Edward (Medieval Period)

Edward is a poem that deals with lack of values, the concept of family relationships, and how people tend to blame others when they have made a mistake. In fact, the first three stanzas illustrate the lack of values since Edward lies to his mother when she asks him whose blood is the one in his sword. He is not able to be honest because he knows that he has done something wrong, he has killed his father. This issue exemplifies that the need of values exists since remote epochs, so this poem could also be applied to societies of our times since, nowadays, people lie in order to hide their mistakes, and as a consequence they do not have to be responsible of their actions.

Furthermore, the relationships depicted in the poem are the ones of members of a family that do not care about each other. For instance, when the mother asks Edward what is going to happen to his family when he has gone, he says that he does not worry about them, that they will become beggars. Therefore, he does not care if he has to abandon them in order to be free, so he is saying that individuality prevails over everything else. Similarly to the sense of individuality depicted on the poem, currently people worry only about themselves and do not consider if others need help. Indeed, people tend to reach their goals no matter if they have to destroy others’ aspirations. It is the same as saying that the end justified the means because people only think in getting their desires without thinking if they cause damage to someone else.

At the end, the mother asks him what he will leave to her, and he answers that nothing because she is guilty of all his misfortune because she has given him the worst pieces of advice, maybe it was she who tells him to marry and have a family and that is the reason why he does not care about it because he does not want to have a family. He is only following directions. Therefore, the last stanza clearly exemplifies that people tend to blame other of their calamities since many of them are not able to assume the consequences of their acts. The same happens in our society. For instance, when someone makes a mistake that will cost millions to his/her company, he/she will look for excuses that justifies him/her, or maybe that person will try to blame someone else. This poem clearly exemplifies today’s society since it mirrors people who look for individualism, but when it comes to find the guilty person, everyone will avoid his/her responsibility.

By Pamela Regidor