King Lear: William Maybury Fleming (1817-1866) as Edgar

At this point Edgar seems simply a wild young man who has dropped out of society because of his incompetence. However, Edgar is a classic figure in the major Shakespearean tragedies - a naive young man who makes serious mistakes which almost destroy him but in doing so develops awareness and the toughness to act effectively on it. Other examples are Octavius in Julius Caesar, Fortinbras in Hamlet, Malcolm in Macbeth and Cassio in Othello. All progress from marginal figures to supreme rule: Octavius becomes Augustus Caesar, Fortinbras becomes King of Denmark, Malcolm becomes King of Scotland, Cassio becomes Governor of Cyprus. And what of Edgar? - what rule is that name associated with? The next three images pursue that narrative.

Image from SCETI: Horace Howard Furness Shakespeare Collection: the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text (University of Pennsylvania Library).