... Elizabethan tragedy that the fool acts as the instructor to the king. We see in King Lear that the Fool constantly reminds the king of his follies through riddles and jokes. The Fool acts somewhat of a voice for the audience because we are aware of things that the king is not. The Fool is able to speak out against madness because ... of his function in Lear's court. He is to entertain the king with his songs, quips, puns, songs, and riddles. The Fool was able to use his sharp jokes and wit to entertain the king as well as inform him. Once the king abdicates his throne, the fool follows ...

• Word Count: 878
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... Gloucester is oblivious. Edmund believes that Gloucester loves Edgar more because Edgar is legitimate and he is a bastard. Gloucester has also given evidence of favoring Edgar in 1.1 when he makes jokes at Edmund's expense in front of Kent. Clearly Edmund's anger and frustration have mounted to a highly dangerous level, but Gloucester is unable to see this. Lear's eyes begin to be ... ...

• Word Count: 1839
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... the Fool to her. The Fool, as a representative of Cordelia, also acts as a constant reminder of Lear's folly in expelling her. In one jesting session, among the Fool's various random jokes, Lear comments: "I did her wrong." (I, v, 24) The Fool brings with him a forced sense of realization, which Lear cannot control, so his mind gives in to the Fool's subliminal reminders of ... ...

• Word Count: 1444
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... son Edgar "There was good sport at his making" (I.i.19 - 20). In the quotation Gloucester is telling Kent about the night that his bastard son was conceived - with a prostitute. He jokes easily of Edgar's bastardy, suggesting that he has rather low morals. Gloucester does not know the, like Lear the consequences that will occur and therefore is blind to the situation ... ...

• Word Count: 387
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

There has always been a perpetual jester in a kingly court. Often he has provided entertainment via his superficial jokes and has won the good graces of his master by creating an atmosphere of ebullience and joviality. Rarely has there existed a fool of such vivacious and rudiment cruelty, practicality and ... ...

• Word Count: 672
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... their relationship with their children. Eyre's opening scene establishes the potential of this conflict. Gloucester's conversation with Kent about his "whoreson" is overlaid by Edmund's resentful soliloquy. As Gloucester callously jokes about the "good sport as his making", the voice over soliloquy conveys the damaging psychological impact of this insensitivity on Edmund. His repeated rhetorical question "Why bastard? Wherefore base?" reflects ... ...

• Word Count: 1583
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate