Examples Of Blindness In King Lear

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Blindness/Sight is a one of the more complex and noteworthy themes in the play “King Lear” and that is in both physical and symbolic terms. Throughout the entire play, we’ve seen certain characters display a lack of sight, specifically through King Lear and Gloucester. The first sign of blindness displayed was by Lear in the opening acts. Lear announced that he plans on dividing the Kingdom among his three daughters. To see who gets the greatest share of the power, Lear commands his daughters to say which of them loves him the most. The two villains throughout the plays, Goneril and Regan, respond in excellent fashion, articulating their thoughts to exactly what Lear wanted to hear and more. Cordelia, the daughter who actually truly loved him, cannot express the right words which please Lear, which enrages Lear and he ultimately disowns Coredelia.…show more content…
Kent tries being honest with him and tell him the potential errors he may commit. “See better, Lear; and let me still remain. The true blank of thine eye”, Kent says, but Lear wasn’t going to consider what he said, previously saying “Out of my sight!” to Kent. Another example of Lear’s blindness is when he is outside the raging storm, having trouble being able to identify himself “Who is it that can tell me who I am?”. Now that Lear has lost all his power to the evil actions of his two daughters, he’s essentially in an identity crisis. " This question suggests that as a result of his loss of power, Lear cannot even recognize himself and

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