FREE ESSAY ON KING LEAR: THE ROLE OF THE FOOL

KING LEAR: THE ROLE OF THE FOOL

The Role of the Fool
In the play King Lear there are many characters and they all have their own roles. Some
roles are more obvious than others. The one that catches my attention the most is the
role of the Fool. In the dictionary the definition of a fool is someone who lacks sense
or judgement. Does the Fool lack sense or judgement? Or is he the opposite and everyone
just perceives him as a fool. 
These questions come down into one ultimate question, was the Fool a madman or a prophet.
Personally I think that he was a prophet. The Fool knew every outcome of the King's
decisions. Since the Fool was not taken seriously everyone just disregarded him. This
leads me to believe that the Fool was not as foolish as people thought. 
Besides bringing foolishness to the play the Fool also brought irony. He was the smartest
person in the play but was treated as the stupidest. How ironic is it that by the middle
of the play the king was loosing his mind and the Fool was giving him advice. The ironic
theme of the play makes the irony of the Fool more prevalent. His irony made the reader
more inclined to understand and realize how far from foolish he really was. 
I think that the Fool also had the role of being the voice of reality in Lear's life. The
King let the Fool say whatever he wanted because he was crazy. This gave the Fool the
opportunity to say what he wanted and no matter how crazy it sounded. The King didn't
take his advice but he listened. The Fool gave the king what he needed, clarity and
reason. He gave the King a new perspective on things, too bad it was a little late
because the damage had been done, the King had lost his power.
The Fool came into the play after the King divided up his kingdom. The placement of the
Fool in the play is important. The Fool comes in after the King's daughters had already
thought up their evil plan. Also the Fool leaves the play when the King is safe with Kent
and Cordelia. This leads me to believe that the Fool is like a safety blanket for the
King. He is there for him in his times of need but when he is not in trouble the Fool is
not there. The Fool looks out for the King's best interest.
The Fool thinks very highly of himself, even though no one else does. The comments he
makes lead the reader to believe that he knows he is right. Even though I know he is
right the characters in the play don't and treat him disrespectfully. In the Fool's first
speech he says, Have more than you should, speak less than you know and lend less than
you need. This quote can be taken two ways. The Fool can be speaking about the King
saying that he should have more because he doesn't have anything including his daughters
and his kingdom. The King also should not be so trusting and not be so giving. If he was
less trusting and giving then maybe he wouldn't have gotten taken advantage of. These to
me are true about the King. This quote can also be directed toward the Fool. He has more
than people think he should be, to them he speaks less than they know and he only gives a
little. This is also true about the fool. Although the Fool is probably talking about the
King and the mess that he made but he could also be directing the statement toward
himself.
The Fool has an insight that others don't see. One example of this is he knows that
Goneril and Reagan are really evil people. He knows they lie and do not like them because
of that. He says, they'll have me whipped for speaking true. The Fool knows the extent of
their meanness and also knows that the King does not see it. The Fool realizes that
Goneril and Reagan will take over the whole kingdom and leave nothing left for the King.
This makes them corrupt and the Fool lets them know that he does not like them. He tells
Goneril to her face that he is better than she is for what she had planned. Of course him
telling Goneril this means nothing because he is Just the Fool. 
The Fool has many roles in this play. I thought about why the Fool cares so much about
the King and I realized that the Fool has a lot of respect for the King. The Fool sticks
by the King during the rough times, kind of like a good friend. The Fool tells the King
that he shouldn't have become old until he was wise. The Fool is implying that the King
has made foolish assumptions about his daughters and he wants him to realize it. This
shows that the Fool has respect and concern for the King. The King was very naive and
made a mistake. He trusted his daughters and they stabbed him in the back. 
The King and the Fool compliment each other. Whenever the King makes a mistake the fool
catches him. The Fool gets satisfaction out of helping the King. Lear does not even
realize that the Fool is helping him realize what he has done. This is ironic because a
powerful King can't even help himself; his fool has to help him. Despite the Fools
outward foolishness he has inner knowledge that no one takes seriously. The King on the
other hand has outer strength and inward foolishness. This is why they compliment each
other so well.
The Fool's prophetic characteristics become more prominent throughout the play. On page
919 he makes a prophecy, he says, Things won't be better until father's that wear rags
make their children blind, but fathers who hang on to their money will have good
children......fortune turns the key. In this quote I think the Fool is very
straightforward. He basically tells the King that if he hadn't split up his kingdom
between his children then he would have good children. Then when he ends the quote with
fortune turns the key he is implying that it is up to the King to make the right choices
to fix everything. 
Irony is prominent throughout the play. Another example that caught my attention was when
they were in the storm and Kent came and asked, Who is there? The Fool replied A wise man
and a Fool. This quote can be very misleading. We immediately think that the King is the
wise man and the Fool is the fool, but this quote can mean the opposite. Was the Fool
implying that he was the fool and the King was the wise man or the other way around? I
think that he meant it the other way around. At this point in the story Lear was loosing
him mind and I think the Fool was the only one who kept him under control. In that
respect the Fool was wise to help the crazy King as best he could. In his doing that it
made the Fool the wise man and the King the fool.
The thought of Lear being the Fool and the Fool being a wise man is not a very far
stretch. Lear is the fool because he gave his evil daughters control over his kingdom and
banished his loving and true daughter. Lear's foolishness was the cause of his own fate.
The Fool however, was wise because he predicted what was going to happen although no one
listened. In one of the last speeches of the Fool he says that When all the wrongs are
right then everything will be okay. This statement is accurate but according to the Fool
it would take the work of magic to make the mess go away.
The Fool brings many qualities to the play. Some examples are irony, honesty, humor and
loyalty. In the play his role was ironic because he was the fool but he was wiser than
the King. The Fool displayed much humor by singing asinine songs throughout the play and
making snide comments to the other characters. He was also honest by telling the King
what he had to do to fix his kingdom. The Fool had many qualities but the one most
prominent was loyalty. The Fool never left the King until he knew that he would be all
right. He stuck by him during the storm and therefore he was loyal to the King. The Fool
was more loyal than the King's own daughters
The role of the Fool in the play consists of many things. He was not taken seriously by
anyone in the play yet he didn't care and continued to say what he wanted when he wanted.
I feel that his role was significant. He was the voice of reason throughout the play and
if his character was not in the play then the outcome would probably be worse. On page
936 the King is warm in bed and mentions gong to breakfast in the morning and the Fool
replies And I'll go to bed at noon. This meant he was done guiding the King and the Fool
knew it was up to Lear to so what he had to do.
The Fool may have been treated like a fool in the play but he defanitly did not act like
a fool. His actions were far from foolish. He displayed many admirable qualities that
many people today wish they had. Throughout the play the Fool never lacked sense or
judgement therefore he was not at all foolish. He was the person who said anything that
crossed his mind no matter how strange or stupid it was. The Fool thought very highly of
himself while others looked down upon him. His role was to help the King when no one else
would and for that he was not foolish. Since the Fool was not a fool and turned out to be
wise makes his role all the more important.