King Lear is the heart-wrenching tragedy of a king with three daughters who decides to test their love for him as a condition for inheriting a part of his kingdom. Naturally the two who are most interested in the prize are the most willing to tell him what he wants to hear. The youngest, Cordelia, in her honesty and simplicity, refuses to flatter him and is disinherited. Over time, Lear realizes his mistake, as his two other daughters are only “nice” when they have something to gain from it. This is a tragedy about deception and superficiality – particularly within the family, but with many political implications. It illustrates Shakespeare’s incredible capacity to understand human nature and there are thus multitudinous themes to reflect on, such as love and loyalty and the superficiality of flattery. Questions to consider might include: How do we recognize true devotion? Is anyone really as demanding as Lear is? Does loyalty to something other than the state, (what some might consider a divided loyalty), such as the Church, make one a better or worse citizen in the eyes of the state? I found Ignatius Press’ Ignatius Critical Edition: King Lear (edited by Joseph Pearce) to be quite helpful in studying King Lear with our teen discussion group. This book includes detailed definitions, explanations and commentary in footnotes on each page of the play as well as “Classic” and “Contemporary” essays on the play. While I didn’t read all of the essays in the book, I did particularly enjoy James Bemis “King Lear on Film”, which led us to Laurence Olivier’s 1984 portrayal of King Lear. We watched this as a group (following our discussion) and enjoyed it very much, in spite of a few gory spots.