King Lear: Samuel Reddish (1735–85) as Edgar, London, Drury Lane Theatre, 1774.

Compared to the previous image, here we see Edgar as poised and ruthless, ready to strike down Oswald when Oswald attempts to kill Gloucester, Edgar's father. From this point on Edgar is a dominant figure, turning the defeat of Lear and Cordelia into the destruction of their cynical opponents: not only does he successfully mount a challenge to Edmund, he kills him, but not before securing an incredible repentance and at least a plausible attempt to save Cordelia's life. The First Folio's revised script gives Edgar the last words of the play in which he takes over command of the kingdom (rejected by Albany and Kent), as Kosintzev shows at the end of his film of the play. And why should this hint of future power equate Edgar with the careers of Octavius, Fortibras and Malcolm? Because the name of Edgar is that of one of the great kings of England, as the next images demonstrate. ©HMR