A Consideration of the Way Shakespeare Presents and Develops the Theme of Blindness in King Lear

A Consideration of the Way Shakespeare Presents and Develops the Theme of Blindness in King Lear

Introduction

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Throughout ‘King Lear’, Shakespeare uses the play’s characters to make

judgements on society using blindness as a metaphor that runs through

the play. He does this in a number of ways portraying characters that

can be fooled by others’ flattery, or are easily manipulated or

deceived, or simply have a lack of wisdom. As well as the horrific

physical blinding of Gloucester, blindness is used as a metaphor for

characters’ lack of insight, moral blindness, and a lack of perception

into other’s needs and interests. Shakespeare illustrates the

importance of seeing yourself and the world around you clearly.

Shakespeare shows how seeing clearly is linked to an understanding of

what the world is really like. As in many of Shakespeare’s plays,

‘King Lear’ is used to highlight the hypocrisy of social order,

whether it is the royal court, the legal system, or simply the family

structure.

Blindness as a metaphor for lack of self-knowledge

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The most severe form of blindness addressed in the play, is blindness

to oneself. In the case of Albany he is blinded by his own emotions.

His feelings toward Gonerill cloud his judgement, thus he is blind not

only to himself, but to the true intentions of Gonerill. However

unlike most of the other characters, by the end of the play Albany has

gained awareness and recognizes his wife’s inhumanity. On the surface

the audience may assume that Albany’s blindness is due to his simple

heart and goodness, but on deeper analysi...

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... characters in the play he ‘stands for’ a type or role

within the society Shakespeare has created. Kent is representative of

the hierarchy that Lear destroyed when he gave away his power, Kent is

an anachronism. The audience views Kent as a positive figure, and can

trust him, because of his sound advice and judgement. He is one of the

few characters in the play who are able to see clearly, and see Lear

for the misguided fool he is. Kent tries to warn him of his folly,

saying, ‘see better Lear’, and he begs him to remain, ‘The true blank

of thin eye’. In this ‘blank’ refers to the white centre of a target,

of which the concentric rings bear a resemblance to the pupil of an

eye. By making a comparison between Lear’s sight and a target,

Shakespeare is communicating the inevitability of Lear’s death at the

end of the play.