For Wednesday's blog, let's consider the subplot of the play, Gloucester and his relationship with his two sons, Edgar and Edmund. How does Gloucester resemble Lear? How do the sons' motivations parallel those of Cordelia, Goneril and Regan?
From the first moment we are introduced to Edmund, Gloucester’s illegitimate son, we are told what he is really after—inheritance. He does not think it is fair that just because he was born second he will not inherit his father’s money and position. It will all fall to his older brother, Edgar. On page 1150-1151, Edmund says, “Wherefore should I/ Stand in the plague of custom and permit/ The curiosity of nations to deprive me/ For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines/ Lag of a brother?” His sole interest seems to be gaining not loving. He does not mention his love for his father, and much like Goneril and Regan his love seems feigned. It is not real and true like his brother’s. Edgar has done nothing wrong but is forced to flee because of the lie Edmund told about the plot to kill Gloucester. This is much like Cordelia’s exile. She truly loves her father, but is not believed. She is handed over and forced to go with her soon-to-be husband to France. Neither Edgar nor Cordelia are believed even though they are the honest and truly faithful children. Goneril and Regan are only concerned with what they can get for themselves. Neither one of them spoke up and defended Cordelia. It was in both of the interests for her to be done away with. Her being cast out of their father’s graces meant more for each of them. The bottom line is greed is what motivates Goneril, Regan, and Edmund.
The two parent-child relationships are almost mirror images of one another. In this tragedy, the honest and faithful children fall victim to the greed and treachery of their corrupt siblings. "HIro Protagonist" is right about the motivation of greed found in Goneril, Regan, and Edmund. But what separates the the two families is their upbringing. Goneril and Regan lived the lives of spoiled princesses, always getting their way. Power always came to them naturally, and they have grown accustomed to having it within their grasp. Their lack of appreciation for this power is the source of their neglect for their loving father. Edmund on the other hand, reacts out of resentment. Feeling as though he has always gotten the short end of the stick for being a bastard child. His anger fuels him to take power for himself when he claims "I only worship what’s natural, not what’s manmade. Why should I let myself be tortured by manmade social customs that deprive me of my rights simply because I was born twelve or fourteen months later than my older brother? " On the other side of things, Lear and Glouceter are utterly blind to this treachery. They cannot see that the good child is being prosecuted for the gain of their evil siblings. Each man, while loving and full of good intentions, is a fool for putting their faith in sons and daughters that desire nothing more than the power that they wield.
I do agree with Hiro, that one of Edmund’s motives is to receive inheritance; however I disagree with the idea that Edmund is not seeking love or affection from his father. Edmund’s plot to remove Edgar is far too complex to simply be about removing Edgar from the picture. Edmund goes so far as to make Gloucester think Edgar wants to kill him. Edmund systematically destroyed Edgar’s relationship with his father and turns him into a low-life. In Act 2 Scene 3 Edgar exclaims, “Poor Turlygood! Poor Tom! That’s something yet! Edgar I nothing am” (lines 20-21). He is now covered in dirt and has no possessions or friends. Edgar, like many other characters, is now exiled. This situation is seen as being very similar to King Lear and his daughters, except the roles of the children are reversed. Cordelia, seemingly the only sane or reasonable person in her family, is exiled because she expresses her true emotions and has no desire to usurp her own father. She perhaps feels that she owes her father the respect of honesty and ultimately has to pay while the villains reap the bounty. Goneril and Regan say whatever is necessary to gain favor with their father, then they discredit him and try to make him feel almost unworthy of being their father. Their deceit and treachery is more outward and visible whereas Edmund does a very good job removing his brother from the picture in a secretive manner. King Lear and Gloucester are both victims of their children. One party is looking for power and the other is simply looking for attention.
