1 The opening scene in any play is always a crucial one; this is especially true in William Shakespeare’s King Lear. The opening scene in King Lear serves to introduce the characters and the plot line, and to show disorder in the Elizabethan order which is a main theme in the play. In the first scene of King Lear all of the main characters are introduced beginning with Kent and Gloucester, King Lear, Goneril, Regan, …showed first 75 words of 427 total…

…showed last 75 words of 427 total…it also does much more. Towards the latter part of the scene, the audience gets a first glimpse of the scheming, deceptive sisters already plotting their rise to power. Scene one cannot be called one of Shakespeare’s best but it can be called one in which he delivered the biggest blow, or amount of drama in one opening scene than in any of his other tragedies. Works Cited 1. Shakespeare, William. King Lear, Cambridge, England, 1994