King Lear context:

Play is set in Pagan England, but Shakespeare wrote it in Jacobean England
King at the time was James VI
The Jacobean society was that of a hierarchy, where status, wealth, and bloodline determined social standing
There had been succession anxiety following the death of Queen Elizabeth I as she had no male heir, however in 1603 King James I ascended the throne
The Guy Fawkes plot in 1605 also caused intrigue about what would happen if the King were to be killed. It was a plot to blow up parliament however it was foiled

Critical overview:

Samuel Johnson said he found the outcome for Lear, Cordelia, and Gloucester shocking and unjust
AC Bradley suggests that Lear attribute all his problems to his obsession with the ingratitude of his daughters
Lawrence Rosinger, suggests that Lear and Gloucester use others selfishly for self-gratification but their self-discovery leads to insight and an end to selfishness

The great chain of being:

It is a hierachial view of the world where God is at the top followed by Angels, humans, animals, plants, and inanimate objects. The King being God’s representative on Earth and believed to be chosen by God (divine right of Kings). Therefore Lear’s actions and the play’s events cause this order to be disrupted, resulting in chaos and suffering.

King James VI (England James I):

United England and Scotland
Wrote a book called Daemonologie which discussed the persecution of witches and the justification for it
Wrote another book name Basilikon Doron (essentially a political handbook) which was addressed to his Son and warned him of the dangers of dividing land and separating kingdoms

Origins of the play:

draws upon the legend of King Leir and Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ‘History of the Kings of Britain’
Geoffrey’s presents a story about a legend of a king of Briton who had three daughters and divided his kingdom
Shakespeare made many changes to the plot in order to make the tragedy we know today, however these two stories may have been influences

Note