How does Shakespear present king Lear sympathetically in the first half of the p

Question:King Lear, a dotty 80-year-old ruler of ancient Britain, announces that he will retire from the throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters: Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. The foolish, self-centered old man declares (in Act I, Scene I) that the daughter who loves him the most will receive the biggest share of his property. Then he will live with each daughter in turn, one month at a time. The avaricious Goneril declares that her love for her father knows no bounds:

Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter;
Dearer than eye-sight, space, and liberty;
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare;
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour;
As much as child e'er loved, or father found;
A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable;
Beyond all manner of so much I love you. (1. 1. 39-45)

.......Regan says Goneril comes up short, declaring “I am alone felicitate / In your dear highness’ love” (1. 1. 59-60). Lear is much pleased. But when he asks his favorite daughter what she can say to win the richest share of his kingdom, she replies, “Nothing, my lord” (1. 1. 72). Surprised and disappointed, Lear presses Cordelia, the only daughter who truly loves her father. She then says,

Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty
According to my bond; nor more nor less. (1. 1. 76-78)

.......Becoming angry, Lear warns her to “mend your speech a little, / Lest it may mar your fortunes” (1. 1. 79-80). But Cordelia stands fast; she refuses to take part in the foolish contest. Consequently, Lear disowns her and divides his property between Goneril and Regan.
.......The Duke of Kent, long a loyal friend of the king, advises Lear that his action is rash and foolish. “Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least” (1. 1. 142), he says. After Lear warns him to hold his tongue, Kent–believing himself honor-bound to point out Lear’s folly–says, “I’ll tell thee thou dost evil” (1. 1. 161). Lear then banishes him, allowing him five days to gather provisions and ten days in all to leave the country.
.......The Duke of Burgundy, who has been suing for the hand of Cordelia, now rejects her as unworthy. After all, she is without money, without title. But the King of France, who admires the young woman for her honesty and her other excellent qualities, marries her, and they leave Britain to live in France.
.......Goneril and her husband, the Duke of Albany, first host Lear. In time, the eccentric old man and his entourage vex her. After Lear strikes Goneril’s steward, Oswald, for scolding his fool, Goneril says,

By day and night he wrongs me; every hour
He flashes into one gross crime or other,
That sets us all at odds: I'll not endure it. (1. 3. 5-7)

She tells Oswald to ignore Lear and his entourage, since he is now an “idle old man” (1. 3. 18) who has relinquished his authority. If he does not like the treatment he receives, she says, then he can move to the castle of Regan and her husband. There, she says, he will receive similar treatment, because Regan and she are of a like mind in their view of how to deal with the pesky old man.
.......Meanwhile, Kent presents himself in disguise to Lear in a room in the castle, saying he wishes to serve the king: “I can keep honest counsel, ride, run . . . and deliver a plain message bluntly: that which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence” (1. 4. 26). Lear accepts him. Moments later, a knight tells the king he is no longer regarded with affection by Goneril, Albany, and their servants. Oswald enters and Lear, apparently regarding him as a tool in Goneril’s plan to mistreat the king, insults and slaps him. For good measure, the disguised Kent trips Oswald, then pushes him out of the room. The king’s fool comes in just then and recites a little speech for Lear and Kent, a speech which seems to contain more wisdom than Lear and Kent realize:

Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest1,
Ride more than thou goest2,
Learn more than thou trowest3,
Set less than thou throwest4;
Leave thy drink and thy whore,
And keep in-a-door,
And thou shalt have more
Than two tens to a score. (1. 4. 71-80)

