It’s 1am and I’m tired and I barely slept for about a week now bc of reasons, but
I just had a revelation about Edmund from King Lear and John from UnOrdinary’s philosophies of the world and how I think they’d probably be similar
( ie I think that Edmund pre-play would be similar to John during the first story arc, and Edmund during the events of the play is similar to John’s second arc)
It’s 1am and I’m tired and I barely slept for about a week now bc of reasons, but
I just had a revelation about Edmund from King Lear and John from UnOrdinary’s philosophies of the world and how I think they’d probably be similar
( ie I think that Edmund pre-play would be similar to John during the first story arc, and Edmund during the events of the play is similar to John’s second arc)
Anyway let me explain-
First we have to analyze who these characters are.
(This just explains context for who the characters are- I’ll get to their philosophies in a reblog)
(And John’s analysis is gonna be a lot longer than Edmund’s bc UnO is longer than King Lear)
-Edmund’s the illegitimate son of an Earl, and because of that he has no real power of his own, but he’s surrounded by those who do. After years of putting up with the ppl in power (most of which probably shouldn’t have power? They’re not the most sane group), he finally goes “enough is enough”, and for semi-justifiable reasons, he takes his semi-misplaced anger at the system and kinda destroys the kingdom. (Then his brother kills him but that’s not the point)
-John lives in an society where ppl have magic abilities for some unexplained reason, and your status in society is determined by how powerful your ability is. Most kids get their ability early in elementary school. John’s a late bloomer and got his at the end of middle school. But in that time frame when his peers had abilities and he didn’t, he would get beat up like every five seconds, and there’d be no consequences because that’s just how society works- the people who are stronger can do what they want to those who are weaker.
Of course John resents the system, and when he developed his entirely overpower ability, he used it to quickly destroy everyone around him.
BUT WAIT ThAt’s all pre-story. We’re not up to the arc 1 I referred to back there.
Anyway. John crosses like 50 lines and the legal authorities get involved. He’s detained somewhere by some dude who we don’t know much about at the moment, but I guess I’ll edit this when new information shows up later in the series. Anyway. As I said, we the audience don’t really know what happened to John while he was detained, but we do know that this guy who detained him had the same philosophy as those trolls from Frozen: that John and everyone else would just be happier if John didn’t have a power, and John’s power is the reason for everything wrong in the world.
So here we are at arc 1- sorry it took so long to get here- but here it is:
John goes to a new school where he pretends he has no powers. It’s a very academic oriented school, so even though he’s a mediocre student, he thinks this school will be great bc everyone will be too focused on getting good marks to even notice he “doesn’t have powers”.
Long story short- he keeps up the act for a pretty long time, but then this dude gets annoyed that John’s friends with this one specific girl who just happens to be the person at the school with the most powerful power, bc this dude (whose name is Arlo btw) is *obsessed* with hierarchy. So Arlo decided one day to just ruin John’s life to the best of his ability. And then John just snaps and goes back on his nearly-murder spree- ie he beats up everyone at the top of the hierarchy, bc that’s how you get their title and take their place.
Arc 2 is when he’s beating everyone up btw.
ok now that that’s done and I gave the context for everything, let’s talk about their philosophies.
Which I’ll do in a reblog to this post.
It’s 1am and I’m tired and I barely slept for about a week now bc of reasons, but
I just had a revelation about Edmund from King Lear and John from UnOrdinary’s philosophies of the world and how I think they’d probably be similar
( ie I think that Edmund pre-play would be similar to John during the first story arc, and Edmund during the events of the play is similar to John’s second arc)
Anyway let me explain-
First we have to analyze who these characters are.
(This just explains context for who the characters are- I’ll get to their philosophies in a reblog)
(And John’s analysis is gonna be a lot longer than Edmund’s bc UnO is longer than King Lear)
Now onto their philosophies!
This time I’it’ll start with John first, because his is more straightforward and straight up stated repeatedly in UnO.
-John (while acting like he doesn’t have powers) strongly believes that it’s the job of the strong to protect those weaker than them. He believes that every human being has worth and value, and you can’t and shouldn’t sum up a person’s entire worth by a not so arbitrary power the person was born with (I say “not so arbitrary” bc powers are strongly hereditary, so generally speaking the powerful families have powerful children).
