king lear theme of blindness

King Lear - Theme of Blindness In Shakespearean terms,
blinds means a whole different thing. Blindness can normally be defined
as the inability of the eye to see, but according to
Shakespeare, blindness is not a physical quality, but a mental flaw some
people possess. Shakespeare’s most dominant theme in his
play King Lear is that of blindness. King Lear, Gloucester, and Albany are
three prime examples Shakespeare incorporates this theme
into. Each of these character’s blindness was the primary
cause of the bad decisions they made; decisions which all of them would
eventually come to regret. The blindest bat of all was
undoubtedly King Lear. Because of Lear’s high position in society, he was
supposed to be able to distinguish the good from the bad;
unfortunately, his lack of sight prevented him to do so. Lear’s first act of
blindness came at the beginning of the play. First, he was easily
deceived by his two eldest daughters’ lies, then, he was
unable to see the reality of Cordelia’s true love for him, and as a result,
banished her from his kingdom with the following words:
“ for we Have no such daughter,
nor shall ever see That face of her again. Therefore be gone
Without our grace, our love, our benison.” (Act
I, Sc I, Ln 265-267) Lear’s blindness also caused him to
banish one of his loyal followers, Kent. Kent was able to see Cordelia’s
true love for her father, and tried to protect her from her blind
father’s irrationality. After Kent was banished, he created a disguise for
himself and was eventually hired by Lear as a servant. Lear’s
inability to determine his servant’s true identity proved once
again how blind Lear actually was. As the play progressed, Lear’s
eyesight reached closer to 20/20 vision. He realized how
wicked his two eldest daughters really were after they locked him out of
the castle during a tremendous storm. More importantly, Lear
saw through Cordelia’s lack of flatterings and realized that her love for

him was so great that she couldn’t express it into words.
Unfortunately, Lear’s blindness ended up costing Cordelia her life and
consequently the life of himself. Gloucester was
another example of a character who suffered from an awful case of
blindness. Gloucester’s blindness denied him of the ability to
see the goodness of Edgar and the evil of Edmund. Although Edgar was
the good and loving son, Gloucester all but disowned him. He
wanted to kill the son that would later save his life. Gloucester’s blindness
began when Edmund convinced him by the means of a
forged letter that Edgar was plotting to kill him. Gloucester’s lack
of sight caused him to believe Edmund was the good son and
prevented him from pondering the idea of Edmund being after
his earldom. Near the end of the play, Gloucester finally regained his
sight and realized that Edgar saved his life disguised as Poor
Tom and loved him all along. He realized that Edmund planned to take
over the earldom and that he was the evil son of the two.
Gloucester’s famous line: “I stumbled when I saw” (Act IV, Sc I, Ln 20-21)
was ironic. His inability to see the realities of his sons
occurred when he had his physical sight but was mentally blind; but his
ability to see the true nature of his sons occurred after having
his eyes plucked out by the Duke of Cornwall. Fortunately, the
consequences of Gloucester’s blindness throughout the play was
minimal, after all, he was the only one to die as a result of his
tragic flaw. Albany was another character suffering from the
classic case of blindness, but luckily for him, he survived his battle.
Albany’s case of blindness was purely a result of the love he had for
Goneril. Although he disapproved of Goneril’s actions, he
would only mildly argue his case. When Goneril forced Lear to reduce his
army so that he could stay in their castle, Albany protested:
“ I cannot be so partial, Goneril, To the great love

I bear You -” (Act I, Sc IV, Ln 309-310)
Albany’s deep devotion to Goneril blinded him from the evil she
possessed. His inability to realize how greedy and mean
Goneril was after she flattered Lear with a bunch of lies and then kicked
him out of their home, just goes to show you how much
Albany loved Goneril. Albany was also blind to the fact that Goneril was
cheating on him and that she was plotting to kill him.
Fortunately, Edgar came across a cure for Albany’s blindness. A note
outlining Goneril’s evil plans was all Albany needed to see.
Finally, Albany recognized what a devil he was married to and for once let
out his emotions when he said: “O Goneril,
You are not worth the dust which the rude wind Blows
in your face!” (Act IV, Sc II, Ln 29-31) Unlike
Lear and Gloucester, Albany didn’t suffer much during his bout with
blindness. Not only did he survive his battle, but he lived to
remain the ruler of what was once Lear’s kingdom.