Shakespeare's King Lear is known as one of his greatest tragedies. The story is full of bad luck, deceit and death. The story also contains two plots, a main plot featuring King Lear and a subplot featuring a character called Gloucester. The main plot and subplot of King Lear may have small differences, but the two main characters in each plot share the same underlying theme of blindness. The theme of a story is the main topic or idea that the author is trying to convey. There are several themes in King Lear. Some of these are easy to find and others you have to look up as you truly understand Shakespeare's words. When comparing and contrasting plots, the same themes present themselves on both sides of the story. One of these issues is blindness. It is important to understand what Shakespeare meant by using this word. Throughout the story there are literal and metaphorical forms of blindness that affect the characters. Thematically, blindness refers to the two fathers' unawareness or unknowing vision of things happening around them. We can start with King Lear himself and analyze his disability to see the authenticity in his daughters. This disability evidently arises when King Lear decides to divide his land among his three sons. Before the division of the land, each daughter is asked to declare her love for her father in front of the other guests at the dinner. Any sensible person can understand that the idea of ​​forcing a loved one to share their feelings for you, in order to receive a piece of land... is not a good idea. King Lear, however, has no idea what might come of pitting his daughters against each other. He continues to be unaware that his daughters, Goneril and Regan, lie to excess… middle of paper… bt, it reflects Shakespeare's personal opinion, as is often the case with themes. Lear states, “A man can see how this world goes without eyes.” To this day, King Lear is known for its tragedy and gripping portrayal of the suffering two families must endure. While these families and their fictional lives mirror each other, each character has traits that set them apart. When comparing the fathers of the main plot and subplot of King Lear and their relationship to the theme of blindness, you notice more similarities than differences. Shakespeare has indeed created an intriguing work with an in-depth message projected by King Lear and Gloucester.Works Citedhttp://www.ldoceonline.com/Literature-topic/theme http://ienglish.ie/2010/03/26/ king -lear-sample-answer-the-main-plot-and-the-sub-plot-of-king-lear-mirror-each-other-in-many-ways-discuss/ http://www.shmoop. com/re-lear/