Role Of A Fool Or Jester During Elizabethan Times

The role of a fool or jester during Elizabethan times were to entertain everyone at court, especially the King. The fool would sing, dance, make jokes and make a fool of himself. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the fool has many roles. When Lear banishes Cordelia from his kingdom, the fool in a way takes on Cordelia s role. He is not only a fool, but through his sarcasm and irony, he becomes the king s loyal advocate by pointing out the king’s shortcomings. The fool is the only one who is able to criticize the king of his shortcomings without consequences and is able to abate the king s behavior. Because the fool follows Lear everywhere, we can say that truth, in a symbolic sense is following Lear everywhere and is by his side. This becomes the reason the Fool operates as a catalyst for Lear s process of self-awareness and gaining wise insight into the world and his place in it. â€Å"Now my friendly knave I thank thee. There s / earnest of thy service. // Let me hire him too, here s my coxcomb† (King Lear: Fool 1.4.91-93). In this scene the fool uses coxcomb as a metonymy device to show that Lear’s division of the kingdom was foolish and Kent’s (disguised as Caius) decision to follow Lear was even more foolish. The fool is the king s advisor, teaching the king lessons without fearing the king s anger. The Fool speaks from the earliest of points that what Lear has done might be wrong. He continually speaks of Lear s real condition, apart from what he might perceive itShow MoreRelatedTouchstone Essay1323 Words   |  6 Pagesand Rosalind flee to the Forest of Arden to escape the tough Elizabethan court, along with some companions to help them make decisions. One character in particular, Touchstone, is shown as a funny and witty jester that can twist an argument and provide a comedic relief from the tense plot of the play. 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