Shakespeare’s Fool in King Lear

Wei Dejiao

【摘 要】《李爾王》中的弄人是莎士比亞精心安排的一個(gè)角色，他是《李爾王》這部悲劇成為經(jīng)典之作的締造者，是莎士比亞之所以成為語言大師的一個(gè)代言人，弄人他既有看破人情世故的睿智，也有諫主納悅的愚臣本色，在他的語言中，既有處事樂道的人間箴言，也有獨(dú)具匠心的精辟比喻；他時(shí)而反語勸諫，時(shí)而辛辣諷刺，時(shí)而妙語道破真理，時(shí)而審時(shí)度勢明哲保身，時(shí)而善察世情吐露預(yù)言。

他雖被稱為一個(gè)愚者，而實(shí)際上是一個(gè)智者，他以獨(dú)到的世情感知能力、得當(dāng)?shù)膭裾f方式將矛頭直逼李爾的愚昧和無知，幫助李爾走完了從愚昧無知到終身遺憾的頓悟過程。透過他俏皮的語言，淋漓盡致地揭示了人物靈魂深處的丑陋、無情與悲哀。

【Abstract】Shakespeare is well arranged the role of the Fool in King Lear， it is the Fools language that make King Lear a great tragedy， and it is some of these languages that make Shakespeare the master of language. The Fool who not only have the wisdom of seeing through the ways of the world， he is also loyal to Lear and sometimes he gives Lear some suggestions. In some of his language， sometimes he offers the ways to get along with others， sometimes he gives his advice by a brilliant metaphor which tells Lear what he is and how and why it is， sometimes offers bitter irony， sometimes tells the truth directly， sometimes caters for his host in order to survive， and sometimes reveal prophecy from his observation of the world.

Although he is called the Fool， actually he is a wise man， he observes the world profoundly， gives his suggestions in appreciate ways， helps Lear realize his folly and return to reason. It is from his witty language， which vividly reveals the character of our human being- ruthless and dirty.

【關(guān)鍵詞】弄人；李爾王；真理；智慧

【Key Words】middle school education in villages and towns；art teaching；significance；development； measures

The Fool plays an important role in King Lear， it is him that makes us understand the whole play easier， and because of his appearance， that brings us a lot of funny when we read it. This article will take you to come with me together， to analyze how the Fool to make use of his wits and his language to reveal the truth， and how to live in a wise way. Although there are some scholars had write some articles to analyze it， some of them just refer to one or two aspects， and some of scholars in our country， because their mother language is Chinese， they cant read the original article by themselves， so some of their analysis are not correct and profound because the translation exists confusions and shortcomings， and this article will bring you what the Fool really is. The Fool who not only have the wisdom of seeing through the ways of the world， he is also loyal to Lear and sometimes he gives Lear some suggestions. in some of his language， sometimes he offers the ways to get along with others， sometimes he gives his advice by a brilliant metaphor which tell Lear what he is and how and why it is， sometimes he offers bitter irony， sometimes tells the truth directly， sometimes caters for his host in order to survive， and sometimes reveal prophecy from his observation of the world.

Although he is called the Fool， actually he is a wise man， he observes the world profoundly， gives his suggestions in appreciate ways， helps Lear realize his folly and return to reason. It is from his witty language， which vividly reveals the character of our human being- ruthless and dirty.

Therefore， let us analyze the language of the Fool from the following aspects.

1.Give suggestion and Live in wise way

When the Fool appears in the play， he said to Kent： “Sirrah， you were best take my coxcomb” （4.1.91）. The coxcombs here insinuate Kent that should live in wise way， When Kent asks him why？ We can see from below：

Fool

Why， for taking one's part that's out of favour：

nay， an thou canst not smile as the wind sits，

thou'lt catch cold shortly： there， take my coxcomb： （4.1.96-8）

From these lines we can see the Fool give his special status symbol" coxcomb” to Kent， and implies that Kent is a fool. And he explains that Lear is out of power， he should judge who has the say in this kind of situation， and from whom he can get more benefits. Otherwise， he will be caught by the cold face. But in another way， Kent is loyal to Lear. Then he goes head：

why， this fellow has banished two on's daughters，

and did the third a blessing against his will； if

thou follow him， thou must needs wear my coxcomb. （4.1. 98-101）

From the above lines the Fool suggests Lear his two elder daughters have deceit him， his young daughter gives him her blessing， but her manner is against his will. If Kent wants to follow him， he should learn to be wise in getting along with the kings daughter. But Lear doesnt understand the Fools mean. Then he asks the Fool：” Why， my boy？” （4.1. 103） the Fool indirectly tells him that he should not give away all his power and estate to his daughter. And said：” If I gave them all my living， I'd keep my coxcombs myself. There's mine； beg another of thy daughters” （4.1.104-05）. he gives the hint to Lear that if he gave all he has to his daughters， he have lived by the mercy of his daughter now.

