What role does sight play in ‘King Lear’?

The theme of sight and seeing in ‘King Lear’ is very prevalent. Both Lear and Gloucester demonstrate an inability to see their children for who they really are, which plays a great part in their demise. They both cannot tell which children are to be trusted and which are in fact disloyal. The most extreme metaphor for this is when Gloucester’s eyeballs are plucked out, his literal blindness now mirroring his figurative. There are recurring references to sight throughout the play, varying from Goneril using it to falsely express her love for her father as she proclaims him “Dearer than eye-sight”, to the Fool employing it as a metaphor for some of the larger problems taking place i.e. “Fathers that wear rags Do make their children blind”. By using sight as a continual symbol over the duration of the play, the theme of blindness and deception subconsciously resonates with the reader as being central to the plot.