Role of Fool “King Lear”

The introduction of a Fool in Shakespeare‟s tragedies is very rare though the Fools are very common in comedies. The main role of the Fools is to provide entertainment through their witty and humorous dialogues and songs. They are wise people and beloved of the groundlings. Their presence in the plays, their antics, their songs and their jests make the plays a variety of entertainment. They enjoy full freedom from their patrons to say anything and cut to jokes. In King Lear the Fool is one of Shakespeare s triumphs and his introduction in such a painful tragedy is to provide comic relief especially when the events oppress our minds too much and where the sufferings of the chief protagonist become almost unendurable for us. In other words, the jests of the Fool serve to lighten gloom and to relieve the tension and the stress which are generated by the cruel treatment meted out to King Lear by his own daughters and also by the storm, the fury and violence of which are too great for the aged King to bear. This is why the Fool appears in the play with the start of the sufferings of King Lear and he remains with him till his sufferings continue and disappear as soon as King Lear reaches Cordelia‟s camps at Dover.