Throughout the story of King Lear, makes various references pertaining to blindness. The topic shows up multiple times and allows for a lesson to be learned. Shakespeare is implying, using references of blindness, that sight is pointless without comprehension, blindness is capable of causing sight, and losing sight doesn’t involve physically the way that you see, but in the knowledge that you gain. In various times throughout the play, Lear makes foolish mistakes while still seeing physically well. Right from the start, he divided his kingdom up into three separate areas for his daughters. If that’s not blindness, I don’t know what is! This is due to his lack of comprehension. When Cordelia was ordered to protest her love for the King, she simply said ‘nothing’. Now this was …show more content…
obviously not good enough for the King because she was ordered, “out of his sight” (King Lear Act 1 Scene 1 Line 89), and Kent, warned Lear, “See better, Lear.” (Act 1 Scene 1 Line 162) It is clear, in this example, that Lear is oblivious to Goneril and Regan’s evil intentions, and is blind to Cordelia’s good intentions. Lear’s parallel, Gloucester, obviously has problems with blindness as well, not only physically, but mentally. He, too, has problems distinguishing between the intentions of his children. It is clear to readers that Edmund is evil, but Gloucester has no idea. This is, again, due to him being able to physically see, but not comprehend. If it wasn’t clear already, Shakespeare shows us this by physically having Gloucester’s eyes plucked out. Soon after the plucking of Gloucester’s eyes, there is an epiphany moment. With a little help of Regan, Gloucester realizes that the whole time it was Edmund that was evil and not Edgar. Without his eyes, Gloucester is able to understand the horrible truth of Edmund’s schemes. The amount of insight that he gains throughout the time after being blinded is immeasurable. Although too late, this is a very important epiphany moment for Gloucester because it shows his improved sight without actually having eyes; “I have no way, and therefore want no eyes/ I stumbled when I saw,” (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 20-21) Losing his sight even caused him to realize the mistakes he had made a short amount of time before. He even resents the thought of having eyesight again, because he believes that it only caused him plight. In no way would Gloucester’s blindness be considered a setback for him.
It allowed him to gain a considerable amount of knowledge and so he is better off without his eyes. If he hadn’t become blind, he most likely would’ve allowed Edmund to take over his whole life, Edgar may have been killed, and everything would have gone downhill from there. Not only does Gloucester start to gather insight after being blind, but he also mends his relationship with Edgar, unknowingly. The two of them meet and Edgar saves his life. After Gloucester basically allows Edmund to hunt Edgar, Edgar is still loyal to his father. It could be said that even Edgar gained something from Gloucester’s blindness. Maybe if King Lear had been blinded, like Gloucester, then he too would see how foolish it was for him to let Goneril and Regan walk all over him. The use of blindness throughout the play provides for certain irony and a lesson to be learned. Shakespeare uses these references of blindness to show that sight isn’t helpful unless you understand what you are seeing, that you can gain sight through the loss of your eyes, and that blindness isn’t what you physically cannot see, but what you gain from not
seeing.
Lear’s character is constantly and dramatically changing throughout the play both by growing as a character but also through many downfalls. Lear becomes emotionally stronger and gains much more rationale near the end of the play, but only after a great downfall in each of these sectors. This was a result of the self-entitlement that Lear had placed on himself. King Lear’s vanity and excessive sense of entitlement was his tragic flaw throughout the play. He was a King, and needed to be served on time. Furthermore, when he is referred to as “my lady’s father,” this also hurts his ego for he is a King and that is what he wishes to be addressed
The images of vision and blindness are an important part to the theme of ignorance of truth in the play because it relates to why Oedipus blinds himself instead of joining Jocasta in suicide. In the play there were many parts where Oedipus was at the verge of truth and yet he could not see it because of his ignorance even though he had eyes, yet Tiresias who is blind can see clearly of the terrible things that happened and will happen. In the quote said by Oedipus while arguing with Tiresias, “Oh I will let loose, have such fury in me now I see it all. You helped hatch the plot, you did the work, yes, short of killing him with your own hands – and given eyes I’d say you did killing single-handed” (395-397) is ironic because Oedipus said he has given eyes and he accuses of Tiresias did the killing because Oedipus can see things clearly and acknowledges the truth, but in contrast he was blinded by his anger and ignorance when Tiresias accused him of doing it.
... 39-year old man from California, slaughtered his family in an attempt to receive a sizable inheritance. Lyle and Erik Menendez, also from California, ended the lives of their parents in pursuit of an upper-class lifestyle. These individuals valued money over familial ties; King Lear originally valued power and compliance over his own blood. The self-discovery of King Lear exemplifies the fact that humans are far more valuable than money or power in attempt to set an example for humanity. These lessons still ring true in more modern times; famed psychiatrist Sigmund Freud warned against accepting flattery as genuine and giving away one's possessions during his or her lifetime. Lear's self-discovery came too late to save his daughters; the play seems to encourage humanity to have its own self-discovery before it disavows its Cordelias in the pursuit of niceties.
