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Personification In King Lear

Decent Essays

“King Lear” William Shakespeare wrote a great number of literary works, most of which are relevant even in today’s society. From young love in “Romeo and Juliet” to suicide in “Hamlet” to power struggle in “Macbeth”, central themes in many of Shakespeare’s works are discussed today. Another example is his play “King Lear”. In this excerpt from “King Lear”, Shakespeare sets a scene in which the bastard son of a king vows to take the throne from his legitimate brother. By having Edmund first question nature and its laws and then allowing him to answer his own questions, Shakespeare is able to characterize Edmund and his changing attitude towards his situation from questioning to resolute, while also proving that societal labels constrict humanity. In the first half of this speech, Edmund questions nature through the use of personification; this allows Shakespeare to not only characterize him as headstrong and inquisitive, but also to show his questioning attitude towards his own situation. The first half of the excerpt includes a total of eight questions from Edmund directed at nature within the first ten lines. Some of these include, “Wherefore should I...permit...to deprive me”, “Why bastard?”, and “Why brand they us with base?”. Within these questions, Edmund also uses personification, comparing his mind and shape to an honest woman, and nature to a goddess. These specific personifications have important meanings, for instance, by saying his mind is “as generous” and

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