In King Lear, Shakespeare represents social status as something that holds immense value. He shows that his characters are willing to do whatever it takes in order to be closer to the top of the hierarchy, as this results in more power. This involves the betrayal of family and the death of many, showing that status is something of value, but also very destructive.
King Lear is set in England during the 17th century and during this time, social status had a great effect on how a person was treated. Social status was determined by birth and other factors, including wealth and education. Shakespeare presents a society in King Lear that also places a vast significance on social class and the hierarchy that come with it. This is shown firstly, through the character of Edmund who is a “bastard” and the main antagonist. Edmund’s own father is shown to not respect him, and he is instead mocked by his father who calls him a “knave,” who “came something saucily into the world before he was sent for… and the whoreson must be acknowledged.” (1.1.21) Edmund is so fixated upon taking power from his father that he is willing to do anything to get there. In order to become the Earl of Gloucester in his own right, early on in the play, Edmund hatches a plan to get rid of his brother and father. Edmund craves the recognition that has been denied to him because of his status as a “bastard.” During Shakespeare’s time, illegitimacy was seen as corruption, and a person that was born this way was valued far lower than anyone else. Throughout King Lear, Edmund conveys his disagreement with these social roles, voicing his belief that he was born in a more honest circumstance. He says his birth was as a result of “the lusty stealth of nature” (1.2.11) and so he asks the gods to “stand up for bastards” (1.2.22). He disagrees with the “plague of custom” (1.2.3) that deems him as being of less value than his brother. Edmund’s plan is driven by the fact that he will not receive any inheritance from his father. The fact that Edmund is so desperate to prove his worth is an indicator for just how little value was given to illegitimates. The representation of social status is constantly made clearer by the lengths that Edmund is willing to go to so that he can climb up the hierarchy. He begins to write a fake letter from his brother writing that he wants to murder his father so that he can rise to power. He then tells his father that he found the letter. He says, “It was not brought me, my lord. There’s the cunning of it. I found it thrown in at the casement of my closet” (1.2.60) Edmund also tells his brother, Edgar, that he needs to run away as their father is angry. Edmund’s father, the Earl of Gloucester believes him and promises to him Edgar’s previous inheritance, calling Edgar an “Abhorred villain! Unnatural, detested, brutish villain—worse than” (1.2.75). Edmund’s lust to rise above his social corruptedness is reaffirmed again when he betrays his father’s trust by showing Cornwall a letter referring to a French invasion, in turn making Cornwall believe that the Earl of Gloucester and the French are sided. In an essay about the destruction of hierarchy in King Lear, Mitchell Kalpakgian said that as Edmund acts against his given status and is dishonorable to his father, he is “corrupting the meaning of authority, hierarchy, and natural law – and other important aspects of society.” (Kalpakgian, 1998) Whilst Gloucester faces the repercussions of his son’s wrongdoing, Edmund continues to increase his chances of improving his social status by flirting with two of King Lear’s daughters, Goneril and Regan. He decides that Britain will be his kingdom, but he knows that King Lear and his favorite daughter Cordelia stand in his way, so he captures them and orders for them to be executed. Shortly after this Edmund is found out to be a traitor and is killed in a duel by who is later found out to be Edgar, his own brother. It is during his death where Shakespeare’s representation of social status is shown so clearly, as having complete influence. This is because, despite Edmund’s best efforts to break out of the constraints that he was forced into by his conception, he is still killed by a man who would have been viewed to have truer nobility. Edmund seems to finally admit defeat at this moment as he briefly conforms to his social role, confessing that he has ordered King Lear and Cordelia to be killed. The confession he gives is able to save King Lear, however, it is too late for Cordelia, and so Edmund’s death is completely overlooked by the grief that people have for her. Though his desire for power caused the deaths of his father, Cornwall, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, he was ultimately beaten by a man with higher status, concluding Shakespeare’s representation of status. It has been suggested that Edmund’s ambition is a reflection of social patterns during Shakespeare’s time, with the rise of middle classes in cities, as well as lower classes in the countryside. A conflict was formed when these lower classes wanted land owned by the rich, and this was viewed as immoral, particularly to those who had inherited money. Edmund has been proposed to represent these newer classes who only had their own interests in mind, and disregarded tradition.
