One of the main motivators for the horrific violence and Machiavellian betrayal present in King Lear is intergenerational rivalry. In modern England, the older generation held power and authority over the younger ones, but in Shakespeare's Jacobean tragedy we can see the younger generation, led by Goneril, Regan and Edmund, in their attempts to take over. power and overthrow the natural order. Conversely, we can also see that depictions of the younger generation are much less subversive, with even some younger generation characters being characterized by their quest to preserve the natural order and prevent further destruction of the status quo. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Goneril and Regan, two members of the younger generation, can be read as highly subversive characters characterized by their menacing autocratic personas. This is something introduced in the very first scene of the play with the sisters fooling Lear with "casual, oily art" in the very public ceremony before confirming that they were "rapping together" in a private duologue, a sign of the wickedness that will characterize them. until their deaths in Scene V. A key example of the ruthless behavior used by the sisters to destroy the status quo is found in Act 4, with Goneril discovering that her husband Albany is reluctant to fight Lear and Cordelia. Gonerille then points out to Edmond that she must “change weapons at home and put the distaff / in the hands of my husband”. Here, Goneril simultaneously rejects the status quo role of the obedient wife and vice versa. This reversal of gender roles involves the suggestion of giving "distaff" to Albany, a reference to the stick commonly used for spinning wool, thus aligning Albany, her husband, with the domestic role in the relationship. Furthermore, this point is further emphasized in the Folio publication of the play where Goneril's dialogue says "change name" rather than "arms", suggesting that the roles in the marriage are so reversed that she should actually be called the husband, and he the wife. One could view Goneril's lines here as an attack on the patriarchal nature of English society at the time, a world where men generally held power over women, which is depicted in the first act of the play through the offering of Cordelia to France by Lear and Burgundy, Lear even asserting that “her price has fallen”. Another example of the sisters being presented as ruthless, selfish, and determined to overthrow the status quo comes from their involvement in what many consider to be the most horrific scene in the play, the blinding of Gloucester. In Act 3, it is Regan who first suggests a method of punishing Gloucester for his betrayal by urging them to "hang him at once!" ”, but the brutality is further reinforced by his sister sickeningly demanding that they “goug out his eyes!” ', a typical medieval punishment for rape, perhaps because sight was a key sense in provoking men's lust. The sisters' Machiavellian individualism is further accentuated by the harsh sounds of the verb "to snatch", reflecting that of brutal action. This is also achieved in Shakespeare's handling of blank verse, with the sister's lines coming together to form a line of full iambic pentameter revealing their brutal synchronicity. This vindictive assertion by the sisters would have been shocking to a Jacobean audience with Renaissance models of femininity requiring women to be passive and submissive, a theory overturned by violence andthe aggression of the sisters in their destruction of the status quo. Note the vicious tyranny of Goneril and Regan, to say that the entire younger generation is presented as ruthlessly selfish in their goal of overthrowing the natural order would be to neglect the role that Cordelia and Edgar play in the production. While Cordelia's appearances in the play are rare, simply appearing at the beginning and end of the play, she is characterized by her holiness. Lear, for example, in Act 5 describes his voice as "always sweet and deep - an excellent thing." This phrase is something it is hard to imagine Lear using in relation to his other "dog-hearted" daughters, with the adjectives providing relief in a play full of hatred and aggression. Additionally, in the midst of Cordelia's reappearance in the play in Act IV, Scene VII, Shakespeare aligns her character with the sound of the music, with Lear instructing her to come closer where "the music is louder there ". This association of character with music signals the feeling of harmony and naturalness. oder returned to Lear via Cordelia, further contrasting with the sounds of the "[storm]" of Act 3 used by Shakespeare to reflect the chaos and confusion brought to the kingdom by Goneril and Regan. This interpretation is exaggerated in the quarto version of the play with Kent and a gentleman emphasizing Cordelia's feminine beauty and modestly alongside the pain she feels upon hearing of Lear's suffering. It is therefore common for critics to describe her as the most authentic character in the play, with John Cunningham noting that she fulfills her "natural duty to protect and shelter Lear", an act which would certainly present her in a positive light before an audience. of the time, with his acts of obedience to his elders, perhaps healing the anxieties of the Jacobean era in which social and religious change prevailed, the medieval world and traditional assumptions being subjected to intense scrutiny. Edgar is also a character whom critics such as Rebecca Warren have considered "an agent of justice" who, through his protection of his father Gloucester and his ascension to royalty at the end of the play, rises to the -over the malicious actions of his brother, Goneril and Regan. restore order in the Kingdom. Some considered Edgar's actions so bold in his attempt to preserve the old order that Valentine Cunningham called him "Cordelia's male double." In Act IV, Scene VI, Edgar defends his father Gloucester, against the vicious new order presented to him with Oswald demanding that he let "the poor volk" pass. In his defense, however, Shakespeare presents his remorse as Edgar, something absent in his brother and sisters. This remorse is illustrated by the phrase "I'm only sorry/He didn't have another murderer." This is crucial in understanding Edgar as a just character, with the Avengers in Jacobean dramas such as Vindication in "The Revenger's Tragedy" having sinister motivations, but Edgar is presented as a benevolent character seeking justice not out of self-interest but out of concern. feeling of righteousness. Edgar's ascension to king in the final scene must be seen as appropriate, especially by the Jacobean audiences of the time for whom the king was not simply royalty, but a ruler in the name of God. It is therefore entirely appropriate that Edgar is one of the few characters in the play who has committed no crimes against his family or the state, never questioning the authority of his elders and taking action when was necessary. Edmund, on the other hand, is certainly an example of the younger one. The malevolent side of this generation, like many villains of Jacobean drama, is.