The Fool In King Lear Essay

The Fool is ironically different from his title. While the fool is commonly an idiot, Lear's fool seems to understand the political situation better that the king himself. His jokes and songs seem to be aimed at teaching Lear about the errors he has made rather than at making

These fools tended to be quite intelligent and despite their crude humour and sarcastic lines, they could be very philosophical at times. In King Lear, by Shakespeare, the audience meets the Fool who plays a wise role toward Lear, even though he was supposed to be the more foolish of the two. In between his jokes and jabs, the Fool shows how much he cares for Lear and does whatever he can to try and bring Lear back from insanity. Not only is the Fool in the play for the need of a few witty lines, but he also proves to be one of the most loyal and protective of Lear’s subjects. He does not have a large amount of lines in the play, and when Cordelia comes back, he disappears completely. It is a possibility that the Fool represents Lear’s rational mind or that Lear creates him out of need for that mothering, protective figure. His past and future is never touched on, instead he just simply exists in the play until he is not needed any further. “He is fated never to have been or to become anything or anyone other than what he eternally is. The Fool incarnates the stasis of Being impervious to the flux of Becoming.” (Seiden,

King Lear's fool is undoubtedly one of the wisest characters in the play. He is not only able to accurately analyze a situation which many other characters are blind to, but he is also able to foreshadow the actions of many characters and many other incidents to come. The main instruction the fool gives to the king is to beware of doing things that are unnatural, such as giving his inheritance, (splitting his kingdom among his daughters) to his daughters before he his dead. By doing this unnaturally, Lear must face many adverse consequences, such as losing his identity, self-worth, and respect from his daughters.

Despite the malevolence of deception, Shakespeare reveals how at times it can be used for the benefit of man. The loyalty of Lear’s servant Kent is shown when he adopts the disguise of Cauis to aid Lear. Having been banished for contradicting Lear’s beliefs, in the hope of helping him by being honest, Kent says “Now banished Kent, if thou canst serve where thou dost stand condemned.” The juxtaposition employed by Shakespeare of the words “serve” and condemned” is potent, highlighting Kent’s integrity. He deceives Lear, solely to help him. This is an excellently crafted example of how deception can be used for

Then Lear has an insight into the nature of his own transgressions. His attainment of self-awareness is a step forward despite the consequences. Dismissing his feelings at the end of this episode highlights the Fool’s function the play. For the first time, he obtains empathy and considers someone else’s feelings and puts their comfort in mind before his own. By the end of Act II the prime external causes of Lear’s madness have brought about a change in Lear’s thoughts and beliefs concerning man, the universe, a change in thought that is both a cause and a reinforcement of his

At the beginning of “King Lear,” an authoritative and willful protagonist dominates his court, making a fateful decision by rewarding his two treacherous daughters and banishing his faithful one in an effort to preserve his own pride. However, it becomes evident during the course of the tragedy that this protagonist, Lear, uses his power only as a means of projecting a persona, which he hides behind as he struggles to maintain confidence in himself. This poses a problem, since the audience is prevented from feeling sympathy for the king. Shakespeare’s ironic solution is to allow Lear’s progressing madness to be paired with his recognition of truth, thereby forcing Lear to shed his persona, and

Oftentimes when humans reach a certain hardship in their lives, they become confined within themselves. They begin to seek solitude and push away other people who are willing to assist them. As a result, they lose sight of the significant aspects that surround them. In the tragic drama King Lear, Shakespeare’s main character, Lear, faced many difficulties, mainly because he was burdened with a major flaw that obscured his ability to recognize the truth. Fortunately, Lear had an ally nearby: his fool, who offered him undivided guidance while continuing to confront his struggles.

Likewise, the labels of foolishness and wisdom that are placed on characters are a false recognition of identity because of the misconception of what it means to be wise and noble or to be a foolish knave at the base of society. King Lear thinks of himself as wise at first, but ironically his fool proves to be wisest and claims that Lear’s actions regarding his daughters have only confirmed his folly. This makes Lear a clear example of what it means to be ignorant to the human idea

Fools. What does this mean? As the interviews were conducted, many people interpreted what they believe the definition of fools was to them. In the play, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” written by William Shakespeare, a famous line was spoken by Robin in Act III: “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” This quote was read by twelve different people in different age groups. They were also asked to give their opinion on the quote by agreeing or disagreeing . These interviewees taught the interviewer how there are more definitions towards the word fool and the reasons behind calling someone a fool with amazing real life stories and people.

Both Lear and Riggan are arrogant, egotistical and ultimately ignorant to the surrounding world. Iñárritu and Shakespeare utilise the dialogue of other characters towards the protagonists, in albeit different ways, to show this. Shakespeare utilises the Fool to provide commentary for the audience. In the court of the king, the Fool’s role was to provide entertainment through comedy, but Shakespeare portrays him as the only character telling Lear the truth and thus this is an example of dramatic irony. Through his anecdotes and commentary, the Fool reveals to Lear the truth, but in his ignorance the king does not acknowledge this. Iñárritu demonstrates this through the audial and visual manifestation of Riggan’s younger self. While Shakespeare uses the Fool to tell Lear and the audience the truth, Riggan’s subconscious furthers his disconnection from reality and self-absorption. Additionally, Shakespeare uses eyes as a motif to emphasise this fatal blindness, attributed to age. The plucking out of Gloucester’s eyes is also a direct link to this. Lear’s crown is also used as a symbol of Lear’s poor judgement; by splitting the kingdom between his daughters, Lear “clovest his crown i’ th’ middle”, which ultimately lead to the tragic consequences at the end of the play. Iñárritu explores a similar idea of a limited view of the world through

He gave the audience a little wisdom but he was mostly depicted as king Lear's old self. I say this because due to them having a role reversal, it should also mean the Lear was wise back in his day. A wise thing that the fool says is shown by this quote, "Lear's shadow"(Act 1, Scene 4, line 220). This is wise because he wants to remind Lear that he is not the powerful king still and that he is just a faded image of what King Lear use to be. He wants Lear to think about how much power he lost when he gave it all away.

Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear can be interpreted in many ways and many responses. The imprecision’s and complication of the play has led

“King Lear” is known as one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. “King Lear” is a play which tears off the outer coverings of human character. Two prominent themes that can be found in “King Lear” are disguise and deception. Disguise and deception are connected to each other because if you put on a disguise, you are masking yourself. If you are masking yourself, you are misrepresenting the truth, which is also known as deception. The characters constantly deceive each other throughout the play by either changing their physical appearance or changing their personality to mask their true identities and motives. Shakespeare’s exposure of the connection between disguise and deception reflects today’s culture and is still relevant today.

In William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, it is ironic how many times the fool is said to be dishonest, when, in fact, his role proves entirely opposite. Though sometimes the characters do not realize his hidden messages, the reader can instantly comprehend Feste's figurative language, which is evident in every scene in which the fool appears. Whether he is singing to Orsino, arguing with Malvolio, or playing around with Viola, Feste always manages to sneak in a few symbolic foretokens before his exit. His keen eye and fast wit help him to actively partake in the portrayal of the story, however, the fool is merely present to express that which cannot be fully expressed through the

Lear's entry into the play is similar to Gloucester's such that, through close analysis of the dialogue between the King and his daughters, the reader gains awful knowledge of the arrogance and ignorance that will soon become his downfall . The drama of his opening speech is at all points excessive; the reader discerns a man that is long accustomed to being listened to and indulged in every way. In a moral