Then when he goes on his rampage, his philosophy becomes “no, actually. You’re kinda all jerks? You all just stood by day after day and watched me get beat up, or beat me up yourself, all because you thought I was weaker than you? Yeah lol I’m the strongest here. I think I’m gonna beat you all up now. A lot.”
-Now onto Edmund.
Do you not see what I mean by it would be similar??
He also has his whole “i’m just as good as those around me, if not better, and people’s worth should be based in their skills and merit, not on something as arbitrary as their birth, which they have no say or control over!”
His primary examples of People With Power were Lear and Gloucester.
Lear and Gloucester, of all people!
Imagine that when you look and your country and you see who the current system have power to, you see Lear and Gloucester. Just imagine. You’d be like “who on earth made this system. Who thought this would be a good idea.”
Imagine you go visit some foreign country and you see LEAR on the throne. You’d try to overthrow him too. And anyway overthrowing Lear wasn’t even something Edmund did. Lear overthrew himself, and then got mad he wasn’t in power anymore. He *willingly* overthrew himself, and then got confused when he didn’t have power anymore. THIS was the epitome of power and nobility that Edmund, along with everyone else in England, had to look at.
No wonder King Lear turned out the way it did.
All the characters need therapy and better role models.
I definitely lost track of this along the way but it’s 2am and i’m tired
1. It’s 100% accurate to the plot
2. The songs are really good and the tunes of them make it clear that whoever wrote it really gets the vibe of Twelfth Night
3. There are 3 songs that are basically just the townspeople gossiping about what’s happening (that might sound boring but it’s good trust me)
4. Antonio sings a reprise of a previously sung love song type song at the part where he’s saying he’s gonna follow Sebastian into the city
5. (At the part where Sebastian and Viola are reunited) Sebastian: Viola! All the ppl: Viola?!?!?
6. All. Of. Malvolio’s. Songs.
7. The entire song of You’e The Worst
8. Feste.
9. The whole thing honestly the whole thing is amazing it’s 100% accurate to the play
10. Go listen to it right now I promise it’s very good
k edette i gotta know: What was going on with your classmates back in december? ((probably nothing since It's been months and you are still (presumably) alive but you never know.))
I genuinely didn’t remember what this was talking about for a sec, but this is about the food gift basket type thing, right?
Yeah so I threw out the sushi bc that’s in the type of container you can open and close without ppl knowing
And my mother ate a danish before I figured out if I wanted to throw it out or not
And she was fine so then I ate the other danish and I was fine
So then I was like “ok so it’s probably not poisoned” and my parents and I ate the rest of the stuff
I still have no idea why they gave it me
I think they were just bored
On the off chance that this question isn’t about the food, other things going on in December include too many ppl getting COVID and the school stubbornly refusing to shut down
2 teacher’s spouses died, 2 teacher’s parents died
A bunch of relatives of students died (I think)
The school still hasn’t figured out that there is, in fact, a virus out there, that may or may not be killing ppl
We’re actually all supposed to be quarantining now but the school is having us come in for graduation/ yearbook photos.
I’ve been on Zoom the whole year so far, but Zoom isn’t an option the school is giving anyone who’s not me.
Only reason I’m allowed to Zoom is bc my parents are strict and don’t let me go to school.
Which is smart and reasonable, considering COVID rate by my school is over 13% last time I checked
The principal literally told everyone not to wear masks
The principal did WHAT NOW?? Yikes.
Yeah but I’m not surprised
She’s not the brightest and thinks that everything that happens in the world is a liberal conspiracy theory (Including but not limited to COVID)
Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing by Set It Off was written about Edmund the Bastard and no i do not accept criticism
I had to google the lyrics bc I only know the chorus, but you’re right you’re so right
(Here’s the opening lyrics for anyone who wants to fact check me)
On the subject of "how to make Edmund more sympathetic," there's an AU that lives in my head in which Edmund's initial plan involved generously "forgiving" Edgar for betraying their father after Edmund becomes Earl.
