The three daughters are Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. Goneril and Regan are the two elder daughters who are deceitful. They flatter their father at first to get his kingdom but later treat him very badly. Cordelia, the youngest daughter, is honest and truly loves her father, but her refusal to play the false flattery game like her sisters makes her seem ungrateful to Lear at first.
King Lear decided to divide his kingdom among his three daughters based on how much they professed their love for him. Goneril and Regan flattered him extravagantly with false words of love. Cordelia, the youngest and most sincere, refused to play this false game and simply said she loved him as a daughter should. Lear, in his folly, banished Cordelia. Goneril and Regan soon showed their true natures, treating Lear horribly. Lear realized his mistake too late and went mad in the face of his daughters' cruelty. In the end, there was much tragedy, with Cordelia coming back to try to help but also meeting a sad end.
One possible moral could be about the importance of honesty. Maybe the daughters' responses to the king were a test of their honesty, and those who were truthful were rewarded in some way.
Well, usually in such a story, the king might test his three daughters' love for him. For example, he could ask them how much they love him. One daughter might give a very flowery and grand answer, while another might be more sincere and simple. And the third could have a unique response. Then, based on their answers, different events might unfold, like rewards or challenges for each daughter.
Goneril is depicted as a manipulative and greedy character. She flatters King Lear to get a large part of the kingdom and then mistreats him. Regan is similar; she also uses false flattery and then shows her true cruel nature towards her father. Cordelia, on the other hand, is honest and sincere. She doesn't play the flattery game like her sisters and is true to her feelings for her father, even though it costs her dearly at first.
Well, there's the king, who is a central figure. He holds the authority and his relationship with his daughters is what the story is mainly about. Then there are the three daughters. Each of them has her own personality, and they respond differently to the king, which makes for an interesting plot as their responses lead to different outcomes.
Obviously, the main characters are the king and his three daughters. The king is in a position of power and authority. His daughters, each with their own personalities, play important roles as they interact with their father and deal with the situations presented in the story.
The main events are Lear's test of his daughters' love. Then Cordelia's honest response which led to her banishment. Next, Goneril and Regan's cruel treatment of Lear. And finally, Lear's realization of his mistake and the overall tragic outcomes including Cordelia's death.
One main theme is the nature of family relationships. Lear's relationship with his daughters is complex. His two eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, initially flatter him but then mistreat him, showing the theme of false appearances. Another theme is madness, as Lear goes mad after being betrayed by his daughters. Also, there is the theme of power and how it can corrupt, as the daughters' thirst for power leads to their immoral actions.
The moral is that sincere love is more valuable than love expressed through material things. The youngest daughter's simple and pure love for her father is held in higher regard than the flashy answers of the older daughters.