King Lear

Summary
King Lear is another one of Shakespeare’s plays that Christopher Moore is pulling material from for his parody piece, The Serpent of Venice. In King Lear, ''we are introduced to King Lear as he is choosing how to best divide up his kingdom between his three daughter; Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. We are also introduced to a nobleman named Gloucester, his legitimate son named Edgar, and his bastard son named Edmund. First, Lear tells his daughters to proclaim their love for him and on the proclamations alone, he will choose who gets which portion of the empire. The two old sisters lie to their father and tell him that they love him more than anything and he is pleased. But Cordelia does not lie and tells her father that she loves him just as much as a daughter should love a father and he is furious and banishes her from the kingdom. The two older sisters then divided their father’s empire amongst themselves. Then, Edmund, the bastard son of Gloucester, decides to come up with a plan to first get rid of his half brother Edgar, and then his father so that he may gain his inheritance. The two sister end up betraying their father and drive him mad with their abuse and mistreatment. Cordelia eventually comes back with an army to defend her father and take his empire back from Goneril and Regan. Meanwhile, Edmund has tricked his brother into fleeing the kingdom and through his trickery, his father has been accused of treason causing his eyes to be gouged out. In the end, everyone dies and Edger and another man are the only people left to rule the empire.

(To see a more in-depth summary, watch video https://youtu.be/ptXr7LKylpg)

Cordelia
Cordelia is one of the main characters from Shakespeare’s play ''King ''Lear. In King Lear'', Cordelia is the youngest and most kindhearted of the three of the king’s daughters and is married to the king of France. However, in ''The Serpent of Venice, as her character is altered, she is now seen as less of a quiet, respectful woman as she becomes involved in an affair with the fool character, Pocket. Some other changes to the character of Cordelia from the original text is that she is dead even before this story begins. This also shows the reader that the story of ''King Lear has already unfolded and the events are in the past, seeing as she dies at the end of the play, in keeping with the original text. However, what is not in keeping with the original text is the way that she dies. In King Lear, Cordelia’s death comes when they are captured and Edmund gives orders to have her and the king killed. In The Serpent of Venice, her death happens as a result of a plan constructed by Iago, Antonio, and Brabantio, (characters also pulled from other Shakespeare plays) to get revenge on the fool character, Pocket.

The Fool (King Lear)/Pocket (The Serpent of Venice)
The fool from King Lear is just one of many fool character from other Shakespeare plays that Moore has combined to create his own fool, Pocket from The Serpent of Venice. In King Lear, ''the fool really doesn’t have much of a role besides giving Lear important information and advise. In The Serpent of Venice, Pocket is a very outspoken and offensive man. Pocket is also the central character in The Serpent of Venice, where as the fool in King Lear is a rather small supporting role. Another huge difference between the King Lear fool and Pocket is their relationship to a different King Lear character, Cordelia. Cordelia and Pocket were in an affair and in love in ''The Serpent of Venice, but in contrast, the King Lear fool and Cordelia hardly ever communicate if at all.

(For further reading into King Lear, follow this link http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/lear/bibliography.html)