The Tragedy of King Lear , an annotated digital edition

Page 16

Foreshadowing and Theme Alert. In King Lear this is one of the first lines that introduces the theme of disability (figuratively and later literally) of not being able to see. Here Kent is saying that Lear cannot see Cordelias love or perhaps even Regans and Gonerils overtly exaggerated love. Lear is in the beginning stages of his hysteria which is sparked by his lack of “sight”. Later Glouchester physically cant see because his eyes are gouged out but before that he can’t see the true motives of his son Edmund either. So may Shakespeare is saying “there is no point in having eyes if you still cant see things clearly”