I. About "King Lear"

1. Setting

"King Lear" is set in ancient, pre-Christian Britain. The specific places of action shift between a variety of locations around the country, from London, to Cornwall, to Gloucester, to Dover, and to the wild, untamed heaths and bogs of the English countryside.

2. Plot

There main plot of the play follows the tragic downfall of old King Lear. Having decided to retire as King of England, he plans on handing on his crown and the land to his three daughters. In order to decide which daughter gets the best piece of England, Lear holds a contest during which each daughter must profess how much she loves him. When Lear decides to give the country to his two older daughters - Goneril and Regan - and to disinherit his youngest daughter, Cordelia, things begin to go down-hill.

At the same time, a parallel plot is told about one of Lear's faithful subjects -- the Earl of Gloucester -- and his two sons: the bastard Edmund and the legitimate Edgar.

For a more detailed look at the plot, visit any of the study guide links on our home page.

3. Characters

King Lear, King of Britain
Goneril, his oldest daughter
Regan, his second oldest daughter
Cordelia, his youngest daughter
The Earl of Kent, his faithful subject
The Earl of Gloucester, another faithful subject
The Duke of Cornwall, husband to Regan
The Duke of Albany, husband to Goneril
Edmund, bastard son of Gloucester
Edgar, oldest son of Gloucester
King of France, suitor to Cordelia
The Duke of Burgundy, suitor to Cordelia
Oswald, Steward to Goneril
The Fool
Curan, a tenant of Gloucester
Doctor
Herald
Captain
Servants, Messengers, Attendants, Nobles, Soldiers

5. Themes

Some themes to look (or, in the case of the radio broadcast, listen) for include:
-- sensory perception and the value of seeing truly
-- familial relations and power structures
-- paradigms of authority and rule
-- class commentary and the question of what makes a "good ruler"
-- honesty versus deceit and reality versus image

1. The 1605-1606 Foul Papers

2. 1606 Fair Copy (Prompt Book)

3. 1608 Quarto (Copy X)

4. 1611-1612 Revised Quarto (Copy Y)

5. 1613 Revised Prompt-Book

6. 1619 Second Quarto

7. 1623 Folio (posthumous)

1. 'The moste famous Chronicle historye of Leire kinge of England and His Three Daughters' (1594)

2. 'The Chronicle History of King Leir'

3. Arcadia (1590)

4. 'A Decleration of egregious Popish Impostures, to with-draw the harts of her Maiesties Subiects from their allegeance, and from the truth of Christian Religion professed in England, under the pretence of casting out devils. Practiced by Edmunds, alias Weston the Jesuit, and divers Romish Priests his wicked associates...' (1603)