King Lear 2
In Shakespeare's classic tragedy, King Lear, the issue of sight and its relevance to clear vision is a recurring theme. Shakespeare's means of portraying this theme is through the characters of Lear and Gloucester. Although Lear can physically see, he is blind in the sense that he lacks insight, understanding, and direction. In contrast, Gloucester becomes physically blind but gains the type of vision that Lear lacks. It is evident from these two characters that clear vision is not derived solely from physical sight. Lear's failure to understand this is the principal cause of his demise, while Gloucester learns to achieve clear vision, and consequently avoids a fate similar to Lear's. Throughout most of King Lear, Lear's vision is clouded by his lack of insight. Since he cannot see into other people's characters, he can never identify them for who they truly are. When Lear is angered by Cordelia, Kent tries to reason with Lear but he is too stubborn to listen. Lear responds to Kent's opposition by saying he never wants to see Kent. Kent was only trying to do what was best for Lear, but Lear could not see that. Later, Lear's vision is so superficial that he is easily duped by the physical garments and simple disguise that Kent w
Gloucester depicts this theme by demonstrating clear vision, despite the total lack of physical sight. Prior to the loss of his eyes, Gloucester's vision was much like Lear's. He could not see what was truly going on around him. Instead, he only saw what was presented to him on the surface. When Edmund shows him the letter that is supposedly from Edgar, it takes very little convincing for Gloucester to believe it. As soon as Edmund mentions that Edgar could be plotting against him, Gloucester calls Edgar a villian. He does not even stop to consider whether Edgar would do such a thing because he cannot see into Edgar's character. At this point, Gloucester's life is headed down a path of damnation similar to Lear's because of a similar lack of sight. When Gloucester is captured by Cornwall, Gloucester provokes him to pluck out his eyes. From this point onwards, Gloucester learns to see clearly by using his heart to see instead of his eyes. It is evident that he realizes this when he says that he has no need for eyes because when he had them, he could not see clearly. He realizes that when he had eyes, he was confident that he could see, while in reality, he could not see until his eyes were removed. Afterwards, he sees with his mind instead of his eyes. In King Lear, clear vision is an attribute portrayed by the main characters of the two plots. While Lear portrays a lack of vision, Gloucester learns that clear vision does not emanate from the eye. Throughout this play, Shakespeare is saying that the world cannot tr
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1028
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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