William Shakespeare supports the differing ideals of appearance and reality by the physical traits of the characters and the action of events in his historical tragedy, King Lear. The refusal of Cordelia to articulate her love to her father, King Lear, with the physical blindness of Gloucester, and the disguise of a wandering senile beggar for Edgar all embody the differentiation of what is visible to the human eye and the nature of choices the …showed first 75 words of 505 total…

…showed last 75 words of 505 total…her father reveals the truth despite the lack of words to verify the love. The absence of sight for Gloucester relates his inability of his awareness of the honorable son. The beggar façade of Edgar relates to his legitimate birth and honor to his father, Gloucester. All of these display the use of physical attributes of the characters and the underlying nature of the plot is revealed in William Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear.