King Lear

American  

[leer] / lɪər /

noun

1. a tragedy (1606) by Shakespeare.

---

King Lear Cultural  

1. A tragedy by William Shakespeare about an old king who unwisely hands his kingdom over to two of his daughters. The daughters, who had flattered Lear while he was in power, turn on him; their actions reduce him to poverty and eventually to madness. His youngest daughter, Cordelia, whom he had at first spurned, remains faithful to him.

---

Example Sentences

He’s famous enough to be opening on Broadway in “King Lear,” but he has to be pushed onstage and is forgetting lines.

From Los Angeles Times

He’s dedicated himself to the work, as was evident in his triumphant turn in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 2023 production of “King Lear” in Washington, D.C., directed by Simon Godwin.

From Los Angeles Times

Young Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is burdened with self-reproach, while old King Lear suffers from narcissism, vanity and madness.

From The Wall Street Journal

“And I thought that was just ‘inspired by’ King Lear,” said Anat.

From Literature

The actor also played the doomed warlord who divides his kingdom between his sons in "Ran", Kurosawa's 1985 film based on the Shakespeare play "King Lear".

From Barron's