Edmund’s clever scheming to get rid of Edgar shows his cunning and his immorality. His ability to manipulate and lie to people is not much unlike Goneril and Regan's. Just as Hiro Protagonist mentioned, Edmund is after a rich inheritance and a high position that he will never have as long as his brother Edgar is around. He will do anything for that power; especially lie to his father Gloucester, just as Lear's two oldest daughters did to him. Edgar and Cordelia both have genuine love for their fathers. I agree with H.P. that all he cares about is gaining, not love. Gloucester and Lear have the same weakness in that they cannot tell a lie from the truth from their children and end up denying the one that is truly loyal. Just as Cordelia has had to run off to France because of her banishment, Edgar is now on the run from his father as well due to Edmund's lies. When Regan and Goneril lie to their father about their love for him he believes them and praises them. The same happens when Edmund makes his father think that he has defended him in a sword fight with Edgar: he is angry at the innocent child and praises the scheming one. After Edmund tells Edgar to flee and cuts his own arm Gloucester is enraged and is determined to find him and have him killed. “Let him fly far. Not in this land shall he remain uncaught; And found- dispatch.” (p. 1166 lines 57-59) Just like King Lear, Gloucester may find out which child truly loves him too late.
I agree with Feathery friend that Edmund's manipulative scheme to get rid of Edgar was along the lines of the con artist-like ways of Regan and Goneril. Another way that the second act has mirrored the first is that Gloucester was naive enough to believe Edmund without questioning him, such as King Lear did with Regan and Goneril. This shows that they must be very alike in the way that they are easily manipulated or that they believe what they want to, instead of what could actually be. I agree with Feathery Friend and H.P. in the fact that Edmund's true goal is money and not love. If he really loved his brother he would have not done such a terrible thing for his own profit. He obviously wanted him gone and quickly. Edmund even states that Edgar says, "'Thou unpossessing bastard! dost thou think, If I would stand against thee, would the reposal Of any trust, virtue, or worth in thee Make thy words faith'd? No: what I should deny." In this he is saying that because he is the illegitimate son no one will believe that the real son would ever do such a thing. In the end of act 2 the only people that do care for their families are the ones exile.
I agree with everything Feathery friend says about the connection between the two families, King Lear and his three daughters, and Gloucester and his two sons. Feathery Friend mentions how Edgar, Gloucester’s son, and Cordelia, King Lear’s daughter, both have true genuine love for their fathers and respect them dearly. They both have done nothing wrong, as HP has said earlier, but they are forced to leave for different reasons. Edgar involuntary ran away because his jealous little brother, Edmund will not inherit any of their father’s money since he is known as the “bastard” and the illegitimate child. Because of that, he comes up with an evil scheme to lie to his father, Gloucester about how Edgar made up a plot against his own life to take all his inheritance and wealth. “Fly, brother. Torches, torches! So farewell. Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion of my more fierce endeavor” (Lines 32-34). To make it more realistic, Edmund cuts his own arm with his sword and tells Gloucester that because he refused to join in on the plot Edgar tried to kill him. This shows Edmunds true character, and makes it easy for the reader to relate his greediness to the greediness of the two evil daughters named Goneril and Regan who like Edmund are after their father’s inheritance. Just like Edmund, they lie to their father in order to get what they want, which is King Lear’s kingdom. He starts by saying how each daughter will get a division of the kingdom, but he commands them to state which of the daughters loves him the most, “which of you shall we say doth love us most” (Line 50). By doing that, Goneril and Regan respond in an over the top exaggerated way, and say how they love him beyond words and they don’t find happiness in anything but his love (Line 73). Next, Cordelia simply responds by saying how she loves him as a daughter is supposed to love her father. With her answer not appealing as the other sisters, she is banished and forced to marry the King of France. Lastly, as Feathery Friend states King Lear and Gloucester both have a problem believing everything their son/daughters say, and not questioning them in any way. They are following along which each of their kid’s evil schemes, and soon enough they will be let down and living in disappointment and regret.
Edgar and Edmund resemble Lear’s daughters due to their cunning abilities or true feelings. Edgar is shown having true feelings of love and respect for his father but is tricked into hiding due to Edmund’s scheme to get Edgar killed so that he can inherit his father’s dowry. In this sense, like Poweredbypancakes states, “the two relationships are mirror images of each other,” because of Cordelia’s true love and respect of King Lear with Goneril’s and Regan’s love of only inheriting the dowry. I agree with Feathery Friend’s point of Gloucester’s and Lear’s inability to tell a lie from truth. Because of this, they are unable to see which of their children truly loves them. Gloucester is unable to see Edmund’s lies about Edgar. In the scene where Edmund cuts his own arm claiming that he got into a sword fight with Edgar due to Edmund’s supposed refusal to join Edgar’s plot to kill his father, Gloucester could have probably seen Edmund’s lies if he would have looked closely. For example, would not there have been blood on Edmund’s sword due his cutting of his own arm? Even if he would have wiped it on his clothes, it would have left a stain. Gloucester does not look at the minor details but only the big picture. Also, Gloucester has never talked to Edgar about his so told conspiracy. Gloucester just assumes that Edgar is guilty as shown in line 37, Scene 2, act 1 “Now, Edmund, where’s the villain?” This line refers to Edgar.
