Legitimacy and Illegitimacy

1482 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The subplot in king lear

Shakespeare utilizes a lot of family themes in most of his plays. Most of the family dilemmas he presents are directly correlated to disputes over power, whether it deals with sibling rivalry, parent rivalry, or some type of oedipal pairing. One of his compelling ideas surrounds the issue of legitimacy and illegitimacy when it comes to children and their parents. This dilemma continues to present itself in modern media, presenting a clear thematic imprint that describes a power dispute between the behaviors of legitimate and illegitimate sons, leading to the fate of the parent and the overall resolution of the work. Specifically dealing with Shakespeare’s play King Lear, and the latest Marvel film franchise surrounding the hero Thor, there is a direct correlation between the themes of these works and the presence of both a legitimate, and an illegitimate, son.
Shakespeare’s character Gloucester has two sons, Edmund and Edgar. Edmund is the illegitimate son, the result of Gloucester’s affair with his mother. Gloucester doesn’t let this idea rest, as even when he introduces his bastard son to Kent at the beginning of the play it’s mentioned. “Though this knave came something saucily to the world before he was sent for, yet was his mother fair, there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged” (I.I.21-24). Gloucester openly denotes Edmund and puts him in his place as illegitimate and unfitting to take his crown. Edgar, however, is the more beloved son, and is the next in line to receive the father’s land and power. This battle between legitimacy and illegitimacy is difficult, because other than the fact that Gloucester is married to Edgar’s mother, the two boys are considered moderately equal. Edmund argue...

... middle of paper ...

...e biological son is interrupted by the presence of an illegitimate child, or one that is not biologically related.

Works Cited
Beauregard, David N. "Human Malevolence and Providence in King Lear." Renascence 60.3 (2008): 199-226. Literature Online. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Lee, Chris. "Branagh Meets Comic-Book Hero." Newsweek 157.19 (2011): 59-60. EBSCO. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Sahkespeare, William, and G. Blakemore. Evans. The Riverside Shakespeare: The Complete Works. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Print.
Thor: The Dark World. Dir. James Gunn, Alan Taylor. Perf. Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston. Marvel Studios, 2013. Film.
Thor. Dir. Kenneth Branagh, Joss Whedon. Perf. Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston. Marvel Studios, 2011. Film.
Tiffany, Grace. "Montaigne, Cruel Fathers, and King Lear." Shakespeare Newsletter 62.2 (2012): 44. Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Anti-Motherhood In Macbeth

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    From ancient empires to the inheritance of simple family farms, the passing down of kingships and property has depended on patrilinearity. Maternity is essential to maintain this patrilineage. In Macbeth, Shakespeare vilifies Lady Macbeth as the anti-mother because she rejects patrilineal expectations. By both vilifying her maternal agency and using Lady MacDuff as a foil to Lady Macbeth’s anti-maternal attitudes, Shakespeare endorses traditional maternal values of Early Modern England.

    Read More

  • Parent Child Relationships

    1785 Words  | 4 Pages

    “It is a wise father that knows his own child” stated by William Shakespeare, a poet, which suggests that a good parent must have a connection with their child. However, Shakespeare lacked parental affection, the plays that Shakespeare had written, never had a well established relationship between a parent and their child. However the correlation between a parent and child may vary in many occasions and factors such as a healthy/unhealthy relationship, a tempting desire for self success, and a change of heart. Therefore, through an analysis of Jeannette Wall’s The Glass Castle, William Shakespeare’s King Lear, Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie, and Martin Fan’s bond with His parents, it becomes clear that the establishments between a

    Read More

  • Edmond's Persuasive Techniques In 'King Lear'

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    As discussed earlier ‘bastards’ were look down upon in society and seen as a mistake to the point where they were used as insults to their parents. Edmond uses the persuasive technique of inclusive language in the lines "Well then, Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land. Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmund". In this quote Edmond uses the term ‘our’ to emphasise the fact that him and Edgar have the same father. Additionally, Edmond also implies that he thinks "bastards" are as good as "legitimate" sons through this textual

    Read More

  • Why Do Parents Abduct?

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    that the other parent does not want the child or is dead. The longer the child

    Read More

  • Theme Of Cruelty In King Lear

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edmund’s discontent with the notion of bastardy is brought up furthermore in his soliloquy at the beginning of scene two: “Thou, nature, art my goddess. To thy law/ My services are bound. Wherefore should I/ Stand in the plague of custom…” (II.1-3). The notion of bastardy in Lear pushes Edmund to place his faith in his born traits as opposed to the system that has labeled him an outsider his whole life. He believes he is equal to his brother in every way—his mind and shape as true—and the only reason he is not aloud to prosper is because of a preconceived idea of the ideal child. Inevitably, Edmund wants to rebel against the system that has stifled him for so long. Gloucester is primarily responsible for Edmund’s actions because he in no way raised him equal to Edgar. Edmund’s goal to usurp his brother and earn the power he believes he deserves is due to the notion of bastardy in the play; Edmund questions “why brand they us with ‘base, base bastardy’” in his first soliloquy (II.10) . After all, even Kent attested to his fine demeanour. But, the steadfast notion of bastardy at the time drove Edmund to the point of betrayal because there was no hope for him in playing by the rules as they are fundamentally opposed to a bastard’s prosperity. With this soliloquy, Edmund positions himself as the more disserving

    Read More

  • Tragedy Through Misreading in William Shakespeare's King Lear

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gloucester and Lear, create their eventual downfalls due to their inability to read deceit. Though these characters share the same tragic flaw, the means by which they make their errors is completely different. Gloucester remains a poor reader because he is quick to believe his sense of sight. When his illegitimate son, Edmund, reveals a deceitful letter designed to incriminate Edgar, Gloucester is quick to believe him. “Abominable villain”(1.2.74) he cries out before he even examines the letter with his reading glasses. Edmund’s trickery is conducted cleverly, but Gloucester’s lack of disbelief is unexplainable.

