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King Lear - Online Paper

King Lear

Shakespeare’ is a story of treachery and
deceit. The villainy of the play knows no bounds. Family
lines are ignored in an overwhelming quest for power. This
villainy is epitomized in the character of Edmund, bastard
son of the Earl of Gloucester.
Edmund is displayed as a " most toad-spotted
traitor." When we first see Edmund, he is already knee
deep in treachery. His need for power has already clouded
his mind to the extent that his first act is a double-
cross of his own brother. Edmund composes a false letter
to his father implicating his brother, Edgar in a plot to
kill Gloucester. Edmund then goes to Edgar and convinces
him to run away. Edgar, like his father is ...

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be tolerated and orders that his eyes be torn out.
At this point, Edmund seems to be unequivocally evil.
This is undoubtedly false.
Two of the other characters of the play, Goneril and
Regan surely equal Edmund’s ferocity in their quest for
power. Our first glimpse at the two surely begins to prove
that fact. In this scene, the King asks that each of his
three daughters profess their undying love to him before
he distributes parts of the kingdom to them. Goneril and
Regan both, unlike their sister Cordelia who is to true of
heart to sink to such a level, give incredibly pompous
speeches telling of how great their love for their father
is. The speeches, as we soon find out, are total lies.
As soon as they receive their land, the two, accompanied
by their husbands, join forces, and, using their newly
found power, strip their father of all power. They used
their father’s own need for affection to manipulate him
and take his power. This ...

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King Lear. (2007, March 28). Retrieved January 16, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/King-Lear/62511

"King Lear." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 28 Mar. 2007. Web. 16 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/King-Lear/62511>

"King Lear." Essayworld.com. March 28, 2007. Accessed January 16, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/King-Lear/62511.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 3/28/2007 07:26:59 PM
Category: English
Type: Free Paper
Words: 487
Pages: 2

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