king lear
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In the tragedy King Lear, the term blindness has an entirely different meaning. It is not a
physical flaw, but the inability of the characters to use their thoughts and emotions to see a
person for whom they truly are. They can only read what is presented to them on the
surface. King Lear, Gloucester and Albany are three prime examples characters who
suffered most by having this flaw.
Lear was by far the blindest of the three. Because Lear was the King, one would expect
him to have superb reasoning skills, but his lack of insight kept him from making wise
choices. This is the flaw that led to his downfall.
Lear's first big mistake was letting himself be fooled by Regan and Goneril, and giving
them his throne. For they did not love him at all, he could not understand the depth of
Cordelia's love for him. He banished her from the kingdom without one thought to what
she had said...