King Lear
From Oneiropedia
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It's one helluva good play.
Contents |
Plot
Very archetypical: crazy old king splits up his kingdom between his three daughters. However, one daughter won't go along with the scheme, so she's disinherited. The king stays with his other two daughters until they disown him. So he wanders around, insane, in the wilderness with his Fool, the exiled Earl of Kent, and Edgar, son of Gloucester. The evil sisters fight as Edmund (Edgar's bastard half-brother) manipulates them, leading to a deadly face-off. Then the youngest sister dies, Lear dies, the sisters die, Edgar kills Edmund, and Gloucester dies.
Characters
- Lear, the crazy old king.
- Cordelia, his good youngest daughter.
- Goneril and Regan, the evil older daughters.
- Albany, Goneril's decent husband.
- Cornwall, Regan's crazy evil husband.
- Kent, Lear's advisor who stands up for Cordelia and gets exiled.
- France, Cordelia's suitor and later husband.
- Gloucester, another crazy old guy.
- Edgar, his good son (g for good)
- Edmund, his evil bastard son (m for malice)
Quotes
- "Why bastard? Wherefore base?"
- "Howl, howl, howl, howl, howl!"
- "Oh, you are men of stone!"
King Lear in pop culture
King Lear was the basis for Akira Kurosawa's 1985 film Ran. A sound clip from it is also featured at the end of the Beatles song "I Am the Walrus".
