How does Shakespeare present Edmund in King Lear?

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How does Shakespeare present Edmund in King Lear?

How does Shakespeare present Edmund in King Lear?

King Lear is a play about child - parent relationships, nature, Christianity and enlightenment. King Lear initiates with a King dividing up his land and bestowing it upon his three daughters. After being betrayed by his youngest born Cordelia, Lear banishes her and starts his struggle with madness. King Lear is a tragic play and ends with many characters dying after a bloody war. Shakespeare touched on many themes when creating his masterpiece and all of these can be voiced through Edmund which makes him an integral character to the play. Edmund is the illegitimate son of the Duke of Gloucester. He is one of the first characters mentioned in the play, and throughout the play he seems to be the personification of evil. The mendacious bastard betrays his brother and father before dying with little remorse. Shakespeare used a variety of literary techniques to convey his message about Edmund and used the villain as a pawn in the story about Good vs. Evil.

Edmund is a godless character; he embraces the concept of humanism and refuses to answer to any divine being when he stresses “thou nature art my goddess” he instantly dismisses the notion of an abrahamic God. To be an atheist was still seen as “satanic” so for Shakespeare to present Edmund as faithless, it reasserts this notion of malevolence. Edmunds denial of God means he ostracises himself from society, this disintegration tells us a lot about Edmund’s persona, he likes being outside the social circle and looking in meaning Edmund has a prime viewpoint on the problems with society. The idea of a villainous character was very prominent in Shakespeare’s plays, therefore Edmund is simply satisfying a theatrical need and is no anomaly. Iargo and Lady Macbeth are two good examples of how Shakespeare has created a vicious character in his tragic works. Edmund bares resemblance to these figures as all three use intelligence to manipulate parties into exercising their requests (for example in Act 3.Scene 5 when he betrays Gloucester and persuades Cornwall to arrest his father). By looking at these two characters it shows the foundations of Edmund. He is built upon other characters designed by Shakespeare, which is very interesting as it means the audience notice Edmund’s evil behaviour more because his role has already been established in other plays.

A common literary technique Shakespeare uses when presenting a character was using their role to alter the audience’s perception of the character. The role of the character can tell the audience a lot about their attitudes and intentions. Edmund represents an outcast and unlike Lear or Gloucester Edmund refuses to pander to the needs of society, he has been raised as an outcast (as he is illegitimate) and because of this Edmund goes against the customs of his environment (through his manipulative and sly actions towards Edgar and Gloucester in Act 1 Scene 2 as well as Act 3 Scene 5). This disregard for tradition can be inferred from when Edmund states “Now, gods, stand up for bastards!” It’s interesting to note that Shakespeare doesn’t use a capital for God, suggesting that Edmund dismisses the importance of the transcendent being. Another role that Edmund embraces which further accentuates his vile character would be his unquenchable voracity. Edmunds chief aim in life is to be the best, he has a immeasurable appetite for power, this role played by Edmund not only makes him an outsider but makes him seem alien. This survival of the fittest ideal Edmund adopts makes him seen insensitive which further emphasises Shakespeare’s representation of pure evil (example). Edmund does not only want land and power but also recognition. He has a tarnished status because of his illegitimacy; Edmund seeks to rectify this through any measure, even if it means “serial treachery”. To betray ones brother and father is menacing in a Christian society, and this act of self assertion typifies Edmund, he is an evil “bastard“. Edmund’s voracity is highlighted by R. Moore’s essay on “Good and Evil Children in King Lear and Henry IV. Moore states that “Edmund, whose aspirations to legitimacy will stop at nothing, especially fratricide”. Shakespeare doesn’t have to use words to disgrace Edmund as his actions do this for him.  By getting his father’s eyes gauged out and having his brother banished as well as killing Lear and Cordelia, Edmund is immediately thought to be a malicious man; a Machiavellian. The main role however of the bastard Edmund is that he is the evil in the battle of Good vs. Evil. Throughout the play there is constant conflict between the two, and Edmund is the forerunner on the side of the reprehensible people. Instead of playing a hero, or a saviour, the roles Edmund is given (such as a Darwinist, Machiavellian, outsider, betrayer) further highlight Edmund’s evilness.

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By making Edmund appear at obscure times Shakespeare makes him seem somewhat more evil. When a character is always appearing at times of agony and crisis the audience is bound to be wary about their intentions. When Britain and France go to war the man who commands the British army is Edmund, the vile man is first to massacre the French and capture their leaders. Edmund’s connotation with war will obviously have a profound effect on the audience as now he has an unbreakable connection with destruction. Edmund is very rarely seen in groups of large people, he is ...

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