King Lear Case

In an unknown world, clear vision is one of the most essential faculties one must possess in order to survive. In this way, an inability to see clearly and recognize the truth can be tragic. King Lear is a grim tragedy that tells the story of a man, clouded by his metaphorical blindness, and led to his downfall by his choices and poor judgement. Rich in imagery and symbolism, a predominant motif in the play is sight, conveyed in the forms of eyesight, insight and foresight. Unfortunately, many characters in the play experience a loss of sight or experience a form of blindness in that they are unable to establish the difference between what people's true motives are behind their actions. Two characters that fall victim to this deceit are King Lear and Gloucester. Ultimately, it is Gloucester's inability to recognize Edgar, Lear's decision to cast out Cordelia and Gloucester's mistake of trusting Edmund that begins their decline.

As the play commences, Gloucester can physically see. However, his sight fails him in the sense that he is unable to recognize people for who they truly are. This limitation causes him to mistrust people who genuinely care for him, putting himself in a position to be easily harmed. Gloucester shows his inability to identify people for who they truly are in his interaction with his own son, Edgar. Early on in the play, Edgar is forced to adopt the persona of a "Bedlam beggar" (Lear IIiii14) and is incapable of revealing his true self to escape prosecution from his kingdom. Once Edgar puts on this guise, he is deemed unrecognizable by Gloucester. Thus, instead of looking past Edgar's beggarly appearance to discover his true identity, it is clear Gloucester is solely focused on his outward appearance. This leaves Gloucester vulnerable to Edmund's lies and treachery as he was unable to learn the truth of the situation from Edgar because he could not recognize him. In this way, Gloucester has put himself in a position of harm because he cannot see characters for who they truly are.

Sight imagery is further presented in the play in the form of Lear's lack of foresight, or inability to understand the consequences of his actions. This limitation causes him to become isolated from the people who have his best interests at heart leading to his eventual demise. At the beginning of the play, Lear decides to entrust a portion of his land to each one of his three daughters in accordance with their statements of how much they love him. Goneril and Regan profess that they love their father "more than word can wield the matter; Dearer than eye-sight, space and liberty." (Lear Ii54-55) In making these statements, Goneril and Regan fulfill Lear's desire of hearing how well he is loved. He is pleased by their testimonies and therefore does not question their sincerity or legitimacy. In contrast, Cordelia says that she loves Lear simply "according to [her] bond, no more nor less." (Lear Ii92) This is because her honesty and love for her father prevents her from engaging in her sister's game of flattery. Unfortunately, Cordelia's plain affirmation leads Lear to believe that she does not really love him.