King Lear - Comparison between Edmund and Cordelia's Sisters
In the first two scenes of Act I, the readers are introduced to two families, both with problems to deal with. King Lear's two older daughters, Regan and Goneril, flatter their father with insincere speeches, while planning an evil scheme to purge their father of his remaining authority. In a rather parallel situation, Edmund forges a letter to perform an act to frame his half-brother Edgar in order to claim the inheritance. It is apparent that there are some analogies comprised of dishonesty and treachery between the Lear's daughters and Edmund in these two subplots. Yet, there are slight differences in their motives. Although Edmund and the Cordelia sisters are very disloyal to their family, they are nevertheless very intelligent characters with great observation and insight into their family members. With this in mind, they are able to take control over their father. The secret discussion between Regan and Goneril reveals their cleverness and observation of King Lear. Regan is able to recognize Lear's instability as the "infirmity of his age" (I,i,294
It is apparent in the first two scenes of Act I that there are parallels between the treacheries of Gloucester's family and that of King Lear's. The key characters, Regan, Goneril and Edmund, suggest this parallel for the most part. Although Edmund's motive is more complicated than the sisters', they share several qualities in their acts of treachery. These qualities include their cleverness, insight, and the ability to tell lies smoothly. Consequently it enables them to deceive their fathers, and blind them from the truth. Although their main motives are to inherit all their fathers' kingdom, Edmund seems to have a more complicated objective than the Lear sisters. In his soliloquy, he expresses his anger towards society because it has prevented him from inheriting Gloucester's kingdom, and furthermore, the words "bastard" and "base" give the impression that he is worthless: "...the curiosity of nations to deprive me" (I,ii,4). For that reason, he wishes to counter that social hierarchy by attempting to climb on top of his legitimate half-brother, Edg
Some common words found in the essay are:
II304 Edmund, Regan Goneril, Ii56 Regan, Gloucester Edgar, Lear Regan, Goneril Edmund, Edmund Cordelia, King Lear, , King Lear's, regan goneril, king lear's, legitimate half-brother, top legitimate, king lear, half-brother edgar, towards society, lear's daughters, claim inheritance, remaining authority,
Approximate Word count = 715
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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