An extremely in-depth and detailed character analysis on gloucester from King Lear. Broken down into Point, Evidence and Explanation sections. Explanations contain a full paragraph of analysis on quotes, literature techniques and word level analysis and so on... Impossible not to get an A with thes...
‘Abhorred villain! Unnatural, Gloucester has a similar rash and ruthless judgement against Edgar as Lear did
detested, brutish villain –‘ with Cordelia. He foolishly does not decide to hear both sides of the story or
question Edgar but takes all that Edgar has to say as the truth. His outburst
‘frame the business after your
‘Abhorred villain!’ emphasises this rashness as it has not yet been proved to be
own wisdom’
Edgar yet he is so quick to condemn him. Gloucester comes in this scene very
Gloucester troubled from what he has seen happen between Cordelia and Lear yet straight
is gullible away he makes the same mistake. He is paranoid of the changes, deception and
rebellions of the younger generation and thus so quickly denounces Edgar to
and foolish
ensure he does not face a similar fate as Lear yet he does foolishly does not
realise that he has sealed himself to that same state through his rash decision. He
hands power over to evil Edgar allowing him to ‘frame’ the business after his own
‘wisdom’ and thus gives Edmund permission to continue ‘fram[ing]’ his own
deceptive plan without even realising it. This line has double meaning to it as
Gloucester means for good but Edmund means it for evil. From the very
beginning Gloucester seals his fate.
Gloucester ‘I have no way and therefore Gloucester acknowledges his sin and spiritual blindness. He has ‘no way’ physically
’s blindness want no eyes: I stumbled because he cannot see one but also because he has lost his way spiritually. He has strayed
when I saw’ so far from his moral path that there is ‘no way’ anymore he is lost, confused and trapped
leads him
in blindness, guilt and suffering. The anaphoric ‘no way…no eyes’ emphasises this theme
on a better of blindness and suffering. Gloucester claims that it was being able to see and the over-
moral path confidence and security that it brought him which made him stumble. He looked on the
and vision
outward and appearance and not the contents of the heart and thus he stumbled. To
stumble in the bible is seen negatively as it alludes to someone losing their way, allowing
(Theme of
something on the path to cause them to fall down, failure, giving into temptation and sin.
blindness) Thus Gloucester emphasises the fact that he has fallen spiritually and morally more than
anything. That is what is causing him to suffer the most.
‘But his flawed heart/ Alack Gloucester finally reunites with Edgar finding the redemption he sought with his son
too weak the conflict to before he died. His heart is described as ‘flawed’ and ‘weak’ emphasising the heart and
Gloucester
support,/Twixt two extremes pain it has enjoyed but also could have a double meaning to it. Could it possible
seeks
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