Edmund's use of degeneration prevails throughout Shakespeare's tragedy. Only after Lear sparks the fire of his ultimate demise, the exiling of both Cordelia and Kent, are the readers presented with the true villainous self of Edmund in his soliloquy in Act I, Scene ii. Once Lear begins his rapid decline, Edmund indirectly elaborates on Lear's decent into madness to further his own desires of power through the degeneration of his father, the Earl of Gloucester. King Lear's sudden and rash decisions concerning Cordelia and Kent trouble the mind of Gloucester. Edmund realizes these concerns in his father's thoughts and Edmund capitalizes on such. Gloucester is very superstitious and, using the recent eclipses, Edmund assures his father of how the evil in the stars is not only producing the tribulations of Lear but also proving Edmund's declaration of the plot of his half-brother, Edgar, to kill the Earl. Slowly, the thought of his beloved son deteriorating his heart, Gloucester becomes more nave and more vulnerable to Edmund's lies. Edmund is exploiting the degeneration of his father, as a Machiavellian would in his quest for power and victory, for him to achieve the land and title of Earl he requires.
Edmund further creates himself a higher possible position of power and a more intense machiavel through the degeneration of Lear's two daughters, Goneril and Regan. .
Edmund provokes the sisters' desire for Edmund and his potential as a husband. Goneril and Regan's instigation of lust is the strongest signal of their disintegration (Spenser 144). Now, the machiavel has a new goal: obtaining the kingship of Britain. He pledges his love to both the daughters to ensure the inevitability of his new title. This manipulating of the declination of Goneril and Regan starts Edmund's fast rise on the wheel of fortune to the point where he is only hours away from being the new king of Britain. As everyone else is on a downward spiral, Edmund rises higher than all the other characters in King Lear, such as Machiavelli's Prince would act once created by the degeneration of the surrounding Shakespearian roles.