Blindness in King Lear
The ability to observe clearly and precisely is vital, because trickery of many kinds can fool us into submission. William Shakespeare's play "King Lear" is one of the many plays that contain the theme of blindness and vision. This important theme is present mostly in acts one and three as it provides the play with profound meanings in life. Therefore, the concept of appearance versus reality is closely connected to blindness and vision. The characters Edmund, Gloucester, and Lear all exhibit some type of blindness that hinders their true vision to observe clearly. Edmund is Gloucester's illegitimate son in the play. Although Gloucester treats both Edgar and Edmund equally, Edmund still possesses anger and hatred against his father for committing adultery, thus rendering him as a bastard in the eyes of society. In Edmund's soliloquy he says, "...Edmund the base/ Shall top th' legitimate. I grow, I prosper/ Now, gods, stand up for bastards!" (Act I, sc. ii) Through this speech, it reveals that Edmund intends to replace his brother in th
e inheritance of their father's land. Edmund is blinded by his ambition to succeed and to rise in power so that society will no longer look down on him. Furthermore, Edmund himself displays appearance versus reality because he cleverly hides his true intentions from his father and Edgar. Nobody really suspects that the "loyal" Edmund possesses such evil intentions caused by society's blindness in accepting bastards. King Lear is the main character in the play. According to his actions, he is a very rash person who acts on impulse when he is angry. A prime example is when he disowns Cordelia because she did not flatter him like her other sisters. Lear says, "Here I disclaim all my paternal care... Be as well neighbored, pitied, and relieved/ As thou my sometime daughter" (Act I, sc. i). In Lear's speech, he is blinded by his anger and his passion because Cordelia did not flatter him similar to his other daughters. The embarrassment of Cordelia's truth blinds his senses of true love and he treats love as mere commodity that can be bought. Heari
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Approximate Word count = 708
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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