Spectacle
Spectacle , noun
[French, from Latin spectaculum, from spectare to look at, to behold, v. intens. from specere. See Spy.]
1.
Something exhibited to view; usually, something presented to view as extraordinary, or as unusual and worthy of special notice; a remarkable or noteworthy sight; a show; a pageant; a gazingstock.
O, piteous spectacle? O, bloody times!
2.
A spy-glass; a looking-glass. [Obsolete]
Poverty a spectacle is, as thinketh me,
Through which he may his very friends see.
3.
An optical instrument consisting of two lenses set in a light frame, and worn to assist sight, to obviate some defect in the organs of vision, or to shield the eyes from bright light.
4.
Figuratively: An aid to the intellectual sight.
Shakespeare... needed not the spectacles of books to read nature.