Gloucester is a loyal noble to King Lear. In this tragedy we learn that Gloucester is the father of two sons, Edmund and Edgar. Edgar is Gloucester’s oldest son. He is characterized as his father’s legitimate son, whereas Edmund, Gloucester’s youngest son, is characterized as illegitimate. I agree with poweredbypancakes, referring to Gloucester and King Lear’s relationships with their children, stating, “The two parent-child relationships are almost mirror images of one another.” Gloucester parallels King Lear in a way that he misconstrues the trust and love of his children. King Lear and Gloucester both unknowingly sentence the children who really care and love them into exile, as revealed at the end of Act 2. It is stated, that Edmund’s intent is to receive inheritance. I also agree with Crayola, Feathery Friend, and H.P. when they all state the fact that Edmund’s true goal is money and not love. His objective is to seize his father’s title and property from his brother Edgar, because he dislikes being known as a bastard. “Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land……And my invention thrive, Edmund the base shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper. Now, gods, stand up for bastards!” (1.2 lines 16-22). The motives of Gloucester’s two sons, Edgar and Edmund resemble the motives of King Lear’s three daughter’s Cordelia, Goneril, and Regan. Like Edmund, Regan and Goneril’s objective is to receive inheritance, in which they plot to seize their father’s property. King Lear’s two evil daughter’s, like Edmund, misconstrue their father’s beliefs in which he wrongly sentences the good daughter, Cordelia, to exile.
In act two it is easy to see the parallels within the lives of Gloucester and Lear. In Act One, Lear rejects his daughter Cordelia because she chooses not to flatter him when he asks how much they love him. She says she loves him as much as any daughter should love their parents and leaves it as that. She is completely honest with him however; Lear looks right past this and decides she will get none of his property. Gloucester does the same thing to his son Edgar. In Act Two, Gloucester is told that his son Edgar is trying to plot against his life. “Bringing the murderous caitiff to the stake; HE that conceals him, death” (Lines65-66, Act 2.1). He takes his other sons side and without even questioning Edgar he has men on a search to go find him. It is ironic that each of the “good” children are the ones that are getting punished by their parents. Both Lear and Gloucester are blind and cannot see that their other children are manipulating them. The son’s motivations parallel those of the three sisters. Goneril, Regan and Edmund all have the same plan on trying to get everything they can out of their parents. While Goneril and Regan want the most land they possibly can, Edmund wants his brother out of the picture since he is the illegitimate and knows that Edgar would receive all the money. I have to disagree with Hiro Protagonist, I think that while inheritance might be Edmunds main goal, I believe he also wants more love from his father. However, they are all willing to tell lies in order to get what they want. On the other hand, Edgar and Cordelia are similar in the fact that they both have no ulterior motives. I agree with powderbypancakes on the fact that they both, “fall victim to the greed and treachery of their corrupt siblings.”
While reading Act II of King Lear, we see two different families that both have serious issues. In Act I, we had seen two of Lear's daughters lie to their father in order to get what they want, which is his power and land. The last daughter, Cordelia, tells the truth but gets banished by her father because she is said to not try hard enough. When comparing this to Gloucester and his sons, we see that Edmund is the sun that will do whatever it takes to recieve Gloucesters inheritence. We know that he is the illegitimate son of Gloucester, and that the first son Edgar is the one who is supposed to receive all of Gloucester's inheritance once he dies. Edmund is jealous and unhappy with this situation, so he lies in order to get what he wants. He makes Gloucester believe that Edgar is plotting to kill him, and makes Edgar believe that Gloucester is angry with him and should carry around a sword and go into hiding."My father watches. O sir, fly this place!" Edmund is telling Edgar, in line 20 of 2.1 that he must leave for his father knows his hiding spot and will find him. This subplot plays off of the story of Lear and his daughters. I agree with both powderbypancakes and Calvin that both families have corrupt siblings and greed and treachery gets in the way of honesty and trust. Gloucester parallels Lear in that he is also a father with money to hand down, and the first born legitimate son is who he believes is the one to receive whatever he has to pass down. Goneril and Regan parallel Edmuunds character in that they are all corrupt and willing to lie to get what they want, and Edgar parallels Cordelia in that they are innocent bystanders who must take the brunt of the consequences of the lies.
