See better, Lear (1.1.158-165)

KING LEAR

Kent, on thy life, no more.

KENT

My life I never held but as a pawn To wage against thy enemies; nor fear to lose it, Thy safety being the motive.

KING LEAR

Out of my sight!

KENT

See better, Lear; and let me still remain The true blank of thine eye.

KING LEAR

Now, by Apollo,--

KENT

Now, by Apollo, king, Thou swear'st thy gods in vain.

KING LEAR

O, vassal! miscreant! Laying his hand on his sword

Lear asks Kent to speak “no more” for the sake of his life. Even now, Lear continues to use “thy” which makes their relationship seem like a personal one. Lear’s decisions do not match up to his bond with Kent and therefore make him appear dishonest - at least with himself. Whereas Kent’s actions are motivated by the “safety” of Lear: matching well with the clearly trusting relationship they have had till now. Kent’s wording in this scene is interesting as it utilises repetition to argue. He constantly repeats Lear’s wording only morphing it slightly e.g. “thy life” to “my life”, “sight” to “see”, “now, by Apollo” to “now, by Apollo, king”. By speaking in this way, Kent puts the words in Lear’s own mouth - a method that Kent seems to utilise constantly in this act. Originally, the rhetorical questions were used, but the progression to this tactic shows that Lear is mentally unable to interpret or answer even the most basic of questions. Kent mentions that he only ever held his life “as a pawn” - continuing the metaphor for chess. “Pawn” does accurately describe Kent - who is willing to take Lear’s wrath head-on in face of someone more important (as in chess, sacrificing pawns in return for another piece is a common tactic. Since pawns in chess are numerous, perhaps here there is some slight foreshadowing of Kent returning to Lear’s side - disguised in the crowd of pawns - as Caius. Kent is the “pawn” to Lear’s king; his duty is to protect Lear. “Pawn” also suggests making money (a trend that is continued by “wage”). These monetary meanings are secondary to the true meaning in the context of their use. By banishing Lear, he banishes riches and welcomes poverty when Goneril and Regan throw him out. Lear responds to Kent’s declarations with the short and snappy line: “Out of my sight!” - which links into this play’s theme of blindness. By refusing to see the truth, Lear shows his madness and immaturity; it is his unwillingness to see that tricks him, blinds him, and ultimately kills him. Lear’s anger is clear from the exclamation mark. Kent’s response is telling Lear to “see better”, showing that Kent knows that Lear can see the truth, but it is his choice not to which stops him: not his ability. Kent continues saying “let me still remain the true blank of thine eye”. The “blank” is the centre of the targets in archery which are typically used to help one focus. Kent’s asking here to be used to help Lear regain his sight and focus. This also leads back to the metaphor of a bow showing Lear’s wrath (“the bow is bent and drawn”). Perhaps this foreshadows that - in his discovery of the truth - Lear must hurt Kent before Lear can truly understand the truth of his self-made situation. Lear next calls on “Apollo” the Greek god of the sun. His calling of non-Christian gods already shows how far he has strayed from God’s light to the point where he calls on gods outside his faith. They cannot do anything however as at the time people in England would’ve had a strong Catholic view and would regard this statement as treachery to god. Kent recognises the pointless of this summoning and - as marked by the hyphen ending Lear’s line - interrupts Lear, telling him that he “swear’st [his] gods in vain”. Notice that “gods” here isn’t capitalised - showing how false these gods truly are in comparison to the Catholic God. Lear’s response is a terse one of short and anger-filled insults: “vassal! Miscreant!”. These insults show Lear on the very last straw, Kent has pushed him too far and as shown by the exclamation and the stage direction - Lear will rapidly become violent over the matter.