para 2 Flashcards
what is clear from edmunds soliloquy?
-it is clear from edmunds soliloquy on his ‘bastardy, base, baseness’ that the frustration, pain, injustice and suffering he had to endure as an illegitimate child discredited him to a psychologically complex villain
what does edmund renounce?
-renounces the value of human laws and chooses to exalt the wonder of ‘nature’
what is evident in the quarto and folio texts?
- edmund usual name is ‘bastard’
- this is how he introduces himself in his soliloquy
what does edmund turn away from?
how does he reveal his malevolent nature?
- turns away from the system that organises human life and reveals a wish to violate social norms and seize power for himself
- he reveals to the audience his malevolent nature and declares his intent subvert his brother by villainous means ‘legitimate Edgar I must have your land’
how does nature offer a world in which edmund can receive a proper inheritance?
-since nature exists beyond the royal system that delineates between legitimate and illegitimate children, it offers a world in which edmund can receive a proper inheritance
‘thou nature art my goddess’
-in edmund announcing ‘thou nature art my goddess’ , he is selecting nature to be his goddess, marking a subtle turn away from Catholicism and towards paganism
how does his embrace of nature seem?
what does it foreshadow?
-his embrace of nature could be seen as somewhat heretical, foreshadowing the way he will sin both spiritually and politically in order to further his ascent to power
what does his soliloquy initiate a pattern of?
-his soliloquy initiates a pattern in the play where characters are seeking solace and support in the natural environment
what does the tragedy often juxtapose?
-tragedy often juxtaposes the banality and social cruelty of the human realm with a more egalitarian and natural world
what does Shakespeare often present nature as?
-often presents nature as an open psychological and physical space in which characters can project their ideal worlds beyond the constraints of normative Jacobean society - presented in edmunds soliloquy
what comparison can be argued between edmund and Lago?
-a comparison can be argued between edmund and shakespearan villain Lago due to their same calculated and calm composure
what symbol do both villains use?
- just as Lago schemes up an intricate plan involving a handkerchief, as does edmund with a letter
- thus acting as a dramatic device and symbol which shakepseare commonly uses to reveal a characters loyalty or betrayal
how does edmund entice Gloucester to see the letter?
-by conspicuously hiding the letter from gl, edmund entices him to demand to see it with his reply of ‘nothing my lord’
how does the word ‘nothing’ have significance?
- with the word ‘nothing’ paralleling and continuing its repetitive echo from lear and Cordelia in act 1, scene 1
- it acts as a manipulative catalyst in arousing suspicion