In Act I, King Lear decides it is necessary to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. Before he makes his decision he is curious to see how much his daughters love him. His two eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan speak of their love for their father through words of deceit and not from the heart. However, Cordelia answers with honest and true emotions. Although, she responds by saying she loves her father just as much as a daughter should, King Lear is not acceptable of her answer and declares to leave Cordelia out of the agreement. In Act I, Gloucester and his two sons, Edmund and Edgar, are introduced. It is known that Edmund is the illegitimate child of Gloucester. Even though this is the case Gloucester loves both of his sons equally. The comparisons between the relationships King Lear has with his daughters and that of Gloucester has with his sons becomes quite evident in Act 2. Gloucester is informed that his true (biological) son, Edgar, has plans to plot against his father and kill him. Gloucester doesn’t believe that his son would do such a thing. This blind ignorance is similar to what King Lear experiences. Both Lear and Gloucester cannot tell the difference between truth and lies. At some point Gloucester realizes his mistake of not believing Edgar’s deceit and declares vengeance, “By his authority, I will proclaim it, that he which finds him shall deserve our thanks, Bring the murderous caitiff (wretch) to the stake; He that conceals him, death.” (p.1166, lines 61-64) I agree with Calvin in saying that the motivation of the Edgar is similar to that of Regan and Goneril. They are seeking inheritance and money from their fathers. They are all conniving and deceitful and yet the two honest children, Cordelia and Edmund get shunned for being honest and loving towards their fathers.
From the first moment we are introduced to Edmund, Gloucester’s illegitimate son, we are told what he is really after—inheritance. He does not think it is fair that just because he was born second he will not inherit his father’s money and position. It will all fall to his older brother, Edgar. On page 1150-1151, Edmund says, “Wherefore should I/ Stand in the plague of custom and permit/ The curiosity of nations to deprive me/ For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines/ Lag of a brother?” His sole interest seems to be gaining not loving. He does not mention his love for his father, and much like Goneril and Regan his love seems feigned. It is not real and true like his brother’s. Edgar has done nothing wrong but is forced to flee because of the lie Edmund told about the plot to kill Gloucester. This is much like Cordelia’s exile. She truly loves her father, but is not believed. She is handed over and forced to go with her soon-to-be husband to France. Neither Edgar nor Cordelia are believed even though they are the honest and truly faithful children. Goneril and Regan are only concerned with what they can get for themselves. Neither one of them spoke up and defended Cordelia. It was in both of the interests for her to be done away with. Her being cast out of their father’s graces meant more for each of them. The bottom line is greed is what motivates Goneril, Regan, and Edmund.
