s see. Come, if it be nothing, I shall not needspectacles" (I.ii.33-35). Gloucester has to see the letter himself to determine that it truly is nothing. Since Gloucester only trustsin what he can see, and Lear will only believe in what he hears, both of these men will be deceived over and over again untilthey are able to get past these surface concepts and develop some understanding of reality. From what has been said, it can beseen that the fall of King Lear, paired with the subplot of Gloucester's betrayal by Edmund provides many parallels whichreinforce one another. We watch, in King Lear, these two aging men fall from positions of respect and power to being thesimple and abused nothings of society. Furthermore, we see these same two men believe themselves to be one way, thoughthey are perceived by others quite differently. Lastly, we learn in watching the play that valuing things by how much they appearto be, not how much they truly are worth gives a false representation of the truth. On the whole, Shakespeare's King Lear ismaking a statement about appearances and realities; specifically, you can't accept things at face value, you must search fordeeper truths and avoid deceit. ...
