Roles of the Fool in King Lear
Fools in traditional royal households were seen as imbecils and jesters, nothing more. The older role of a royal fool, which Shakespeare adopted from the pagan setting of King Lear, was to correct minor faults and incongruencies in their masters. By detatching the Fool from a conventional fool's role, Shakespeare allows for the crowd's suspention of disbelief in the Fool's ability to get away with the comments he makes to the King. In the opening scenes, King Lear fails to arrouse pity from the audience despite the fact that he is the tragic hero. Enter the Fool in Act I, scene iv. The Fool's original and supposed role is that of an entertainer. Soon vernturing from this role, he provides the dramatic irony nessasary to close the gap between Lear's understandings and the audience's. The explicit and underlying roles of the Fool allow this juncture to occur. The Fool is used as the deciminator of ultimate truth to Lear, a representation of the goodness in Lear, and a manifestation of Cordilia in her absence. A gift of words is the Fool's only power. He speaks bitter truths to Lear in hopes that Lear will realize his folly. The Fool's commentary throughout the play is sad because he knows his statements ar
Fool: Lear's shadow. (I.iv.236-237). e ineffective. The Fool attends to the King out of love and loyalty to him, "Nuncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry! Take the Fool with thee!" (I.iv.322). His concern is shown again when the Fool and Lear are exposed in the storm, "Good nuncle, in, and ask thy daughters blessing." (III, ii, 11-13). Lear: Who is it that can tell me who I am? This indicates that Lear is incapable of seeing himself and solidifies the Fool's representation of Lear's "good side." The Fool mysteriously disappears at the end of Act III, scene vi, supporting Lear. This represents the union between the Fool and Lear marks the end of Lear's blindness to the truth. When Lear calls himself "the natural fool of fortune," he has recognized the folly of his actions and realized that he has taken on the role of the fool, watching everything without having any control over it. (IV, vi, 193). Not only is the Fool wise, but he is also committed to the side of good. His innate goodness allows him to portray the "good side" of Lear, The tragic fate that befalls King Lear is made perfectly clear through his interactions with the Fool on many different levels. At the end of the play, Lear appears as a father, a man, and something
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Approximate Word count = 848
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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