Moral Evil in King Lear

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Moral Evil in King Lear Evil characters greatly contribute to plots as they make stories more suspenseful and exciting. Edmund, Regan and Goneril are all perfect example of evil characters in the Shakespearian play, King Lear. They kept the reader in anticipation throughout the play which made it more interesting to read. Their actions are what made other characters go mad, or even killed. However, karma gets the best of everyone and all three characters suffered the consequences. Therefore, Edmund, Regan and Goneril are all sources of moral evil in King Lear. Edmund, son of Gloucester, was known as the ‘bastard’ son in the play. He was known as the illegitimate son and his older brother Edgar was known as the legitimate son. He began to betray his father right from the start. In his first soliloquy, Edmund says “Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed and my invention thrive, Edmund the base shall top the legitimate; I grow; I prosper” (1, 2, 19-21). The fact he pointed out was that he wants more power even though he is the younger and less loved son. He figured the best way to get this status was to ruin Edgar’s reputation. To achieve this, his plan was to trick his father Gloucester into believing that Edgar wants to kill him. Edmund wrote a letter pretending to be Edgar outlining a plan for both sons to kill their father and share his lands between them. He continues to lie to his father when he cuts himself in the arm in order to impress him in the battle he ‘fought’ with Edgar earlier. In Act three Edmund says “This courtesy, forbid thee, shall the Duke instantly know, and of that letter too. [...] That which my father loses – no less than all, the younger rises when the old doth fall: (3, 3, 19-23) after speaking to his father. By this quote, Edmund is certain that Gloucester will lose all his lands and he will inherit them because of his old age. He also
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