    Read More

  • traglear King Lear as an Arthur Miller Tragedy

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lear is not forced, like Richard II is, to give up his crown. Although he is very old, he is not obliged to hand his power over to anyone, let alone divide his kingdom into three. Not only is he not obliged or compelled to do so, Kent even openly warns him against the act in Act I S...

    Read More

  • Examples Of Bad Parenting In King Lear

    1755 Words  | 4 Pages

    The tragedy King Lear by William Shakespeare ought to be seen as a lesson on what not to do as a parent. By picking favorites, King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester leave a lasting impact on their children 's psyche, ultimately leading to them committing horrible crimes. The rash judgments, violent reactions, and blindness of both Lear and Gloucester lead to both their and their children 's demise. As a result, all of the father-child relationships in the play begin to collapse.

    Read More

  • Richard III by William Shakespeare

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    At the very outset of the play, readers are presented with the power-hungry, self-loathing Duke of Gloucester, defined by his thirst for vengeance and power and by his uncanny ability to manipulate the minds of the people around him. Richard appeals to the audience’s sympathies in his self-deprecating description, when he declares that he is deformed, unfinished, and so hideous and unfashionable that dogs bark at him as he passes by. The imagery he utilizes throughout the opening soliloquy also evokes a feeling of opposition and juxtaposition which speaks to the duality of his nature.The juxtapositions he employs are more than rhetorical devices, as ...

    Read More

  • The Collapse In Fatherhood In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    son by virtue of his own shortcomings. His rejection of his father’s lifestyle formulated a strange parallel

    Read More

  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    The complexity and effect of father-son relationships seems to be a theme that Shakespeare loved to explore in his writings. In Hamlet, the subject is used as a mechanism to identify the similarities between three very different characters: Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet. They have each lost their fathers to violent deaths, which leads them to seek vengeance. As different as they may seem, they all share the common desire to avenge their father’s deaths. The method they each approach this is what differentiates each of their characters, and allows the audience to discern their individual characteristics. Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet’s intense loyalty to their fathers drives them to individual extreme measures of revenge, exemplifying Shakespeare’s masterful use of describing the human psyche during Elizabethan times.

    Read More

  • Social Values in King Lear

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edmund, the bastard son of Gloucester is not pleased with his status as a bastard. Edgar the legitimate son of Gloucester stands to obtain the lands, wealth and power of his father. Edmund thinks this is unfair and begins a plot to banish his brother and obtain the lands of his father. He begins by writing a fake letter from Edgar saying that he wants to murder his father and wishes to take power by force. Edmund uses his deceiving abilities to make the letter seem genuine. He lies to his father about how he came into possession of the letter: “It was not brought me, my Lord; t...

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Role In Shakespeare's King Lear

    2582 Words  | 6 Pages

    There is an unnaturalness where gender and generational roles are subverted. In the context relating to the death of Henry Tudor and the incest and witchcraft tainting Elizabeth’s birth and duality as a Virgin Queen. Overall in King Lear the issues surrounding gender are associated with unnaturalness, a deviation from the laws of nature, from the authority of God and the misuse of power. Gender and its treatment is the cause of the fall of Lear’s reign. The incest and adultery are a curse on the land and the royalty, the wind battles against the evil natures of the characters men. The restoration of the patriarchy and order in society is linked to the chastisement undergone by Edgar, and the result being the victory of his noble and chivalrous character over that of the false Edmund. The darkness and shame of the relationship to the female gender and sexuality are brought to life, and rage throughout, what was hidden or kept in the darkness is brought out. In relation to the context the issue being the challenge to patriarchal culture and the tragedy of the reversal of gender roles resulting from the hamartia or fall of grace of the noble

    Read More

  • Legitimacy and the Foundations of Legitimate Government

    6740 Words  | 14 Pages

    Legitimacy and the Foundations of Legitimate Government. In this paper, it is my intention to discuss the issue of legitimacy as it relates to government. I will explore what a legitimate government necessarily consists of; that is, I will attempt to formulate a number of conditions a government must meet in order to be considered legitimate. A logical starting point in an investigation of legitimate government would seem to be an account of the original purpose of government.

    Read More

  • King Lear Chaos Analysis

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chaos and unnatural order, appear in many Shakespearian plays. Shakespeare's King Lear, portrays various occurrences unleashing disarray. Family bonds represent the natural order of King Lear and due to the disruption of the familial bonds, it leads to chaos throughout the play. The unnatural feelings and actions that prevail in Lear's family; dividing of the father-child bonds, ultimately create an implausible outcome.

    Read More

More about Legitimacy and Illegitimacy

Open Document