Social status is also shown to cause a complete divide in King Lear’s family, as well as the Earl of Gloucester’s. Lear’s daughter Goneril is a character that is undeniably involved, and this begins when the King is dividing his land amongst his three daughters, depending on how much they love him. Goneril does not love her father but lies to him so that she can gain land and power. She does this by telling her father that she loves him a great deal, and is shortly afterward granted half the kingdom. She then tells the servants to not follow the orders of her father and threatens to kick her father out. Later on, when Lear becomes frustrated with his daughters and walks out into a storm, Goneril and Regan order for the doors to be shut and locked so that Lear is left outside cold and alone. Shakespeare presents multiple characters in King Lear, that are willing to turn against their own families so that they can have power. Social status is being shown as something that is desired because of the capability that comes with it, but also something that destroys many lives. Goneril learns that her husband is not pleased with how she has treated her father, Lear, and so decides to take action against him by replacing him with Edmund. Goneril is so motivated by gaining power that she is even pleased to hear that her sister’s husband has died, as it makes her less likely to rule. She says, “One way I like this well. But being widow, and my Gloucester with her, May all the building in my fancy pluck Upon my hateful life. Another way The news is not so tart.—I’ll read and answer.” (4.2.85) Here, she simultaneously expresses her delight in her sister’s loss of power, but her disdain for the fact that she is now a widow and is free to try and take Edmund for herself. Goneril tells Edmund to kill her husband Albany if the opportunity arises so that they can be together. Goneril also poisons her sister, Regan, causing her death and it is again only in the final act of the play that she shows repentance for her sins. As Edmund dies, she is overcome with guilt from killing her sister out of jealousy, and so kills herself, resulting in another death in the race for power.
Regan is yet another character whose downfall is induced by a lust to rule. She is portrayed as equally as evil as her sister, Goneril, as they both are evil to their father, Lear, refusing to shelter him. Additionally, Regan order for the Earl of Gloucester to be hanged upon learning of his attempts to help their father. She says to “Hang him instantly,” whilst Goneril says to “pluck out his eyes.” (3.7.5) When a servant attempts to fight against what is happening to Gloucester, Regan kills him and then gives orders to the servants for Gloucester to be thrown out, saying Go thrust him out at gates, and let him smell His way to Dover. (3.7.113) She later asks a steward named Oswald to go and kill Gloucester, telling him, “If you do chance to hear of that blind traitor, Preferment falls on him that cuts him off.” (4.5.41) Shakespeare conveys the motivation of each antagonist from the start of the play, and although they each use slightly different means to attempt their hierarchical ascent, they are all proven to have the exact same motivation, and this is driven by the societal significance placed on status.
A final key character in Shakespeare’s representation of class divide is the character of “Poor Tom,” who is, in fact, Edgar in disguise. Whilst at the beginning of the play Edgar is the rich son of the Earl of Gloucester, his brother is able to falsely accuse him of attempting to kill their father and so he has to run away and disguises himself as “Poor Tom,” a madman beggar. After Lear is kicked out into the storm, he meets Tom, wandering around, and babbling madly. King Lear is shocked at the sight of him, and this could be because when he sees Tom, he sees himself. This is Lear’s lowest point, as he has been completely mistreated by his daughters and so he is drained both physically and emotionally. He then sees Tom and can not fathom that they are both so similar, because Lear is a man of high social status, and Tom is just a beggar. Shakespeare shows that it takes Lear having to be forced down to the lower class for him to acknowledge it, suggesting the severity of the divide between the rich and poor. In Act 4, Scene 6, King Lear is quoted as saying “Through tattered clothes, great vices do appear; Robes and furred gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold (4.6.158). Lear says that the crimes of a poor man are much more noticeable that the crimes of a rich man. The rich are able to hide their crimes, behind robes and furred gowns, and they can cover up their sins with gold. Shakespeare portrays the immorality in the nature of the rich, and once again, the inequality within classes.
In conclusion, William Shakespeare points out that there are many problems that result from the differences in social status, due to the gap between the lowest and highest classes is so large. Shakespeare also suggests that the power that comes with being at the top of the hierarchy of rule is toxic and therefore not suited to human nature because of greed. It is evident that the hierarchy of King Lear puts great value on land and marriages relationship with royalty, as it is the desire of these two that drives all of the plays antagonists, such as Edmund, Goneril, Regan. Their greed caused their own abandonment of all morals as well as the ruination of a kingdom.
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