William Shakespeare is universally known for his literary output both in poetry and drama. Whether through his laugh-invoking comedies or his heart-wrenching tragedies, Shakespeare’s plays have changed the course of literature. Many of his plays about love are widely praised by all, but Shakespeare 's King Lear differs from the rest due to its definition of love. King Lear serves as an battleground between deception and compassion, between flattery and honesty.

Rather than focusing on romantic love, such as in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare in King Lear explores the boundaries of filial love, a bond between a favored child and a parent, that is abused because of parental blindness and hubris. In King Lear,a family is ultimately faced with choices brought on by the father, King Lear himself.
Facing old age, King Lear feels compelled to separate his kingdom into three parts among his three daughters. King Lear, instead of separating his kingdom equally, proposes an idea to give the largest portion of his kingdom to the daughter that loves him the most.

Before splitting his kingdom, Lear asks his daughters to express the depth of their love for him. Regan and Goneril, Lear's oldest daughters, both offer over-the-top proclamations of love for their father, much to the egotistical Lear's delight.

Lear's youngest and more beloved daughter Cordelia, however, takes a different approach. She explains that she could never put the true depth of her love for her father into words. Lear doesn't get what she's trying to say. He banishes Cordelia. It doesn't take long for Regan and Goneril to turn on their father and take away his remaining political power that pushes Lear's mind over the edge.

Cordelia eventually returns to Britain with a French army in order to rescue her father and restore him to power but she failed. Cordelia and Lear are both imprisoned by the British force, though the two are able to reconnect with each other while in captivity together. While in prison with Cordelia, Lear comes to realize the true extent of her love for him and the depth of the mistakes he has made. eventually, Cordelia is killed and king lear died of sorrow.