foolear Role of the Fool in William Shakespeare's King Lear

-The Fool is showing the error in Lear's way. He hinting that whoever put such a stupid idea in Lear's head should be punished according to Lear's future suffering.

At this point in the play, King Lear has completely lost his sanity and is yelling at his surroundings during a storm. Upon saying these words, he takes off all his clothes and declares himself free of the trappings of civilisation. The importance of this quote lies in the symbolism of nakedness. Nakedness is representative of many things, including insanity and loss of status. As stated before, Lear’s insanity is at its

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.

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

J. W. Ashton, in his article “The Wrath of King Lear,” Journal of English and Germanic Philology Vol. 31 (1932), p. 530-536, discusses Lear’s progression from a man who has trouble controlling his temper in fits of

but instead he replies with me neither which should catch Lear off guard and make him laugh. Comic relief is major in this play because if there wasn't any Lear would of turned insane quicker due to his mind always being stressed. Even though comic relief slows down Lear's descent into insanity it is bound to happen. The fool disappears in the end because he could not be able to bear seeing Lear like a mad fool. What makes him think this is when he experiences it firsthand, you can see by this quote, " It shall be done; I will arraign them straight.

“Then, I prithee, be merry. Thy wit shall ne'er go slipshod.” (1.5.10) Even then Lear says “I will forget my nature. So kind a father!—Be my horses ready?”, wanting to forget what had happen through another horse ride with his subjects.

The two sisters plan to neglect and discredit their father and his authority. This act of unkindness shows that their words of love were only a facade, and their true natures exist as unloving and uncaring daughters. In contrast, Cordelia cannot profess her love to Lear through words of flattery, however, her love for her father is deeper and truer than Goneril’s and Regan’s. When Cordelia is disowned by Lear and forced to leave, she says to her two sisters, “But yet, alas, stood I within his grace,/ I would prefer him to a better place” (I.i.275-276). Despite Lear’s rash actions of abandoning Cordelia, she still loves her father and wishes to take care of him. Cordelia is not able value her father through words, but her actions define her nature as a daughter and the love she has for Lear. Lastly, the fool, generally known for their playful antics and humor, displays wisdom and even offers advice to Lear. Right before Lear leaves to live with Regan, the fool advises, “Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been/ wise.” (I.v.42-43). On the surface, the social title of the fool gives the impression that the person is an inane individual, and his outfit makes him appear to be silly

In this scene, one can see how Lear’s vain personality and rage clouds his judgement and contributes to the downfall of his kingdom. Lear’s decision to have his daughters express their love for him to determine their portion of the kingdom, demonstrates Lear’s vain personality. “The love-test became a game, and Lear took pleasure in watching how his daughters performed” (38) He is incredibly pleased by his older daughters lies and exaggerations, but flies into a rage at his youngest daughter’s truthful speech. In comparison to his eldest daughters elaborate answers, “Cordelia’s ‘Nothing’ was shocking, as an incredulous Lear asked her to speak again” (38) Lear is blinded by manipulation of his eldest daughters and fails to see that Cordelia is the only one expressing her love to its true extent.

“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 addition, he strips himself to expose the true nature of man which he realizes as insignificant. It's as if he is intentionally trying to alienate himself. As if he views all mankind to be a foreign concept due to the irrational state of life. He curses, “You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!(III. ii. 32)” to defy the elements. We can't help but see Lear act against nature as if he is the storm itself. Moreover, he tries to justify his temper by mentioning that nothing can hurt him more than his daughters. Not even the elements can corrupt this poor, old man. We see the storm bring about awareness when Lear exclaims,“You sulfurous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt-couriers of oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head!(III. ii. 33)” as if he begins to finally discover his true hair color which directly correlates with his age. I see that Lear is becoming aware of his age, but not willing to accept the anemic state of his body and mind. He intentionally makes note of his hair color, but the realization leaves him in a state of mental insanity soon to discover his impending death.

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

This action simply has readers or viewers shaking their head, and wondering what the purpose of this Lear’s action is, and what the character hopes to achieve. It has been seen in society before that this type of action is not one that often works and it is through the beginning of the play that readers and viewers can see that Lear is not worthy of their pity, if he is demonstrating such an ego, so early on.