ACT III – Scene.v
(Back inside Gloucester’s castle)
Summary
Edmund betrays his father to Cornwall and gains further favor from the Duke.
Cornwall is now aware of the King of France’s plans to aid King Lear, his wife’s father.
At the end of the scene, we note that Cornwall addresses Edmund as the Earl
of Gloucester.
Interpretation
We now see that just as Lear was betrayed by his daughters, Gloucester has
been betrayed by his son Edmund.
It is also a betrayal of the traditional values and virtues, which will be replaced by chaos and the law of the jungle. Although both Edmund’s and Cornwall’s actions are despicable they still use eloquent language in order to try and make these developments honorable.
Edmund justifies his actions by viewing his father’s allegiance to Lear as
treasonous.
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