Edmund Bertram

Shakespeare’s King Lear and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus are two examples of early modern texts, one a tragedy and the other a morality play respectively, which deal with the theme of power at the crux of its narrative. Between both texts it is evident that different characters utilize their power or authority differently – some ‘unwisely’ whilst some ‘maliciously’. In either case, the use of power progresses the plays and drives the majority of main characters. To begin with, both plays incorporate

parallels Lear and Cordelia’s relationship. In both relationships, both fathers feel betrayed although they haven’t been betrayed as they have only received praise from their seemingly loyal children. Although perceived as loyal Regan, Goneril and Edmund all have different moral sensibilities in which they use to take advantage of Lear. Another similarity, is the fact that both fathers betray their loyal children, yet both Cordelia and Edgar stay devoted and loyal to their parents. Cordelia believes

than they previously had before. This sense occurs within major characters like Edmund, the character lacking self worth from the very beginning, and Edgar, the figure who is left to recover all order in the end, to minor characters such as the Fool. In this classic piece of literature, the theme of identity manifests itself as a common concern in story through the motif of the repetition of the word “nothing.” Edmund, the illegitimate son, the bastard child, is the character in the play that has

In Act III scene 7 of Shakespeare’s King Lear, Gloucester returns to his castle after secretly guiding Lear to safety. Gloucester hoped to avoid any confrontation by Cornwall and Regan, but his son Edmund, betrayed him and revealed the information. When Gloucester finds Regan and Cornwall, they accuse him of being a traitor. They are both enraged that he has disobeyed their orders by helping Lear who was just kicked out during a terrible storm. After some interrogation by Regan, Gloucester justifies

Edmund turns away from the belief of the alignment of planets and harmonies and towards nature as that is all he can be really sure of. The fact that Edmund doesn't believe in 'spherical predominance' proves that he is different to the society around him. Shakespeare takes every opportunity to emphasise this to distinguish 'evil' from 'good' in the play putting Edmund forward as a character who is out of harmony. When

Blindness is defined as, according to dictionaries, “unable to see and lacking the sense of sight”, but in King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, it has a relatively new definition. Blindness, as Shakespeare portrays, not only a physical inability to see, but also a mental flaw that some characters present in this tragic play. King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester are the two characters who make up the parallel “double plot” of the tragedy caused of their lack of sight, mental blindness. They

Edmund writes another letter, except this implicates his father in a plot with France to kill The Duke of Cornwall. He does this so that "the younger rises [and] the old doth fall" (3, 4, 25) and he will become the Earl. Edmund is so corrupted and blinded by his quest for power that he is willing to jeopardize his father's life for a chance at being the Earl.

Goneril in King Lear perfectly exemplifies with this quote how being overly credulous can lead to the downfall of a character. Trust is a complicated issue; people want to believe what others say, and yet it becomes harder to believe as they are let down time and time again. It also manifests itself in many forms, such as mistrust of self or mistrust of others. Trust is a common thread throughout all human history, and yet it has continually proved to be the downfall of everything ranging from great

What we can learn from King Lear, we can learn from tragedy. Lear’s downfall is not just central to the plot; it tells us a lot about Lear’s character. And his struggle is complex, unable to be resolved and without true justice. The way that Lear and those around him drive and drive away his misfortune illustrates humanity’s brilliance and the magnitude of the dependence that most of us have on friends and family. Lear’s tragedy is caused by his folly, heightened by his love, manifested in his suffering

It is often troublesome to break into a piece of such total and remarkable brilliance as King Lear. Studying Shakespeare can, sometimes, seem to be interpreted as an insincere activity, performed only to impress literature enthusiasts. But, there are instances when one goes over entries that, by the extreme power of their magnificence, jump off the page and echo so definitely inside one's thoughts that they turn into a sort of making better of the whole play. One can read King Lear over and over