.......Goneril enters and scolds Lear for the rowdy behavior of his knights and tells him to reduce their number, keeping only those who know how to behave. Angry, Lear defends his knights as honorable men and curses Goneril as a detestable monster. Then he and his company depart for the castle of the Duke of Gloucester, where Regan and her husband, the Duke of Cornwall, are visiting. Goneril sends Oswald ahead to warn her sister of Lear’s approach. Lear, unaware of Oswald’s mission, sends word of his coming with the disguised Earl of Kent.
.......Meanwhile, the fool picks at Lear, the better to make the old man understand himself and the folly of his selfish, headstrong ways. “If thou wert my fool, nuncle,” he says, “I’d have thee beaten for being old before thy time” (1. 5. 25).
.......At Gloucester’s castle, Kent encounters Oswald and heaps insults upon him. Oswald had arrived at the castle before Kent, giving him enough time to poison Regan’s ear against Lear and everyone in his entourage. When Kent draws his sword against Oswald, the latter cries out for help and the Duke of Albany orders Kent immobilized in stocks, a wooden frame that closes around the wrists and ankles, for several hours as punishment.
.......After Lear arrives, Regan and her husband make the old man wait so long that he threatens to beat down their chamber door. When Regan and Albany finally deign to appear, they free Kent. Lear explains to them what happened at Goneril’s, but Regan defends her sister and suggests that Lear apologize to her. After Goneril arrives, the two sisters side against the old man. In a rage, he storms out into a tempestuous night with his fool. Winds howl. Rain falls in torrents. It is as if nature is expressing the raving anger of Lear. But the king observes that it as if nature has joined forces with his faithless daughters to torment him. “I am a man / More sinn’d against than sinning” (3. 2.49-50), he laments. Kent, who has followed Lear after his release from the stocks, persuades the old man to take shelter in a humble hut.
.......Meanwhile, Gloucester, Regan’s host, has become the victim of skulduggery. His illegitimate son, Edmund, claims that his brother, Edgar, Gloucester’s rightful heir, means to murder Gloucester. Gloucester believes Edmund even though Edgar dearly loves his father. But when Edgar learns of his brother’s treachery, he disguises himself in the rags of a lunatic and flees the household, finding refuge from the storm in the hut occupied by Lear. His wits now failing him, Lear identifies with Edgar and strips away his royal robes to become like Edgar.
.......Gloucester, a good man at heart, has been searching for Lear with a torch, and he, too, finds his way to the hut. Gloucester advises Kent that Lear must hie away quickly, for Regan wants him dead. If Lear goes to Dover, Gloucester says, he will be safe. That is where the King of France and his army will land to help the old king win back his throne. Kent and the jester lead Lear away. Edgar, the ''wandering lunatic,'' remains behind.
.......When Gloucester reports news of the French invasion to his ''trusted'' son–the evil and scheming Edmund–Edmund reports the news to Regan and her husband. Hot after more news, they bind Gloucester to a chair and prod him for a full report on Lear's escape and the French invasion. For a finishing sadistic touch, they gouge out his eyes and send him from the castle. A servant, shocked at what he has seen, kills Regan's husband, the Duke of Cornwall. The blinded Gloucester, who is planning to throw himself off a cliff at Dover, is led through the woods by a loyal attendant, an old man. When they come upon Gloucester’s good son, Edgar (the ''wandering lunatic''), Gloucester asks him to lead him to Dover. Edgar, without revealing his identity, agrees to show him the way.
.......After Goneril hears news of the French invasion, she tries to persuade her husband, the Duke of Albany, to take up arms against the invaders. He refuses. Pronouncing him a coward, she then begins to think Edmund would be a good catch for her. However, she worries that Regan may also have designs on Edmund now that her husband, the Duke of Cornwall, is dead.
.......When Gloucester and Edgar arrive at Dover, Edgar pretends that they are on a cliff. Gloucester hurls himself forward–onto the ground at his feet. Now pretending to be a passerby at the bottom of the cliff, Edgar helps him up. Amazed that he is still alive after the ''fall,'' Gloucester thinks a miracle saved him. Goneril's henchman comes by to kill Gloucester, but Edgar kills the henchman. Edgar rummages through the henchman's pocket and finds a note from Goneril to Edmund, suggesting that Edmund kill Goneril's husband, the Duke of Albany, and marry her. Edgar saves the note.
.......Lear is now in the French camp at Dover, sleeping in a tent. When he awakens, he sees Cordelia at his side. Later, while they walk together, he is repentant: “Pray you now, forget and forgive: I am old and foolish” (4. 7. 99).
.......Finally, French and English swords cross, and the French lose. Ironically, it is Goneril's ''cowardly'' spouse, the Duke of Albany, who leads the triumph

