King Lear Blindness Quotes

Lear can "see" through a sympathetic lens, after having exchanged the pride for shame, revealing to us that mental blindness can be more damaging than physical blindness. While Gloucester, who willingly admits that "[he] stumbled when [he] saw," is only able to "see," though sightless, after he has suffered (4.1.20). Only through the physical pain of losing his sight was Gloucester able to see the truth of his sons. Unquestionably, the plots of Lear and Gloucester run similar courses. However, Shakespeare employs Gloucester's plot to clarify Lear's plot. Through the physical blinding of Gloucester, Shakespeare provides an equivalent, which contextualizes King Lear's theme of consciousness and allows Lear's own metaphorical blindness to be fully

When the reader turns their focus to Gloucester, they can immediately see the view he holds over both of his sons. As he speaks to Kent about Edmund, the reader learns that Gloucester has had to explain his unfortunate relation to him so many times now that he is no longer embarrassed by it, but, “brazen to it“ (I.i). Then in the next lines, Gloucester goes on to say that his real son Edgar is “no dearer in my account” (I.i). Thus, even though Edgar is legitimate and Edmund is a ‘bastard child,’ Gloucester doesn’t seem to be very interested in either of them. This self-interest allows Edmund to play to Gloucester’s own interests and fears with ease. It allows Edmund to have his father turn his back on his son without so much as a second thought.

Edmund considers himself an intrusion within Gloucester’s family, with no true placement, as his father continuously refers to him as a bastard, confirming his inability to inherit what Edgar can. Edmund decides, “Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit;/ All with me’s meet that I can fashion to fit” (1.2.180-181). He desires the recognition denied to him by his status as a bastard, causing him to wonder “why bastard? Wherefore base?” (1.2.5) He is required to accept the conventional laws that refrain him from his rights, due to his illegitimacy. Despite his lower status, he believes to be above all others within the kingdom, as he is a product of the most powerful emotion-love, rather than those produced of duty “within a dull, stale, tired bed” (1.2.13), such as Edgar. Edmund is the only character within this play to envision himself as a victim as well as a villain when he states, "Now, God’s, stand up for the bastards…as if we were villains of necessity” (1.2.22, 2.1.121-122). Edmund’s accumulation of anger and neglect drives his ambition to prove to himself, his father, and the Kingdom that he can be as good

When my dimensions are as well compact, My mind as generous, and my shape as true As honest madam’s issue?” (I.ii.6-10). Edmund was greatly frustrated by this however, he would not let this unjust treatment of him control his live and decides to be proactive by taking control of his destiny and therefore changing his fate. Edmund would go on to manipulate both his father Gloucester and his brother Edgar by turning them against each other.

Blindness by definition, according to dictionaries, is “unable to see and lacking the sense of sight” by which King Lear, the classic tragic play written by William Shakespeare, illustrated the concept of blindness amongst his characters as the leading theme. King Lear and Gloucester were the characters that have been conflicted by this “blindness” that may or may not change their personalities in the very end of the play. Gloucester becomes physically blinded by Cornwall which makes him realize the truth about his sons in contrast with King Lear being mentally blinded in result of his lack of insight, understanding, and direction. The characters that helped restored King Lear and Gloucester’s “sight” throughout the play were Cordelia, Gloucester, Caius and Poor Tom and some of these characters contributed to King Lear’s nature of being a better king in the tail end of this remarkable play.

Leare correlates materialism with power rather than with the ability to see clearly. His willingness to “weigh” the love of his daughters and “possess” a certain amount of knights highlights the extent of his flawed, materialistic vision. Rather than gaining clearer vision to properly discern his reality, Leare retains his vision merely on the surface. However, Shakespeare uses the result of Leare’s blindness—madness—to highlight the importance of knowledge and Leare’s progression throughout the play.

