Shakespearean plays always contain intriguing characters with many sides, secrets, and stories. The villainous Edmund in King Lear is no exception. Though a supporting actor by theater standard, he is one of the first characters introduced to the audience in the opening scenes. He plays a key role in the subplot of King Lear, and establishes himself as a complex “evil” character. When compared to Regan and Goneril, Edmund is much more cunning in his ambition. His ultimate goal is to prove his importance and value to society despite being born a bastard. Edmund reasons that his legitimacy should not based on who bore him, and he determines to do whatever it takes to rise above this irrational societal law and make a name for himself. He treats people only as tools useful for reaching his goal—as later becomes apparent in his flirtations with both Regan and Goneril. He doesn't have a driving desire to injure his brother or father, but they stand in the way of his goal and so must be removed. His soliloquy in Act I is not very long, but serves to provide significant insight into his character's motivations and personality. Shakespeare creatively weaves the language of Edmund's speech to powerfully convey meaning in a small amount of words.
Edmund's Machiavellian character takes shape within the very first lines of his soliloquy when he appeals to the laws of nature to be his guide, rather than those of man. Societal laws give him no value because of his parentage, but value in nature derives itself from the quality of a person. Edmund's “rhetorical practice is not one of calling up devils and calling down gods...His wit puns on the words of others, or parodies them” (Kinney 681). “Nature,” to Edmund, presents all people as tabula...
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...nly a skillful way to introduce a character, but also a crafting of language full of double meaning and insightful portrayal.
Works cited
Brown, Steve, and McCarthy Marcella. English Open Access. Books Unlimited, 17 June 2003. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
Greg, W. W. "The Staging Of King Lear." The Review of English Studies 16.63 (1940): 300-03. Print.
Johnston, Ian. "Speak What We Feel: An Introduction to King Lear." English 366:Studies in Shakespeare. BC, Nanaisom. July 1999. Lecture.
released for public domain on November 11, 1999. Accessed via internet
Kinney, Arthur F. "Lear." The Massachusetts Review Winter 17.4 (1976): 677-712. Print.
Shakespeare, William, and Kenneth Muir. King Lear. London: Methuen, 1972. Print.
Summers, Claude J. ""Stand Up for Bastards!": Shakespeare's Edmund and Love's Failure." College Literature 4.3 (1977): 225-31. Print.
Edmund believes in the idea of natural law as a way to attain power; in fact, the Nature to which Edmund is appealing is human nature, where desire is the driving force behind all action. Shakespeare creates a tragic tone through characterization and juxtaposition. He defines natural law and set it apart from social law, but Edmund mistakes one for the other and falls from power, revealing his hamartia.
As intended in the story Edmund is a static character and represents wit, deception, and the wicked. Yet with all these amazing traits comes the consequences of using the for evil and not good. Sadly and ironically him trying to kill Edgar eventually leads to Edgar killing him out of the rage he feels after their father dies. What goes around always comes around good or bad and Edmund just got the bad side
I want Edmund now more than ever to showcase his confidence and self-assurance because he has managed to create the perfect plan in order to execute his personal revenge. Edmund says, “Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, […], Edmund the base shall top the legitimate. I grow, I prosper, now gods, stand up for bastard!” Edmund is expressing his desire for personal revenge because he believes that its unjust that people actually think that Edgar is better than him just because he is the legitimate son. During this part of the monologue, Edmund will have an assertive and threatening tone because he believes that his revenge will work.
Shakespeare, William. "King Lear: A Conflated Text." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York:
Bradley., A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
In Act I, Scene II, Edmund's character reveals itself. In his first soliloquy he clearly shows his knowledge of his situation, but at the same time questions its validity.
Shakespeare, William, Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. The Norton Shakespeare. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. Print.
The possession of a higher power and authority is the foundation of an individual’s excessive pride, which ultimately restricts their rationality and leads to their downfall. In fact, through studying Lear in the love scene, Shakespeare has indefinitely characterised Lear as a hubristic monarch due to his initial power and authority, conveyed through the sennet and majestic plural used in Lear’s entrance and dialogue respectively. For example, Lear’s decision to ‘[divide] in three [his] kingdom’ so that ‘future strife may
As is intended, Edmund 's psychological development stems not only from his nature as a human being
Bradley., A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
Bullough, Geoffrey. "King Lear". Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973.
Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of King Lear. New York: Washington Square, 1993. Print.
Works Cited Bradley, A.C. Twentieth Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Janet Adelman. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1978. Goddard, Harold C. King, Lear.
A tragic character must pass from happiness to misery whereby he must be seen at the beginning of t... ... middle of paper ... ... born a bastard which continuously haunts him, does what he does as an act against the whole society. Therefore, Edmund’s driving force is to revolt against those in power, against traditional values and against the very make-up of society. He regards this revolution as a worthy cause, and his scheming is aimed at putting himself in power, gaining the throne.
Shakespeare, William, and Russell A. Fraser. King Lear. New York: New American Library, 1998. Print.