Shakespeares Edmund
In King Lear, the villainous but intelligent Edmund, with more than a brief examination into his character, has understandable motivations outside of the base purposes with which he might at first be credited. Edmund is a character worthy of study, as he seems to be the most socially complex character of the play. In a sense, he is both victim and villain. Edmund is introduced into the play in the opening scene with his father, Gloucester, stating that he acknowledges him as his son, but publicly mocking him for his bastardy. He is referred to by Gloucester as a reason for Gloucester to blush and as a "knave" in front of Kent (1.1.9-25). According to Claude J. Summers, "Illegitimacy is the characteristic which most pervasively defines Edmund's life" (225). In essence, this means that personal embarrassment and public humiliation are a continual torment for him his entire life. Concerning the illegitimate sons of royalty in England at that time, according to Chris Given-Wilson in The Royal Bastards of Medieval England, "The bend . . . or baton sinister . . . were used as the standard mark of illegitimacy" in their heraldry (52). Edmund
Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land. Edmund is a highly intelligent person. He is able to beguile his father, so it may be argued that he is more intelligent than Gloucester. With the concept of forging a letter supposedly penned by Edgar in order to cause his loyalty to be in question, he shows that he is deeply aware of the necessary "buttons" to push to cause a rift in the fabric of his family and William Blake, in the poem "A Poison Tree" from Songs of Experience , wrote, "I was angry with my friend/I told my wrath/My wrath did end/I was angry with my foe/I told it not/My wrath did grow . . . " Just as Blake describes a person internalizing his feelings of anger and planning to use them in revenge served up cold, so must have Edgar internalized. Given his intelligence and abilities, it was a sore thing for him when his father cast aspersions on him due to conditions beyond his control. With life-long humiliation at his circumstance of birth, his lack of trust in the system is understandable. Edmund had no reason to trust things would work out right if left to themselves and he had anger as an additional motivating factor.
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Approximate Word count = 1876
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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