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King Lear Edmund Essay

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The Role of Edmund in King Lear In Shakespeare’s play, King Lear, Edmund is the villain who ruins many people’s lives without feeling any guilt. The name "Edmund" itself means "wealth protector" or "protector of wealth.” While he is driven by his wants and desires, Edmund is denied some of his rights as a son by his father, making him jealous of his brother, who has all of the rights that Edmund lacks. He convinces himself he is better than everyone else and sacrifices his family for power, choosing to act like the bastard everyone says he is, knowing he will always be known as one. He also chooses to look out for himself and embraces his inner darkness because he is alone. Shakespeare very consciously challenges his audience to accept Edmund in a way even his family couldn’t, however, he also highlights the dangers of natural law, which is what Edmund favors, as compared to the law of man. …show more content…

Edmund is made fun of by his father and denied some of the rights he deserves, such as land. In other words, Edmund is punished all his life for a sin his father committed. Furthermore, Gloucester makes it a point to introduce him as the illegitimate

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