Shakespeare And Astrology

He is repeating much of what Gloucester told him, plus some embellishment, to lay the groundwork for his betrayal of Edgar. Edmund does not know that he plays astrology's game when he acts against his brother, father and the King. In fact, the astrological predictions made at by Gloucester all come to pass by the end of the play.

These examples show us that Shakespeare knew his astrology very well indeed and used astrology to move along his plots and refine his characters. It is arguable that many times Shakespeare uses astrology to make the audience either comfortable or uncomfortable with his characters.

We have seen how he put a great understanding of astrological principles in the mouth of Helena in All's Well That Ends Well. He makes Helena more attractive to his astrologically knowledgeable audience by doing so.

Conversely, he denigrates the character of Edmund by giving him an ill-informed diatribe against astrology early in King Lear.

Just looking at these two plays shows us that Shakespeare was well versed in astrological concepts. They also show us that he would put astrological knowledge and belief into one of his strongest and most capable heroines, and astrological ignorance and disdain into one of his most scheming and reviled villains. Shakespeare knew what
he was doing.

His astrological knowledge allowed him to reach his audience better and more effectively.

His command of astrological principles helped him to become the foremost writer in the English language.

http://starcats.com/anima/shakespeare.html