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: King Lear, a dotty 80-year-old ruler of ancient Britain, announces that he will retire from the throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters: Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. The foolish, self-centered old man declares (in Act I, Scene I) that the daughter who loves him the most will receive the biggest share of his property. Then he will live with each daughter in turn, one month at a time. The avaricious Goneril declares that her love for her father knows no bounds:

Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter;
Dearer than eye-sight, space, and liberty;
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare;
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour;
As much as child e'er loved, or father found;
A love that makes breath poor, and speech unable;
Beyond all manner of so much I love you. (1. 1. 39-45)

.......Regan says Goneril comes up short, declaring “I am alone felicitate / In your dear highness’ love” (1. 1. 59-60). Lear is much pleased. But when he asks his favorite daughter what she can say to win the richest share of his kingdom, she replies, “Nothing, my lord” (1. 1. 72). Surprised and disappointed, Lear presses Cordelia, the only daughter who truly loves her father. She then says,

Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty
According to my bond; nor more nor less. (1. 1. 76-78)

.......Becoming angry, Lear warns her to “mend your speech a little, / Lest it may mar your fortunes” (1. 1. 79-80). But Cordelia stands fast; she refuses to take part in the foolish contest. Consequently, Lear disowns her and divides his property between Goneril and Regan.
.......The Duke of Kent, long a loyal friend of the king, advises Lear that his action is rash and foolish. “Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least” (1. 1. 142), he says. After Lear warns him to hold his tongue, Kent–believing himself honor-bound to point out Lear’s folly–says, “I’ll tell thee thou dost evil” (1. 1. 161). Lear then banishes him, allowing him five days to gather provisions and ten days in all to leave the country.
.......The Duke of Burgundy, who has been suing for the hand of Cordelia, now rejects her as unworthy. After all, she is without money, without title. But the King of France, who admires the young woman for her honesty and her other excellent qualities, marries her, and they leave Britain to live in France.
.......Goneril and her husband, the Duke of Albany, first host Lear. In time, the eccentric old man and his entourage vex her. After Lear strikes Goneril’s steward, Oswald, for scolding his fool, Goneril says,

By day and night he wrongs me; every hour
He flashes into one gross crime or other,
That sets us all at odds: I'll not endure it. (1. 3. 5-7)

She tells Oswald to ignore Lear and his entourage, since he is now an “idle old man” (1. 3. 18) who has relinquished his authority. If he does not like the treatment he receives, she says, then he can move to the castle of Regan and her husband. There, she says, he will receive similar treatment, because Regan and she are of a like mind in their view of how to deal with the pesky old man.
.......Meanwhile, Kent presents himself in disguise to Lear in a room in the castle, saying he wishes to serve the king: “I can keep honest counsel, ride, run . . . and deliver a plain message bluntly: that which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence” (1. 4. 26). Lear accepts him. Moments later, a knight tells the king he is no longer regarded with affection by Goneril, Albany, and their servants. Oswald enters and Lear, apparently regarding him as a tool in Goneril’s plan to mistreat the king, insults and slaps him. For good measure, the disguised Kent trips Oswald, then pushes him out of the room. The king’s fool comes in just then and recites a little speech for Lear and Kent, a speech which seems to contain more wisdom than Lear and Kent realize:

Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest1,
Ride more than thou goest2,
Learn more than thou trowest3,
Set less than thou throwest4;
Leave thy drink and thy whore,
And keep in-a-door,
And thou shalt have more
Than two tens to a score. (1. 4. 71-80)