ReplyDeleteThe two parent-child relationships are almost mirror images of one another. In this tragedy, the honest and faithful children fall victim to the greed and treachery of their corrupt siblings. "HIro Protagonist" is right about the motivation of greed found in Goneril, Regan, and Edmund. But what separates the the two families is their upbringing. Goneril and Regan lived the lives of spoiled princesses, always getting their way. Power always came to them naturally, and they have grown accustomed to having it within their grasp. Their lack of appreciation for this power is the source of their neglect for their loving father. Edmund on the other hand, reacts out of resentment. Feeling as though he has always gotten the short end of the stick for being a bastard child. His anger fuels him to take power for himself when he claims "I only worship what’s natural, not what’s manmade. Why should I let myself be tortured by manmade social customs that deprive me of my rights simply because I was born twelve or fourteen months later than my older brother? " On the other side of things, Lear and Glouceter are utterly blind to this treachery. They cannot see that the good child is being prosecuted for the gain of their evil siblings. Each man, while loving and full of good intentions, is a fool for putting their faith in sons and daughters that desire nothing more than the power that they wield.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Hiro, that one of Edmund’s motives is to receive inheritance; however I disagree with the idea that Edmund is not seeking love or affection from his father. Edmund’s plot to remove Edgar is far too complex to simply be about removing Edgar from the picture. Edmund goes so far as to make Gloucester think Edgar wants to kill him. Edmund systematically destroyed Edgar’s relationship with his father and turns him into a low-life. In Act 2 Scene 3 Edgar exclaims, “Poor Turlygood! Poor Tom! That’s something yet! Edgar I nothing am” (lines 20-21). He is now covered in dirt and has no possessions or friends. Edgar, like many other characters, is now exiled. This situation is seen as being very similar to King Lear and his daughters, except the roles of the children are reversed. Cordelia, seemingly the only sane or reasonable person in her family, is exiled because she expresses her true emotions and has no desire to usurp her own father. She perhaps feels that she owes her father the respect of honesty and ultimately has to pay while the villains reap the bounty. Goneril and Regan say whatever is necessary to gain favor with their father, then they discredit him and try to make him feel almost unworthy of being their father. Their deceit and treachery is more outward and visible whereas Edmund does a very good job removing his brother from the picture in a secretive manner. King Lear and Gloucester are both victims of their children. One party is looking for power and the other is simply looking for attention.
ReplyDeleteEdmund’s clever scheming to get rid of Edgar shows his cunning and his immorality. His ability to manipulate and lie to people is not much unlike Goneril and Regan's. Just as Hiro Protagonist mentioned, Edmund is after a rich inheritance and a high position that he will never have as long as his brother Edgar is around. He will do anything for that power; especially lie to his father Gloucester, just as Lear's two oldest daughters did to him. Edgar and Cordelia both have genuine love for their fathers. I agree with H.P. that all he cares about is gaining, not love.
ReplyDeleteGloucester and Lear have the same weakness in that they cannot tell a lie from the truth from their children and end up denying the one that is truly loyal. Just as Cordelia has had to run off to France because of her banishment, Edgar is now on the run from his father as well due to Edmund's lies.
When Regan and Goneril lie to their father about their love for him he believes them and praises them. The same happens when Edmund makes his father think that he has defended him in a sword fight with Edgar: he is angry at the innocent child and praises the scheming one.
After Edmund tells Edgar to flee and cuts his own arm Gloucester is enraged and is determined to find him and have him killed. “Let him fly far. Not in this land shall he remain uncaught; And found- dispatch.” (p. 1166 lines 57-59)
Just like King Lear, Gloucester may find out which child truly loves him too late.
I agree with Feathery friend that Edmund's manipulative scheme to get rid of Edgar was along the lines of the con artist-like ways of Regan and Goneril. Another way that the second act has mirrored the first is that Gloucester was naive enough to believe Edmund without questioning him, such as King Lear did with Regan and Goneril. This shows that they must be very alike in the way that they are easily manipulated or that they believe what they want to, instead of what could actually be. I agree with Feathery Friend and H.P. in the fact that Edmund's true goal is money and not love. If he really loved his brother he would have not done such a terrible thing for his own profit. He obviously wanted him gone and quickly. Edmund even states that Edgar says, "'Thou unpossessing bastard! dost thou think, If I would stand against thee, would the reposal Of any trust, virtue, or worth in thee Make thy words faith'd? No: what I should deny." In this he is saying that because he is the illegitimate son no one will believe that the real son would ever do such a thing. In the end of act 2 the only people that do care for their families are the ones exile.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything Feathery friend says about the connection between the two families, King Lear and his three daughters, and Gloucester and his two sons. Feathery Friend mentions how Edgar, Gloucester’s son, and Cordelia, King Lear’s daughter, both have true genuine love for their fathers and respect them dearly. They both have done nothing wrong, as HP has said earlier, but they are forced to leave for different reasons. Edgar involuntary ran away because his jealous little brother, Edmund will not inherit any of their father’s money since he is known as the “bastard” and the illegitimate child. Because of that, he comes up with an evil scheme to lie to his father, Gloucester about how Edgar made up a plot against his own life to take all his inheritance and wealth. “Fly, brother. Torches, torches! So farewell. Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion of my more fierce endeavor” (Lines 32-34). To make it more realistic, Edmund cuts his own arm with his sword and tells Gloucester that because he refused to join in on the plot Edgar tried to kill him. This shows Edmunds true character, and makes it easy for the reader to relate his greediness to the greediness of the two evil daughters named Goneril and Regan who like Edmund are after their father’s inheritance. Just like Edmund, they lie to their father in order to get what they want, which is King Lear’s kingdom. He starts by saying how each daughter will get a division of the kingdom, but he commands them to state which of the daughters loves him the most, “which of you shall we say doth love us most” (Line 50). By doing that, Goneril and Regan respond in an over the top exaggerated way, and say how they love him beyond words and they don’t find happiness in anything but his love (Line 73). Next, Cordelia simply responds by saying how she loves him as a daughter is supposed to love her father. With her answer not appealing as the other sisters, she is banished and forced to marry the King of France. Lastly, as Feathery Friend states King Lear and Gloucester both have a problem believing everything their son/daughters say, and not questioning them in any way. They are following along which each of their kid’s evil schemes, and soon enough they will be let down and living in disappointment and regret.
