Explore the ways in which Shakespeare presents Edmund’s manipulation of Gloucester in this passage. In your answer you must consider how the playwright uses literary, linguistic and rhetorical devices and conventions to create specific dramatic effects. (48 marks)

Edmund first appears in the play, in Act 1 scene 2 where he delivers his soliloquy. This soliloquy conveys a dramatic irony to the audience and allows them to see Edmund’s true nature and his plans to manipulate Gloucester. “Lag of a brother? Why bastard?”. Edmund’s use of interrogatives conveys to the audience the reasons behind his plot against his brother and expresses and understanding of why Edmund chooses to manipulate Gloucester.

Now that Edmund’s true nature has been revealed to the audience through his soliloquy, we as an audience become aware that his polite terms of address “your lordship” is used solely to manipulate Gloucester and gain his trust. “I hope for my brother’s justification, he wrote this but as an essay of my virtue”. This phrase is used by Edmund to manipulate his father into thinking that his own intentions are pure. He also wishes to manipulate his father into thinking that he has faith in his brother Edgar and that he believes he is innocent, creating a false sense of security within the scene.

Edmund appears to have respect for his father in the scene with his polite term of address and his polite apology: “I beseech you, Sir, pardon me”. This is however a false respect, as Edmund’s whole act of loyalty to his brother is a lie. He is using his manipulation of Gloucester to trick him into believing that his respect for him is true. The phrase “I find it not fit for your o’erlooking” gives the impression to the audience that Edmund is intentionally hiding something from Gloucester, in order to make it appear as though he is protecting his brother from some kind of felony, adding to Edmund’s plan of manipulation. There is also a sense of dramatic irony in the sense that Gloucester’s falseness towards his ‘bastard’ son is personified in Edmund, which is the reason behind Edmund’s manipulation in the first place.

Once Gloucester had read the mysterious letter that Edmund has tried so hard to falsely conceal from his father, he starts to believe Edmund: “Conspiracy!”, “My Son Edgar!”. Gloucester’s use of exclamatives conveys that he is angered and shocked by his thoughts that his son is conspiring against him, conveying that Edmund’s manipulation of Gloucester is starting to become successful. Gloucester follows this with the interrogatives “Had he a hand to write this?” and “Who brought it?” which expresses his shock and disbelief that his son Edgar could be conspiring against him and manipulating him in such ways.

Edmund responds to Gloucester’s disbelief in Edgar’s ability to conspire against him by not following Leech’s maxim of approbation. He attempts to maximise the dispraise to Gloucester (by making him believe that Edgar is conspiring against him) and minimise the praise to him by acting as though he find’s Edgars letter to him unusual and curious: “my Lord; there’s the cunning of it; I found it thrown in at the casement of my closet”. Edmund attempts to appear to Gloucester as though he is just as curious and disbelieving of the letter as his father is, therefore continuing his manipulation of him. Edmund acts as though the letter just happened to be found by him, as opposed to the true nature of how the letter came about, in which was written and produced to Gloucester by Edmund. The polite term of address “my Lord” is also continued and used by Edmund throughout the act, in order to keep his manipulation of Gloucester hidden under false pretences.

Gloucester is very quick to jump to extreme conclusions of his son Edgar, with his declarative: “It is his”. This would suggest that Edmund’s plan to manipulate his father has worked. Edmund’s repetition of his father’s phrase “It is his hand, my lord” is used to show that he agrees with Gloucester, confirming his manipulation of him by turning in his brother Edgar.
Towards the end of the act, Edmund’s manipulation of Gloucester becomes clearer, as he drops his false attempts to defend his brother and instead puts forward his opinions that he does in fact believe Edgar has done wrong. When Gloucester utters “He cannot be such a monster-“, Edmund is quick with his utterance “Nor is not, sure.”, suggesting that he is now letting go of his false persona and is outwardly accusing Edgar of treason against his father. Edmund continues to manipulate Gloucester throughout.