King Lear Journal 3

In King Lear I have chosen to track references to the stars and astronomy. Much of the beliefs and importance revolves around the stars and what they mean. In Act 1 scene 2, Edmund talks about how the stars can make a person do something they wouldn't normally do, "fools by heavenly compulsion;knaves, thieves and treachers by spherical predominance". In King Lear they use the stars to give them guidance as well as shift the blame onto something other than themselves. Edmund gives the stars power when he addresses the fact that the stars can control people and their actions. Again in act 2 scene 2, Kent addresses the influence the stars have on the people's lives at that time," Whose influence, like a wreath of radiant fire-on Phoebus' front-". When he says that the "Sun's forehead", which the sun is a star influences the place around them, that sets the world on fire, the stars have the power to control the surroundings. In both cases the stars have power over the people who worship and look to them for guidance.