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…
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
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
... 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.
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.
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 ...
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 70). I think that the worst thing that can happen to a blind person is to recover his vision after a lifetime of blindness. I believe that it will be hard for this person to adapt himself to the new world he will discover. This person won't have enough experience to recognize things, and it will be very hard to learn to live in a new world.
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
The first flaw in King Lear is his arrogance, which results in the loss of Cordelia and Kent. It is his arrogance in the first scene of the play that causes him to make bad decisions. He expects his favorite, youngest daughter to be the most worthy of his love. His pride makes him expect that Cordelia’s speech to be the one filled with the most love. Unfortunately for King Lear’s pride, Cordelia replies to his inquisition by saying, “I love your majesty/According to my bond and nothing less';(1.1.100-101). Out of pride and anger, Lear banishes Cordelia and splits the kingdom in half to the two evil sisters, Goneril and Regan. This tragic flaw prevents King Lear from seeing the truth because his arrogance overrides his judgement. Lear’s arrogance also causes him to lose his most faithful servan...
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
This new Lear is certainly a far cry from the arrogant king we saw at the beginning of the play. Shakespeare has transformed Lear from an ignorant old king into some sort of god, using a seven stage process: resentment, regret, recognition, acceptance and admittance, guilt, redemption, and optimism. Lear’s transformation can be simply described as a transition from blindness into sight, he did not see the value in listening to others, but in the end he gained a sense of optimism and idealism. There is no doubting that Shakespeare has portrayed Lear as a flawed figure, who, through his misfortune and suffering, goes from a contemptuous human being to one who has been purified into an omniscient, godly type character, proving that ignorant people can truly change to become caring individuals.
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.
Lear's vision is marred by lack of direction in life, poor foresight and his inability to predict the consequences of his actions. He cannot look far enough into the future to see the consequences of his actions. This, in addition to his lack of insight into other people, condemns his relationship with his most beloved daughter, Cordelia. When Lear asks his daughters, who loves him most, he already thinks that Cordelia has the most love for him. However, when Cordelia says: "I love your Majesty according to my bond, no more nor less." (I, i, 94-95) Lear cannot see what these words really mean. Goneril and Regan are only putting on an act. They do not truly love Lear as much as they should. When Cordelia says these words, she has seen her sister's facade, and she does not want to associate her true love with their false love. Lear, however, is fooled by Goneril and Regan into thinking that they love him, while Cordelia does not. This is when Lear first shows a sign of becoming blind to those around him. He snaps and disowns her:
" 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.
Lear begins to realize once he has gone mad that Cordelia is the daughter that truly loves him, and Goneril as well as Regan are deceitful. The first real signs that are given to us that Lear is going mad are in Act I, Scene 5, when Lear joins in with the Fool’s nonsense. In those same lines Lear utters, “I did her wrong.” This means Lear did Cordelia wrong in exiling her. However, Lear fluctuates between sanity and madness throughout Acts I-II, and in Act II. Scene II he leaves Gloucester’s castle and is pushed into insanity for some time. Once Lear has been thrust into the storm he can see people as the audience can, and not in the blurred images as before. Lear yells,
A Consideration of the Way Shakespeare Presents and Develops the Theme of Blindness in King Lear