King Lear

E72922

King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare that portrays an aging monarch’s descent into madness after he divides his kingdom among his daughters, exploring themes of power, loyalty, and human suffering.

All labels observed (17)

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Shakespearean tragedy
literary work
play
author William Shakespeare
basedOn Historia Regum Britanniae
surface form: Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae

legend of Leir of Britain
climax battle between forces of Lear and Cordelia and their enemies
compositionDate circa 1605–1606
countryOfOrigin England
ending tragic deaths of Lear and Cordelia
firstFolioPublicationDate 1623
firstPerformanceDate circa 1606
firstQuartoPublicationDate 1608
genre tragedy
hasVersion King Lear self-linksurface differs
surface form: Folio text of King Lear

King Lear self-linksurface differs
surface form: Quarto text of King Lear
influenced 20th-century theatre and criticism
modern interpretations of madness in drama
literaryMovement Elizabethan and Jacobean drama
literaryPeriod English Renaissance
mainCharacter Cordelia
Edgar
Edmund
Gloucester
Goneril
King Lear self-link
Regan
The Fool
notableAdaptation Akira Kurosawa’s film Ran (1985), loosely based on King Lear
film adaptation by Grigori Kozintsev (1971)
film adaptation by Peter Brook (1971)
numberOfActs 5
openingEvent Lear’s division of his kingdom among his daughters
originalLanguage Early Modern English
plotElement Cordelia
surface form: Cordelia’s exile

Edmund’s betrayal of his father and brother
Gloucester’s blinding
Lear’s descent into madness
love test of Lear’s daughters
setting ancient Britain
theme authority and kingship
blindness and insight
family conflict
filial ingratitude
human suffering
justice
loyalty
madness
power

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (76)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Cordelia firstAppearance King Lear
this entity surface form: King Lear, Act I, Scene 1
Cordelia fictionalUniverse King Lear
Cordelia banishedBy King Lear
Cordelia deathIn King Lear
this entity surface form: King Lear, Act V
Ann Firbank notableWork King Lear
this entity surface form: King Lear (stage production)
Regan appearsInWork King Lear
Regan familyName King Lear
this entity surface form: Lear
Regan hasFather King Lear
Regan conflictsWith King Lear
Regan firstAppearance King Lear
this entity surface form: Act I of King Lear
The Fool appearsInWork King Lear
The Fool serves King Lear
The Fool speaksTo King Lear
The Fool setting King Lear
this entity surface form: King Lear’s court
The Fool partOf King Lear
this entity surface form: tragedy "King Lear"
Akira Kurosawa’s film Ran (1985), loosely based on King Lear basedOn King Lear
subject surface form: Ran
Len Cariou theatreCredit King Lear
Goneril appearsInWork King Lear
Goneril conflictWith King Lear
Goneril firstAppearance King Lear
this entity surface form: Act I of King Lear
Goneril associatedWith King Lear
John Douglas Thompson notableWork King Lear
this entity surface form: King Lear (stage role)
Godfrey Tearle notableWork King Lear
this entity surface form: King Lear (stage performances)