Bard in Brief: King Lear
Whether you’re an English student struggling with Shakespeare Term or a NatSci desperate to keep up, Tanya Kundu is here for you
Q: What happens when you mix royalty and madness?
A: You get an old guy wandering round the countryside wearing a flower crown and feeding imaginary cheese to an imaginary mouse.
King Lear is a play which, if you haven’t studied it, you will be at an unfair disadvantage in any discussion about Shakespeare ever and also life in general. Allow me to fill you in.
Summary
Old King Lear has had enough of responsibility and wants to crawl unburdened towards death. He thinks the best way of doing this is to divide the country between his three daughters according to how much they profess to love him. His youngest daughter, Cordelia, ain’t playing that game and is banished to live with her hubby in France. Kent (Earl) has a big mouth and also gets banished.
Meanwhile Gloucester (Earl) has two sons. Edmund, the younger, is hung up about being illegitimate. He pretends that Edgar, the older brother, wants to kill his dad for inheritance. Edgar runs off, and smears mud all over himself to pretend to be a mad urchin called Poor Tom.
Back to Lear. Goneril and Regan (older sisters Cinderella style) aren’t happy that Lear wants to stay with them, bringing a troop of soldiers clattering about the place. Also Kent disguised himself and now is Lear’s servant. Many arguments ensue. Lear gets chucked out into the storm with Kent and the Fool.
Lear, Kent and Fool go a bit mad in the storm and team up with Edgar/ Poor Tom. Gloucester finds them, doesn’t clock that Poor Tom is Edgar and invites them in.
“If you haven’t studied it, you will be at an unfair disadvantage in any discussion about Shakespeare ever and also life in general”
Plot twist: Gloucester is teaming up with Cordelia and the King of France to reinstate Lear as King. Edmund tells Regan’s husband Cornwall. Cornwall gouges Gloucester’s eyes out, potentially with his foot-spurs. The Fool may or may not get hanged, but doesn’t appear henceforth. Edgar is revealed as innocent to Gloucester. A servant kills Cornwall; Regan kills the servant.
Weird chats between Lear and Gloucester and general roaming round the countryside. Father-daughter reconciliation as Cordelia returns, but she loses the battle against her sisters and is imprisoned with Lear. Love triangle between Edmund, Goneril and Regan.
Gloucester dies when Edgar finally reveals himself to him. Goneril poisons Regan and then stabs herself over Edmund. Edmund got a random Captain to hang Cordelia in prison. Edgar duels Edmund, and wounds him. Edmund has a change of heart and sends people to retrieve Lear and Cordelia. Lear dies of a broken heart surrounded by his three dead daughters. Edmund dies, and I quote, “that’s but a trifle here”. Kent (probably) commits suicide because Lear is dead, leaving Edgar and Albany (Goneril’s irrelevant husband) in charge with a massive funeral to prepare.
Backstage
Marriage Count: One
Death count: 11.5 including some more minor deaths and the Fool as a 0.5
Best Line: Kent – “Thou whoreson zed unnecessary letter”
Rating: 9.5/10
