Edmund Bertram

The Tragedy of King Lear has been a great source of cogitation over the many years since it was written by William Shakespeare. Such thinking may be at variance with or derive from a legion of other interpretations. In Act 2 Scene 4 we find Lear in ultimate dismay at the betrayal Regan and Cornwall have exhibited to him. Through their treatment of Kent, by putting him in the stocks, Lear takes personal offence claiming “Tis worse than murder.” Order v disorder is apparent within the positions Gonerill, Regan and their husbands employ against their father and King. In Elizabethan times fathers and Kings should always be obeyed yet many characters in the play ignore this fact, shocking Elizabethan audiences. However, the play demonstrates textual integrity in this case as modern viewers can identify with the notion of challenging authority. I view the play as a triumph over traditional, societal structures. Regan and Cornwall illustrate an abuse of power when they refuse to speak to Lear and when they reprimand Lear’s army. Again I believe this applies universally today by dictatorship governments that disregard their people’s wants and needs. After hearing of Regan and Cornwall’s refusal, the King in his rage, prepares to “Tell the hot duke that-” before cutting himself short trying to rationalize Cornwall’s behaviour. Lear’s vacillation emerges to show audiences the gradual process of his madness. It is ironic that it is Lear’s abuse of power that has lead to these events…

Power is the ability to manipulate and control what one desires; it is convincing someone to do something without asking authority, but it also has a positive connotation with favourable characteristics to support it. Shakespeare uses these characteristics to contrast between the moral and the corrupt. However in “King Lear” there is a prominent aspect of power that corrupts the characters foreshadowing their death. Goneril and Regan are corrupted by the power given by their father Lear and…

Unknowingly spited by his illegitimate brother Edmund, he is too quick to trust in Edmund in which leaves Edgar fighting for his life out in the storm as the mad character poor Tom. Unlike Lear, whom unintentionally becomes crazy, Edgar chooses to wear this disguise in order to hide from his father Gloucester and the kingdom in which believes that Edgar is plotting to kill his father. Insert quote here explaining disquise and rationale. Summarazie edgars disguise and purpose. Importance of the…

Often as humans we tend to do things for the value of our sacrifice. For example, in our country American soldiers put their lives on the line knowing that the sacrifice they'll make is for the value of their country's freedom. People tend to do stupid things for what they believe is right or what they love. In the poem/book of "King Lear" our protagonist King Lear himself lets go of something that he values very much. The story begins with wanting to divide his kingdom through his three…

Good versus evil is one of the most common motifs. Shakespeare’s work, however, explores the downfalls of both ‘pure good’ and ‘pure evil’ characters, insinuating that only characters who are flawed will survive, that people must lie to survive. The character Cordelia in Shakespeare’s King Lear furthers the idea that an honest person in a prideful world will destroy their relationships, leaving them with nothing but the truths and deceptions of those around them. Cordelia is the only character…

unfair of King Lear to treat her the way he did. (A2S4 224-226)On the other hand, Goneril and Regan did not have to feel indebted to their father for giving them his land. They did not have to censor their thoughts or endure something they should not have all because they inherited his throne. Some events were not as useful in the development of Lear as others such as the family feud between Gloucester, Edgar and Edmund and the love triangle that was going on between Edmund, Goneril and Regan…

Although characters such as Lear and Cordelia did not deserve to die, they served as symbolic sacrifices and the blame for their deaths were at the hands of Regan and Goneril. With the urgency for power, the sisters thought they could work together to overthrow their father’s wishes to divide his kingdom. Regan was true to her nature throughout the play and did not change even when she was placed in different circumstances. She showed no sympathy for anyone, including her family. Her…

Gloucester calls upon Edmund to help him from the trauma he is going through, to save him from this punishment. This doesn’t end well for Gloucester, as Regan tells him about Edmund and admits his true motives. Gloucester trusted the wicked and unnatural son while going against the son who truly cared for him. Gloucester’s foolish decisions led him to losing his physical sight, his authority, power, and status. Lear and Gloucester were both individuals who had poor judgement and were ignorant…

for both lear, his daughters and the society. This plot drive will not only foreshadow complications but also result in the sacrifice of Cordelia and Gloucester. Shakespeare’s use of epiphany of Lear, is shown by misperceiving Goneril’s love with flattery which is portrayed through Goneril’s plosive language, contrasting the poetic language in verse present in the division of the kingdom, exemplifying Goneril’s greed for land the deceptive love expressed for Lear. This parallels with the double…

In William Shakespeare’s King Lear as the world of Ancient Britain begins to tear asunder about the play’s constituents, most turn in one manner or another to nature for consolation or as a guide. Nature is ever-present in the play, from the supposedly unnatural uprising of children against their fathers to the physical presence the storm that lashes Lear after he has been usurped. Each character appeals to nature, but in very distinct fashions that often reveals much about themselves. While the…