Tragedy by William Shakespeare, first performed in 160506. Lear, king of Britain, favours his grasping daughters Goneril and Regan with shares of his kingdom but refuses his third, honest daughter Cordelia a share because she will not falsely flatter him. Rejected by Goneril and Regan, the old and unbalanced Lear is reunited with Cordelia but dies of grief when she is murdered.