.......Goneril enters and scolds Lear for the rowdy behavior of his knights and tells him to reduce their number, keeping only those who know how to behave. Angry, Lear defends his knights as honorable men and curses Goneril as a detestable monster. Then he and his company depart for the castle of the Duke of Gloucester, where Regan and her husband, the Duke of Cornwall, are visiting. Goneril sends Oswald ahead to warn her sister of Lear’s approach. Lear, unaware of Oswald’s mission, sends word of his coming with the disguised Earl of Kent.
.......Meanwhile, the fool picks at Lear, the better to make the old man understand himself and the folly of his selfish, headstrong ways. “If thou wert my fool, nuncle,” he says, “I’d have thee beaten for being old before thy time” (1. 5. 25).
.......At Gloucester’s castle, Kent encounters Oswald and heaps insults upon him. Oswald had arrived at the castle before Kent, giving him enough time to poison Regan’s ear against Lear and everyone in his entourage. When Kent draws his sword against Oswald, the latter cries out for help and the Duke of Albany orders Kent immobilized in stocks, a wooden frame that closes around the wrists and ankles, for several hours as punishment.
.......After Lear arrives, Regan and her husband make the old man wait so long that he threatens to beat down their chamber door. When Regan and Albany finally deign to appear, they free Kent. Lear explains to them what happened at Goneril’s, but Regan defends her sister and suggests that Lear apologize to her. After Goneril arrives, the two sisters side against the old man. In a rage, he storms out into a tempestuous night with his fool. Winds howl. Rain falls in torrents. It is as if nature is expressing the raving anger of Lear. But the king observes that it as if nature has joined forces with his faithless daughters to torment him. “I am a man / More sinn’d against than sinning” (3. 2.49-50), he laments. Kent, who has followed Lear after his release from the stocks, persuades the old man to take shelter in a humble hut.
.......Meanwhile, Gloucester, Regan’s host, has become the victim of skulduggery. His illegitimate son, Edmund, claims that his brother, Edgar, Gloucester’s rightful heir, means to murder Gloucester. Gloucester believes Edmund even though Edgar dearly loves his father. But when Edgar learns of his brother’s treachery, he disguises himself in the rags of a lunatic and flees the household, finding refuge from the storm in the hut occupied by Lear. His wits now failing him, Lear identifies with Edgar and strips away his royal robes to become like Edgar.
.......Gloucester, a good man at heart, has been searching for Lear with a torch, and he, too, finds his way to the hut. Gloucester advises Kent that Lear must hie away quickly, for Regan wants him dead. If Lear goes to Dover, Gloucester says, he will be safe. That is where the King of France and his army will land to help the old king win back his throne. Kent and the jester lead Lear away. Edgar, the ''wandering lunatic,'' remains behind.
.......When Gloucester reports news of the French invasion to his ''trusted'' son–the evil and scheming Edmund–Edmund reports the news to Regan and her husband. Hot after more news, they bind Gloucester to a chair and prod him for a full report on Lear's escape and the French invasion. For a finishing sadistic touch, they gouge out his eyes and send him from the castle. A servant, shocked at what he has seen, kills Regan's husband, the Duke of Cornwall. The blinded Gloucester, who is planning to throw himself off a cliff at Dover, is led through the woods by a loyal attendant, an old man. When they come upon Gloucester’s good son, Edgar (the ''wandering lunatic''), Gloucester asks him to lead him to Dover. Edgar, without revealing his identity, agrees to show him the way.
.......After Goneril hears news of the French invasion, she tries to persuade her husband, the Duke of Albany, to take up arms against the invaders. He refuses. Pronouncing him a coward, she then begins to think Edmund would be a good catch for her. However, she worries that Regan may also have designs on Edmund now that her husband, the Duke of Cornwall, is dead.
.......When Gloucester and Edgar arrive at Dover, Edgar pretends that they are on a cliff. Gloucester hurls himself forward–onto the ground at his feet. Now pretending to be a passerby at the bottom of the cliff, Edgar helps him up. Amazed that he is still alive after the ''fall,'' Gloucester thinks a miracle saved him. Goneril's henchman comes by to kill Gloucester, but Edgar kills the henchman. Edgar rummages through the henchman's pocket and finds a note from Goneril to Edmund, suggesting that Edmund kill Goneril's husband, the Duke of Albany, and marry her. Edgar saves the note.
.......Lear is now in the French camp at Dover, sleeping in a tent. When he awakens, he sees Cordelia at his side. Later, while they walk together, he is repentant: “Pray you now, forget and forgive: I am old and foolish” (4. 7. 99).
.......Finally, French and English swords cross, and the French lose. Ironically, it is Goneril's ''cowardly'' spouse, the Duke of Albany, who leads the triumph