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the tragedy of king lear analysis
the tragedy of king lear analysis
character analysis of edmund in king lear
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There is an extensive variety of character types that occur in literature, but none are as intriguing as that of the aggressively amoral. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the character of Edmund is portrayed as an ambitious opportunist whose attempts to obtain power lead to his eventual demise. Although he is clearly not an admirable character, he is in no sense a “simple [villain]” (Summers 230): Examination of his character under the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) , a psychometric tool designed to measure how people make decisions and perceive the world, reveals the thought processes behind his actions. Determining his base attributes, in reference to the four dichotomies that are central to the theory, allows one to read into the preliminary aspects of his person. Furthermore, exploration of the four cognitive functions of his psychological type uncovers his default behaviours and mental processes, and with them, his most beneficial strengths and greatest weaknesses. Edmund’s defining personality traits depict how his internal attributes and values influence his actions in the play from analysis through a Myer-Briggs perspective.
MYERS-BRIGGS CLASSIFICATION
In order to classify Edmund with the Type Indicator, the four dichotomies must be considered: extraversion or introversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. The pairings describe how one is energised, gathers information, makes decisions, and leads their external lifestyle respectively.
Classification. Of the sixteen available types, Edmund is best categorised as extraverted, sensing, thinking, and perceiving, or, as denoted in the standard Myers-Briggs format, ESTP. He is extraverted in that he gains his energy from the outer world and...
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...se of the word, lives on even if he does not.
Works Cited
Leonard, Nancy H. "Information Processing Style and Decision Making." Journal of Organizational Behavior 20.3 (1999): 407-20. JSTOR. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. Trans. William K. Marriott. London: Dent, 1958. Print.
Mcneir, Waldo F. "The Role of Edmund in King Lear." Studies in English Literature 1500-1900.Vol. 8, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (1968): 187-216. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Pittenger, David J. "The Utility of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator." Review of Educational Research 63.4 (1993): 467-88. JSTOR. Web. 2 Feb. 2014.
Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare: King Lear. Toronto: Coles, 1993. Print.
Summers, Claude J. ""Stand up for Bastards!": Shakespeare's Edmund and Love's Failure." College Literature 4.3, Shakespeare Issue (1977): 225-31. JSTOR. Web. 1 Feb. 2014.
Shakespearean plays always contain intriguing characters with many sides, secrets, and stories. The villainous Edmund in King Lear is no exception. Though a supporting actor by theater standard, he is one of the first characters introduced to the audience in the opening scenes. He plays a key role in the subplot of King Lear, and establishes himself as a complex “evil” character. When compared to Regan and Goneril, Edmund is much more cunning in his ambition. His ultimate goal is to prove his importance and value to society despite being born a bastard. Edmund reasons that his legitimacy should not based on who bore him, and he determines to do whatever it takes to rise above this irrational societal law and make a name for himself. He treats people only as tools useful for reaching his goal—as later becomes apparent in his flirtations with both Regan and Goneril. He doesn't have a driving desire to injure his brother or father, but they stand in the way of his goal and so must be removed. His soliloquy in Act I is not very long, but serves to provide significant insight into his character's motivations and personality. Shakespeare creatively weaves the language of Edmund's speech to powerfully convey meaning in a small amount of words.
Bradley., A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
“ …my first concern must be with the two general types I have termed introverted and extraverted. But, in addition, I shall also try to give a certain characterization of those special types whose particularity is due to the fact that his most differentiated function plays the principal role in an individual's adaptation or orientation to life.” (Jung)
Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1709-1804. Print.
Kermode, Frank. "King Lear." The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G.B.Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974. 1249-54.
Stern, Jeffrey. ?King Lear: The Transference of the Kingdom.? Shakespeare Quarterly, 1990. Folger Shakespeare Library.
The last category is Judging – Perceiving. This section reveals the kind of intellectual process I prefer to use. Judging is a preference for a structured lifestyle and the use of feeling and thinking while perceiving is the preference for a flexible lifestyle and the use of sensing and intuition (2016). I scored in the Perceiving range. The first letter of each type is what your personality trait is, so I am an ISFP; Introvert, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving. This is the detailed description given for my
My personality type is ISTJ; I am a sensing introvert who thinks and judges a lot. The exercises describe ISTJ as organized, private, trustworthy and practical. These characteristics are true. I overthink people’s words and situations, looking for hidden motives and meanings. While I judge from the sidelines, but I do not voice my opinion a lot because people cannot handle the truth.
[25] Foakes, R. A. (ed) King Lear The Arden Shakespeare. The Arden Shakespeare: third edition (1997, 2000) p15 introductory notes.
Both Lady Macbeth and Iago, have versions of a temptation scene in which they manipulate the minds of their prey to achieve a goal. After strengthening her mind and fortifying her emotions, Lady Macbeth feels prepared to take on the responsibility for what’s to come. Sensing her husband’s tentativeness, she eases his nerves by saying “you shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch, which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom” (I. vii. 67-70). She manages to keep her cool and maintains a level head for the beginning stages of their villainy when Macbeth is still on the edge. In order to push him into compliance she distorts her idea of masculinity and “comes to assume all the obnoxious aspects of patriarchal thinking. She patronizes Macbeth, seeks to bring him back into the logical system of masculine dialect [and] male dominance in the name of order” (Fawkner 92). Knowing full well that Macbeth would be swayed by this line of taunting, she questions him, “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’, like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?” (I. vii. 39-44). She goes on to assure him of the impossibility of their failure and promises him that he’ll “be so much more than man” upon completion of their evil deed (I. vii. 51). “This was the nature of Lady Macbeth’s influence on Macbeth. She could sway him because she understood him and loved him, and because he loved her and depended on her love and good thoughts of him” (Shanley 308). It was this trust in each other and the fact that she knows just which stri...
So overall both characters King Lear and Edmund showed in the play the three different parts of the mind. Which were the Id, the Superego and then the Ego itself. But it’s not just those characters that went through those three mindset levels. We being human beings go through those three parts of the mind every day.
My personality type is Extroverted, intuitive, feeling, perceptive or ENFP. According to the description in the exercise, ENFP's are warm, enthusiastic and live their outer life more with intuition and their inner more with feeling. This assessment is consistent with the results that I received in part I of the exercise. I am an extroverted person who enjoys being around and working with people.
Bengtsson, Frederick. “King Lear by William Shakespeare.” Columbia College. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Continuing with this journey of self-discovery, I completed the Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test. As hinted in the title, this test was based on Jungian concepts relating to psychological types. With two main ‘attitudes’ and four main ‘functions’, Jungian theory suggests that we can be categorized based on how we perceive and interact with ourselves, the world, and the people around us. According to young, the two main attitudes are introversion (I) and extraversion (E), and the four main functions are thinking (T), feeling (F), sensing (S), intuiting (N), judging (J), and perceiving (P). According to the results provided by the Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test, my four-letter result is INFJ. For further specification, I have a strong preference
On the 15th of May, 3013 an article was featured in Fortune Magazine that was titled “Have we all been duped by the Myers-Briggs Test?” The Myers-Briggs Test or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality assessment test created by Katherine Briggs & her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, based on psychologist Carl Jung’s type theory. Jung’s theory focused on the cognitive aspects of personality and classified people into types based on how they performed two functions: Taking in information (perception) and making decisions. People perceive things either through their senses or through their intuitions (Sensing V/s Intuition) and they make decisions either through logic and reason or based purely on their emotions (Thinking V/s Feeling).