The play King Lear, considered one of William Shakespeare's best works, is a tragedy centered on the theme of blindness. In the work, the word blindness, defined as the inability to physically see, is used as a metaphor for understanding and self-awareness. Blindness is manifested through the actions of King Lear, Gloucester, and Albany. Throughout the play, King Lear is shown to be the blindest of all. Lear first displays an act of blindness in Act 1, when he divides his kingdoms among his three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, through a test of who loves him more. Goneril and Regan tell Lear that they love him more than anything; however, they only said this to get their hands on the kingdoms; Lear believes their falsehoods. Cordelia, on the other hand, tells Lear that she loves him as much as a daughter should love her father. Lear, misunderstanding Cordelia's words and enraged by this, banishes Cordelia from the kingdom, “...for we have no such daughter, nor shall we ever see that face of hers again. Therefore leave without our grace, our love, our blessing.” (1.4.304-308) Lear failed to truly see and understand the words Cordelia spoke to him, he was blinded by the deception of his eldest daughters and because of this he lost the only daughter who truly loved him; he believed that Cordelia did not love him. And so Cordelia leaves with the King of France. Another act of blindness by King Lear was when he banished Kent, one of his most loyal followers, from the kingdom for supporting Cordelia with what she told him. Kent understands Cordelia's love for her father and tells Lear, "See better... and let me still remain / The very emptiness of your eyes." (1.1.180-181). Here, Kent tries to put Lear...... middle of paper......Goneril is totally cruel, he still doesn't do much to stop her. Albany demonstrates his love through the following words: “I cannot be so partial, Goneril, to the great love I bear thee” (1.4.329-330). Here Albany is saying that he should not only think about himself but also about his love for Goneril. Albany was unable to realize Goneril's wrong deeds because of his love for her. He was also blind to the fact that Goneril was cheating on him with Edmund. Later in the play, Albany learns Goneril's true intentions from Edgar and begins to see the person Goneril truly is: "O Goneril, you are not worth the dust that the rude wind blows in your face!" (4.2.38-40). Here, Albany is releasing her emotions for the first time by telling Goneril that she is worthless. Albany begins to see the truth only thanks to Edgar, but it was too late to change everything that had happened.