Like nearly all of his plays, Shakespeare’s plot is not entirely original. The playwright utilized at least half a dozen different sources in the creation of King Lear:
(c. 1136)
Monmouth, in turn, drew upon Celtic mythology.
Ragan, and Cordella (c. 1594)
This play has a happy ending, following earlier sources.
Sidney’s work provides elements of the Gloucester subplot.
But despite the use of sources, Shakespeare’s play is both new and unique. One of Shakespeare’s major and most important contributions to the story is the invention of Lear’s madness. Shakespeare thus took an intriguing story that has Celtic mythology for its roots and expanded upon it significantly. Madness, as well as its connection and relationship to foolish behavior and to blindness to truth, becomes a central theme of the play. It is this psychological dimension that adds depth and intrigue to the story and elevates the characters of Lear and others far beyond their roots as stock characters.
The intricacy of the plot also distinguishes the play not only from other Renaissance tragedies, but even from other Shakespeare plays as well. Shakespeare certainly paid extremely careful attention to the development of plot in this work. The use of multiple parallels of character and situation unite and link a subplot involving Gloucester and his sons to the main plot of Lear and his daughters in such a manner that no scene is extraneous and no line is wasted. Every word advances the story to its inevitable tragic end.
Differences between Shakespeare’s play and the 1594 play also reveal how the playwright borrowed from but moved far beyond the sources of his drama. The earlier play adds little to the sources that came before it. Although both Shakespeare’s Lear and the 1594 play are derived from the same sources, they are two entirely different works of literature. Where Shakespeare’s play is a masterpiece of tragedy, the 1594 play is a simplistic moral tale.
Shakespeare’s Play (c. 1606) |
1594 Play |
1. Contains subplot on Gloucester: (a) Gloucester’s suffering (b) Edmund’s wickedness
(c) multiple roles of Edgar.
|
1. No Gloucester subplot |
2. No Christian references |
2. Contains anachronistic Christian references |
3. Storm Imagery: Symbol of Evil Chaos or Madness |
3. Storm Imagery: Signal of Divine Justice |
4. Contains wise commentary of Fool |
4. No commentary by Fool |
5. Contains sexual looseness of Goneril and Regan |
5. No such sexual looseness |
As suggested above, the plot of King Lear is extremely complex and highly developed. Lear is initially involved in conflicts with Cordelia and Kent, but the real physical conflicts are those that involve Lear against Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Adding to the conflict and intrigue are (1) the subplot involving Gloucester and his sons – and the parallels to the main plot – and (2) Lear’s own inner conflict (the man vs. himself conflict). Finally, overlapping all of these conflicts is the conflict of Lear vs. Fate. Shakespeare clearly reveals that fate exhibits a definite influence over mankind in a way that does not seem fair or just or reasonable. There is no moral lesson to be learned. There is no happy outcome.
Also contributing to the complexity and interest of the play are the numerous minor conflicts that affect other characters: Albany’s conflict with Goneril and with the actions of Regan and Cornwall, Kent’s conflict with Lear and with his own sense of duty, Edmund’s conflict with the unfairness of life and the social prejudices of his native country, and Edgar’s conflicts with a father who is blinded by the truth and with a brother whose cunning Edgar himself is blind to. And there are other conflicts as well. And all of these minor conflicts are connected to and rely upon the actions and development of the main conflicts.
The climax, the highest point of tension, occurs in the last scene when Edmund admits to his plan to execute Lear and Cordelia. Audiences seeing the play for the first time will experience the tension and suspense of wondering whether Edgar will get to Lear and Cordelia in time to save them from their death warrants.
The resolution, the point where the main conflicts come to an end, also appears in the final scene of the play with the death of Cordelia and, especially, with the death of Lear. Only through death does one end a conflict with fate.