Importance of the Fool in King Lear
William Shakespeare's genius came from how closely he intertwined the two seemingly mutually exclusive realms to appeal to all socio-economic groups in his audience. The character of the Fool provides the closest intercourse of the two realms between King Lear's royalty and Poor Tom's poverty, while still maintaining their separation. The Fool's role in King Lear was to counteract the King's follies in order to bring him to his senses. With his honesty, wit, and clever wordplay that interweave foreshadowing and practical advice, the Fool entertains not only the King, but the audience as well, and brings some light and humour into this tragedy. All the characters in King Lear, apart from the Fool, are interconnected and of great importance to the story of King Lear and his daughters and the story of Edmund, Edgar and Gloucester. The character of the Fool did not have influence over Lear's decision to divide the kingdom, nor did the Fool have any connection with the subplot. Perhaps, for this reason many directors argue over the importance of his character. One should be able to realize that the presence of the Fool did not influence the overall impact of the play and that the two major plots would have occurred with him or without him. The character of the Fool should not be excluded from the play as this would damage the balance of tragedy versus comedy that was deliberately set up by Shakespeare, which would result in a loss of audience.
There is a saying that goes, "Only fools and children tell the truth". Shakespeare does a great job of illustrating this saying through the Fool's character. The Fool is being loyal and honest to his master Lear no matter how painful the truth may...
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...y reveals much of that friendly connection that the audience is asking for. Therefore, for all these reasons, I believe that the character of the Fool should not be taken out of the play even though it doesn't have a role in the two major plots of the play.
Works Cited and Consulted
Bradley, A.C. "King Lear." 20Lh Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. New Jersev; Prentice-Hall, 1978.
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Hunter, Robert G. Shakespeare and the Mystery of God's Judgments. University of Georgia Press, 1996.
Knights, L.C. "On the Fool". 20th Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Jane Adelman. New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, 1978.
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One should notice the importance of the Fool very early in the play. In Scene 4, Lear asks for his Fool twice. The second time is just a few lines after the first. He seems to need his Fool urgently. Yet the Fool has been pining over the loss of Cordelia (1.4. ). Yet Lear orders the Fool to come to him.
Shakespeare, William. King Lear. As reprinted in Elements of Literature. Toronto: Oxford University Press. 1990.
In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the Fool is a source of chaos and disruption in King Lear’s tumultuous life. The Fool causes the King distress by insulting him, making light of his problems, and telling him the truth. On the road to Regan’s, the Fool says “If thou wert my Fool, nuncle, I’d have thee / beaten for being old before thy time.” (1.5.40-41). He denies the king the respect due to him as an aged King, causing the King to wonder at his worthiness. The fool also makes light of Lear’s qualms making snide remarks in response to Lear’s ruminations. When Lear asks Edgar cryptically, “wouldst thou give ‘em all?” the Fool responds, “Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all shamed” (3.4.69-72). The Fool’s snide remarks do little to maintain Lear’s fragile control of his faculties. However, the Fool speaks to the king candidly, a rare occasion in Lear’s life. Even Kent acknowledges the truth of the Fool’s statements, saying, “This is not altogether fool, my lord” (1.4.155).
Shakespeare, William. "King Lear: A Conflated Text." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York:
Shakespeare, William. "King Lear." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, Ed. Walter Cohen, Ed. Jean E. Howard and Ed. Katharine Eisaman Maus. 2. New York, London: Oxford University Press, 2008. 591-759. Print.2011.
8 Kiernan Ryan, 'King Lear: The Subversive Imagination' in New Casebooks: King Lear, ed. Kiernan Ryan, Macmillan 1993, p.80
Elton, William R. King Lear and the Gods. San Marino, California: The Huntington Library, 1966.
The only one that can hold a mirror, telling the king the truth about his behaviour is the Fool. He is allowed to say anything of criticism without fear of retributions. He is actually Lear’s external conscience, speaking the truth about his three daughters. The Fool has greater wisdom about the world and s...
Combining the antics of a circus with the pomp of a royal court is a difficult task indeed. William Shakespeare's genius came from how closely he intertwined the two seemingly mutually exclusive realms to appeal to all socioeconomic groups in his audience. In King Lear, Edgar's appearance as Tom of Bedlam, Lear's insanity, and Lear's Fool provide the comic relief which slices the dramatic tension. Among these, Lear's Fool provides the closest intercourse of the two realms of royalty and tomfoolery while still maintaining their separation.
...ly continuous was masterful. Despite the use of all the sources, the additions of the Fool, the earlier death of Cordelia, the plot of Edmund to take over the kingdom, and the blindness of Gloucester (literally) and Lear (emotionally) was pure genius of Shakespeare. The blending of both the sources and his genius led to a complete and amazing story of redemption, the same way that Jane Smiley used Shakespeare's King Lear as a source to help create her Pulitzer Prize winning A Thousand Acres about a twentieth-century farm.
It would be impossible to label all the roles that Fool plays to his king. His only assigned brief - an entertainer of the court - is most likely the fool’s least important. Fool acted far more importantly than a mere source of entertainment, being Lear’s informative protector and friend. By far his most significant role was that of a moral instructor to his king. Fool teaches Lear that humans are unable to know themselves completely.
Bengtsson, Frederick. “King Lear by William Shakespeare.” Columbia College. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
King Lear and Gloucester are the two older characters that endure the most in the play King Lear by William Shakespeare. Throughout the play their stories foreshadow the events that will occur in the other’s life. However, while Gloucester goes blind, Lear goes mad. In doing this Shakespeare is indicating congruence between the two conditions. Only after they lose their faculties can Lear and Gloucester recognize that their blindness to honesty had cost them dearly.