Kenneth Jones Professor Bailey English 2322 May 28, 2000 A Look at Shakespeare’s Edmund In King Lear, the villainous but intelligent Edmund, with more than a brief examination into his character, has understandable motivations outside of the base purposes with which he might at first be credited. Edmund is a character worthy of study, as he seems to be the most socially complex character of the play. In a sense, he is both victim and villain. Edmund …showed first 75 words of 1823 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1823 total…he says, “Shakespeare proceeds as if his characters can be driven to extremes without addressing their motivations” (83). Had he given more thought to the motivations of Edmund, it is unlikely Curran, or any reasonable person, could draw this conclusion. In a play filled with intrigue and unsympathetic characters, it is unfortunate that the most ambitious did not succeed. He was a far more interesting character than Edgar and probably would have made a better king.