Is King Lear a good king? At the beginning of the play we learn that King Lear is old and wishes to retire as King of Great Britain. . This decision greatly changes his life and that of those around him. He is accustomed to the power and flattery of his subjects and expects the same respect and appreciation from his daughters. When he retired, he made the very stupid decision to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. "Give me the map there. Know that we have divided our kingdom into three and that we intend quickly to shake off all the cares and affairs of our age (Act I, i, 37-39) “Lear gives up all his power and lands to his daughters as a reward for their false display of love towards him. This rash decision leads to his imminent downfall. The reader can actually foresee King Lear's breakdown and loss of control and order. Lear foolishly becomes angry with his youngest and favorite daughter because she refuses to express his love and affections. Lear then banishes Cordelia. This stupid act leaves Lear vulnerable to his two other evil daughters as they conspire against him. After later realizing his mistake and how little Goneril and Regan care for him, he begins to go crazy. Yet from the start I had to wonder if he wasn't already angry. What king would step down and divide a powerful and sturdy kingdom? A kingdom is best run under a single ruler because a single decision is made without any contradiction. The political division of a kingdom has many disadvantages which Lear does not seem to realize. A divided Kingdom means that there will be more than one ruler and a difference of opinion will occur. There will always be disagreements and arguments that can end in a hurry, creating tension between the leaders, especially if they are related and envious of each other's power and fighting over the same love interest. Although Lear may think he had a good reason for dividing his lands, there is actually no rational reason for his action. He only divided his land so that he could receive the words of love from his daughters. His desire to feed his ego by abdicating his throne for reward ultimately causes him to lose everything, including his family and even his sanity...