Edmund for example, blames nature for his position as the bastard child of Gloucester based on the in-class essay we wrote awhile ago. His attitude towards nature causes him to create the plan which eventually leads to the demise of Edmund, Edgar, and Gloucester. These decisions to pretty much spite nature leads to a deeper truth about nature. Nature is all powerful and any attempt to spite it will lead to bad things.
In the first act of the play King Lear uses nature to condemn his daughter Goneril for her betrayal. He states, "Into her womb convey sterility. Dry up in her the organs of increase" (61). Lear's disgust with his own daughter causes him to wish her inability to bear children as punishment for her actions against him. This use of nature is related the the point that Tom brought up because both Lear and Edmund find flaws within nature that are either used as scapegoats or punishments. However Edmunds complaints are against nature's situation for him whereas Lear's opinion of nature is his wish for it to work evil against those who betray him.
What’s interesting about both Edmund and Cordelia is that they are both good children by nature to their fathers. Lear calls Cordelia his “joy” and Gloucester once calls Edmund a “loyal and natural boy” (Act 1 Scene 1 Line 92). However, both are rejected by their father in favor of siblings; Regan and Goneril win out over Cordelia through their lies of love, and Edgar wins out over Edmund because he was a legitimate birth. As a result, Shakespeare brings into light how bad things can happen to people who are good by nature, drawing a parallel to the theme of tragedy throughout the play.
Edmund for example, blames nature for his position as the bastard child of Gloucester based on the in-class essay we wrote awhile ago. His attitude towards nature causes him to create the plan which eventually leads to the demise of Edmund, Edgar, and Gloucester. These decisions to pretty much spite nature leads to a deeper truth about nature. Nature is all powerful and any attempt to spite it will lead to bad things.
ReplyDeleteIn the first act of the play King Lear uses nature to condemn his daughter Goneril for her betrayal. He states, "Into her womb convey sterility. Dry up in her the organs of increase" (61). Lear's disgust with his own daughter causes him to wish her inability to bear children as punishment for her actions against him. This use of nature is related the the point that Tom brought up because both Lear and Edmund find flaws within nature that are either used as scapegoats or punishments. However Edmunds complaints are against nature's situation for him whereas Lear's opinion of nature is his wish for it to work evil against those who betray him.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s interesting about both Edmund and Cordelia is that they are both good children by nature to their fathers. Lear calls Cordelia his “joy” and Gloucester once calls Edmund a “loyal and natural boy” (Act 1 Scene 1 Line 92). However, both are rejected by their father in favor of siblings; Regan and Goneril win out over Cordelia through their lies of love, and Edgar wins out over Edmund because he was a legitimate birth. As a result, Shakespeare brings into light how bad things can happen to people who are good by nature, drawing a parallel to the theme of tragedy throughout the play.
ReplyDelete