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Examples Of Blindness In King Lear

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Gloucester’s blindness caused him to see the truth from both his two sons. He is easily deceived by Edmund, his illegitimate son into rejecting Edgar, his legitimate son. Blindness prevented Gloucester to see the evil in Edmund when he confronted Edgar about the letter and lost his father’s trust. As Gloucester reads out the letter from Edgar he says “O villain, villain! His very opinion in the letter!/ Abhorred villain! Unnatural, detested, brutish villain!/worse than brutish! Go,sirrah, seek him; I’ll appre-/ hend him. Abominable villain! Where is he?” (1.2.71-74) The false letter that Edmund wrote fools Gloucester into thinking that Edgar is plotting against his life. Edmund, fools his father into thinking he is a loving son which is to hide his true intentions. …show more content…

He trusts Edmund to find out the truth. His blindness is more literal and physical when he loses his sight in Act 3 Scene 7. Gloucester is accused of giving aid to Lear, and Cornwall tears Gloucester’s eyes out of his head. Metaphorically, Gloucester is able to see the truth when he is physically blind. Although he is sightless, he wishes to “live to see thee in [his] touch,/ [he’d] say [he] had eyes again!(4.1.18-23). In these lines he wishes to touch Edgar once more and it will feel like having his eyesight back. When he had his eyes they were no help since he was blinded by the truth but now that they are gone he can finally see Edgar’s allegiance. Due to Edmund’s false letter, this caused Gloucester to treat Edgar badly. He finally recognizes the truth behind Edmund’s scheme and the nature of people around him. He now knows which of his two sons is to be trusted. In Act 4, Gloucester has developed sight and understands the situation. Edgar is still disguise as “Poor Tom” and encounters his blinded father. Edgar cannot reveal himself to his father because this might cause his father to be even more fooled than he already

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