Approximately thirty-nine million people worldwide are estimated to be blind. By “blind”, scientists usually imply physical blindness, or the loss of vision. However, in Shakespeare’s King Lear, blindness can have a much different meaning. Blindness in King Lear refers to the inability to make thoughtful decisions and to discern good from evil. Although no characters were physically blind in the beginning of King Lear, there were many characters that were figuratively blind. Shakespeare illustrates that eyesight is not tied to one’s insight or moral sight through King Lear’s blind actions, Gloucester’s original figurative blindness, Gloucester’s physical blindness, and by contrasting King Lear and Gloucester. Although King Lear has physical …show more content…
In King Lear, Gloucester’s loss of figurative blindness parallels his lose of physical eyesight. Since Gloucester had previously helped Lear escape to Dover, Goneril, Regan, and Cornwall forcefully captured Gloucester. Cornwall then proceeds to claw out Gloucester’s eyes, yelling “out, vile jelly” (3.7.101). Gloucester calls to Edmund for help, but Regan triumphantly reveals that it was Edgar that betrayed Gloucester from the beginning. At this moment, Gloucester’s blindness towards Edmund finally dissipates. Through his eradication of physical sight, Gloucester learns the truth about Edmund’s intentions. Shakespeare cleverly shows that physical sight is not tied to insight at this moment. Gloucester lost his figurative blindness and gained insight when he lost his physical eyesight. Afterwards, Gloucester starts to gain some insight, and says: "I have no way, and therefore want no eyes. I stumbled when I saw” (4.1.19-20). Here, he is claiming that even though he saw, he was never able to see clearly. He was not able to see the truth behind Edgar’s well conceived lies. Additionally, Gloucester says “Full oft ’tis seen our means secure us, and our mere defects Prove our commodities” (4.1.20-23). Gloucester is explaining that he was spoiled by his eyes, and now that he is without them, it could be advantageous. Without his physical ability to see, the truth about Edmund is revealed to …show more content…
Shakespeare clearly shows a disconnect between physical sight and proper judgement and insight. Although King Lear has true physical vision, he is figuratively blind. On the other hand, Gloucester has no physical vision, but gains insight and clear mental vision. When Lear meets Gloucester in Dover, he is confused and says, “No eyes in your head, nor no money in your purse? Your eyes are in a heavy case, your purse in a light. Yet you see how this world goes” (4.6.160-63). King Lear cannot understand how Gloucester can “see how this world goes” without his sight (4.6.163). However, Gloucester knows that one does not need eyes to have clear sight. King Lear still believes that one should have actual eyesight to see the world and tells Gloucester to “Get thee glass
After hearing the prophecy from the witches, Macbeth as a result becomes conscientious about the power of a king and therefore forces himself to engage in reckless and destructive behaviors, despite the fact he is aware that his reckless behavior is not right. "Mine eyes are made the fool o' th' sense" this quote is evidence in portraying how Macbeth is manipulated by his greed for power and wealth, stating that Macbeth only sees what he wants to see ad ignores the consequences. Macbeth is overwhelmed with the feeling that he has a chance of becoming someone important and so high in rank. Shakespeare uses a historic era to create greed and a willingness to capture a goal. "Let not light see my black and deep desire' this quote is stated
The blindest of all was King Lear. Because of his high position as the king, people would think that he should be able to distinguish the good from the bad, but unfortunately, he was “blinded” by others. Lear’s first act of blindness came at the beginning of the play. He was fooled by his two eldest daughters’ sweet words, and then he was unable to see cordelia’s true love for him. There he gave away his kingdom to the two daughters who lied about loving him and banished cordelia-who really loved him from his kingdom.
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.
During the first four acts of Hamlet, Shakespeare shows that, “the exclusion of [either the eye or the ear] results in a truncation of the intellect and thus, in unwholesome judgment and action” (Anderson). Right from the onset of the play, in the very first two lines, there is a lack of sight among the two sentinels, Barnardo and Francisco. More specifically, Barnardo states, “Who’s there?” and Francisco replies, “Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself.” (I.i.1-2). The lack of sight is illustrated perfectly to the reader as, “They are both guards who's duty is to identify the persons that they meet, yet here they come across each other[and can’t identify each other]” (Manafov). Shakespeare purposely delves into this imp...
