'King Leir and His Three Daughters' Summary

King Leir is an anonymous Elizabethan play about the life of the ancient Celtic king Leir of Britain. The play was published in 1605 but was entered into the Stationers' Register on 15 May 1594. The play has attracted critical attention principally for its relationship with King Lear, Shakespeare's version of the same story. The play tells the story of King Leir, who divides his kingdom among his three daughters, Gonorill, Regan, and Cordelia. However, when Cordelia refuses to flatter her father, he banishes her from the kingdom. Gonorill and Regan turn against their father and drive him out of his kingdom. Cordelia returns with an army to help her father, but she is killed in battle. Leir dies of grief, and the kingdom is left to Gonorill and Regan.