Edmund’s ambitious yet daring decision to challenge for Gloucester’s position reveals both his strengths and weaknesses within his character. In the quote,”Why bastard? Wherefore base, When my dimensions are as well compact, my mind as generous and my shape as true” (Edmund). Shakespeare uses anaphora to highlight how Edmund is solely focused on himself and how his feeling of powerlessness eventually leads to Edmund challenging Gloucester for his nobility. The use of the rhetorical questions shows that Edmund doesn’t believe in the label he is given and it also shows his questioning of the rules of society and Gloucester. However, ultimately he learns to accept the Great Chain of Being that dictates his place in life at the end of the play, …show more content…
Shakespeare uses direct address to show his daughters that he is laying down a challenge to them. The competition also Lear to feed his self absorbed ego while also dividing the kingdom in order to relinquish the responsibilities without losing the title or the power. His narcism leads him to favour the daughter who offers the most amount of physical objects, rather than realising the value of respect and love that Cordelia promises. Unlike Edmund, Lear constantly looks for someone else to blame for the consequences of his actions and that is shown in this quote,”You see me here, you gods….If it be you that stirs these daughters’ hearts against their father, fool me not so much to bear it tamely” (Lear). The repetition of ‘you’ shows Lear’s shifting go blame but also his failure to recognise that he caused the situation in which Gonerill and Regan did not abide by his promises and now he has no power or authority. King Lear’s fatal flaw of narcissism shows that when an individual weakness is given an opportunity to exploit it, can have devastating consequences not only on the individual but others within their