Shakespeare’s treatment of illegitimacy in the play King Lear can be interpreted in many ways depending on the audience. The situation of illegitimacy is portrayed through the relationships of the characters the Earl Of Gloucester and his two sons Edgar and Edmund. Edmund is the illegitimate son while Edgar was born within the law. We learn of Edmund’s illegitimacy in the opening scene in the first act where The Earl of Gloucester is holding a conversation with Kent while Edmund is nearby. Gloucester speaks flippantly and lightly of the way his illegitimate son came into the world while introducing him to Kent saying, “ Though this knave came something saucily into the world before he was sent for, yet his mother was fair, there was good sport at his making, and the whoreson must be acknowledged” (Act I, Scene I, Lines 19-24). There are several peculiar things about this dialogue. One of the interesting aspects of Gloucester and Kent’s discussion is the readiness of Gloucester to admit he has fathered a child out of wedlock. This may be influenced by the fact that Edmund had obviously grown into a son that a father would be proud to have. At first meeting he seems polite, courteous, and loyal. Perhaps these admirable character traits are cause for Gloucester’s willingness to publicly claim Edmund as his own. Another unusual occurrence in the opening dialogue is that Gloucester calls Edmund a whoreson and a knave while he is close by and probably in hearing distance. This seems odd because Gloucester professes to feel only love for his son and no shame but he seems to almost mock him in this situation. One explanation for this behavior may be that deep down Gloucester still harbors some discomfort about the relationship between himself and his son despite his verbal proclamations of shamelessness. This could be inferred from Gloucester’s statement, “ His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge. I have so often blushed to acknowledge him that now I am brazed to ‘t.” (Act I, Scene I, Line 9). Again, depending on the audience the attitudes displayed in the play by the characters and Shakespeare himself by his writing can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on the observer.
Fundamentally, madness and blindness are intertwined. To say someone can’t be mad while making blinded decisions would be unreasonably disproven. Madness and blindness are obviously and extremely evident in King Lear. It is seen not only in the major character roles but, in the minor roles as well. Gloucester and Lear both go through the internal struggle of dealing with blindness and madness. In conclusion we see that the battle couldn’t be won by either of them making this the tragedy it truly is.
Throughout Shakespeare's King Lear , the view does not guarantee the perception and understanding , so that blindness does not mean lack of vision . King Lear and Gloucester are the two main characters , who show a lack of understanding of each other, both physically and mentally. Two men have little understanding of their own children and deceived simple words and set costumes. When they are presented with lies and dishonesty, as Lear and Gloucester suffer without convictions. They are all ready to see what is on the surface , and not understanding what lies hidden in shame things inside . For Shakespeare , seeing is not a physical quality, moral understanding of what the eye sees is what it pretty much is. In fact, blindness becomes the key to true insight and perspective.
At the very outset of the play, readers are presented with the power-hungry, self-loathing Duke of Gloucester, defined by his thirst for vengeance and power and by his uncanny ability to manipulate the minds of the people around him. Richard appeals to the audience’s sympathies in his self-deprecating description, when he declares that he is deformed, unfinished, and so hideous and unfashionable that dogs bark at him as he passes by. The imagery he utilizes throughout the opening soliloquy also evokes a feeling of opposition and juxtaposition which speaks to the duality of his nature.The juxtapositions he employs are more than rhetorical devices, as ...
Much of the imagery in King Lear's first scene presages what is to come in the play. Often characters refer to senses, particularly sight, whether as a comment on the necessity of sensing consequences before acting (as Lear does not), or as yet another of Shakespeare's comments (most apparent in Hamlet) on "seeming." The destruction of Gloucester's eyes and his subsequent musings ("I stumbled when I saw" (IV.i.19) etc.) are a more graphical presentation of this basic theme which originally appears in Lear's first scene. Goneril declares Lear is "dearer than eyesight" (I.i.56) to her (though she is the one who later suggests putting Gloucester's eyes out for his "treachery"). Regan goes further, proclaiming "I profess / Myself an enemy to all other joys / Which the most precious square of sense possesses" (I.i. 72-74). Crossed in his wrath by Kent, Lear cries "Out of my sight!" (I.i.157), only to be reproved with Kent's "See better, Lear, and let me still remain / The true blank of thine eye." (I.i.158-9).