King Lear's hot temper and hasty decisions play a significant role in his fall from grace. His old age has caused him to behave impulsively, without any consideration for the consequences of his actions. When Lear asks his devoted daughter Cordelia to express her love for him, he becomes upset with her because she cannot put her feelings into words. He does not realize that she cares deeply for him and disowns her by saying, "Here I disclaim all my paternal care, propinquity and property of blood, and as a stranger to my heart and me hold thee from this for ever (1.1.120-123)." It is only later, when Cordelia has left him, that Lear realizes he had made a wrong decision. In another fit of rage, Lear ...
A person’s perception is influenced by his or her character. Because of this subjectivity, there is often a disconnect between how things are perceived and reality. People often see what they want to see or hear what they want to hear. Blindness is literally defined as the inability to see, but it is also defined as “lacking perception, awareness, or discernment” (New Oxford American Dictionary). In King Lear, Shakespeare illustrates that figurative sight often is more important than the physical ability. Through Shakespeare’s deliberate language and complex characters, he demonstrates that a lack of perception can lead to impulsive decisions that eventually render a tragic demise.
Throughout Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, there are many references to sight, blindness, and seeing the truth. Characters, such as Tiresias, are able to accurately predict what Oedipus’ fate will be through their power to see the truth in a situation. Oedipus maintains a pompous and arrogant personality throughout the play as he tries to keep control of the city of Thebes and prove the speculations about his fate as falsities. Ironically, although Tiresias is physically blind, he is able to correctly predict how Oedipus’ backstory will unfold, while other characters, such as Jocasta and Oedipus are oblivious to the truth even though they can physically see. Thus, we can conclude that the power of “seeing the truth” deviates greatly from the power of sight in reality and can lead to an expedited fate or a detrimental occurrence.
The theme in the story of being able to see without sight is revealed through the characters in the story "Cathedral." The husband is very judgmental, self-centered and shows a lack of knowledge about blind people. This is obvious when he states, "My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind move slowly and never laugh (1152). The husband is so quick to judge and thinks he already knows everything about blind people and how they are, so he makes it clear he was not looking forward to the blind man being in his house ...
Blindness and Madness almost goes hand in hand. While blinded individuals can make mad decisions which can greatly affect a plot. While being mad blindness can be the cause for the mad acts. In Lear and in Gloucester’s situations we see it more evident than ever before.
He wasn't blind anymore, he was trying to live with his recently recovered sight as we can see in the text "when they are confronted with the "gift" of sight and with the necessity of renouncing one world, one identity for another" (page
In Shakespeare's classic tragedy, King Lear, the issue of sight and its relevance to clear vision is a recurring theme. Shakespeare's principal means of portraying this theme is through the characters of Lear and Gloucester. Although Lear can physically see, he is blind in the sense that he lacks insight, understanding, and direction. In contrast, Gloucester becomes physically blind but gains the type of vision that Lear lacks. It is evident from these two characters that clear vision is not derived solely from physical sight. Lear's failure to understand this is the principal cause of his demise, while Gloucester learns to achieve clear vision, and consequently avoids a fate similar to Lear's.
A Consideration of the Way Shakespeare Presents and Develops the Theme of Blindness in King Lear
King Lear and Gloucester are the two older characters that endure the most in the play King Lear by William Shakespeare. Throughout the play their stories foreshadow the events that will occur in the other’s life. However, while Gloucester goes blind, Lear goes mad. In doing this Shakespeare is indicating congruence between the two conditions. Only after they lose their faculties can Lear and Gloucester recognize that their blindness to honesty had cost them dearly.
The theoretical blindness of Lear caused one of the first unnatural incidents surrounding the play. Notably, it is Cordelia’s immediate banishment following her proclamation of feelings towards Lear. She declares her love for him as a King, along with their familial bond although, nothing more: “Thou hast her France; let her
Lack of insight or blindness to one’s surroundings can be an indicator of failure in one’s proper metacognition. This blindness is a tragic flaw, that in which, if one is not quick to realize it, it can have deadly and long term effects as developed through William Shakespeare’s King Lear. According to Shakespeare, blindness is not simply a physical issue, but rather an intellectual issue. In the play, the dominant theme of figurative and literal blindness carries both the main and counterplots throughout the play. In William Shakespeare’s King Lear, the inevitable theme of blindness is developed through King Lear, his daughters, and Gloucester as they suffer the repercussions of their lack of insight for those around
" King Lear was egotistic in the first act where he asked his daughters who loved him most. When he found out his favorite daughter Cordelia did not have much to say about his love for him he disowned her and divided his land to his two evil daughters Regan and Goneril, "From whom we do exist, and cease to be; Here I disclaim all my paternal care, Propinquity and property of blood, And as a stranger to my heart and me Hold thee, from this, for ever. " This was also the error in King Lear's judgement.