Eyesight Motif in King Lear

 One of the most fascinating properties in Shakespeare's 'King Lear' is the story's ability to deepen and to develop layer upon layer every time you read it. One of the tools Shakespeare uses to create this intriguing quality in his work is through the use of motifs, of which eyesight is possibly the most prominent example in the play.

 The motif of eyesight is introduced in the very first scene, starting the gradual build-up of the motif from the very beginning of the play. Gonneril tells Lear that she loves him 'more than eyesight'. Such an outlandish statement immediately grasps the attention of an audience, implanting the motif on some level into our heads. To have Gonneril, the least favourite of Lear's daughters and a relatively unimportant character, initiate such a vital motif into the play may seem like an unusual choice of Shakespearre's, but only adds to the complexity of this motif as the plot unfurls.

 Another interesting feature of the eyesight motif in 'King Lear' is it's ability to fade into the background so effortlessly during the course of the play. After Gonneril introduces the motif with such a bang, the motif gradually disappears from centre-stage and becomes almost invisible to the audience. However, the motif never truly vanishes. With the Fool's jokes about Lear's 'blindness' to his daughter's sinister intentions, with Lear's not believing his eyes at his daughter's cruelty, with Gloucester being unable to see beyond  Edmund's rouse or behind Edgar's disguise, the motif of vision and eyesight gradually gains momentum as the play takes it's course.

 Finally, the most shocking aspect of the eyesight motif in 'King Lear' is undoubtedly witnessed during the gauging of Gloucester's eyes. Throughout the play, vision and blindness are referred to in a less literal sense, such as the idea of being 'blind' to your daughter's vileness. For the motif to reach it's climax in such a physical display catches the audience completely by surprise, and leaves them without breath by the end of the scene. The fact that Gonneril suggests blinding Gloucester to her sister and brother-in-law allows her to bring the motif to it's peak of prominence on top of first bringing eyesight into the play. The horrific gore witnessed in this scene is like nothing else in 'King Lear', and can render a reader awe-struck at having been subjected to such a hideous act  of violence, while also watching the motif of eyesight reach a profound extremity like no other concealed feature in the play.

 Though the world of 'King Lear' is chaotic, confusing, cluttered, and at times may seem to be composed of little less than nonsense, as the text of the play is analysed, stunning, intricate patterns appear throughout all aspects of Shakespeare's falsified universe, creating a complexity in the world of the play that could be seconded only by reality. The motif of eyesight is the crowning example of this beautiful, premeditated wildness seen so often in 'King Lear'.