Edmund feels that he has been excluded from society – ‘The curiosity of nations to deprive me’ – however, I think that this is ironic because later on he consciously alienates himself from his entire family, therefore running the risk of creating an outcast within himself if he is caught.
We can tell Edmund feels copious amounts of anger, as the words ‘brother’, ‘bastard’, ‘base’ and ‘baseness’ use the harsh sounding ‘b’ by means of alliteration to represent and emphasize these feelings of anger. This anger could have been the reason for Edmund becoming a villain by plotting against his own family just to make money. We know that Edmund is scheming against his family as he speaks of his ‘invention’ meaning the power to invent lies.
The fact that Edmund is a bastard has had a fairly severe consequence on his life – he has adapted a very manipulative personality and attitude towards life.
‘Well then, legitimate Edgar, I must have your land’ shows enviousness towards his brother Edgar, who is seemingly legitimate. I think that tone is very important during this part of the speech, as you imagine a note of harshness would come across in Edmunds voice during ‘Fine word legitimate! Well, my legitimate’ this harsh tone of voice could emphasize his anger and also create attention towards his jealousy. Edmund clearly has aspirations – ‘…Shall top the legitimate. I grow. I prosper’ – however, the fact that ‘I grow’ and ‘I prosper’ are written is very short sentences could arguably represent doubt , which helps to justify the fact that Edmund has lost faith in society due to the way he has been previously and is currently being treated.
The entire speech is written in blank verse, and not in prose, whereby each lines comes near to ten syllables and enjambement is used to show that this speech is naturalistic, and there is not a pause at the end of each line of speech.
Generally, in my opinion, I feel that the way in which Edmund is acting is a result of him being discriminated against by society as a whole, and how he sees his rights are being overseen just because he is, through no fault of his own, a bastard. The fact that he is scheming against his father could be revenge, as he may see it as his father’s fault that he is a bastard. Perhaps Edmund is longing for his life to be different, which is why he could arguably be jealous of his legitimate brother, Edgar. However; Edmund still believes that the land currently belonging to his father should be passed onto him, as the fact that he is a bastard doesn’t change the fact that he is Gloucester’s son.
