Lear retires from the throne and decides to divide the kingdom among his three daughters. However, first, he puts them through a test by asking each of them to declare how much they love him. Eventually, he only subdivides his kingdom between two of his eldest daughters. The reason is that they show a relentless loyalty and love towards their father through superficial flattery. However, the last born daughter despises the phoniness of her sisters and refuses to pander to her father. In response, her father disowns and banishes her. She eventually marries the French king who later leads his army against her two sisters.
Soon afterward, King Lear discovers that his elder daughter’s words were mere flattery done to attain power. Upon attaining wealth and land, he soon becomes a nuisance to his daughters who humiliate and discard him. Struck by disbelief that his beloved daughters do not truly love him, Lear starts losing his sanity. He escapes from his daughter’s houses and loiters upon a heath in the course of a great thunderstorm in the company of his fool as well as Kent, a secret nobleman who is loyal to him.
