Edmund

Question 1

How does Edmund express his ambition in Act 1, Scene 2?

Answer 1

Edmund the base / Shall top th’ legitimate. I grow, I prosper / Now, gods, stand up for bastards.

Question 2

How does Edmund justify his actions in Act 1, Scene 2?

Answer 2

Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit.

Question 3

How does Edmund frame Edgar by injuring himself?

Answer 3

Some blood drawn on me would beget opinion / Of my more fierce endeavour.

Question 4

How does Edmund describe the downfall of the older generation?

Answer 4

The younger rises when the old doth fall.

Question 5

What does Regan report about Edmund’s intentions for Gloucester?

Answer 5

Edmund I think is gone […] to dispatch his knighted life.

Question 6

How does Edmund mock Goneril and Regan’s jealousy?

Answer 6

Each jealous of the other as the stung / Are of the adder.

Question 7

How is Edmund different from Goneril and Regan?

Answer 7

Unlike them, he remains rational and level-headed as he is indifferent to both of them.

Question 8

What ruthless action does Edmund take in Act 5?

Answer 8

He orders the deaths of Lear and Cordelia.

Question 9

What does Edmund say when he realizes he was loved?

Answer 9

Yet Edmund was beloved / The one the other poisoned for my sake / And after slew herself.

Question 10

What is the bonus fill-in-the-blank from Edmund?

Answer 10

Some good I mean to do.

Question 11

What are the key takeaways of Edmund’s Character?

Answer 11

Machiavellian - Ruthless and cunning
Opportunistic - Uses every chance to rise
Amoral - No loyalty, no remorse