A near eye display (NED) includes multiple PBP optical elements combined with one or more C-plates to improve optical angular performance. The PBP optical elements may be configured for beam steering or for focusing light to a point. A C-plate may reduce or eliminate an undesirable polarization phase shift introduced by the PBP optical elements to angular, off-axis light. Birefringence of the PBP optical elements produces such a polarization phase shift. A C-plate provides an additional polarization phase shift that is opposite to the extra polarization phase shift by the PBP optical elements. Thus, the additional polarization phase shift by the C-plate at least partially reduces the phase shift by the PBP element.