Shakespeare's King Lear is a tragic play about an English king and his three daughters. It is a tragic play because it takes Lear all his long life and much suffering to realize the true value of the thing that he takes for granted, his youngest daughter Cordelia. The old king, Lear, spoiled by his absolute power and his habit of receiving instant gratification, asks his daughters to verbalize the feelings that each has for her father in exchange for his kingdom. At this point the old king's downfall and a late life lesson for what years remain in Lear's life begin.