FREE ESSAY ON BLIND LEAD THE SIGHT

BLIND LEAD THE SIGHT

In Shakespeare's King Lear the issue of sight against blindness is a recurring theme.
Blindness, in Shakespeare, is a mental flaw some characters posses, and vision is not
derived from physical sight, it includes mental intuitiveness. King Lear and Gloucester
are the two examples Shakespeare incorporates this theme into. Each of these characters'
lack of vision was the primary cause of the unfortunate decisions they made, decisions
that they would eventually come to regret. The blindest of all was undoubtedly King Lear.
Because of his high position in society he is supposed to be able to distinguish good
from bad: unfortunately, his lack of insight prevented him to do so. However, his vision
is clouded by his lack of insight. Since he cannot see into other people's characters, he
can never identify them for who they truly are. When Lear is angered by Cordelia, Kent
tries to reason with Lear, who is too stubborn to remain open-minded. Lear responds to
Kent's opposition with, Out of my sight! to which Kent responds: See better, Lear, and
let me still remain .
Kent, once banished, creates a disguise for himself and is eventually hired by Lear as a
servant. The king's vision is so superficial that he is easily deceived by Kent's changed
appearance. He can never see his trusted servant for whom he really is. He only learns of
Kent's noble and honest character just prior to his death, when his vision is cleared. By
this time, however, it is too late for an honest relationship to be salvaged.
Lear's vision is also blurred by his lack of direction in life, and his poor ability to
predict the outcome of his actions. This, in addition to his lack of insight into other
people, condemns his relationship with his most beloved daughter, Cordelia. When Lear
asks his daughters who love him most, he already thinks that Cordelia has the most love
for him. However, when Cordelia says: I love your Majesty According to my bond, no more
nor less" . Lear cannot see what these words really mean. Goneril and Regan are only
putting on an act. Their love for their father is not as great as they say. Cordelia's
words show that she has seen her sisters' facade, and she does not want to associate her
true love with their false love. Goneril and Regan, however, fool Lear, into thinking
that they love him and Cordelia does not. Kent, who has sufficient insight, is able to
see through the dialogue and knows that Cordelia is the only daughter who actually loves
Lear. He tries to convince Lear of this, saying Answer my life my judgment, Thy youngest
daughter does not love thee least .
Lear only sees what is on the surface, and cannot understand the deeper intentions of his
daughters' speeches. As his anger grows from the argument, his foresight diminishes and
he becomes increasingly rash and narrow-minded. When Lear disowns Cordelia and banishes
her from his kingdom he says...We have no such daughter, nor shall ever see g that face
of hers again. Ironically, he later discovers that Cordelia is the only daughter he wants
to see, asking her to forget and forgive . By this time, he has finally started to gain
some direction, and his sight is cleared. But it is too late. His lack of precognition
had condemned him from the beginning, and actually cost him his and his daughter's life.
In Lear's character one sees that physical sight does not necessary guarantee clear
sight. Gloucester however shows that physical blindness does not bring about lack of
insight into other people's intentions. Prior to the loss of his eyes, Gloucester's
vision was very much like Lear's. He was unable to see what was going on around him.
Instead, he only saw what was presented to him on the surface. His blindness denies him
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 was ready to kill the son who
would later save his life. Gloucester's blindness begins when Edmund convinces him by
means of a forged letter that Edgar was plotting to kill him. When Edmund shows him the
letter that is supposedly from Edgar, it takes very little convincing for Gloucester to
believe it. As soon as Edmund mentions that Edgar could be plotting against him,
Gloucester calls him an Abhorred villain, unnatural, detested, brutish villain . He does
not even stop to consider whether Edgar would do such a thing because he cannot see into
Edgar's character. The idea of Edmund being after the earldom never occurs to him. At
this point, Gloucester's life is headed down a path of damnation similar to Lear's
because of a similar lack of sight.
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 is 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. From this
point onwards, Gloucester learns to see clearly by using his heart to see instead of his
eyes. It is evident that he realizes this when he says:
"I have no way and therefore want no eyes;
I stumbled when I saw. Full oft 'tis seen,
Our means secure us, and our mere defects
Prove our commodities. 
In this, he is saying that he has no need for eyes because when he had them, he could not
see clearly. He realizes that when he had eyes, he was confident that he could see, while
in reality, he could not see until he was physically blind. Afterwards, he sees with his
mind instead of his eyes. Gloucester's vision can be contrasted with that of Lear. While
Lear has the physical sight that Gloucester lost, Gloucester has the clearer vision that
Lear will never gain. When Lear and Gloucester meet near the cliffs of Dover, Lear
questions Gloucester's states:
No eyes in your
head, nor no money in your purse? Your eyes are
in a heavy case, your purse in a light, yet you
see how this world goes.
Gloucester. I see it feelingly. 
Here, Lear cannot relate to Gloucester because his vision is not clear, and he wonders
how Gloucester can see without eyes. Although Lear has seen his mistakes, he still
believes that sight comes only from the eyes. Gloucester tells him that sight comes from
within. Vision is the result of the mind, heart, and emotions put together, not just
physical sight. This is a concept that Lear will never understand. In King Lear, clear
vision is an attribute portrayed by the main characters of the two parallel plots. While
Lear portrays a lack of vision, Gloucester learns that clear vision does not emanate from
the eye. Throughout this play, Shakespeare is saying that the world cannot truly be seen
with the eye, but with the heart. The physical world that the eye can detect can
accordingly hide its evils with physical attributes, and thus clear vision cannot result
from the eye alone. Lear's downfall was a result of his failure to understand that
appearance does not always represent reality. Gloucester avoided a similar demise by
learning the relationship between appearance and reality. Had Lear learned to look with
more than just his eyes, he might have avoided this tragedy.
King Lear, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic tale of filial conflict, personal
transformation, and loss. The story revolves around the King who foolishly alienates his
only truly devoted daughter and realizes too late the true nature of his other two
daughters. A major subplot involves the illegitimate son of Gloucester, Edmund, who plans
to discredit his brother Edgar and betray his father. With these and other major
characters in the play, Shakespeare clearly asserts that human nature is either entirely
good, or entirely evil. Some characters experience a phase of transformation, where by
some trial or ordeal their nature is profoundly changed. We shall examine Shakespeare's
stand on human nature in King Lear by looking at specific characters in the play:
Cordelia who is wholly good, Edmund who is wholly evil, and Lear whose nature is
transformed by the realization of his folly and his descent into madness.