KING LEAR PLOT SUMMARY

Act 1 Scene 1

The Earl of Gloucester introduces his illegitimate son, Edmund, to the Earl of Kent. King Lear enters and announces his plan to abdicate and divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on who loves him most. Goneril and Regan flatter him lavishly. Cordelia refuses to exaggerate her love, stating she loves him "according to my bond." Enraged, Lear disowns Cordelia and banishes Kent for defending her. The King of France accepts Cordelia without a dowry. Goneril and Regan plot to manage their father’s volatile behavior.

Act 1 Scene 2

Edmund delivers a soliloquy resenting his status as a bastard. He tricks his father, Gloucester, into believing that his legitimate brother, Edgar, is plotting parricide. Edmund then warns Edgar to flee, pretending to protect him from their father's wrath.

Act 1 Scene 3

Lear is staying at Goneril’s palace. She complains bitterly about his riotous knights and his demanding behavior. She instructs her steward, Oswald, to treat Lear with coldness and disrespect to force a confrontation.

Act 1 Scene 4

Kent returns in disguise (as "Caius") and offers his services to Lear, who accepts him. Oswald disrespects Lear, and Kent trips him. The Fool arrives, using sharp wit and riddles to mock Lear's foolishness in giving away his crown. Goneril demands Lear dismiss half his knights. Furious, Lear curses Goneril with infertility and storms out to stay with Regan.

Act 1 Scene 5

Lear sends Kent ahead with letters to Regan. The Fool continues to mock Lear, who begins to realize the gravity of his mistake and fears he is losing his mind.

Act 2 Scene 1

Edmund learns that the Duke of Cornwall and Regan are coming to Gloucester’s castle. He stages a fake fight with Edgar, wounds his own arm, and convinces Gloucester that Edgar attacked him because he refused to help murder their father. Gloucester declares Edgar an outlaw and praises Edmund.

Act 2 Scene 2

Kent encounters Oswald outside Gloucester’s castle and brutally insults and beats him. Cornwall, Regan, and Gloucester intervene. Despite Kent's status as the King's messenger, Cornwall places him in the stocks.

Act 2 Scene 3

Edgar, fleeing the manhunt, decides to disguise himself as a naked, mad beggar named "Poor Tom" to survive.

Act 2 Scene 4

Lear arrives at Gloucester’s castle and is outraged to find Kent in the stocks. Regan and Cornwall refuse to see him at first. When they appear, they join Goneril in demanding Lear strip away all his remaining knights. Stripped of his retinue and dignity, Lear rages against them and storms out into a massive, gathering storm. Regan and Cornwall order the castle gates locked.

Act 3 Scene 1

Kent searches for Lear on the storm-swept heath. He meets a Gentleman who informs him that Lear is running wild in the storm accompanied only by the Fool. Kent reveals that a French army is landing at Dover to help Lear.

Act 3 Scene 2

On the heath, Lear commands the storm to destroy the world. The Fool tries to persuade him to seek shelter. Kent finds them and guides them toward a wretched hovel.

Act 3 Scene 3

Gloucester privately tells Edmund that he intends to help Lear and mentions a secret letter about the invading French army. Edmund immediately decides to betray his father to Cornwall to gain his title.

Act 3 Scene 4

Lear, Kent, and the Fool reach the hovel. Lear refuses to enter, realizing he ignored the plight of the poor when he was king. Inside, they find Edgar disguised as Poor Tom. Lear, seeing Tom's nakedness, believes Tom was also ruined by daughters and begins tearing off his own clothes. Gloucester arrives with torches to bring Lear to shelter.

Act 3 Scene 5

Inside the castle, Edmund shows Cornwall the letter proving Gloucester's contact with the French. Cornwall rewards Edmund by making him the new Earl of Gloucester and orders his father arrested.

Act 3 Scene 6

In a farmhouse near the castle, Lear’s madness peaks. He stages a mock trial of Goneril and Regan, with Poor Tom and the Fool acting as judges. Gloucester returns and warns Kent of a plot to kill Lear, urging him to smuggle the King to Dover.

