How is imagery of sight and blindness used in the main characters' journey to wisdom, in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Lear?

        In Oedipus Rex, much like Lear, Oedipus is blind to his own mortality. He has been deluded by the people of Thebes who hail him, if not ‘the equal of gods’ then certainly ‘the first of men’. Thus, Oedipus too has developed a self-image that is less than objective. Oedipus learns from the prophet Teiresias, that he is the ‘unclean thing’ that needs removal from Thebes. He chooses to remain blind to this truth about his own condition, and turns against the blind Teiresias. Oedipus’ blindness is best demonstrated, when he is juxtaposed with the prophet. When initially addressing Teiresias, Oedipus states that ‘In your heart, if not with the eye, you [Teiresias] see our city’s condition’. (We as the audience have to accept this as true, since the Ancient Greeks believed in soothsayers). Once Oedipus learns of Teiresias’ prophecies, he immediately disputes them. Thus, opposite the clairvoyant, Oedipus emerges as someone, who is very much blind to his own condition. This contrast between the two characters is further heightened, by the fact that Teiresias is physically blind and Oedipus is seeing. For an audience these two images would provide an immediate physical difference among the two, that they could easily identify.

          In The Tragedy of King Lear blindness is an appropriate metaphor, since Lear’s behavior is just like that of a blind man’s. Lear is just as blind to the possible consequences of his rash decisions, as a blind man is to the visual world. His loyal servant, Kent attempts to dissuade Lear from banishing Cordelia in poor judgment, ‘see better, Lear’ he begs. Kent wishes to ‘remain the true blank of thine [Lear’s] eye’. However, Lear remains blind and angrily tells Kent to get ‘Out of [his] sight!’. Oedipus’ unwillingness to acknowledge his own condition is aptly reflected in metaphors of blindness as well.  Oedipus chooses to remain blind to the prophecies of Teiresias, in the same manner, as Lear does to Kent’s counsel. He refuses to acknowledge them, even though previously he refers to Teiresias’ as having ‘all heavenly and earthly knowledge in [his] grasp.’ Oedipus slurs at Teiresias by calling him a ‘sightless sot’ and stating that ‘If you [Teiresias] had eyes to see with, I would have said your hand, and yours alone, had done it all [slain Laius].’ Of course, whilst these accusations may be literally true, ironically they all apply to Oedipus himself as well. Not only is Oedipus figuratively sightless, but he in fact is solely responsible for Laius’ death.

          Teiresias states that ‘To be wise is to suffer.’ Thus, after each character’s respective suffering they soon come realize their own condition as human beings. Once Lear has endured his mental torture, he slowly begins to see his own status as a mortal and recognizes the fact that he is not ‘ague proof’. Moreover, Lear acknowledges his own shortcomings by admitting that his ‘eyes are not o’th’best’. Furthermore, he now tries to look past false appearances. When reconciling with Cordelia, he halts for a moment just to verify that her feelings are genuine, by asking ‘Be your tears wet?’  For the Shakespearean audience a powerful physical image without doubt is Gloucester’s blinding. After his eyes have been plucked out of their sockets, Gloucester states ‘I stumbled when I saw’. By this he stresses the importance of being perceptive to one’s own condition, as having eyes alone does not prevent humans from erring. In his final exchange with Gloucester, Lear observes that Gloucester’s eyes are ‘in a heavy case [a sad predicament] … yet [he sees] how this world goes.’ 

Like Gloucester’s blinding, Oedipus’ self-blinding provides the audience with a physical image of blindness. In addition the sight of blinded Oedipus draws parallels with Teiresias, which suggests that Oedipus now sees the things he previously chose to ignore. He has learned that one cannot defy fate and the gods. When asked who has blinded him, Oedipus responds that ‘Apollo has laid this agony upon [him]’. Furthermore, Oedipus has accepted the inevitable nature of his own fate and knows that ‘not age, nor sickness, nor a common accident can end [his] life.’

Following his blinding Gloucester states that ‘ ‘Tis the times’ plague when madmen lead the blind.’ This reflects one of the chief dangers of being blind to our own condition as human beings, those who are unaware of certain aspects of their being, are easily fooled and deceived (lead by madmen). Lear, Gloucester and Oedipus all go on a journey for wisdom; however the knowledge of their own condition comes too late, Lear goes mad, Oedipus and Gloucester loose their eyes. The advantage we have, as the audience is drama’s godlike perspective, which allows us to examine the lives of the characters of a play and to detect our own blindness in due time. It must be noted that Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of King Lear and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, present us with two very different