A3 Scene 5

characters

key themes

key quotes

Summary

relevant context

Symbols

A01

A02

The setting is Gloucester's castle. Edmund betrays his father and wins Cornwall's approval by releasing the details of France's plan to aid the king. As reward, Edmund gains Gloucester's title and lands.

Edmund tells Cornwall about Gloucester’s decision to help Lear and about the incriminating letter from France; in return, Cornwall makes Edmund earl of Gloucester.

cornwall

edmund

Granting Edmund the title of Earl of Gloucester, Cornwall then sends him to find his father and arrest him.

Cornwall reassures Edmund that he, Cornwall, will be Edmund's "dearer father" (26) from here on.

Edmund assents, although he continues to lament a 'sore conflict' (3.5. 23) between his duty and his blood.

Edmund betrays Gloucester to Regan and her husband, Cornwall, who puts out Gloucester's eyes and makes Edmund the Earl of Gloucester.

Edmund's handing over Gloucester as a traitor is an ultimate violation of the father-child bond.

Cornwall suggests that just as he can take on the traditional legal role of a father in granting a political title that would usually come from inheritance, he can also replace a biological father of flesh and blood. Incidentally, as he falls for Edmund's performance of hesitation about turning in Gloucester, he misjudges Edmund just as Gloucester and Edgar have before.

Fathers, children, siblings

Blindness and insight

Authority and order

both Edmund and Cornwall pretend to be virtuous, as each attempts to justify his disloyalty. Clearly, Gloucester and Lear are both victims of two self-serving men — Edmund and Cornwall.

Edmund, feigning regret for having betrayed his father, laments that his nature, which is to honor his father, must now be subordinate to the loyalty he feels for his country. Thus, Edmund makes excuses for betraying his own father.

Cornwall's presence serves to reinforce Edmund's choice, when he suggests that perhaps Edgar is justified to seek his father's murder. Cornwall sees Gloucester's actions as treasonous, and describes him as having a "reproveable badness" ⚠

Edmund - "How malicious is my fortune"

Cornwall - "True or False, it hath made thee Earl of Gloucester"

Edmund - "I will preserve in my course of loyalty, though the conflict be spore between that and my blood"

"reproveable badness" ⚠

'sore conflict'

‘I may be censured that nature thus gives way to loyalty’ ✅

‘I will lay trust upon thee and thou shalt find a dear father in my love’ ✅

In the play as printed in 1608, and again in 1623, Edmund is routinely called Bastard’ in speech preﬁxes and stage directions, perhaps stressing stock associations of the word with unpleasantness and impurity.

Letters

There are thirty-three references to letters during the course of the play. It has been argued that these not only contribute to the plot but add to the range of ideas and meaning depicted.

‘I will have my revenge’

It is important that you can analyse characters’ language closely. The first line of the scene (‘I will have my revenge’) suggests that violence is imminent. This is confirmed by Cornwall’s consistently decisive and ruthless tone. Showing his customary facility with language, Edmund speaks politely
and formally to Cornwall, who now acts as if he is the father of the nation. Edmund’s exclamations in his second speech are emptily melodramatic, drawing attention to his chilling hypocrisy. Then in contrast, Edmund’s aside to the audience a few seconds later is as vicious and cold blooded as his new patron’s lines.