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Examples Of Blindness In King Lear

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Blindness: The Real Tragedy

Shakespeare was known for many of his pieces, as it shared with the world who he was as a writer. Many enjoyed his sonnets and comedies, but many went to witness and experience the plays of his tragedies. King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet all have shared aspects and traits that make them typical Shakespearian tragedies. Although his plays were consistent within themselves, his plays also followed the rules of the classic tragedy put forth by Aristotle, as well as some writing techniques. Without a doubt, Shakespeare’s most upsetting tragedy is King Lear. Not just one, but multiple characters dealt with the wrath of Shakespeare’s pen with plenty of misfortune. The one character with the most endearing calamities …show more content…

Gloucester’s unsettling events occur for his blindness to see which son is the truthful and honest son to him. Edmund is jealous of his brother’s legitimacy to his father and festers up a plan to eliminate Edgar to take over the throne. “Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed, / And my invention thrive, Edmund, the base / Shall top the' legitimate." (King Lear I, II, 19-21) Gloucester foolishly believes Edmund as he is too blind to see where the real evil lies. "Abhorrid villain, unnatural, detested, / brutish villain; worse than brutish!" (King Lear I, II, 81-82) Gloucester immediately turns on Edgar, believing the lies that Edmund has put before him. The gullibility of Gloucester suggests the present doubts he had about Edgar moving onto the throne after him and that he only looks at the outside by not confronting Edgar about the supposed letter her wrote avenging his father’s death. The letter causes Edgar to go into hiding as an insane beggar named Tom whom which Gloucester doesn’t recognize as his own son. “Enforce their charity. Poor Turlygod, Poor Tom, / That’s something yet: Edgar I nothing am.” (King Lear III, 20-21) Further proving the flaw of Gloucester only relying on appearance as a means of

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If Edmond is trying to turn the tables to his brother, I feel that Gloucester wouldn't fall for it due to his anger in Act 1 that was expressed. In this act, I noticed a detail about Kent that seems important to the stories plot. Through aspects of dialogue and actions, I feel

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According to A.C. Bradley, Shakespearean tragedy have the following elements “although a tragedy may have many characters, it is pre-eminently the story of one person or at most two. The story leads up to and included the death of the hero. The story depicts also the troubled part of the hero’s life which precede’s and leads up to his death. The hero is a conspicuous person, a person of high degree. The suffering and calamity are exceptional, of a striking kind.

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Macbeth is becoming aware of his tyrannical behaviours, however, he is more fearful of threats to the crown and his kingship than the consequences he may face for such behaviours. This connection to kingship versus tyranny proves that kingship is honourable whereas tyranny is unjust and cruel in manner. The theme’s element of kingship is highlighted by Shakespeare’s usage of oxymoron when speaking of a “fruitless crown” (3.1.62) and “barren sceptre” (3.1.63). Fruitless and barren are terms associated with infertility while words such as crown and sceptre idealize lineage. In regards to kingship, Macbeth is hyperfocused on the fact that he has a blatant lack of heirs (which is unnatural to the throne), whereas Banquo has been prophesied to have many heirs in his bloodline.

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his mind when he notices a strange attitude of Edgar and he has pity for him. Especially, when Gloucester ask him for getting a shelter says: First let me talk with this philosopher./To Edgar. What is the cause of thunder?. (III.iv.162-163). Lear contemplates the miserable state of Edgar (disguised as Tom) whose poverty and nakedness reflect how gods are cruel and unjust to them.

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The embellishment of the daughter’s love by taking advantage of their father through flattery is the basis for the final quote of the play as Edgar remarks about the consequences of lies and manipulation rather than speaking from the heart. Though Regan and Goneril replied to a dramatic degree of which they love their father, Lear interrogated her by exclaiming, “What can you say to draw a third more opulent than your sisters? Speak” (Lear 1.1.87-88). Filled with power, Lear spoke to his daughters in an arrogant tone as he hinted that his inheritance is related to how much love they profess towards him. In response, Cordelia answers of nothing, beginning a string of repetition of the word “nothing” each with various syntax and punctuation to show the tension building between the father and daughter relationship.

