King Lear Summary

Plot overview

King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies: an aging monarch decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters and retire, asking each to declare her love. When his youngest, Cordelia, refuses flattery and is disowned, Lear’s decision sets off a chain of betrayals and political scheming that rip the realm and his family apart.

The play follows parallel plots. Lear wanders from royal comfort into storm and madness as his two eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, turn on him and each other, while his loyal courtier Kent remains disguised to serve him. Alongside this, the nobleman Gloucester is betrayed by his illegitimate son Edmund, who deceives him and drives a wedge between Gloucester and his legitimate son, Edgar. The Fool and a small circle of faithful allies try to anchor Lear as his grasp on reason slips; Cordelia returns with the French court to seek reconciliation. Themes of loyalty, ambition, filial ingratitude, and power play out against increasingly violent political conflict.

King Lear endures because it stages an intimate human collapse within a wider breakdown of authority. The play’s stark emotional arcs — parental vanity, filial response, deceit and devotion — remain compelling, and its blend of raw tragedy and moral complexity continues to challenge and move readers and audiences.

Chapter summaries

1. Act 1, Scene 1: Lear divides his kingdomLear proposes to divide his kingdom among his daughters and disowns Cordelia when she refuses to flatter him.
2. Act 1, Scene 2: Edmund’s Plotting SceneEdmund forges mistrust between Gloucester and Edgar and maneuvers to seize his brother’s place and inheritance.
3. Act 1, Scene 3: Goneril's PlottingGoneril instructs her steward Oswald to neglect Lear’s retinue and provoke him so she can justify limiting his power at her household.
4. Act 1, Scene 4: Lear Confronts GonerilKent returns in disguise; Lear confronts Goneril about her servants and is insulted, enrages her, and resolves to rely on Cordelia.
5. Act 1, Scene 5: Before Albany's PalaceLear prepares to travel to Gloucester, sends Kent with letters, and exchanges riddling banter with the Fool about his daughters and aging.
6. Act 2, Scene 1: Gloucester's CourtEdmund engineers Edgar's exposure as a traitor while Cornwall and Regan arrive at Gloucester's castle seeking counsel.
7. Act 2, Scene 2: Before Gloucester’s CastleKent assaults Oswald for insulting the King’s messenger, is arrested and put in the stocks before Gloucester’s castle while Kent reads Cordelia’s letter and falls asleep.
8. Act 2, Scene 4: Lear Confronts His DaughtersLear arrives at Gloucester’s castle, discovers Kent in the stocks, and is told Goneril and Regan will limit his retinue, provoking his rage and departure into the storm.
9. Act 3, Scene 1: A Heath, a StormKent meets a Gentleman on a stormy heath and learns King Lear rages against the elements with only the Fool at his side.
10. Act 3, Scene 2: Storm on the HeathLear rages at the storm and at his daughters' ingratitude; Kent and the Fool try to shelter him as his reason begins to fray.
11. Act 3, Scene 3: A Room in Gloucester's CastleGloucester secretly plans to help the King while Edmund resolves to expose him and seize advantage.
12. Act 3, Scene 4: On the Heath; HovelIn a storm on the heath Lear, Kent and the Fool meet Edgar as Poor Tom; Gloucester finds them and brings them into a hovel for shelter.
13. Act 3, Scene 6: Farmhouse Chamber TrialLear, raving and conducting a mock trial, is hidden and carried off to safety by Gloucester and Kent while Edgar watches and reflects.
14. Act 3, Scene 7: Gloucester's BlindingCornwall, Regan and others capture Gloucester, accuse him of treason, and brutally gouge out his eyes in the castle.
15. Act 4, Scene 1: The heathEdgar, disguised as Poor Tom, meets the blinded Gloucester on the heath and agrees to lead him toward Dover and to a cliff where Gloucester intends to end his life.
16. Act 4, Scene 2: Before Albany’s PalaceGoneril and Edmund plot while Albany confronts Goneril; news arrives that Cornwall is dead and Gloucester has been blinded.
17. Act 4, Scene 3: The French camp near DoverKent learns why the King of France has returned home and reports Cordelia's restrained grief and Lear's shame-driven refusal to see her.
18. Act 4, Scene 4: The French camp — A TentCordelia searches for her mad father Lear in the French camp and prepares to meet the approaching British forces.
19. Act 4, Scene 5: A Room in Gloucester's CastleRegan and Oswald discuss troop movements, Edmund’s whereabouts, and plot to have Gloucester killed while Regan pressures Oswald over Goneril’s letter.
20. Act 4, Scene 6: Cliffside Rescue and MadnessGloucester, led by Edgar, falls from a cliff but survives; Lear, in madness, appears; Oswald confronts them and dies, revealing Goneril's treachery.
21. Act 4, Scene 7: A Tent in the French CampCordelia and Kent tend the sleeping, broken King Lear in the French camp; Lear wakes confused and then is led away to rest.
22. Act 5, Scene 1: The British Camp near DoverArmies prepare for battle near Dover as plots and rivalries among Edmund, Regan and Goneril surface and Edgar brings a crucial letter.
23. Act 5, Scene 3: The British Camp near DoverEdmund's defeat and deaths bring the play to its tragic close: Cordelia dies, Lear dies holding her, Edmund is exposed and dies, and Albany restores order.

Characters

• GloucesterMajor character
• KentMajor character
• King LearProtagonist
• EdmundAntagonist
• GonerilAntagonist
• ReganMajor character
• CordeliaMajor character
• EdgarMajor character
• AlbanyMajor character
• CornwallAntagonist
• OswaldMinor character
• The FoolMajor character

All 16 characters ›