In the first act, we got to witness how bad Goneril and Regan are as not only daughters, but as humans. Pushed by greed and envy, they swindled their father’s trust and dowries through flattery. Seeming to be the antagonists of the story, a third and even worse character is revealed in the second and third acts. The worst of them all, Edmund, proves to be their fearless and completely evil leader in the second part of Shakespeare’s play.
Having read Othello in the past, Iago is the only Shakespearian villain that is eviler than Edmund. Deceptive, cunning, and appearing to have no purpose, Iago causes death by lying to each character in Othello’s story. Like Iago, Edmund is pushed by weak jealousy and desire for purpose. A bastard child, Edmund thinks he is less loved than his brother Edgar, but there is no evidence for this, besides his father calling him certain slang terms for an illegitimate child.
Edmund’s tactics, which include fake letters, feigned swordfights with his good brother, and other lies, eventually lead to the bloodiest scene read so far in the play. Gloucester, a good man, who looks out for the good of his country and family, has his eyes cast out for “treason.” Even after Gloucester makes Edmund “capable” (2.1.86) early in act 2, meaning he will inherit all his property, he still craves more power. This drive for more power pushed by apparently nothing really shows the evil side of Edmund.
One of Edmund’s counterparts, Kent, also reveals himself to be one of the play’s best and most good willed characters in the play. In act 1, he snuffed out Goneril and Regan’s intentions with ease and was not afraid to speak out about it. Now, disguised as a fool, his “anger hath a privilege” (2.2.65). Angered by the evils of other characters, he lashes out at Oswald with insults that would put Nick Cannon’s Wild N’ Out to shame.
Kent’s passionate dialogue, beginning at line 2.2.13 and ending at line 22, sets the tone that this will be a angry, confrontational conversation. As a fan of rap music, I have not seen insults so clever and hilarious as a “one-trunk-inheriting slave” and a “son and heir of a mongrel bitch,” (2.2.17, 2.2.20). The threat “I will beat into a clamorous whining, if thou deniest the least syllable of thy addition” (2.2.21-2) is both hilarious and intimidating because of its menacing and witty language. It is why Shakespeare is one of my favorite authors of all time.