In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the Fool is a source of chaos and disruption in King Lear’s tumultuous life. The Fool causes the King distress by insulting him, making light of his problems, and telling him the truth. On the road to Regan’s, the Fool says “If thou wert my Fool, nuncle, I’d have thee / beaten for being old before thy time.” (1.5.40-41). He denies the king the respect due to him as an aged King, causing the King to wonder at his worthiness. The fool also makes light of Lear’s qualms making snide remarks in response to Lear’s ruminations. When Lear asks Edgar cryptically, “wouldst thou give ‘em all?” the Fool responds, “Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all shamed” (3.4.69-72). The Fool’s snide remarks do little to maintain Lear’s fragile control of his faculties. However, the Fool speaks to the king candidly, a rare occasion in Lear’s life. Even Kent acknowledges the truth of the Fool’s statements, saying, “This is not altogether fool, my lord” (1.4.155).
King Lear is not the only one of Shakespeare’s plays to contain a comical scapegoat; in the Merchant of Venice, Gobbo is used to bring comedy and irony to an otherwise serious play, although his supposedly comical exploitation of his father’s blindness in the first act may also prepare us for the theme of cruelty which is evident in the play. We may further suggest that the fool’s surreal and absurd comments in King Lear ("thy bor’st thine ass on thine back o’er the dirt") imply the disorder within the hierarchy as a whole. However, as Touchstone in As You Like It is used as a comedic device by Shakespeare, so the fool is sometimes used for comic effect, employing the Elizabethan/Jacobean euphemistic "thing" as a synonym for penis. The fool in King Lear is an example of Shakespeare using the fool as a voice to bridge the gap between the audience and the stage. The "all-licensed fool" makes many of his quips at the expense of the king. Due to his role as Lear’s amusing sidekick, he was able to get away with this unlike any other, as is shown in the confrontation between Lear and Kent in act one scene one. Lear is the absolute ruler of the country - what he says is as good as God’s word – which reflects the Divine Right of Kings, a Medieval doctrine which was still extant in the early seventeenth century although it was beginning to come under sig...
Gloucester and Lear, create their eventual downfalls due to their inability to read deceit. Though these characters share the same tragic flaw, the means by which they make their errors is completely different. Gloucester remains a poor reader because he is quick to believe his sense of sight. When his illegitimate son, Edmund, reveals a deceitful letter designed to incriminate Edgar, Gloucester is quick to believe him. “Abominable villain”(1.2.74) he cries out before he even examines the letter with his reading glasses. Edmund’s trickery is conducted cleverly, but Gloucester’s lack of disbelief is unexplainable.
Shakespeare successfully reveals kings lears thoughts threw The fool. The fool shares the same thoughts and believes with lear
In Shakespeare's classic tragedy, King Lear, there are several characters who do not see the reality of their situation. Two such characters are Lear and Gloucester. Both characters exhibit a blindness to the world around them. Lear does not see clearly the truth of his daughters mentions, while Gloucester is also blinded by Edmond's treachery. This failure to see reality leads to Lear's intellectual blindness, which is his insanity, and Gloucester's physical blindness that leads to his trusting tendencies. Each character achieves inner awareness at the end as their surreal blindness is lifted and they realize the truth. Both Lear and Gloucester are characters used by Shakespeare to show the relevance of having a clear vision in life.
The first time the audience meets Lear, he is presented as an ?arrogant and egotistical?(Leggatt 33) man who shows no mercy, not even to his favorite daughter when she disappoints him. Though this may be a character flaw, it could hardly be labeled ?madness?. As Lear?s character develops, the audience begins to see another side of him, one that is learning humility at the hands of his selfish daughters and pity for ?Poor naked wretches? (III.iv.35) who have less than they need. ?As Lear reaches his conclusion, an actual poor naked wretch bursts onto the stage, crying, ?Fathom and a half! Fathom and a half! Poor Tom? (Leggatt 32-33)! It is at that moment, when Lear sees Tom, that he breaks down.