King Lear Blindness vs sight
In the Shakespeare play, King Lear, some of the characters show that they have knowledge of what is going happening around them and some, unfortunately, do not see that the ones they love are mischievous and only out to get what they have. One character that is mostly viewed as the blind one in this play is King Lear himself. Lear's blindness to the truth and to others that tried to help him see, brought him to his suffering and at the point of his downfall, he came to realize the truth. In the beginning, Lear decided to divide his kingdom among his daughters; however, Cordelia and Kent tried to help him realize his mistakes. Lear did not see that giving away his kingdom is a mistake, however, he thought he had good reasons, such as that he was getting old and he did not want the troubles of running a kingdom. "Lear...To shake all cares and businesses from our age, Conferring them on younger strengths, while we Unburthened crawl toward death." (1.1.39-43) The King asked his daughters to profess their love for him in the court before everyone, so that he will know how much of the kingdom to give to each daughter. Goneril and Regan praised Lear because they know how much he likes to be praised. How
By the end of the play, Lear began to see the things that Cordelia and Kent were trying to make him understand. Lear saw that Goneril and Regan do not love him but just only trying to help him see the truth. Kent tells him that his daughter, Cordelia, truly loves but the other two hold only empty hearts. Lear banished Kent also. "Kent. Royal Lear, Whom I've ever honoured as my king, Loved as my father, as my master followed, As my great patron thought on in my prayers-" (1.1.142-5) Lear suffered through many hardships because he was blind. Lear was badly treated by Goneril. She also ordered her servant, Oswald and others to treat Lear badly and with disrespect. "Goneril. When he returns from hunting, I will not speak with him. Say I am sick. If you come slack of former services, You shall do well; the fault of it I'll answer." (1.3.8-11) Lear became tired of Goneril's ill-treatment towards, therefore he Kent saw Lear's mistakes and he tried to make him realize this. He also saw that Goneril and Regan did not love him but only wanted the kingdom. Kent saw that Cordelia loved him the most even though she could not say it. "Kent. Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least, Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sounds Reverb no hollowness." (1.1.154-156) Cordelia saw that her father was making a mistake by dividing the kingdom between his first two daughters and also disowning her. "Cordelia. Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides, Who covers faults, at last shame them derides." (1.1.282-284) Kent was still loyal to the King, therefore he returned to the kingdom to guide Lear to the truth. "Kent. I do profess to be no less than I seem, to serve him truly that will put me in trust..." (1.4.14-18) Lear was blinded from the beginning and unfortunately he banished Cordelia and Kent who were his eyes. He realized that Cordelia truly loved him and his o
Some common words found in the essay are:
Cordelia Kent, Kent Thy, Goneril Regan, Goneril I'll, Lear Pray, Lear Kent, Lear Death, King Kent, Lear Lear's, Gentleman Contending, lear suffered, king lear, kent loyal, cordelia kent, cordelia truly, goneril regan, cordelia truly loved, truth kent, daughter cordelia, mock foolish, tried help, play king lear, regan love kingdom, kent loyal king, goneril regan love,
Approximate Word count = 1277
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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