King Lear Summary and Reflection

King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, is the perfect example of a dysfunctional family. Lear is nearing his death so he must distribute his land between his three children, which he decides by how they prove which daughter loves him the best. This causes the main conflict in the play, which makes sense because the father has pit the daughters against each other. Lear takes entertainment from the fool, who is, sadly, hung at the end of the play. This is important because in some performances, the fool is also played by the same actress that plays Cordelia, who was disowned by her father when she responded with “nothing” when he asked her to voice her love for him. She comes back to her father’s court as the fool.

King Lear is practically a whole royal family drama. All relationships, especially in a family, are based on reciprocation. Lear expected all of his daughters to love him unconditionally, even though he obviously favored Cordelia. He expected to be treated well at each of his daughters homes, but he behaved poorly and was a burden to his daughters, so they kicked him out. Because they knew he held materials in high regard and not true actions of emotion, they gave him false love, only flimsy flattery. Be honest in love and keep balance in the relationship, or feelings will be hurt and the relationship could possibly be damaged forever, like with Goneril and Lear.

Goneril understands the political importance of how she acts, and that’s why she can give a good, well spoken answer to her father in the beginning of the play. She plays well in the world of politics. Regan doesn’t have her own mind; she only follows her older sister. Both of their pledges of love to their father are very contrived and false. Cordelia is the youngest, but she is very headstrong. She loves her father the most. She pushes his authority, but only because she is too smart for her own good.

After all of the drama and trouble that he caused, Lear did not get what he wanted in the play. Originally he wanted to retire in peace like a King with servants around him and many knights, and most of all, his loving daughters by his side, preferably Cordelia taking care of him. His mistake in the beginning of the play causes him to lose all of his people, become homeless, lessen in status, and it caused the death of all three of his daughters in different ways. In the end, he was alone, and he died of grief.

Another sub-family issue that ties into Lear's family problems is the relationship between Edgar, Edmund, and Gloucestier. Edgar is Gloucestier’s oldest and legitimate son. Gloucestier also had a bastard son named Edmund, who is younger than Edgar. Because Edgar was born at the right time to the right mother, Edmund is bitter towards him and holds it against him. Society has said that Edmund cannot be equal to Edgar, even though their father loves them equally.