Edmund Gloucester Character Traits - 1309 Words

Edmund Gloucester Character Analysis William Shakespeare’s King Lear is a tragic play about two fathers, King Lear and Gloucester, who are both growing old and in there old age they are taken over and punished by the very children they have raised. One of the main antagonists in the story, Edmund, is Gloucester’s younger bastard son. In the story Edmund, who wants his brother Edgar’s inheritance, devises a plan to pit his father and brother against one another in order to benefit himself. He then begins an ambitious rise to power filled with cunning, cruelty, betrayal, lust, and conflicting interests and emotions. Edmund with his Machiavellian, ruthlessly power hungry, and complex character is one of Shakespeare’s most iconic†¦show more content†¦To thy law My services are bound† (Shakespeare 1.2.1-2). Edmund then writes a fake letter deceiving his father into believing that Edgar is plotting to kill him while simultaneously, deceiving his brother into running away from home a nd staging a fake fight that makes him look like a savior to both his father and his brother, who don’t even suspect a thing. From very early on Edmund demonstrates that he is a master manipulator who can execute not only premeditated plans with ease but also quick witted improvisations as well. Edmund (also) doesn’t mind lying and is very skilled at it, able to string convincing lies together in rapid succession, while evoking convincing emotion to make his deceptions all the more believable. His effectively cold calculations are nothing short of brilliant. In one fell swoop he has managed not only to get his brother’s inheritance, but also to banish his brother, and win the trust and loyalty of his father. But even this will not be enough to satisfy Edmund on his ambitious climb to the very pinnacles of power. In the middle of the play Gloucester decides to help Lear which his daughters and Cornwall have strictly forbidden, but he needs someone to distract Cornwall, so he tells Edmund that he is going to help Lear and also tells himShow MoreRelatedEssay about King Lear - Seven Deadly Sins1206 Words   |  5 Pagestragedy that can occur once humans allow themselves to be taken over by any one of the seven deadly sins. Greed The sin of greed is perfectly exemplified in the character of Edmund. Throughout the play Edmund’s greed is the motivating factor behind all of the decisions that he makes. Edmund, as the illegitimate son of Gloucester plots against his brother in order to obtain his inheritance completely ignoring all familial responsibility in the pursuit of land and money. At the beginning of theRead MoreKing Lear vs the Stone Angel Blindness1504 Words   |  7 Pages(Kingslover) This is a quote that can relate the characters in The Stone Angel and King Lear. In the tragedy King Lear, written by William Shakespeare and in the novel The Stone Angel, written by Margaret Laurence, the term blindness has an entirely different meaning. It is not a physical flaw, but the inability of the characters to use their thoughts and emotions to see a person for whom they truly are. King Lear, Gloucester, and Hagar are prime examples of characters that suffered most by having this flawRead MoreKing Lea r Act 3 Questions Essay2241 Words   |  9 Pagesthey ask Gloucester not to mention Lear’s name in pain of â€Å"perpetual displeasure.† They are concerned with their own well-being and do not care whatsoever for the king. 9. The information that Edmund shares with the audience after his father tells him about the â€Å"dangerous† letter is that although it is against his father’s request, he will tell the duke that Gloucester is going to see the king, which is forbidden. Also, being the selfish and deceitful person as he is, Edmund states thatRead MoreKing Lear Nature Essay1976 Words   |  8 Pagesmeanings that have major significance to the theme of the play. Characters speak to it as though it’s a personified entity; they refer to the celestial objects in the heavens above and even to that of animals of the Earth. When the characters speak to nature, they do it as a means of justifying their intentions or previous actions, and also as a means of invoking it in some form. Nature is also used to describe the disposition of a character and the physical world with no spiritual bearing. We see thatRead MoreShakespeare s King Lear Essay : Power Of Honesty1149 Words   |  5 Pag esBritain, as he decides to step down from the throne and divide his kingdom evenly among his three daughters. Lear and a handful of other characters encounter many obstacles throughout the story. This play highlights human nature at its highest and lowest. Characters such as Edmund, Regan, and Goneril illustrate the ugliness and horror of man’s persona. While characters such as Cordelia, Edgar, and Kent show the noble, heroic, and moral nature of man. In the beginning, both Goneril and Regan appearRead MoreShakespeares King Lear and Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman1063 Words   |  4 PagesCordelias character exemplifies perfectly how a good person can still have awful things happen to them. After not confessing her love directly to her father, although she clearly cares deeply for him, Cordelia is disowned by her father, demonstrating how her love did not give her good fortune, and her virtuous honesty did more to harm her than help her. At the same time, the lies that Goneril and Regan tell to Lear gain them just as they desire, control over the kingdom. In a similar fashion, Edmund, theRead MoreKing Lear Character Analysis1196 Words   |  5 Pagesto this version; how he looks for a motherly figure in his youngest daughter as well. Shakespeare created King Lear to show the battles of a single male parent with his children. The mother of Cordelia, Regan, Goneril, Edmund and Edgar are absent, leaving King Lear and Gloucester having to nurture their kids on their own. King Lears youngest daughter, Cordelia, has been able to bloom as a pure young woman as the rest grow up to be power hungry. At the beginning of the story, King Lears is attemptingRead MoreBlindness By William Shakespeare s King Lear2212 Words   |  9 Pagesthe concept of blindness amongst his characters as the leading theme. King Lear and Gloucester were the characters that have been conflicted by this â€Å"blindness† that may or may not change their personalities in the very end of the play. Gloucester becomes physically blinded by Cornwall which makes him realize the truth about his sons in contrast with King Lear being mentally blinded in result of his lack of insight, understanding, and direction. The characters that helped restored Ki ng Lear and Gloucester’sRead MoreKing Lear Conflict Analysis1109 Words   |  5 Pagesof insincere praise. From then on, there was a great deal of tension between the characters who wanted to take Lear down, and those who would try to protect him with their loyalty. The tension spiraled into a war. Shakespeare intentionally neglects details about the time period of the conflict in order for it to be portrayed as a quarrel between the virtues and vices inside the human mind. Each of the main characters represents either the evil or the goodness that live within Lear as they fight eachRead MoreAnalyzing the Characteristics of Kind Lear Essay4690 Words   |  19 Pagessuffering, Lear has also learned that even he is not above God’s justice. Character Analyses Goneril Goneril is Lear’s eldest daughter. After professing her deep love for her father and receiving half of his kingdom, she betrays him and plots his murder. Goneril’s expressions of love are extreme and reveal the inherent dishonesty of her nature. Goneril reveals her true character when she defies the hierarchy of nature, which calls for daughters to respect and