In Shakespeare's King Lear, the characters in positions of power are most often those who are most blind to the truth. Only after losing this power are they able to clearly understand the events taking place around them and realize who their true friends and enemies are. The opposite is also true. Characters without power are usually those who can see the true motivations of other characters. This inverse relationship between power and knowledge is most clearly reflected in four characters: Gloucester, King Lear, the Fool, and Kent. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In Gloucester's situation, his power can be equated to his vision. A member of the court, Gloucester bears the noble title of earl. In this high position, he is unaware of the motivations behind the actions of those around him. His own son, Edmund, cheats on him. Angry at being the illegitimate son and hungry for an inheritance, Edmund convinces his father that his other son, Edgar, is plotting to kill him. It doesn't take much effort since Gloucester quickly believes Edmund. Although they plan to meet again to determine if Edgar is actually conspiring against his father, it seems that Gloucester already believes that Edgar is guilty. This can be seen in the way he refers to Edgar when he asks Edmund to "discover this villain" (I.2.115). The next time they meet, Gloucester finds Edmund injured. Although he does not see what is happening, Gloucester is easily led to believe that Edgar attacked him. At this point, Gloucester is mistakenly convinced that Edgar is the bad son and that Edmund is the good son. He then rewards Edmond by telling him: "...and from my land,...I will work the means to make you capable" (II.1.83-85). Gloucester only learns “to see” in his blindness. Six lines after Cornwall completely blinds Gloucester, Gloucester discovers the truth. When he is injured, Gloucester calls Edmund for help, but Cornwall quickly informs him that "it was [Edmund] who gave us the opening of your treasons" (III.7.89-90). It is here that Gloucester understands what is happening, exclaiming: “O my follies! So Edgar was mistreated” (III.7.92). Besides this awareness, Gloucester also gains other knowledge through his blind state. On the one hand, he is less easily persuaded by others. When Edgar tries to convince his father that they are on a hill, Gloucester says, "I think the ground is level" (IV.6.3). Her new insight is also evident in her meeting with Edgar. When Gloucester was able to see, he did not recognize his son and asked him: “What are you here?” Your names? (III.4.127), when he sees Edgar. However, after being blinded, he connects Tom Bedlam to Edgar by saying, "I saw such a man... My son then came into my mind" (IV.1.33-35). Now that he is blind and helpless, he is suddenly more perceptive of the world around him. King Lear experiences a similar exchange between power and knowledge. As the ruler of his kingdom, he is first introduced in the play as the man with the most power. However, he is also unable to recognize who his friends and enemies are. First, his daughters, Goneril and Regan, easily deceive him. They tell him that they both love him the most, “more than words can express” (I.1.55). He believes their lies and divides the kingdom between them, leaving nothing for his other daughter, Cordelia, who truly loves him. Simply because she refuses to flatter him, he was unable to see the reality of Cordelia's true love for him. As a result, he banishes herof his kingdom with the following words: "...for we have no such daughter, nor shall we ever see this face of her again. Therefore depart without our grace, our love, our blessing" (I. 1.265-267). King Lear also punishes one of his most loyal supporters, Kent. Kent sees Cordelia's true love for her father and tries to advise her against making a mistake. Instead, Lear irrationally prefers to believe Goneril and Regan's lies and banishes Kent as well. Not only is King Lear incapable of seeing evil in his personal life, but also in that of the kingdom. He neglects the poor and does not even recognize the existence of poverty in his country. Once Lear abandons his kingdom, his inferior position allows him to see the truth. He falls into a position of complete helplessness once he is locked out of the castle during a terrible storm. At this point he has nowhere to go and can't even keep his train of men. He now realizes how wicked his two older daughters are, calling them "pernicious" (III.2.22). During the storm, he also sees the poverty of his kingdom, which he fails to recognize when in a position of power. Lear wonders how “homeless chiefs and undernourished camps defend [the poor] against seasons like these.” He continues to say: "Oh, I didn't take care of it too much!" (III.4.32-35), admitting his neglect of the poor. More importantly, Lear sees through Cordelia's lack of flattery and realizes that her love for him is so great that she cannot express it in words. Unlike Gloucester and King Lear, the Fool does not suffer a fall from power in order to gain knowledge. Instead, because he is already in a low position, he is able to be intelligent. One of the two reasons he already has knowledge is because of how other characters perceive him. Most people are unaware of it, and when they are, they dismiss its presence as unimportant. When Kent asks who the Fool is, for example, the Gentleman replies: “None but the Fool” (III.1.16). They basically see him as a nobody. As a result, the other characters do not pretend to be someone else. They are themselves around him and thus, the Fool sees the truth. The second reason why his low position allows him to be intelligent follows from the first. Because the other characters don't consider him important, the Fool can say whatever he wants without angering anyone. No one is threatened by him or his statements, as the king's actions clearly show. The Fool's statements are generally much harsher than the words of any other character. However, it is the other characters who are punished while nothing happens to him. When Kent and Cordelia tell the truth, for example, the king becomes so angry that he banishes them from the kingdom. However, when the Fool criticizes the king by saying: "The sweet and bitter fool will soon appear, one variegated here, the other discovered there" (I.4.141-144), Lear responds only with: " Are you calling me a fool, boy? » (I.4.144). The Fool basically calls the King a fool, but the King doesn't even get angry. Throughout the play, the Fool provides insight into the actions of the characters. The Fool shows his knowledge through ambiguous statements and clever witticisms. The only problem is that no one takes it seriously. When the Fool advises Lear to “speak less than you know” (I.4.116), Kent says, “It’s nothing, fool” (I.4.125). The Fool also provides simple and clear reasoning for a one-eyed king. The Fool only appears for the first time in the fourth scene of Act 1, after the departure of.