King Lear

King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare in which an aging king divides his kingdom among his daughters, provoking family betrayal, civil conflict, and his own ruin.

Cordelia: Cordelia is King Lear’s youngest daughter, whose refusal to flatter him leads to her disinheritance. Her honest answer to Lear’s demand for declarations of love begins the tragedy.
Love test: A love test is a demand that people publicly prove affection according to an imposed standard. Lear uses declarations of love to decide how his land will be divided.
Leir of Britain: Leir of Britain is a legendary king whose story appears in medieval and early modern accounts of Britain. This legend supplies the basic story of an aging king and his daughters.
King Lear Folio: The King Lear Folio is the version of Shakespeare’s play printed in the First Folio of 1623. Its wording and passages differ from the 1608 Quarto, complicating which text performances follow.
Divine right of kings: Divine right of kings is the doctrine that a monarch’s authority derives directly from God. Lear’s transfer of power tests assumptions about kingship and the obligations attached to it.
Goneril: Goneril is Lear’s eldest daughter, who gains part of his kingdom and later turns against him. Her rebellion exposes how quickly Lear’s political gift weakens his authority.
Division of the kingdom: The division of the kingdom is Lear’s transfer of governing territory to his daughters while he retains the title of king. The transfer separates royal status from effective power and creates a struggle over authority.
Geoffrey of Monmouth: Geoffrey of Monmouth was a twelfth-century cleric whose history of Britain helped popularize the legend of King Leir. His account is an early influential source for the play’s legendary plot.
Nahum Tate's King Lear: Nahum Tate's King Lear is a 1681 adaptation that gives Cordelia and Edgar a happy ending. Tate’s version replaced Shakespeare’s tragic conclusion onstage for generations.
Patriarchy: Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary authority in families and institutions. The play’s inheritance and obedience conflicts unfold within a male-dominated order.

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