When Lear asks the Fool why， he give the hints that Lear should live in a wise way. Lets read their conversation：

Fool

Sirrah， I'll teach thee a speech.

KING LEAR

Do.

Fool

Mark it， nuncle：

Have more than thou showest，

Speak less than thou knowest，

Lend less than thou owest，

Ride more than thou goest，

Learn more than thou trowest，

Set less than thou throwest；

Leave thy drink and thy whore，

And keep in-a-door，

And thou shalt have more

Than two tens to a score. （4.1.110-122）

All above lines gives the hint to Lear that he should live in a special way： he should hide what he has， he should tolerate his daughters rude remark， and borrow money from her and dont lend it to his fellows， he shall ride their horse and cant make any decision and make any troubles. He should learn more about the society and believe few of the people， he shall not make her daughter angry， but tolerate their angry. Dont drink and go to whore， he shall shut himself in his house. In that way he can live in another ten or twenty years. Or his daughter shall make his life full of sorrow.

When Kent tells the Fool there is nothing in his lesson， he replied： “Then 'tis like the breath of an unfee'd lawyer； you gave me nothing for't. Can you make no use of nothing， nuncle？” （4.1.124-125） he implied that behind the word which seems nothing has rich meaning， when Lear said：” Why， no， boy； nothing can be made out of nothing” （4.1.126 ）The Fool said to Kent：” Prithee， tell him， so much the rent of his land comes to： he will not believe a fool.” （4.1.127-128） Lear maybe realized a little for the Fools mean， lets read the following dialogue：

KING LEAR

A bitter fool！

Fool

Dost thou know the difference， my boy， between a

bitter fool and a sweet fool？

KING LEAR

No， lad； teach me.

Fool

That lord that counsell'd thee

To give away thy land，

Come place him here by me，

Do thou for him stand：

The sweet and bitter fool

Will presently appear；

The one in motley here，

The other found out there.（ 4.1.129-140）

In this dialogue， the Fool points out that Lear is more than foolish， and unwise to allocate all of the land and his power to his two elder daughters. “the Fool get nothing， but free， and nothing binding， so his silly is sweet， but Lear is penniless， has to live on by his daughter， and his life and fate manipulates by his daughters， so his stupid is sour.” （Chen： 95）

But Lear doesnt think that it is folly for him to give all his land to his daughters. and he asks：” Dost thou call me fool， boy？” the Fool tells him directly：” All thy other titles thou hast given away； that thou wast born with.” （4.1.142-143） this implies Lear has nothing left.

2.Use enantiosis to give hints

When Kent understands what the Fool says， and says to Lear：” This is not altogether fool， my lord.” but the Fool say as follow：

No， faith， lords and great men will not let me； if

I had a monopoly out， they would have part on't：

and ladies too， they will not let me have all fool

to myself； they'll be snatching. Give me an egg，

nuncle， and I'll give thee two crowns. （4.1.145-149）

The Fools language here is an enantiosis， he is a fool， and every of them is a fool except Lear， and wants to get the patent as a fool， but Lears daughters would not agree to give him the patent， because all of them are known that the fool actually are not the fool. This implies that each of them is excellent except Lear.

3.Sing songs or use the vividly metaphor to reveal the truth

Fool

I have used it， nuncle， ever since thou madest thy

daughters thy mothers： for when thou gavest them

the rod， and put'st down thine own breeches，

Singing

Then they for sudden joy did weep，

And I for sorrow sung，

That such a king should play bo-peep，

And go the fools among.

