ENG 4UI 21 November 2012 Theme of blindness in King Lear It is evident that several characters throughout the text King Lear written by William Shakespeare move from blindness to a clearer perception. It has been said that King Lear is about a tragedy of “man going sane.” In Shakespearean terms‚ blind has a different meaning than modern English. Blindness is normally defined as the inability of the eye to see‚ but according to Shakespeare‚ blindness is not a physical quality‚ but a mental
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Play writers and authors commonly use blindness to symbolize ignorance or the refusal to see the truth‚ and Shakespeare was no exception. In King Lear‚ Shakespeare brilliantly uses the blindness of characters to symbolize ignorance. In the play‚ there are two main characters among the main plot and the subplot; Gloucester and King Lear. Both Gloucester and Lear lead troubling lives‚ one is a narcissistic king‚ and the other a bad father‚ which blinds them to the truth because they somewhat neglect
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of reality and a deliberate will to ignore one’s sense of morality and consciousness. In King Lear‚ the Earl of Gloucester‚ a powerful lord in King Lear’s court‚ is convoluted by his overwhelming paranoia and distrust‚ making him susceptible to his son Edmund’s lies and contrived threats of latent murder by his other son Edgar. Edmund concocts an elaborate story that forces Gloucester to believe that Edgar is going to make an attempt on his life as a
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King Lear: Irrationality leads to suffering. In William Shakespeare’s King Lear protagonists like King Lear and Gloucester commit irrational acts that will bring suffering to other characters as well. Their irrationality stems from their belief that their actions are above their emotional distress. Their illogical decisions however are clouded by other protagonists’ false emotional devotion. King Lear’s irrationality is the outward behavior of a king who believes his power is unlimited. However
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consequences triggered off by lies and falsehoods that were told in King Lea’s family‚ as well as in the family of the Earl of Gloucester. In this play‚ Shakespeare added a sub-plot to the main-plot and both are based on the same events‚ differing slightly according to the story. The main-plot involves Lear and his three daughters whereas the sub-plot makes use of Gloucester and his two sons. King Lear gives his daughters a love-test‚ stupidly intending to measure love with flattery; "Which of you
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To See or Not To See Blindness can be interpreted in many different ways. We can speak about blindness in the sense of physical blindness or emotionally blind‚ even so we can speak about being spiritually blind. In the end‚ it all comes to one thing‚ which is that blindness causes you to miss out or not see certain things depending on the subject. A blind man might say he has been blind all his life and has never seen the beauty of a rose but has only smelt the sweet fragrance of it‚ a devoted Christian
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emotion. This means that their judgment is being blocked due to strong feelings. There are many situations in Shakespeare’s King Lear play where characters lack insight due to their emotions. Shakespeare shows this in three characters; King Lear‚ Gloucester and Albany. In every regard‚ the characters in this play tend to lack insight because of strong emotion. Early on in the play‚ King Lear shows lack of insight because of strong emotion by banishing Cordelia‚ his youngest daughter. When
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Shakespeare’s King Lear‚ emotional sight is not dependent on physical sight‚ for many characters are blinded by their own egos and ambitions to see the actual truth. Shakespeare even goes as far as inserting a literal metaphor for sight by making Gloucester finally realize the truth‚ only when his physical vision is removed. Although this example is most obvious‚ the theme reoccurs throughout the play. It is not until Lear’s prestige is taken away from him that he can truly see. Lear’s blunder into
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pursuit of power‚ recognition‚ and certain tragic choices. With parallelism‚ similar occurrences highlight the importance of certain themes. In the play‚ William Shakespeare juxtaposes Lear’s choices and aftermath those of Gloucester to illustrate how physical and figurative blindness can lead to tragic endings. By showing similarity between Lear and Gloucester’s impulsive actions‚ Shakespeare shows how making decisions without consideration can
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forever... Be as well neighbored‚ pitied‚ and relieved As thou my sometime daughter" (1.1.108-119) Lear’s anger-ridden speech does not hide his frustration‚ and it is obvious that this will have a negative impact later in the play. Driven by his blindness‚ Lear begins to make many mistakes. He not only loses his devoted daughter; but also banishes his most loyal servant‚
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