The Theme Of Blindness In King Lear Essays - King Lear,

The Theme of Blindness in King Lear 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. Lear's last words to the only daughter that truly loved him were; ".....for we/ have no such daughter, nor shall we ever see/ that face of hers again. Therefore be gone/ without our grace, our love, our benison." (Shakespeare 1, 1. 262-265) Lear's blindness also caused him to banish Kent, one of his most loyal followers. Kent tried to stand up to Lear in Cordelia's honor, but Lear would not listen to what Kent was trying to tell him. To Kent's opposition; "This hideous rashness, answer my life, my judgement,/ Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least;" ( 1,1. 150-151) Lear responded with, "Kent on thy life, no more." ( 1, 1, 154) "Out of my sight!" ( 1, 1. 157) This is a good example of Lear's lack of insight. He was being too stubborn to see that Kent was only trying to do what was best for Lear. After Kent had been banished, he continued to serve Lear, by wearing a disguise. Because of Lear's lack of sight he could not see through the costume. As the play progressed Lear's sanity went downhill, but his vision became clearer. When Goneril and Regan would not provide him with shelter during a furious storm, Lear realized that they were the daughters who did not love him. He also began to understand the words of Cordelia from the beginning of the play, he realized that she loved him too much to put into words. When Lear and Cordelia finally reunited near the end of the play, Lear expressed his sorrow for what he had done. "You must bear with me, I pray you now, forget and forgive:/ I am old an foolish." ( 4, 7. 82 ) But it was too late, Lear's rashness and inability to see clearly had already cost him, and Cordelia their lives. Lear was not the only character to suffer from blindness, Gloucester too, had lack of insight. He could not see the goodness of his son Edgar, and the wickedness of Edmund. A forged letter was the only evidence needed to convince Gloucester that Edgar was plotting to kill him. Immediately after reading the letter Gloucester screams in a rage; "O villain, villain! His very opinion in the/ letter! Abhorred villain! Unatural, delested, brutish/ villain! Worse than brutish! Go, sirrah, seek him; I'll/ apprehend him. Abominable villain! Where is he?" (1, 2. 75-78 ) He did not even stop to consider if Edgar were capable of doing such a thing. Ironically, it is not until Gloucester loses his physical sight, when his vision becomes clear. He finds out that it was really Edmund who was after his earldom. Gloucester feels guilty for the way that he treated Edgar, which is obvious when he says; "I have no way and therefore I want no eyes;/ I stumbled when I saw. Full oft ?tis seen, our means secure us, and our mere defects. Prove our commodities. Ah! dear son Edgar;/ The food of thy abused fathers wrath;/ Might I but live to see thee in my touch, / I'd say I had eyes again. ( 4, 1. 18-24 ) From this point on Gloucester learns to see clearly by using his heart instead of his eyes. When Lear questions

Free Essays on Australian Poets

The particular poem that I have decided to present today gave Wright’s second book its title and was admittedly written by Wright for her husband whilst she was pregnant with his child. The poem’s title ‘Woman to May’ has several connotations at first glance. Once could interpret it as a woman bestowing certain gifts to a man, specifically sexual favours. Or perhaps the title is a comp0arison or even a challenge between the sexes, on to interpreted more as ‘Woman vs. Man’. The title also leaves the poem open – it can be read and appreciated by any man or woman across the globe. I believe that Wright’s main purpose in writing the text was to express her feelings about the creation of her soon-to-be-born child. As her primary intended audience was her husband, Wright wishes to convey her feelings about the child they have created, while it grows ever-more inside of her. Her poem not only explores fertility and birth, but also speaks boldly and almost proudly of female sexuality, highlighting sex as a symbol of life. Wright wrote this piece during 1949, a time then such things as conception and pregnancy were not topics of public discussion. By writing such a piece, Wright took a stance against the social pressures and norms of the post-war years when men were once again asserting themselves as masters of their domain. Wright could be called a feminist, even a revolutionary for composing such a daring and emotive text during such an era. Pieces like ‘Woman to Man’ highlight how no barriers or limits can hold back the power of the written word. Yet despite Wright’s possible feminist stance, I doubt she wrote the poem with the purpose of educating the male population about pregnancy; rather, it is my belief that she is attempting to share the joy of creation that exists between two people – woman and man. Wright’s use of personal pronouns illustrates the level of intimacy that she shared with her husband... Free Essays on Australian Poets Free Essays on Australian Poets The particular poem that I have decided to present today gave Wright’s second book its title and was admittedly written by Wright for her husband whilst she was pregnant with his child. The poem’s title ‘Woman to May’ has several connotations at first glance. Once could interpret it as a woman bestowing certain gifts to a man, specifically sexual favours. Or perhaps the title is a comp0arison or even a challenge between the sexes, on to interpreted more as ‘Woman vs. Man’. The title also leaves the poem open – it can be read and appreciated by any man or woman across the globe. I believe that Wright’s main purpose in writing the text was to express her feelings about the creation of her soon-to-be-born child. As her primary intended audience was her husband, Wright wishes to convey her feelings about the child they have created, while it grows ever-more inside of her. Her poem not only explores fertility and birth, but also speaks boldly and almost proudly of female sexuality, highlighting sex as a symbol of life. Wright wrote this piece during 1949, a time then such things as conception and pregnancy were not topics of public discussion. By writing such a piece, Wright took a stance against the social pressures and norms of the post-war years when men were once again asserting themselves as masters of their domain. Wright could be called a feminist, even a revolutionary for composing such a daring and emotive text during such an era. Pieces like ‘Woman to Man’ highlight how no barriers or limits can hold back the power of the written word. Yet despite Wright’s possible feminist stance, I doubt she wrote the poem with the purpose of educating the male population about pregnancy; rather, it is my belief that she is attempting to share the joy of creation that exists between two people – woman and man. Wright’s use of personal pronouns illustrates the level of intimacy that she shared with her husband...

Labor law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Labor law - Essay Example plementation of this Railway Labor Act was to ensure that the railways continued to provide its services and the obstacles in the deliverance of services caused due to differences between the employees and employers were removed. This was an essential step for the sustainability of the reputation of the railway industry. This law provided the privilege of freedom to the railway employees to organize their own unions independently. Authority was given to both management and labor and none were bounded by the domination of one another; Often rail laborers had to agree on working terms that later gave rise to disappointment. Different laborers had different and colliding views about the prevailing working environment that caused conflicts. This law served as a rapid solution for all disputes of the rail industry. The Railway Labor Act (RLA) has a positive impact on the organizations because due to the enactment of this law the disputes that took place between the railway organizations and their employees started solving in a timely manner. Due to this the productivity of the organizations was not damaged as a result of the protests. The provision of development of a National Mediation board helped in ensuring that the disputes that were not being solved by the unions and organizations started being solved with the indulgence of a third party. This even ensured that the organizations were not able to manipulate the union leaders into working for the interest of the owners of the organization instead of working for the employees they represented. This Act clarified that yellow- dog agreement made between the laborer of a certain industry and its management as a condition for becoming an employee, was strictly unacceptable by the Federal Court (Cihon, 2011, p.342). Any such contract, which forbids the laborer to join a labor union, has no claimable existence in the Federal Court. This law of United States was established for the protection of the rights of the