Prithee， nuncle， keep a schoolmaster that can teach

thy fool to lie： I would fain learn to lie. （4.1.163-174）

During this conversation， King Lear makes his daughter as his mother， not teach them with sticks that make his daughters abuse him again and again. He does not keep as a ruler but play with his fellow fools. Not only that， this also contains a psychological law： "Then they for sudden joy did weep， and I for sorrow sung，" “First of all， this sentence contains the most general common sense： people cry because of too much joy， and extreme sadness sometimes makes them sing. This represent people's emotions can be fluctuated between the two extremes feeling.” （Hua and Wu，103）

When the Fool irritate by saying the truth to Lear， but Lear could not understand what he says， he asks Lear to teach him to tell a lie， he said： “Prithee， nuncle， keep a schoolmaster that can teach thy fool to lie： I would fain learn to lie.” but Lear said to him：” An you lie， sirrah， we'll have you whipped.” The Fool replied：

I marvel what kin thou and thy daughters are：

they'll have me whipped for speaking true， thou'lt

have me whipped for lying； and sometimes I am

whipped for holding my peace. I had rather be any

kind o' thing than a fool： and yet I would not be

thee， nuncle； thou hast pared thy wit o' both sides，

and left nothing i' the middle： here comes one o'

the parings. （4.1.175-181）

Here add a farce and a gag in the art of the Fools language. The Fool argued that he had told the truth to Lear， but his daughter whipped him because of saying the truth. And Lear whipped him because he told the lie， therefore， the Fool accused them by saying “I marvel what kin thou and thy daughters are：” and told them that the relationship of them made him in a dilemma situation. And he also accused of them that even he held his peace they sometimes beat him too， this is the difficulty for him. However， compare to what Lear was being， he was not willing to change the place with Lear. Then he implied Lear that he had divided his land into two parts， and left nothing for himself， and now one of the land owners had come.

When Lear saw his daughter frowning on， he asked her why？ The Fool told Lear why his daughter behaved like that， and continued to use some accurate metaphors to tell what was him being. According to （Liu：226） ”the words of the Fool seemed unreasonable， no logic， and meaningless， it seemed only to make a reader to laugh a lot， but if you focused your attention on the play with profoundly insights， you would find that the Fool was the more intelligent than any of the characters in the play.” Every of his words was equipped with wisdom； “Thou wast a pretty fellow when thou hadst no need to care for her frowning； now thou art an O without a figure：” （4.1.185-187）. Here it insinuated Lear that he had lost all of his power and need to do the things under his daughters will. The Fool can feel what his daughter had thought in these kinds of situation. And even catered for his daughters will to keep silence， and he said： “Yes， forsooth， I will hold my tongue； so your face bids me， though you say nothing. Mum， mum，” then he Pointing to King Lear and said” That's a shealed peascod.” （4.1.187-193） revealed that Lear liked the peapod had no wealth left， just had the useless parts left， make the reader enjoy the whole play.

From the view of the Fool， the two elder daughters of Lear were not filial piety. The behaviors of them were contradicted to our human nature and not appropriate to our moral laws. When Goneril admonished Lear， the Fool told Lear： “For， you trow， nuncle， The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long， That it's had it head bit off by it young. So， out went the candle， and we were left darkling” （4.1.208-211）. The behavior of Goneril is described with accurate metaphor by the Fool. At the same time， the Fool also was aware of the consequences of moral decline， the world were left with darkness， the dark was symbolizing the endless human suffering. The Fool revealed the law of human propriety； criticize the darkness of the society.

When Lear asked who he was， the Fool told him that he was his shadow that implies that Lear had become nothing else but his shadow. When Lear doubted what he was， the Fool presage to Lear that they will make Lear an obedient father.

Fool

Winter's not gone yet， if the wild-geese fly that way.

Fathers that wear rags

Do make their children blind；

But fathers that bear bags

Shall see their children kind.

Fortune， that arrant whore，

Ne'er turns the key to the poor.

But， for all this， thou shalt have as many dolours

for thy daughters as thou canst tell in a year. （4.2.50-59）

The Fool in this paragraph vividly revealed whether the children should give the filial piety to their parents only when their parents had money， he revealed that now the powerless Lear had been abandoned by his daughters. From the common sense， the money should not be determined whether the children should support their parents， but since ancient times， from west to east， or the noble or ordinary people， regard money as the basic condition of filial piety is not uncommon to most of children. Shakespeare reveals his insight for the law of society， that tending to the comfortable life is the human nature， and from the Fools tongue， Shakespeare gives his profoundly observation of the social phenomenon， and he implied that his daughter would like to honor him countless troubles in the last sentence， this make you empathize Lear for his tragic fate.

