heath with only his Fool for company, while the country he once ruled tears itself apart in a bloody civil war. King Lear is generally recognised as Shakespeare’s most nihilistic work, but has also been hailed as his greatest tragedy, and has been performed consistently since it was first written in the early 17th century.

Find out everything you need to know about King Lear in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Mar 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9782808015301

Book preview

ENGLISH PLAYWRIGHT AND POET

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.

Died in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616.

Notable works:

King Lear (1623), play

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1600), play

Richard III (1597), play

William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet, and is generally considered the most influential writer in the English language. He worked in several modes including comedy, history, tragedy, the narrative poem and the sonnet, and was active during an extraordinary flowering of creativity during the Elizabethan Renaissance – not just as a playwright, but also as an actor and as the eventual co-owner of the Globe theatre in London. Shakespeare spent 20 years in London, where he wrote all of his famous works and staged them with his own acting company, The King’s Men, and others. Shakespeare’s plays are universal in their scope, as they explore all the complexities of the human experience, from politics to love and death. Played constantly all around the world and revered for their complex characters and deft use of language, Shakespeare’s plays are now considered one of the crowning jewels of English and international literary heritage.

A TRAGIC FAMILY DRAMA

Genre: play

Reference edition: Shakespeare, W. (1997) King Lear. London: The Arden Shakespeare.

1stedition: 1623

Themes: power, virtue, father-daughter relationships, ambition, responsibility, order and justice, legitimacy, blindness

The aged King Lear, tired of the responsibilities of royalty, decides to abdicate his throne and divide Ancient Britain between his three daughters, precipitating a sharp decline into madness and tragedy for all concerned. This tragedy is both Shakespeare’s bleakest and is often considered his greatest. Originally written in 1605 or 1606 and published in the First Folio edition of 1623, the performance and literary history of