Thinking about Malory: The Edmund-Mordred Parallel in Shakespeare's King Lear
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Faculty Mentor
Matthew Fike, Ph.D.
Abstract
This paper contributes to the source study of Shakespeare’s King Lear (1605), which critics such as Cherrell Guilfoyle, Harry Rusche, Samuel T. Coleridge, Waldo McNeir, and Richard Matthews have explored. Left under-explored in Shakespeare’s debt to Malory’s romance Le Morte d’Arthur (1485), however, is Edmund’s relationship to Mordred and Gawayne. This paper uses common themes – nature, primogeniture, pride, love, justice, and fate – to argue that Edmund undergoes a transformation from Mordred-like ambition to Gawayne-like redemption. Besides Shakespeare’s direct allusions to Malory’s text, Edmund resembles Mordred in having a troubled relationship with his father and brother. But by embracing regret, Edmund aligns himself more with the good brother, Gawayne, who eschews pride, embraces humility, and seeks redemption. As a result, Edmund comes to terms with his disenfranchised state as an illegitimate younger brother and submits to the justice of his fate.
Start Date
24-4-2015 1:50 PM
Thinking about Malory: The Edmund-Mordred Parallel in Shakespeare's King Lear
DiGiorgio Campus Center, Room 220
This paper contributes to the source study of Shakespeare’s King Lear (1605), which critics such as Cherrell Guilfoyle, Harry Rusche, Samuel T. Coleridge, Waldo McNeir, and Richard Matthews have explored. Left under-explored in Shakespeare’s debt to Malory’s romance Le Morte d’Arthur (1485), however, is Edmund’s relationship to Mordred and Gawayne. This paper uses common themes – nature, primogeniture, pride, love, justice, and fate – to argue that Edmund undergoes a transformation from Mordred-like ambition to Gawayne-like redemption. Besides Shakespeare’s direct allusions to Malory’s text, Edmund resembles Mordred in having a troubled relationship with his father and brother. But by embracing regret, Edmund aligns himself more with the good brother, Gawayne, who eschews pride, embraces humility, and seeks redemption. As a result, Edmund comes to terms with his disenfranchised state as an illegitimate younger brother and submits to the justice of his fate.
