Power Usurpation in King Lear and The Tempest.

Power Struggles in Shakespeare’s King Lear and The Tempest

Power is the capacity for impact or control. Shakespeare addressed this in his two plays, King Lear and The Tempest. Usurpation refers to the struggle for supremacy and the eventual, violent seizing of a throne. In this essay, I want to explore the general applicability of the texts listed above and illustrate how this unlawful power seizure produced a similar result.

Struggle for Dominance in King Lear

In King Lear, there is a struggle for dominance. The illegitimate son of a nobleman named Gloucester, Edmund, and his legitimate son, Edgar, compete for control in this tragedy. Edgar is tricked into believing that Edmund intends to kill Gloucester. With this, Edmund aims to win Gloucester’s favor. He swears in his monologue; ‘…Edgar, I must have your land… father’s love is to the bastard, Edmund…’ (I.ii.19) He places his hopes in the letter to Gloucester thus; ‘…if this letter speed and my invention thrive, Edmund… shall top the legitimate,’ (I.ii.19). To save himself, Edgar disguises as a beggar and even changes his name. He cries; ‘…the country gives me proof …of beggars…Poor Turlygod! Poor Tom! (II.iii.69). His desperation is loud in words.

Power Usurpation in The Tempest

Power usurpation nearly runs through all the scenes in The Tempest. A tragicomedy, The Tempest asks tough questions about power; who should own it and when. The main plot features Prospero pursuing vengeance on Anthonio, his brother, for seizing his spot as the Duke of Milan (assisted by Alonso, king of Naples) and casting him and his daughter, Miranda out in the sea to die. The play begins in medias res. As such, we learn of the significant instances of usurpation through dialogues. The conversation that Prospero has with his daughter ushers us into the power struggle between the two royal brothers. He laments; ‘My brother and thy uncle…Anthonio: …should be so perfidious,’ (I.ii.28). The complaint comes early in the play to indicate the measure of the hatred Prospero has in his contemporary situation. While Prospero is into the sea cast by Anthonio, Edgar flees his home to escape his father’s wrath. The striking semblance in both situations, however, is that Prospero and Edgar have to leave the comfort of their homes for the wild.

Caliban’s Usurpation in The Tempest

Another instance of a usurpation in The Tempest is when Prospero seized the island that belonged to Caliban. After the death of Caliban’s mother, Sycorax (she owned the island), it automatically became Caliban’s. Caliban confirms saying, ‘…island’s mine by Sycorax my mother,’ (I.ii.39). The first usurpation’s started way before the play began, (Shakespeare, William, and Daniel Fischlin). He even makes Caliban his slave, ‘…Caliban whom now l keep in service…’ (l.ii.36). Prospero, a victim of usurpation himself, domineers over Caliban by ironically perpetrating the vice he loathes.

Power Struggles and Insanity in King Lear

King Lear opts to step down from kingship and divide Britain amongst his daughters; Regan, Cordelia, and Goneril, (Shakespeare, William et al.). Cordelia is however married off in France after falling out with the father for her inability to describe her love for him. The two reining daughters undermine Lear, and he realizes his mistake: accepting them as his heirs to the throne. Unable to overcome the shock of his daughters’ betrayal, Lear slowly goes insane and banishes himself from the palace and finds refuge on the heath. While on the heath he says, ‘…the tempest in my mind…from my senses take all feeling...,’ (III.iv.95). The ‘tempest’ suggests a tumultuous mind, insanity of a sort. Lear’s insanity is foreseen however when he decides to relinquish his power as the king of Britain and thereby metaphorically set up his daughters against each other. He is a weak king, (Ost, François). In a twist of events that tie up the two cases of a power struggle in King Lear, Goneril poisons Regan because of Edmund and then kills herself. Edmond mourns them; ‘the one the other poisoned for my sake…slew herself,’ (V.iii.181). Equally, Edgar fights with and kills Edmund. Captain reports; ‘Edmund is dead, my lord,’ (V.iii.183). The death of Edmund ends the bitter fight for power.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the power struggles in King Lear consume others leaving Edgar, Albany, and Kent to care for Britain regrettably. Here, Shakespeare carefully exposes the ugly side of insatiable hunger power. In The Tempest, Prospero compromises his stand and ends the cycle of revenge by forgiving his enemies. Alonso and Prospero come to an understanding and unite their lands by marrying their children. In reading both books, therefore, generic aptness is manifested through the discussed relentless struggle for power.

Works Cited

Ost, François. “Weak Kings and Perverted Symbolism. How Shakespeare Treats the Doctrine of The King’s Two Bodies.” De Gruyter, vol 9, no. 1, 2015, p. 14.

Shakespeare, William et al. The History of King Lear. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008.

Shakespeare, William, and Daniel Fischlin. The Tempest. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008.