YES I LOVE THIS THIS IS LEGIT AND VALID AND PERFECT
(On a side note: I need more content on Edgar and Edmund’s pre-play sibling relationship
Or like. Headcanons on how they interacted as children)
(I literally typed out this whole thing here, but it derailed the original thing so I’m probably gonna make it into another post)
I just wanna say that whenever I get an anonymous ask, I know logically that each anon is probably a different person
But my brain still goes “oh anon is back! I wonder what ask they sent this time!”
Wanted to say that I got King Lear from the library for the sole purpose of understanding your AU/staging thing and while it's still a little confusing (because, y'know, 400-year language gap and I don't trust Sparknotes ever since they translated "sirrah" as "sir") BUT. It's been pretty great.
I’m honestly so honored that there’s someone in the world who’s *that* dedicated to understanding one of my posts
There are a bunch of changes I want to make to the staging thing now, and I’m not sure if I should just edit the original post, or post a new post with all the things I would delete or change
ANWAY yeah I glad you’re reading King Lear!! It’s really great, but if you don’t read Shakespeare often it might take a bit for you to get used to the language (it took me a while as well)
Here ya go, have a meme. The lack of good content on my blog recently is deeply upsetting
I love this it’s great it’s amazing it’s fantastic
I feel legally obligated to add on bc I was tagged
But then I realized I can’t draw
Anyway
(Deleted original Gertrude and Claudius bc It somehow came out even worse than the rest of it)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern did nothing wrong and I will die on this hill.
This is something that I never knew I had opinions on until I got this ask
- you’re right but also there’s so much more to it than that
- yes in my opinion they did nothing wrong, but it completely depends on how their actors play them in the given production. They can easily be played as if they knowingly and intentionally were spying on Hamlet and knew they were sending him to his death. I do, however, *strongly* prefer them being entirely innocent
- the way I see it is 1) they didn’t have a choice in coming to spy on Hamlet bc the king himself literally told them to, 2) they didn’t even know the king’s true purpose in spying on him, 3) they wouldn’t have spied if they knew, 4) they agreed to spy bc they genuinely care about Hamlet’s wellbeing and think this is the best way to help, 5) everything they saw in Denmark seemed to prove Claudius right- Hamlet did seem to be mad to them, and so they continued spying, 6) they absolutely never would have agreed to go to England with Hamlet had they know what was in the letter they were carrying
-BUT given that R and G are innocent, it’s very easy for Hamlet to be played as unnecessarily cruel in how he treats them. Which, NO. Why. Hamlet isn’t innocent, but he *is* just a guy who got wrapped up in something that was much too big for him to handle on his own, and did his best in the situation, and everything just went really wrong really quickly, even though he tried to think everything through, and make what was to him the most logical decisions in the moment.
-so from Hamlet’s POV, R and G still have to come across as very sus
-to the extent that he would reasonably believe that they would intentionally participate in a murder plot against him
-so in conclusion, the best way for R and G to be played is innocent but acting sus
(Kinda like Cassio from Othello? Technically innocent, but just. *Constantly* doing things that make him look sus)
(I suddenly like R and G more than I used to?)
We’re starting King Lear in school tomorrow
We’re starting King Lear in school tomorrow
Things I’m gonna say that my teacher probably won’t agree with
1- Lear and Gloucester are definitely also guilty
2- Goneril and Regan, for the first half of the play, actually aren’t that unreasonable
3- Edmund is actually a complex character and not outright pure Evil ™
Hi! Once you get this you have to say five things you like about yourself, publicly, then send this to ten of your favourite followers (non-negotiable) SPREAD THE LOVE ❤️
Ooo thanks!
1- my eyes are Nice
2-I’m a pretty chill person (I don’t mean calm, bc I’m stressed about everything all the time- I just mean. Like. If you tell me that you’re gonna go do crime I’d just be like “ok sounds nice. Don’t get caught”.)
