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Examples Of Blindness In King Lear

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Insight through Blindness in King Lear
Throughout Shakespeare's play write King Lear the constant theme of intellectual blindness reveals moral understanding. King Lear and Gloucester both have uncertainties that derive their moral understanding and relationships with those around them.
King Lear shows a descent into blindness from the very beginning. This is shown in the first scene when he banishes Cordelia and Kent. His frustration and ego blind him from seeing Goneril and Regan’s dishonest intentions and Cordelia’s true, honest love for him. Kent is banished for attempting to interject reason with Lear. In Lines 160-161 (Act 1 Scene 1) Kent states: “See better, Lear, and let me still remain. The true blank of thine eye.” In saying this Kent is asking Lear to allow him to stay to council him because he’s angry, and filled with emotions.
Lear continues to become more angered as he begins to realize Goneril and Regan’s true feelings towards him. He’s eventually kicked out of their homes and enters the wilderness. In Act 1, Scene 5 “Old fold eye’s Beweep this cause again, I’ll pluck ye out, and cast you, with the waters that …show more content…

He is fooled by his emotions when Edmund reveals the letter, which Gloucester assumed to believe Edgar wrote with plans to kill him. Once this happens Edmund is constantly playing with his father and Edgar’s emotions like puppets, influencing both of them to believe that the other was after them. In line 176 (Act 1, Scene 2) Edmund says “A credulous father! And a brother noble...” He exploits Gloucester’s fault for his own benefit. Then after Edmund stabs himself and convinces him that Edgar assaulted him, Gloucester issues a warrant for the arrest of Edgar. Gloucester is blinded by the aroused emotions of distrust. Gloucester is continuously deceived by Edmund’s deceptive nature. His gullibility causes him to turn his back on Edgar and embrace Edmund; who is manipulating his

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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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