ReplyDeleteEdgar and Edmund resemble Lear’s daughters due to their cunning abilities or true feelings. Edgar is shown having true feelings of love and respect for his father but is tricked into hiding due to Edmund’s scheme to get Edgar killed so that he can inherit his father’s dowry. In this sense, like Poweredbypancakes states, “the two relationships are mirror images of each other,” because of Cordelia’s true love and respect of King Lear with Goneril’s and Regan’s love of only inheriting the dowry. I agree with Feathery Friend’s point of Gloucester’s and Lear’s inability to tell a lie from truth. Because of this, they are unable to see which of their children truly loves them. Gloucester is unable to see Edmund’s lies about Edgar. In the scene where Edmund cuts his own arm claiming that he got into a sword fight with Edgar due to Edmund’s supposed refusal to join Edgar’s plot to kill his father, Gloucester could have probably seen Edmund’s lies if he would have looked closely. For example, would not there have been blood on Edmund’s sword due his cutting of his own arm? Even if he would have wiped it on his clothes, it would have left a stain. Gloucester does not look at the minor details but only the big picture. Also, Gloucester has never talked to Edgar about his so told conspiracy. Gloucester just assumes that Edgar is guilty as shown in line 37, Scene 2, act 1 “Now, Edmund, where’s the villain?” This line refers to Edgar.
ReplyDeleteGloucester is a loyal noble to King Lear. In this tragedy we learn that Gloucester is the father of two sons, Edmund and Edgar. Edgar is Gloucester’s oldest son. He is characterized as his father’s legitimate son, whereas Edmund, Gloucester’s youngest son, is characterized as illegitimate. I agree with poweredbypancakes, referring to Gloucester and King Lear’s relationships with their children, stating, “The two parent-child relationships are almost mirror images of one another.” Gloucester parallels King Lear in a way that he misconstrues the trust and love of his children. King Lear and Gloucester both unknowingly sentence the children who really care and love them into exile, as revealed at the end of Act 2. It is stated, that Edmund’s intent is to receive inheritance. I also agree with Crayola, Feathery Friend, and H.P. when they all state the fact that Edmund’s true goal is money and not love. His objective is to seize his father’s title and property from his brother Edgar, because he dislikes being known as a bastard. “Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land……And my invention thrive, Edmund the base shall top the legitimate. I grow; I prosper. Now, gods, stand up for bastards!” (1.2 lines 16-22). The motives of Gloucester’s two sons, Edgar and Edmund resemble the motives of King Lear’s three daughter’s Cordelia, Goneril, and Regan. Like Edmund, Regan and Goneril’s objective is to receive inheritance, in which they plot to seize their father’s property. King Lear’s two evil daughter’s, like Edmund, misconstrue their father’s beliefs in which he wrongly sentences the good daughter, Cordelia, to exile.
