Friday, July 19, 2019
King Lears Blindness Essay -- essays research papers
Although it is never too late to learn, those lessons learned in old age are the most difficult and the most costly. In his play KING LEAR, Shakespeare illustrates that wisdom does not necessarily come with age. The mistakes that Lear and Gloucester make leave them vulnerable to disappointment and suffering at a time in their lives when both should be enjoying peace and contentment. Although both Lear and Gloucester achieve wisdom before they die, they pay a dear price for having lived life blindly.      Lear and Gloucester both illustrate that wisdom does not always come with age. Lear asks his three daughters to express their love for him in public. Both Goneril and Regan have no problem competing for his love, but when it is Cordelia’s turn she refuses to compete because she feels, she can’t express the way she feels through words. This refusal enrages Lear, hurts his pride, and causes him to make the foolish mistake of disowning Cordelia:                ...................................for we                Have no such daughter, nor shall ever see                That face of her again. Therefore be gone                Without our grace, our love, our benison.                               ( I, i, ll 261-264 )                               Because of Lear’s high position in society, he is supposed to be able to distinguish the good from the bad; unfortunately, his lack of sight prevented him to do so. Lear’s first act of blindness is his foolish need of displayed affection by his daughters. First, he was easily deceived by his two eldest daughter’s lies, then he was unable to see the reality of Cordelia’s true love for him, and as a result, banished her from his kingdom. Lear... ...red in brambles and other weeds, now he has been dressed in new clothing. Also, he has awakened with no recollection of how he arrived at where he is now, but he does remember the lessons he has learned. Do not trust the gilded serpents Regan and Goneril, and give your excess to thy fellow man so that he does not have to live in poverty and despair. Unfortunately Lear and Gloucester’s lesson was hard earned, and paid for with blood, including their own.      From foolishness to suffering and to learning through there mistakes, both Lear and Gloucester have taken a trip around the Wheel of Fortune. 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. It is amazing that only through great hardships, such as Gloucester having his eyes plucked out, could he and Lear receive true insight. Unfortunately, Gloucester’s blindness cost him his eyes and a natural relationship with his son. Lear’s blindness ended up costing Cordelia her life and consequently the life of himself.
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