قصة الكتاب :
“King Lear” is a tragedy play by William Shakespeare and is considered one of his most well-known plays due to its approach to the concepts of modernity. However, all of Shakespeare’s plays are among the most prominent texts in world literature.
King Lear’s story revolves around that king and his tragic and miserable life which was evident in his last few years as a ruler as he approached his eightieth birthday. The King gathered his three daughters, Goneril , the eldest and wife of the Duke of Albany, Regan, Lear’s second daughter and wife of the Duke of Cornwall, and finally Cordelia, the youngest of Lear’s daughters who is engaged to the Duke of Burgundy.
The King wanted to divide the kingdom between his three daughters on condition that they express their love for him. The eldest, Goneril, speaks first, declaring her love for her father in fulsome terms. Moved by her flattery Lear proceeds to grant to Goneril her share as soon as she\'s finished her declaration. He then awards to Regan her share as soon as she has spoken. When it is finally the turn of his youngest daughter, Cordelia, says: “I love you just like any girl would love her father”; she speaks honestly but bluntly, which infuriates him. In his anger he disinherits Cordelia. Learning that Cordelia has been disinherited, the Duke of Burgundy withdraws his suit. The play’s plot goes on to reveal the two eldest sisters’ greed and cupidity, as well as their repeated marital infidelity. Both sisters compete with each other to win Edmund, Earl of Gloucester’s illegitimate son.
The King of France learns about the young Cordelia’s story and is impressed by her honesty and decides to marry her. After marriage they both move to live in France. But Cordelia returns back to her kingdom to save her father from her two sisters’ plotting against him. In the course of the events Regan is poisoned to death by her elder sister, Goneril. Cordelia succeeds in returning to the kingdom with the help of the Earl of Kent who was faithful to the King, as well as the support she received from her husband, the King of France, who prepared a large campaign to save her father. Sadly, the campaign failed and both Cordelia and the Earl of Kent are captured and later executed by Edmund who was Regan’s husband. In the end, King Lear dies in pain and sorrow, and so does Edmund by the hands of Edgar, the legitimate heir to Gloucester, who eventually becomes king.
One of the saddest and most tragic scenes in this play is when King Lear leaves his daughter’s castle screaming and tottering about turned out of doors by his daughters on a rainy night. He walks to the mountains half naked during a storm accompanied by his clown and his disguised servant, Caius.
Some critics viewed the play as a political work that reflects the type of life that prevailed inside the British royal palaces and the conspiracies of the nobility and the heirs, as well as the religious divide. Others saw in it the eternal wisdom which states that success in life is primarily based on the sound assessment of situations and the use of mind, instead of falling victim to soft speech and false appearances as King Lear did. His story ended with evil defeating good, which critics explain by saying that Shakespeare wanted to leave a feeling of tragedy in the readers’ or audience’s hearts.