ReplyDeleteIn act two it is easy to see the parallels within the lives of Gloucester and Lear. In Act One, Lear rejects his daughter Cordelia because she chooses not to flatter him when he asks how much they love him. She says she loves him as much as any daughter should love their parents and leaves it as that. She is completely honest with him however; Lear looks right past this and decides she will get none of his property. Gloucester does the same thing to his son Edgar. In Act Two, Gloucester is told that his son Edgar is trying to plot against his life. “Bringing the murderous caitiff to the stake; HE that conceals him, death” (Lines65-66, Act 2.1). He takes his other sons side and without even questioning Edgar he has men on a search to go find him. It is ironic that each of the “good” children are the ones that are getting punished by their parents. Both Lear and Gloucester are blind and cannot see that their other children are manipulating them. The son’s motivations parallel those of the three sisters. Goneril, Regan and Edmund all have the same plan on trying to get everything they can out of their parents. While Goneril and Regan want the most land they possibly can, Edmund wants his brother out of the picture since he is the illegitimate and knows that Edgar would receive all the money. I have to disagree with Hiro Protagonist, I think that while inheritance might be Edmunds main goal, I believe he also wants more love from his father. However, they are all willing to tell lies in order to get what they want. On the other hand, Edgar and Cordelia are similar in the fact that they both have no ulterior motives. I agree with powderbypancakes on the fact that they both, “fall victim to the greed and treachery of their corrupt siblings.”
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Act II of King Lear, we see two different families that both have serious issues. In Act I, we had seen two of Lear's daughters lie to their father in order to get what they want, which is his power and land. The last daughter, Cordelia, tells the truth but gets banished by her father because she is said to not try hard enough. When comparing this to Gloucester and his sons, we see that Edmund is the sun that will do whatever it takes to recieve Gloucesters inheritence. We know that he is the illegitimate son of Gloucester, and that the first son Edgar is the one who is supposed to receive all of Gloucester's inheritance once he dies. Edmund is jealous and unhappy with this situation, so he lies in order to get what he wants. He makes Gloucester believe that Edgar is plotting to kill him, and makes Edgar believe that Gloucester is angry with him and should carry around a sword and go into hiding."My father watches. O sir, fly this place!" Edmund is telling Edgar, in line 20 of 2.1 that he must leave for his father knows his hiding spot and will find him. This subplot plays off of the story of Lear and his daughters. I agree with both powderbypancakes and Calvin that both families have corrupt siblings and greed and treachery gets in the way of honesty and trust. Gloucester parallels Lear in that he is also a father with money to hand down, and the first born legitimate son is who he believes is the one to receive whatever he has to pass down. Goneril and Regan parallel Edmuunds character in that they are all corrupt and willing to lie to get what they want, and Edgar parallels Cordelia in that they are innocent bystanders who must take the brunt of the consequences of the lies.
ReplyDeleteIn Act I, King Lear decides it is necessary to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. Before he makes his decision he is curious to see how much his daughters love him. His two eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan speak of their love for their father through words of deceit and not from the heart. However, Cordelia answers with honest and true emotions. Although, she responds by saying she loves her father just as much as a daughter should, King Lear is not acceptable of her answer and declares to leave Cordelia out of the agreement. In Act I, Gloucester and his two sons, Edmund and Edgar, are introduced. It is known that Edmund is the illegitimate child of Gloucester. Even though this is the case Gloucester loves both of his sons equally. The comparisons between the relationships King Lear has with his daughters and that of Gloucester has with his sons becomes quite evident in Act 2. Gloucester is informed that his true (biological) son, Edgar, has plans to plot against his father and kill him. Gloucester doesn’t believe that his son would do such a thing. This blind ignorance is similar to what King Lear experiences. Both Lear and Gloucester cannot tell the difference between truth and lies. At some point Gloucester realizes his mistake of not believing Edgar’s deceit and declares vengeance, “By his authority, I will proclaim it, that he which finds him shall deserve our thanks, Bring the murderous caitiff (wretch) to the stake; He that conceals him, death.” (p.1166, lines 61-64) I agree with Calvin in saying that the motivation of the Edgar is similar to that of Regan and Goneril. They are seeking inheritance and money from their fathers. They are all conniving and deceitful and yet the two honest children, Cordelia and Edmund get shunned for being honest and loving towards their fathers.
ReplyDelete