"King Lear" by William Shakespeare: Often cited among Shakespeare's best plays, "King Lear" was supposedly written around 1605, but since Edward de Vere died in 1604, that date is obviously open for debate. In any case, this was one of Shakespeare's final efforts, and perhaps his age shows, as the subject matter deals with the deteriorating relationships of hierarchal English society, particularly between parents and their children.
Set in England during the Eighth Century BCE, the play opens with an elderly King Lear deciding how best to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. He asks his daughters to tell him how much they love him. Goneril and Regan are quick to spin lies from their silver tongues, heaping compliments and false praise. Lear loves it. But when it's Cordelia's turn, the shy, virtuous girl refuses to stoop to flattery, admitting she's unable to voice her sincere love for her father.
"Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty
According to my bond; no more nor less."
(Act I, Scene I)
Lear takes her silence as an insult, lashing out at his youngest daughter and disowning her on the spot. When Kent, a nobleman and loyal follower of the king, protests, Lear angrily banishes him from the kingdom. The Duke of Burgundy and the King of France had hopes of marrying Cordelia, but Burgundy quickly rescinds his offer upon learning Cordelia has been stripped of all her property and wealth. France, on the other hand, is impressed by the girl's integrity and accepts Cordelia as his wife. Lear gives them both the boot. His kingdom will now only be divided between Goneril, who is married to the Duke of Albany, and Regan, who is wife to the Duke of Cornwall. Just as an aside, I've decided that all my possessions will be divided evenly between the IRS and various credit card companies. With, of course, my liver being left to science.
The matter of property distribution decided, Lear plans to blissfully spend his waning days with his two beloved daughters, but reality can be a harsh mistress. With their fortunes firmly established, there's no point in further flattering the old man, so Goneril and Regan begin showing their true colors, each turning him from their homes and doing their best to reduce him from King to tottering old fool. The brutal treatment shocks Lear, allowing him for the first time to see the error of his ways. Unable to cope with the sorrow of forsaking Cordelia, the one daughter who truly loved him, Lear wanders the countryside, spiraling into dementia.
While all this familial strife is waging, Gloucester, one of Lear's trusted advisors, has his own domestic difficulties. Gloucester has two sons, Edgar and Edmund, with Edmund being the younger and the product of adultery. Yes, sir, the Big A. The Scarlet Letter. The sin that keeps on giving. Being illegitimate and all has sort of colored Edmund's world view. He's a touch bitter. He plans to discredit Edgar in the eyes of his father, allowing him to step in as the one rightful son and inherit the family fortune. Edmund forges a letter from Edgar, framing his brother for a murder plot against their father. Gloucester is outraged and disowns Edgar much in the same way Lear abandoned Cordelia. Except Edgar is also hunted as a criminal, forced to flee into the wilderness, adopting the guise of a mad beggar to survive. Oddly enough, I did something similar during the last two years of high school. Only instead of running into the wilderness, I started drinking. And instead of pretending to be a mad beggar, I became an alcoholic. Good times, good times.
Eventually, the two family quarrels merge into one titanic clash, with Lear and Gloucester succumbing to their guilt, and the once forsaken children trying to avenge their fathers. And since this is, after all, a Shakespearean tragedy, there's plenty of death to go around. But interestingly enough, three principal characters once again die offstage. It's a surprising trend in a lot of Shakespeare plays, particularly in regards to women. One would think death scenes would be all the rage, but Ophelia died offstage. Lady Macbeth died offstage. The three Lear girls die offstage. Seems odd. They must have had lousy agents.
"King Lear" is a very solid effort, with rich plotting and significant themes, and I could see how some would regard it highly, but I'm afraid it falls a bit short of four-shot status with me. For one thing, there really aren't any seminal moments or speeches. Sure, it's a swell take on truth, jealousy, power, and familial ties, but nothing here reaches the glorious heights of "Hamlet" or "Othello." There's only one truly memorable scene, and it involves Gloucester getting worked over "Reservoir Dogs"-style, albeit with different sensory organs hitting the floor. You may not want to be eating grapes when you read it.
And then there's the matter of the fool. It seems Shakespeare couldn't write a play without cramming in some sort of clown or fool for comedic relief. And that wouldn't be so bad if they were ever funny. Usually they're just annoying. And the fool in "King Lear" could be the most annoying of them all. He spends much of the play trying to give Lear prophetic advice through various riddles and songs, but all he gave me was an overwhelming desire to hit myself in the head with a hammer.
The play also just seemed a bit disjointed. As mentioned earlier, several key characters die offstage, making everything more than a touch anticlimactic. There's even a scene where the French armies, led by Cordelia and Lear, are invading England that is unintentionally funny for its brevity.
So not only would I place it below the brilliance of "Hamlet" and the other four-shot plays, I'd probably rank it behind the likes of "Much Ado About Nothing" and "The Merchant of Venice."
RATING: 
If you'd like to learn more about Edward de Vere and the truth about Shakespeare, here are a few links to get you started...
Shakespeare Oxford Society Home Page
The Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference: Who Was Edward de Vere?