Any controversial King Lear opinions?
OK SO I’VE BEEN MEANING TO POST ABOUT THIS-
Ok. So. This is how 99% of the fandom see Edmund and Edgar: (based on appearance alone)
This is how I see them:
(Am I calling pre-play Edgar a himbo? Ehh I don’t even know)
That’s my daily cursed take
Thank you for coming to my ted talk
When Shakespeare was dividing up comic relief amount his tragedies, he gave 50% to Hamlet, 49% to Romeo and Juliet, and threw the remaining 1% at all the other tragedies to share
Lemme show you how the swords get passed around.
EDMUND’S SWORD-
1- Edmund has it at the beginning of 1.2
2-He gives it to Edgar in 1.2 at “go armed”. Edgar has it for the rest of the play.
EDGAR’S SWORD-
1-Edgar has it (along with Edmund’s sword) at the beginning of 2.1
2-Edmund uses it to fight him in 2.1
3-Cornwall takes it from Edmund in 2.2
CORNWALL’S SWORD-
1- Cornwall uses it to stab servant 1 in 3.7
2- Regan temporary has it after Cornwall died
3- She gives it to Edmund, who uses it in 5.3
4-Edmund gives it to Edgar so he can pardon Cordelia
(It makes so much sense this way, because Edmund was leading Cornwall’s armies, and so it checks out the Cornwall’s sword would be the one that holds the authority to pardon people)
(Bonus Headcanon: Regan’s sword that she uses in 3.7 is the same sword Goneril uses to kill herself in 5.3 (the gentleman brings it out right before the bodies are brought out I think?))
So. I was doing The Research for the post I’ll post eventually analyzing specifically the line “Why brand they us with base?”, and the internet was like “yeah bastards were stereotyped as the villains (but more specifically, the like, plotting scheming type of villain.) in Shakespeare’s time. It was like. a thing”
Which is basically what I expected to be the case, but I just wanted to check it up to make sure. ANYWAY. Here’s a short free verse poem for Edmund, now that that’s confirmed. It’s very much cringy. I am no poet.
Why Brand They Us With Base
they say
you’re the villain
you would respond
if you knew the words
if you were any older than an infant
born to this world a few hundred seconds ago
they say
you’re the villain
you would respond
if you were anything more than a child
if you understood why they call you this
when you’ve never met them yet face their looks of disgust
they say
you’re the villain
you would respond
if you had the authority to answer
if you had the platform to defend yourself
from accusations and judgements made by strangers
they say
you’re the villain
you would respond
if you cared to
if you weren’t so used to it
as your standard introduction, a part of your being
you say
“I’m the villain
you figured me out
you saw right through me
before I could see myself.
so
since I’m the villain
beware my villainy
because I may be the villain
but you’re no hero.”
Me, in an essay at the beginning of the year: yeah lying is great we should do it more often
Me, currently, in an essay: and in conclusion, Willy Loman is a liar and should face the consequences of his actions
Me, later on this year, in some future essay: yeah so Edmund deserves better and I would like to see him take over England
Being a citizen of England in the King Lear universe must be.. interesting.
Imagine you wake up one morning and find out that the King decided to resign and divide up his kingdom amount his daughters, except for some reason he exiled his youngest daughter? Who also married the King of France? Ok, you think that’s odd, but whatever. It doesn’t affect you.
Then about a week later England goes to war against France, for reasons that no one is entirely sure about. No one knows who the current Earl of Gloucester is supposed to be, or what’s even going on with that family. No one knows what happened to the ex-king- he seems to have just disappeared.
A bit later you hear that the entire Lear family is dead. The Duke of Albany might be next in line for the throne, considering he was married to Lear’s oldest daughter? Also Gloucester’s oldest son was involved in attempted murder?? Or wasn’t?? News doesn’t travel that fast, and you’re a random english citizen who has no idea what’s going on.
hey i saw your king lear among us AU on instagram and i was like I KNOW THAT ONE
Every now and then I go to the Shakespeare accounts of insta to check if they’re posting any of my things-
And every time I find my stupid posts instead of my good ones
(The King Lear Among Us thing is one of my mediocre posts- it’s not one that I’m super proud of, but I don’t hate it either)
imagining edmund calling an emergency meeting and going "oh my god guys edgar vented right in front of me i saw it" and everyone believing him while edgar tries to defend himself
YES I APPROVE
He would do that
Edgar would be like “what no I wouldn’t even know *how* to vent! This is my first time playing!”
And then someone would be like “oh. So did you do <some random task>?”
And he’d be like “I don’t know- this is my first time playing!!”
And everyone would be like “huh. That’s sus.”
Except it actually is his first time playing, and he has no idea what’s going on half the time.
Meanwhile, Edmund has been playing Among Us non stop since he got it (and of course he wins every time). He has like 32 different strategies that he alternates between every game.
It’s- it’s specifically for people who never read king lear. That’s why it’s Like That ™.
In an attempt to find a specific production of King Lear, I accidentally found this other production of King Lear, which I didn’t watch yet
But I skipped to the end to see the last scene
And. Edgar and Edmund’s duel.
Let me tell you how it went.
Edmund: *charges at full speed at Edgar*
Edgar: *literally just holds out his sword in front of him*
Edmund: *runs right into it*
That’s it that’s the entire duel