3-I don’t get angry at people easily and I don’t think I’ve ever yelled at anyone before
4-I’m pretty responsible with money- I never impulse buy things, and I pretty much only buy what I need
5- I have a decent sleep schedule most of the time
Either I can do Spanish homework
Or I can go to sleep (I know it’s early but I’m tired)
Go to sleep edette
I ended up doing most of my Spanish homework and going to sleep afterward
But this is still great advice
Like. in general
Is it just me or is Waking Up bu Starset the perfect Hamlet song? Like I haven't seen it on anyone's playlists for him but *waves hands at the lyrics*
YES YOU’RE RIGHT YOU’RE SO RIGHT
I’m gonna post a screenshot of the lyrics so that everyone can fact check me on this:
Edette, I haven't been keeping up on ur recent posts...but just wanted to know when your birthday is/was?
February 13th (it’s in 2 days)
We’re starting King Lear in school tomorrow
Things I’m gonna say that my teacher probably won’t agree with
1- Lear and Gloucester are definitely also guilty
2- Goneril and Regan, for the first half of the play, actually aren’t that unreasonable
3- Edmund is actually a complex character and not outright pure Evil ™
Fun fact
My teacher is 100% on board with all three of those thing
This is once again about ap lit king lear
So. My AP Lit teacher is very into “no spoilers”
And my class is very not into Shakespeare
Which means that they’re all reading King Lear with absolutely no idea whats gonna happen next
(Btw this is the same teacher I mentioned who mentioned that Romeo and Juliet die (bc she assumed everyone knew that) and half the class started freaking out)
Anyway this person in my class today was like “I think Goneril and Regan are lying!!” (In Act 1 Scene 1, when they’re praising Lear)
And someone else was like “but maybe not!!”
And the teacher was like “we’re only in scene 1, how are you making judgement s this quickly??”
And then everyone started shouting out conspiracy theories about everyone and who’s gonna be the antagonists of the play
But like
no one suspects Edmund
It’s not like they forgot about him or anything
They remember he exists
But no one suspects him
(I think some ppl suspect Edgar? Idk)
This is once again about ap lit king lear
The funniest part is that it’s not supposed to be a plot twist
Shakespearean audiences knew right away
Thing is, we’re a bunch of modern day teenagers
Most of which are very unfamiliar with Shakespearean stuff
This is once again about ap lit king lear
The funniest part is that it’s not supposed to be a plot twist
Shakespearean audiences knew right away
Thing is, we’re a bunch of modern day teenagers
Most of which are very unfamiliar with Shakespearean stuff
We’re gonna get up to 1.2 eventually and I am looking forward to that day
24 hours left of being a minor
24 hours left of being a minor
Im an adult now and I’m super mature and smart, as I should be.
24 hours left of being a minor
Im an adult now and I’m super mature and smart, as I should be.
Me: I was a minor. Now I’m a major
My friends: now you’re legal. Yesterday you were illegal.
Happy day of birth!
Thanks!!
Happy Birthday!!!
Thanks!!!
Edette!! Happy birthday, you are amazing, thank you for the wonderful tumblr experience!
Thank you so much!!!
AAAAAA happy birthday my dude!!
Thank you!!!!!
(I know all my replies seem the same, but I really do value and appreciate every single Happy Birthday that was sent to me!!)
Happy birthday Edette!
Thank you!!!!
Happy adulthood! Now you can vote! And go to jail!
Ah yes the two most exciting things of adulthood
Anyway. Thanks!!,
Oooo I like this!
Thanks!!!
Lear’s really like “ah yes I was planning on staying with my youngest daughter, but now that I suddenly don’t like her I’m gonna stay with my two oldest daughters” and expects them to be instantly ready to accommodate for not only him but 100 of his knights
I was stuck at 198 for *months* bc I stopped posting good content for a while (dw though Im gonna continue posting good content one day)
ANYWAY
In honor of this milestone, I’m gonna do the same thing as last time- ie send me a topic and I’ll talk about it
Last time topics included rocks and some Shakespeare related stuff
hmm, topic... Favorite classical art piece or artist? Or just in general. art history.
I haven’t thought about classical art pieces or artists in a while, but when I was around 6-7, I was, for some reason, very fascinated by Monet
Specifically his water lily paintings
Specifically the one with the bridge
This one:
topic: wandavision (if you've seen it yet?)
I haven’t seen it and don’t really plan on seeing it, but almost all my friends are really into it right now and say it’s really good
