Continuing of King Lear

I have finished "King Lear" by our friend, Mr. William Shakespeare. Although a bit depressing, the play was very good.

In Act III, Gloucester realized that Lear’s daughters have turned against their father; thus, he decided to search for Lear and aide him in any possible way, despite the fact that Regan and Goneril had forbidden it. Regan and her husband, Cornwall, discovered him helping Lear, accused him of treason, blinded him, and turned him out to wander the countryside. Edgar, in disguise, finds Gloucester and leads him toward the city of Dover.

In Dover, a French army was stationed; Cordelia had planned an invasion, in an effort to save her father.

Edmund became romantically entangled with both Goneril and Regan. Goneril's husband, Albany, became increasingly sympathetic towards Lear’s cause; thus, Goneril and Edmund conspired to murder him.

The despairing Gloucester tried to commit suicide, but Edgar saved him by a strange trick: Edgar lead his father off an imaginary cliff. Meanwhile, the English troops reached Dover; and the English, led by Edmund, defeat the French and capture Lear and Cordelia. Regan's husband, Cornwall, was killed in battle.

In the climactic scene, Edgar dueled with Edmund and won. Then it was made evident that Gloucester had died. Goneril then poisoned Regan out of jealousy (over Edmund) and committed suicide. Edmund’s betrayal of Cordelia led to her needless execution in prison; and Lear past away out of grief for Cordelia’s. Albany, Edgar, and the elderly Kent are left to take care for the country; Kent, however, declares that he will not live for much longer.

Kent may have made his declaration because he was elderly, and thus could not live for many more years; or Kent could have been hinting that he would later commit suicide because he had to go to heaven so that he could continue to serve his king.

I found it interesting that Shakespeare used Animal Imagery to describe Goneril and Regan. For example, when arguing with Goneril, Albany exclaims, "Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed?” This, perhaps, could be because Goneril and Regan are not worthy and do not have enough compassion/ humanity to be described as human beings.

Another intriguing component of Shakespeare's work is that in Lear’s madness he begins to understands that he is not an important, herioc, and immortal man, but that he is a small, meaningless part of the world.