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According to Shakespeare, blindness in this play reaches a meaning beyond the physical inability of the eye to see, but also is a mental flaw that affects multiple characters in the play. Gloucester suffered terrible consequences from this mental flaw. Ironically, Gloucester “stumbled” when he could physically see because although he could use his eyes, he couldn’t see the truth. When Gloucester loses his bodily capability to see, he comes to the realization that often times having something makes us spoiled and that our “defects prove our commodities.” Not having eyesight turned out to be advantageous for Gloucester and his relationship with Edgar.

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Gloucester is an old man with both his heirs as traitors it is a heinous injustice that Edmund has done to his family. With the estrange, due to Edmund’s schemes, Edgar and a traitor

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Significantly he tells inconvenient truths to the King with the unbridled insolence of a conscience. The King’s descent into madness comes when, importantly, he banishes his Fool ' '.(2016:278).In fact, King Lear is a masterpiece of psychological insight into human nature. In this tragedy scene, the picture which Shakespeare has painted of King Lear becomes completely reversed here. Indeed, Many characters have flaws affecting their decisions in English literature, they made mistakes only to realize them later.

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He should as well act towards the king not like a servant but as a friend. Lear goes through multiple shifts in character through the scene. At the start of the scene acts should act as a madman, rumbling and randomly shouting phrases. He should also get fixated on the idea of loss. As the scene reach a climax on line 34 with Lear ripping of his shirt, Lear should be screaming but as well be on the verge of complete collapse.

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Shakespeare articulates the distressed tone through the use of contrasting diction in comparing Macbeth and Banquo. In this soliloquy, Macbeth realizes that the only prophecy left unfulfilled was Banquo’s: the proclamation that his sons would become kings. Shakespeare utilizes gallant, regal diction in Macbeth’s description of Banquo. Fearing Banquo’s “royalty of nature” and the fact that the witches “hailed him father to a line of kings”, Macbeth’s paranoia increases (3.1.52, 3.1.63). In contrast, Shakespeare’s diction in relation to Macbeth’s kingship has a worthless connotation.

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The superior attitude with which Gloucester dismisses Edmund's ancestry further reinforces the distinctions between Edmund and Edgar. Where Edgar is entitled to his father's name, his title, and his wealth, Edmund is entitled to nothing but the coarse humour that followed his conception. Gloucester overlooks any possibility that his youngest

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Why brand they us with base?” We are able to see that Edmund believes that he is just as smart and good looking as Edgar, then he questions why is he being label as a bastard? Why is he being deprived of legal rights as a son of Gloucester? Why do people think that he is inferior to Edgar? Why does his father love Edgar more

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Once he realizes his wrongdoing he calls out to the gods that they need to prosper Edgar and not Edmund. This is ironic because Gloucester realizes that he made a blind decision only when he is actually

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Throughout the play, deception is a vital element in the betrayal of both King Lear and Gloucester. For example, Shakespeare depicts Edgar’s scheme personality by saying, “A credulous father, and a brother noble— / Whose nature is so far from doing harms” (1.2. 192-193). By utilizing descriptions such as “credulous” and “noble” to describe Gloucester and Edgar, it reveals the malicious aspect of deception. Shakespeare shows the evil behind this deception by revealing Edgar wants to take advantage of the innocent for his own personal gain. In contrast, Kent’s deception is seen as, “If but as well I other accents borrow, /

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King Lear is an arrogant and powerful individual who is very much aware of his authority. Lear’s most obvious flaw at the start of the play is that he values appearances over reality. He wants to be treated as a king and to also enjoy the title, but he doesn’t want to take the king’s responsibilities of ruling for the good of his kingdom. Likewise, his test for his daughters establishes the fact that he would much rather prefer a complimentary public display of

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