Why, despite everything, do we like Lear and are on his side? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Ultimately, any pathos that befalls Lear is due to the fact that he, like all of Shakespeare's tragic heroes, does not deserve the severity of the punishment he receives. He is, due to his lack of wisdom, a victim of circumstances. Lear's catastrophic decision to divide the kingdom highlights his diplomatic stupidity and immediately shows the audience his only tragic fault; blindness. His rash banishment of Cordelia, who had previously been his favorite daughter, "our joy", "your best object" and Kent who appears to be his only "faithful" servant suggests that he is a poor judge of character and as Regan eloquently suggests. at the end of the scene a Lear "has always known himself but only slightly". Kneeling before Regan in Act II Scene IV visually suggests that he has a childish mentality when he wants something and his outbursts aimed at Cordelia in Act I Scene II, "The Barbarian Scythian", "I Renounce All My Fatherly Cares", further highlights Lear's emotional imprudence of thought and lack of wise wisdom. At the end of Act I, Scene III, Goneril says that "old fools are children again" and he is right in Lear's case because Lear seems incapable of making a mature and informed decision about anything. However, we do not turn against Lear because we recognize that, like all humanity, Lear has flaws and merits. Lear's actions are not the result of corruption or depravity but are simply the direct result of him being constantly blind to the reality of the situation around him. In retrospect, our sympathy turns to Lear when we realize that he is a "blind" victim of the situation. Goneril and Regan show us at the end of the first scene that they do not love Lear "dearer than sight, space and freedom" as they stated in the love match and that they have in fact manipulated Lear into the position they want because they realize "of the poor judgment he has now" and intend to further their own Machiavellian ends. The scene at the end of the first act sees the two "sisters" plotting to "hit together" "I' the heat". The long sentences in the dialogue at the end of the scene that I combined with the lack of punctuation speed up the pace of the dialogue and give it a rhythmic, almost cursed feel. Along with destructive adjectives like “infirm,” “choleric,” and “rebellious,” we begin to feel that something sinister and perhaps even supernatural is being plotted against Lear. This helps to suggest that Lear, from the beginning of the play, will not escape the manipulation of those around him because he is not yet wise. Lear sincerely believes that he bestows his bureaucratic duties "on the younger forces" and that "future conflicts can be prevented" through the division of the kingdom. However he is once again hampered by his "blindness" and this subtlety is suggested by Lear's constant references to eyes. When he talks about Cordelia he says he hopes the lightning will strike her "blinding flames/into her scornful eyes." The fool also repeatedly mentions the eyes, “fathers who wear rags/make their children blind,” and Lear threatens to put out the fool's eyes. “Eyes” and “sight” are mentioned ten times throughout the main play, and the word “see” is mentioned thirty-eight times in reference to Lear subtly instilling in the audience through repetition the idea that everyone in the main plot can “see " correctly except Lear. The fool desperately tries to show Lear where he is blind, but all his violent insults, "even if they are not.