Act 3 Scene 7

`Cornwall and Regan capture Gloucester. They tie him up and interrogate him about the French forces. Cornwall gouges out one of Gloucester's eyes. A servant, horrified by the cruelty, draws his sword and wounds Cornwall, but Regan kills the servant from behind. Cornwall gouges out Gloucester’s other eye. They reveal Edmund betrayed him, and Gloucester realizes Edgar was innocent. Gloucester is thrown out of the gates.

Act 4 Scene 1

Edgar, still disguised as Poor Tom, sees his blinded father being led by an old tenant. Gloucester, wishing only to see Edgar again, asks "Poor Tom" to lead him to the cliffs of Dover so he can commit suicide. Edgar agrees without revealing his identity.

Act 4 Scene 2

Goneril and Edmund arrive at Goneril’s palace. She expresses disgust for her husband, Albany, whom she views as a coward. She and Edmund share an intimate moment. Albany enters and fiercely condemns Goneril for her cruelty to Lear. A messenger arrives announcing Cornwall has died from his wound and that Gloucester was blinded, prompting Albany to vow revenge for Gloucester.

Act 4 Scene 3

Kent speaks with a French Gentleman at the camp near Dover. The Gentleman describes Cordelia’s deep sorrow and dignity upon hearing of her father's mistreatment. Kent reveals Lear is nearby but refuses to see Cordelia out of overwhelming shame.

Act 4 Scene 4

Cordelia leads the French forces. She describes Lear, who is wandering the fields crowned with weeds. She orders her physicians to find him and use herbs to restore his sanity.

Act 4 Scene 5

Oswald arrives at Regan's palace. Regan, now a widow, questions Oswald about a letter Goneril wrote to Edmund. Regan declares that she intends to marry Edmund and tells Oswald to kill Gloucester if he finds him.

Act 4 Scene 6

Edgar tricks Gloucester into believing they are at the edge of a cliff. Gloucester leaps, falls safely on flat ground, and Edgar (now adopting a new voice) convinces him a miracle saved him from a demon. Lear enters, completely mad but speaking profound truths about corruption and sex. Gloucester recognizes his voice. Oswald enters and tries to kill Gloucester, but Edgar kills Oswald. Before dying, Oswald gives Edgar Goneril's letter, which reveals her plot to murder Albany so she can marry Edmund.

Act 4 Scene 7

In the French camp, Lear is dressed in fresh clothes and kept asleep with music. As he wakes, he sees Cordelia. He initially thinks he is in hell and she is a spirit, but sanity returns. He begs for her forgiveness, and she assures him she holds no resentment.

Act 5 Scene 1

The British forces (led by Edmund, Albany, Regan, and Goneril) prepare for battle. Regan grills Edmund about his intimacy with Goneril. Edgar, in disguise, gives Albany the intercepted letter exposing Goneril’s plot. Left alone, Edmund reveals he has sworn love to both sisters and decides that if the British win, he will show no mercy to Lear or Cordelia.

Act 5 Scene 2

The battle takes place offstage. Edgar leaves Gloucester under a tree. Edgar returns with the devastating news that the French forces have lost, and Lear and Cordelia have been captured.

Act 5 Scene 3

Lear and Cordelia are led away as prisoners. Lear is happy just to be imprisoned with her. Edmund secretly hands an officer a warrant to execute them.

Albany, Goneril, and Regan enter. A fierce argument erupts over Edmund's status. Regan falls violently ill (poisoned by Goneril). Albany arrests Edmund for treason and calls for a champion to fight him. Edgar enters, heavily armored and disguised, and defeats Edmund in a duel.

Edgar reveals his identity and relates that Gloucester died of a broken/joyful heart upon learning the truth. A gentleman rushes in with a bloody knife: Goneril has committed suicide after poisoning Regan.

The dying Edmund tries to do "some good" and confesses his order to hang Cordelia. They rush to save her, but it is too late. Lear enters carrying Cordelia's corpse, howling in grief. Kent tries to reveal himself, but Lear is too far gone. Lear dies of a broken heart while looking at Cordelia. Albany leaves Kent and Edgar to rule the shattered kingdom; Kent hints at his own impending death, leaving Edgar with the final, somber words.