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King Lear : Plot Overview great are set Critic Edwin Muir , in The Politics of King Lear , tells us that " of the p tragedies King Lear is the only one in which two ideas of society are directly confronted and the old generation and the new generation a face to face , each assured of its own rightto power . " Two sets of characters , each representing two generations , are introduced in the first scene . The play opens as the Earl of Gloucester and the Earl of Kent discuss both Lear's plan to divide his kingdom and also the bastardy of Gloucester's son Edmund . From the start , Gloucester and his sons will create a subplot that mirrors the action of the main plot between Lear and his three daughters . A conflict between generations is evident from the start . The main plot involves Lear , who divides his kingdom between his elder daughters Regan and Goneril while angrily disinheriting his youngest daughter Cordelia . His decision quickly proves unreasonable , and the consequences are tragic . We meet good characters in the play , such as the loyal Earl of Kent , and evil characters , such as Regan , Goneril , and Edmund . The clash of good and evil culminates in one of the most distressing final scenes of any play . At first introduction , Lear is a regal monarch- " every inch a king . " As the play progresses , Lear deteriorates into madness . The tragedy that engulfs the king swallows nearly all those near him as well , both friend and foe , which accounts for part of the enormity of the drama . The outcome of these complicated events has been called , " Cronically , both pessimistic and hopeful . King Lear : Plot Overview great are set Critic Edwin Muir , in The Politics of King Lear , tells us that " of the p tragedies King Lear is the only one in which two ideas of society are directly confronted and the old generation and the new generation a face to face , each assured of its own rightto power . " Two sets of characters , each representing two generations , are introduced in the first scene . The play opens as the Earl of Gloucester and the Earl of Kent discuss both Lear's plan to divide his kingdom and also the bastardy of Gloucester's son Edmund . From the start , Gloucester and his sons will create a subplot that mirrors the action of the main plot between Lear and his three daughters . A conflict between generations is evident from the start . The main plot involves Lear , who divides his kingdom between his elder daughters Regan and Goneril while angrily disinheriting his youngest daughter Cordelia . His decision quickly proves unreasonable , and the consequences are tragic . We meet good characters in the play , such as the loyal Earl of Kent , and evil characters , such as Regan , Goneril , and Edmund . The clash of good and evil culminates in one of the most distressing final scenes of any play . At first introduction , Lear is a regal monarch- " every inch a king . " As the play progresses , Lear deteriorates into madness . The tragedy that engulfs the king swallows nearly all those near him as well , both friend and foe , which accounts for part of the enormity of the drama . The outcome of these complicated events has been called , " Cronically , both pessimistic and hopeful .King Lear is set in Britain unspecified period of the Middle Ages . Everything in King Lear unfolds from two overarching plot elements . First , Lear is old . He wants to step down from the throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters . Second , the Earl of Gloucester has an illegitimate son , Edmund , who is unhappy with his bastard status and decides to displace his older brother and the legitimate heir , Edgar . Lear holds a public ceremony during which he asks his three daughters their love for declare him . The older two daughters , Goneril and Regan , make great declarations of love . Each receives a third of Lear's kingdom . Lear's youngest daughter , Cordelia , objects to her sisters ' false flattery and won't take part in the ceremony . Outraged , Lear strips her of her dowry and divides the remaining third of the kingdom between Goneril and Regan , oblivious to the insincerity of his elder daughters . The King of France is one of Cordelia's suitors , and he accepts her as his wife without a dowry or her father's approval . Banished by her father , Cordelia goes to France and becomes queen . When the Earl of Kent objects to Lear's treatment of Cordelia , Lear banishes him as well . Meanwhile , Edmund convinces his father that Edgar is plotting treason , and Gloucester exiles Edgar under pain of death . Edgar disguises himself as a crazy beggar , calling himself Poor Tom , so he can stay in the kingdom . Kent remains loyal to Lear , and he disguises himself so he can stay with the king and serve him . Lear's plan is to divide his time between his elder daughters ' estates , accompanied by 100 knights . In reality , however , neither daughter wants him in her home , and both take actions to cast him out . First , Goneril and Regan object to his knights ' conduct and the fact that he has so many serving him . When Kent disciplines Oswald , Goneril's steward , she and her husband , the Duke of Albany , betray Lear's authority by putting Kent in the stocks , Finally , when the sisters suggest their father put aside most ( or all ) of his 100 knights , Lear rages off into the night . Lear wanders in a storm accompanied by the Fool . Kent ( in disguise ) soon finds the king and helps him . Between the storm and his daughters ' treachery , Lear's mind is in turmoil , and he begins to go mad . While the king and the two other men are taking shelter from the storm in a hut , Edgar ( disguised as Poor Tom ) joins them . Kent secretly updates Cordelia on her father's situation . When Gloucester tells Edmund that French forces have landed in England to help restore Lear to the throne , Edmund sees a way of gaining his inheritance more quickly . He betrays his father by telling Regan , Goneril , and their husbands that Gloucester is working with the French . When the Duke of Cornwall ( Regan's husband ) learns that French forces have landed , he and Regan punish Gloucester by gouging out his eyes . One of Cornwall's servants is so upset by this that he tries to stop them . He wounds Cornwall fatally but is also killed . Regan and Cornwall ( who dies soon after ) turn out Gloucester , now blind , to wander through the countryside . One of his peasants helps him at first , and then Edgar , disguised as Poor Tom , takes over that task . Gloucester asks Edgar to guide him to the high cliffs of Dover so he can jump off and commit suicide . Edgar says he will , but he leads his father instead to a low ledge and tricks him into thinking he has survived a great fall . During an update on the battle , a split between Goneril and her husband , the Duke of Albany , is revealed ; they are quarreling , and she accuses him of cowardice . While they are fighting , a messenger arrives . and reports that the Duke of Cornwall is dead . When Albany asks why and learns Cornwall was killed for blinding Gloucester , he praises Gloucester's loyalty . This indicates that Albany's loyalties lie with Lear , finalizing the split with his wife . Cordelia returns from France and joins forces with Kent . She takes care of her father as a battle looms between French forces supporting Lear and rebel forces led by Edmund and backed by Regan and Goneril . During this period , Lear largely regains his sanity . As the battle nears , the rebels are quarreling . At some point , Edmund started having affairs with both Regan and Goneril . Regan is so obsessed with having him that she doesn't care if the rebels win or lose the battle . Edmund's Edmund's forces capture Lear and Cordelia . Edmund sends them to prison and then sends a messenger with orders to kill them . Albany charges Edmund with betraying the king and says he'll prove treason through one - on - one combat . An anonymous knight appears and volunteers to fight Edmund . The knight wins the contest , wounding Edmund mortally . The knight then reveals he is Edgar , Edmund's brother . Their father , Gloucester , dies after hearing this . Edmund dies a few moments later . A servant enters to announce that Goneril has poisoned Regan and stabbed herself . Lear enters , carrying Cordelia . She's dead , as is Lear's Fool , and Lear has killed the man who executed Cordelia . Lear dies of grief . Albany tells Kent and Edgar they will rule the kingdom together until order has been restored .