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Eloi Simon
English A SL
This passage is located in Act I Scene 2, at the beginning of the play, and it is the
introduction to the subplot of the play
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In this passage, Edmund is ranting that his place in relation to his
brother Edgar is no worse, and that he deserves the same right to inheritance as his brother
born inside marriage
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The passage starts out with Edmund speaking out a soliloquy, where he is speaking to
himself about his place in the world
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A general theme of
nature is followed throughout the soliloquy, as Edmund often repeats that he is worth the same
as his legitimate brother
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On the theme of nature, we can compare his attitude in the first scene to the one
here
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Here, he reveals his thoughts on illegitimacy, which he
believes is more exciting and natural than conception in the marriage bed
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As mentioned before, the form of this passage is in a soliloquy, which gives an insight on
the character and psychology
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The soliloquy seems to be persuasive towards the audience of the
play, as it uses many strong words, and even some exclamation marks towards the end of the
passage, for example, “fine word, -- legitimate!” or “Edmund the base shall top the legitimate
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In this speech, Edmund speaks in an almost-perfect iambic
pentameter, which is a way to show that he speaks like the people above him, like a ‘legitimate,’
whom he is at the same rank as
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The repetition serves the purpose of proving Edmund’s point that he is as worthy as

Edgar, and appears right at the beginning of this passage
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However, if repeated too many times, it loses its credibility and
becomes meaningless
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By the end of the soliloquy, we do not believe in the importance of these concepts as much, as
they were repeated so often that they lost their meaning
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After reading Edmund’s
soliloquy, we feel a kind of tension and excitement, and we admire Edmund’s boldness and
ambition
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This
passage also portrays his anger towards societal norms where he is not worth anything as an
illegitimate child
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On line 10, most of the words start with the letter ‘b,’ which is
considered a quick and harsh sound, and serves to show Edmund’s anger and vitality
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He demands to see it, but
Edmund is fakely determined to hide it from his father
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He even ends with the statement “nothing, my
lord” which is an echo of the main plot of King Lear, as Cordelia says the same words to her
father
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He aims to prove
that he is as worthy as his older brother Edgar, and that he is even fitter to survive as he was
made with more vigor
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Edmund, through his unusual behavior as an illegitimate son, brings a
certain energy to the audience through his determination and boldness, although the soliloquy
may seem shocking to a Shakespearean audience

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