Examples Of Ageism In King Lear

In act 3, scene 7 the horrific scene when Gloucester eyes plucked out against his will represents the evilness of the characters in King Lear as anomalous and abnormal. In the following scene, Gloucester interrogated in regards to why he would arrange King Lear to hide in Dover. Gloucester responds, to Regan by saying, "Because I would not see thy cruel nails pluck out his poor old eyes; not thy fierce sister in his anointed flesh still boarish fangs." As Gloucester held against his will in, the chair his eyes plucked out and he screams for his son, Edmund and mentions his son will avenge his father, but Regan apprises him that Edmund has revealed his treachery. Now, Gloucester recognizes and understand that he has not only blind at this moment, but he has been blind for years, the fact which led him to throw out Edgar.
In the play, the desire of power and possession exhibited by the maleficent characters in the play forget about the paramount stuff in life: such as the love for their parents, reverence for elders and sympathy for the poor. All of that superseded with a desire and thirst for more power and possessions. In King Lear, Shakespeare plays with the notion of prejudice against the older characters by their children and their partners as Shakespeare highlights the prejudice of ageism. For example, throughout the play, Gloucester vilified because of his age and the way he looks. To be categorical, Regan ridicules his withered arms and white beard as she plucks at Gloucester's