With his seeing eyes, he only looked upon Edmund and his manipulation without any consideration towards Edgar’s side of the story. He so easily wrote off Edgar without any insight on Edmund’s quest for the rule of his kingdom. Only when the Duke of Cornwall plucks his eyes out he begins to take in Edmund’s sinister motives. No longer blinded by Edmunds grand scheme for power, Gloucester comes to the realization that Edgar did not wrong him and that all he saw with his eyes are acts put on to trick him. Sight not being a distraction anymore, Gloucester begs for the chance to reconcile with his son.

When Edmund mentions that Edgar could be plotting against him, Gloucester does not contemplate whether Edgar would do such a horrible thing because he did not take the time to see what kind of characteristics make up Edgar. When Gloucester physically looses his eyesight, it is then when his insight clears. He learns to finally see his surroundings clearly by using his heart instead of his eyes. It is obvious that he realizes this when he says, “ I have no way and therefore want no eyes; I stumbled when I saw”(4.1.17-21). He has no need for eyes because when he had them, he did not truly see things for how they were but instead as how he chose to see

His characteristic is comparable to King Lear, where they both see themselves as an authoritative figure. Early in the play, Edmund forged a letter in attempt to frame Edgar for assassinating Gloucester. When Gloucester saw Edmund pretend to conceal the forged letter, Gloucester uses his authority to demand Edmund to hand over the letter. This authoritative demand sets up Gloucester’s downfall due to his blind use of power. As P. V. Kreider points out in his work “the tragedy is filled with men who desire to see or who declare that they have seen or are seeing” (Kreider, 124). P. V. points out one who demands to see more or claim to have seen all is deemed to fill his or her life with tragedy. In Gloucester’s case, he uses his authority to

His blindness deprived him of the capability to see the good of Edgar and the evil of Edmund. Though Edgar was the noble and loving son, Gloucester still rejected him. He hunted to slay the son that would later save his life. Gloucester’s blindness initiated when Edmund persuaded him with a forged letter that Edgar was scheming to kill him. Gloucester’s absence of sight affected him to believe Edmund was the noble son and prohibited him from considering the idea of Edmund being after the kingdom. Close to the end of the play, Gloucester ultimately recovered his sight and understood that Edgar saved his life concealed as Poor Tom and loved him all along. He soon found out that it was Edmund, and not Edgar that planned to take over the kingdom. His incapability to see the actualities of his sons arose when he had his physical sight but was mentally blind; but his power to see the correct nature of his sons happened after having his eyes were yanked out by the Duke of

He does not see that Edmund has manipulated him into thinking Edgar wants him killed. Later in the play, he can't even tell that Edgar who has disguised himself as "Poor Tom ". Later in the play, Gloucester's eyeballs are plucked out by a servant, this makes him now blind in both ways physically and

Edmund told Gloucester that his actual biological son, Edgar is planning a scheme to kill him. He gave Gloucester a letter that had

In these situations, the cast confronts instances of betrayal and eventually self-growth. The story initiates with King Lear’s urgency for flattery, which drives him to commit a decision that instigated the power-hungry course of his daughters. The betrayal of Goneril and Regan caused Lear to separate from his man-made principles and praise those of nature. Besides the change in Lear, the audience also observed Gloucester’s position concerning the legitimacy of his two sons. Societal views were a detriment regarding the rights of illegitimate children, like Edmund. Seeing his brother Edgar conquer all his father’s treasures, Edmund left his praise of nature behind and instead exploited the reliance of status and relationships in his royal family to overcome the laws of society, forming a great deception against his own family.

Like Lear, Gloucester fails to see the true nature of his children and also invokes the language of nature in blind ways. After wrongly condemning Edgar he calls Edmund a "loyal and natural boy" (II. i. 85).

Lear was not the only character to suffer from blindness, Gloucester too, had lack of insight. He could not see the goodness of his son Edgar, and the wickedness of Edmund. A forged letter was the only evidence needed to convince Gloucester that Edgar was plotting to kill him. Immediately after reading the letter Gloucester screams in a rage;