Artist:
King Lear
Genre: Musical Play
Background: King Lear is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is arguably the finest work of Shakespeare. The inspiration for Shakespeare's main plot line of an aged monarch abused by his children, has been taken from a folk tale that appeared first in written form in the 12th century and was based on spoken stories that originated much further into the Middle Ages
As in his earlier work, Macbeth, terror and pain reach their utmost height. In King Lear the sense of compassion is completely exhausted. The principal characters here are not those who act, but those who suffer.
In this story, unlike in most tragedies, there is no happy ending or salvation for the tortured soul. It is simply a fall from the highest elevation into the deepest abyss of misery, where humanity is stripped of all external and internal advantages, and given up a prey to naked helplessness.
The play begins with King Lear deciding to retire from his throne and dividing his kingdom equally among his three daughters: Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. He does this to avoid any future conflict. The two elder sisters are married, but Cordelia is much sought after as a bride, partly because she is her father's favorite. However, when Lear attempts to auction off his kingdom to the most admiring and flattering of his daughters, the plan backfires. The elder sisters praise Lear to the greatest extent. Cordelia on the other hand refuses to flatter her father like her elder sisters, she feels it would only degrade her true feelings. This angers Lear to no extent and in a fit of rage, he divides her share of the kingdom between Goneril and Regan, and banishes Cordelia. The King of France however marries her even after she has been disinherited, this maybe because he sees value in her honesty or as a medium to subsequently invade England.
Soon after Lear abdicates the throne, he finds that Goneril and Regan have betrayed him. The Earl of Kent, who had spoken up for Cordelia in court and was banished for his pains, returns disguised as the servant Caius who will "eat no fish", in order to protect the king, to whom he is still loyal. Meanwhile, Goneril and Regan quarrel over their attraction to Edmund and are forced to deal with an army from France, led by Cordelia who wants to restore Lear to his throne. Genoril and Regan lust after Edmund. Eventually Goneril poisons Regan over their differences and stabs herself when Edmund is wounded.
Another subplot in this play involves the Earl of Gloucester two sons, the good Edgar and the evil Edmund are at loggerheads. The bastard Edmund has spread false stories about his legitimate half-brother. Hearing of this the Earl of Gloucester banishes Edgar and announces Edmund as his heir. Edmund engages in liaisons with Goneril and Regan, and Gloucester is blinded by Regan's husband. He is then saved from death by Edgar, whose voice he fails to recognize. Gloucester attempts to throw himself from a cliff, but is deceived by Edgar and comes off safely. Edgar encounters Lear shortly after. Lear appears in Dover in the final scenes, where he wanders about raving and talking to mice. The play concludes with the death of Cordelia and Lear.
This is one of the most tragic tales in English Literature. Many critics consider it as Shakespeare's greatest work. If you want to be there to see this drama, just get the tickets , contact your on-line ticket ticket vendor now!
