Studying Character – Edmund Act 2 Scene 1


yyCuran, a courtier, tells Edmund that Cornwall and Regan are on their way to Gloucester’s castle and that there is division between Albany and Cornwall. Edmund is delighted to hear this news and immediately begins to work out a way that he can use Cornwall’s visit to his advantage.


y yEdgar enters and Edmund advises him to flee while he still can. He implies that the reason for Cornwall’s visit is that it is rumoured Edgar has spoken against him. Edgar, confused and caught off guard, instinctively trusts Edmund when the latter suddenly draws his sword and tells Edgar that they must stage a fight to make Gloucester believe they are not working together.


y yThey fight briefly and Edmund tells Edgar to run off as Gloucester approaches. When Edgar has left, Edmund wounds himself to make it look as if he has been injured by Edgar.


y yGloucester arrives and asks Edmund where Edgar is. Edmund tells him that he fled after attacking him and ‘Mumbling of wicked charms’. He says Edgar attacked him because he would not join him in a plot to murder Gloucester:


Seeing how loathly opposite I stood To his unnatural purpose, in fell motion, With his prepared sword he charges home My unprovided body


yGloucester believes Edmund, even when he says that Edgar swore he would deny everything if caught and that everyone would take his word against that of an ‘unpossessing bastard’. Gloucester even promises to make Edmund ‘capable’, i.e. make him a legitimate heir.


yyCornwall and Regan arrive and immediately take Edmund’s side. Regan asks if Edgar was friendly with Lear’s riotous knights and Edmund promptly says he was. Cornwall praises Edmund, saying he has shown Gloucester ‘A child-like office’. He says that he will take Edmund into his service because he will need ‘Natures of such deep trust’ in the coming days. Edmund thanks him and accepts.


Analysis of Edmund’s character and role in Act 2 Scene 1


yyEdmund is a quick-thinking opportunist. He seizes on every chance to further his cause and sees straight away how he can turn Regan and Cornwall’s visit to his advantage. Once again, he bombards Edgar with startling questions and does not allow his brother time to think before urging him to quickly stage a fight and flee.


y yEdmund’s success in persuading Gloucester to trust him rather than Edgar would carry more weight with a Shakespearean audience than it does today. They would have expected the legitimate son to be trusted and the illegitimate son to be viewed with some suspicion. Edmund, knowing this, ensures that Edgar is never allowed to plead his case and he brilliantly pre-empts Edgar’s defence by saying Edgar gloated that nobody would believe an ‘unpossessing bastard’.


y yThis reversal of the natural order – the illegitimate son being favoured over the legitimate son – can be seen as further evidence of a world turned upside down after Lear’s disastrous decisions. Lear precipitated the breakdown of natural family structures and the subplot mirrors this.


yyGloucester, as we have seen, is deeply superstitious, so would be horrified by Edmund’s claim that Edgar called on black magic to aid him.


yyThere is great irony in Cornwall’s claim that Edmund has shown a natural and proper devotion to Gloucester and that he is highly trustworthy.


Leaving Certificate English Excellence in Texts


261


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