Original: This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune, often the surfeit of our own behaviour, we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars;

Modern: This is the perfect foolishness of the world - when our luck turns bad, usually because of our own excessive behavior, we blame our troubles on the sun, moon, and stars.

Original: as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion;

Modern: As if we were forced to be evil; made to be fools by heaven’s command.

Original: knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical pre-dominance;

Modern: Made into scoundrels, thieves, and traitors by the power of the planets.

Original: drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforc’d obedience of planetary influence;

Modern: Turned into drunks, liars, and cheaters by being forced to obey the influence of the planets.

Original: and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on.

Modern: And all the evil we do is because God forces it on us.

Original: An admirable evasion of whore-master man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of a star!

Modern: What a clever excuse for a lustful man to blame his horny nature on a star!

Original: My father compounded with my mother under the Dragon’s Tail, and my nativity was under Ursa Major,

Modern: My father slept with my mother when the Dragon’s Tail constellation was overhead, and I was born under the Big Dipper.

Original: so that it follows I am rough and lecherous.

Modern: So naturally that means I have to be crude and lustful.

Original: Fut! I should have been that I am, had the maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my bastardizing.

Modern: Nonsense! I would have been exactly who I am even if the most pure and innocent star in the sky had been shining when I was conceived as a bastard.

In Act I, Scene 2 of King Lear, Edmund, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester, delivers a soliloquy in which he rejects the social disadvantages imposed upon him by his bastard status. He calls upon nature as his goddess and declares his intention to claim what he believes rightfully belongs to him, despite the laws of legitimacy that favor his legitimate brother Edgar. Edmund then produces a forged letter, supposedly written by Edgar, which suggests that Edgar is plotting against their father and proposing that the two brothers should inherit their father’s lands while Gloucester still lives, rather than waiting for his natural death.

When Gloucester enters, Edmund pretends to hide the letter, which immediately arouses his father’s suspicion and curiosity. After some feigned reluctance, Edmund shows Gloucester the forged letter, successfully convincing his father that Edgar harbors treacherous thoughts against him. Gloucester is shocked and disturbed by the apparent contents of the letter, lamenting the unnaturalness of children turning against their parents and reflecting on recent ominous events like eclipses as portents of discord. Edmund promises to arrange for Gloucester to overhear a conversation between the brothers, further cementing his deceptive plan. After Gloucester exits, Edgar enters, and Edmund begins manipulating him as well, warning him that their father is angry with him and advising him to avoid Gloucester and to carry a sword for protection.

King Lear centers on two parallel plots of familial betrayal and blindness to truth. The main plot follows the aging King Lear, who decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on their public declarations of love. Goneril and Regan offer flowery but hollow speeches, while the honest Cordelia refuses to participate in this ceremony, saying she loves her father “according to my bond, no more nor less.” Enraged by her honesty, Lear banishes Cordelia and divides her portion between her sisters. The Earl of Kent, who tries to defend Cordelia, is also banished. Cordelia marries the King of France and departs, while Goneril and Regan quickly reveal their true nature by stripping their father of his retinue and dignity.

The subplot involves the Earl of Gloucester and his two sons: Edgar, his legitimate heir, and Edmund, his illegitimate son. Edmund masterfully manipulates his father through forged letters, convincing Gloucester that Edgar plans to kill him. Edgar is forced to flee and assumes the disguise of “Poor Tom,” a mad beggar. Meanwhile, Edmund continues his scheming, eventually becoming involved with both Goneril and Regan, who compete for his affections while plotting against each other.

As the play progresses, both fathers suffer for their inability to distinguish between appearance and reality. Lear descends into madness during a violent storm, accompanied by his Fool and the disguised Kent (who has returned to serve his master despite his banishment). Gloucester, attempting to help Lear, is brutally punished by Cornwall and Regan, who gouge out his eyes. Only then does he realize he has wronged Edgar and been deceived by Edmund. The play culminates in a final battle where the forces of evil largely destroy each other—Goneril poisons Regan and kills herself, Edmund is defeated in combat by Edgar, and Lear dies of grief while holding the dead Cordelia, who has been hanged on Edmund’s orders. The play ends with Edgar, Albany, and Kent left to restore order to a devastated kingdom.