Blindness in King Lear As one of the most mentioned Shakespearean plays today, King Lear offers audiences a play filled with many themes, motifs, and symbols that portray many messages that people can learn today. More Specifically in King Lear, the symbolism behind blindness and how it is cleverly paralleled between two characters in the play by Shakespeare teaches numerous morals. Of these morals, the two characters most notably emphasized to comprehend them are King Lear and Earl of Gloucester, two characters with an abundant amount of power. Even though King Lear and Gloucester hold a position of power which may suggest understanding, Shakespeare’s play still demonstrates how parents should be more attentive to their children because parents
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When one thinks of blindness or the inability to see, their outlook will more than likely differ from Shakespeare 's outlook. In the play of King Lear, Shakespeare demonstrates this poor habit of neglect with Gloucester being ignorant of his two sons, Edgar and Edmund. By Gloucester being unable to recognize the lies his immoral son (Edmund) conveys to him, he fails to recognize events that quickly corner him into a state of denial of responsibility for his actions. However, Gloucester is not the only character guilty in the play for portraying such neglect to their children. At the start of King Lear the audience is introduced into a scenario of King Lear having to decide divisions of his power among his daughters. It may be argued that because King Lear is forcing his daughters to demonstrate their true love in this sort of manner, that he never displayed much attention to them until this day. As the audience is introduced to King Lear 's first daughter, Goneril, Shakespeare discreetly gives the first hint of King Lear 's figurative blindness. "Sir, I do love you more than words can wield the matter, Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty." This claim expressed by Goneril introduces the daughter 's true character of being fraudulent and displays King Lear 's blindness to this character as he is easily swayed by her deceitfulness. By both Gloucester and King Lear 's inability to recognize their children 's true character, this leads the characters down a path of poor
When one thinks of blindness or the inability to see, their outlook will more than likely differ from Shakespeare 's outlook. In the play of King Lear, Shakespeare demonstrates this poor habit of neglect with Gloucester being ignorant of his two sons, Edgar and Edmund. By Gloucester being unable to recognize the lies his immoral son (Edmund) conveys to him, he fails to recognize events that quickly corner him into a state of denial of responsibility for his actions. However, Gloucester is not the only character guilty in the play for portraying such neglect to their children. At the start of King Lear the audience is introduced into a scenario of King Lear having to decide divisions of his power among his daughters. It may be argued that because King Lear is forcing his daughters to demonstrate their true love in this sort of manner, that he never displayed much attention to them until this day. As the audience is introduced to King Lear 's first daughter, Goneril, Shakespeare discreetly gives the first hint of King Lear 's figurative blindness. "Sir, I do love you more than words can wield the matter, Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty." This claim expressed by Goneril introduces the daughter 's true character of being fraudulent and displays King Lear 's blindness to this character as he is easily swayed by her deceitfulness. By both Gloucester and King Lear 's inability to recognize their children 's true character, this leads the characters down a path of poor