What does King Lear’s use of literal and metaphorical blindness suggest about the play’s vision of the world? What’s the meaning of seeing in this play?

Why does Lear ask his daughters the fateful question at all? What does the first scene reveal about Lear’s character, and how does Lear’s question relate to the terrible events that follow?

Lear’s Fool disappears without a trace after the storm scenes. Why might this be? What does the Fool mean to the first half of the play, and why might he not fit into the second half?