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Charles Kean as King Lear
Charles Kean as King Lear Charles Kean as Lear in King Lear.

Lear

fictional character
Also known as: King Lear
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Lear, legendary British king and central character of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. One of the most moving of Shakespeare’s tragic figures, Lear grows in self-awareness as he diminishes in authority and loses his illusions. Lear at the outset presents the very picture of foolish egotism and is tricked out of what he has expected to be a carefree retirement by his own need for flattery. Believing his treacherous daughters to be sincere in their extravagant...

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