When Kent met Lear before Gloucesters castle， Himself was in the stocks. He asked：” How chance the king comes with so small a train？” The Fool replied：” And thou hadst been set i' the stocks for that question， thou hadst well deserved it.” When Kent asked：” Why， fool？” The Fool gave him a lesson as follow：

We'll set thee to school to an ant， to teach thee

there's no labouring i' the winter. All that follow

their noses are led by their eyes but blind men； and

there's not a nose among twenty but can smell him

that's stinking. Let go thy hold when a great wheel

runs down a hill， lest it break thy neck with

following it： but the great one that goes up the

hill， let him draw thee after. When a wise man

gives thee better counsel， give me mine again： I

would have none but knaves follow it， since a fool gives it.

That sir which serves and seeks for gain，

And follows but for form，

Will pack when it begins to rain，

And leave thee in the storm，

But I will tarry； the fool will stay，

And let the wise man fly：

The knave turns fool that runs away；

The fool no knave， perdy. （4.2.70-4.2.86）

At first， the Fool tells Kent that he should make the judgments from the situation， and Lear now is out of favor， out of power， following him is not an excellent choice， then he said：” Let go thy hold when a great wheel runs down a hill， lest it break thy neck with following it： but the great one that goes up the hill， let him draw thee after.” “That is to say， when a rolling cart down a hill， you shouldnt catch it， or you would go with it， and break your head； but if you see it going up the mountains， then you should drag it， and go with it.” （Zhang and Luo： 54） That will bring you a lot of benefits and even bring you to a bright future. In todays society， people tend to see who has the power， and who will bring you a bright future， all of us tend to close those people， and want to borrow their power to materialize our dream. Once they have out of power， most of us choose to leave them. And their home where is full of people in the past now have no visitor. There are few people who can remember its glory of the past， and who can wear the same smile and cater for it as before. This is the inconstancy of human relationships， and this is our human nature， and the one who can maintain a balanced state of mind， calmly face all of this， can have peace of mind and live with happiness.

Fool

He that has a house to put's head in has a good head-piece.

The cod-piece that will house

Before the head has any，

The head and he shall louse；

So beggars marry many.

The man that makes his toe

What he his heart should make

Shall of a corn cry woe，

And turn his sleep to wake.

For there was never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass. （2.3.26 -36）

From the above lines， the Fool implies Lear that what he suffers today is what he sows in the past. Therefore， he should wake from his foolish and becomes wise， in the first sentence； it tells Lear that if he is not folly in the past， he shall have a shelter to escape the heavy rain. And at the last line， he restates that both of Lears two elder daughters are told the lie， when they have got what they want， they belie the one who have given them all of that. And dont express any appreciation to his father. And then the Fool sings a song to lament the ruthless of Lear daughter and even the whole society， you can read it follow：

Fool

[Singing]

He that has and a little tiny wit--

With hey， ho， the wind and the rain，--

Must make content with his fortunes fit，

For the rain it raineth every day. （1.3.78-81）

4.Says some prophesy

When Lear left his eldest daughter， still had the illusion of his second daughter Reagan， and he said he had a daughter， and he believed that she was his honor. The Fool had already warned that his two daughters were all snobbish， and said：” Shalt see thy other daughter will use thee kindly； for though she's as like this as a crab's like an apple， yet I can tell what I can tell.”（5.1.14-5.1.16） but Lear couldnt understand the Fools mean， then Lear asked：” Why， what canst thou tell， my boy？”（5.1.17）， and the Fool told him by given him some hints in a metaphor： “She will taste as like this as a crab does to a crab. Thou canst tell why one's nose stands i' the middle on's face？” （5.1. 18-19） when Lear answered with “no”. He said：” Why， to keep ones eyes of either side's nose； that what a man cannot smell out， he may spy into.” （5.1.21-22） “The Fool used the placement of the nose and eyes to tell him that what he had heard before were not the truth， but what he had seen by his own eyes. Everyone has the nose and eyes， but not everyone can be got the hints by the arrangement of our creator.”（Sun and Liu：117） Shakespeare used the Fools eyes and his language， vividly showed it to the reader. Then he used a metaphor to tell Lear why a snail has a house， he said：” Why， to put his head in； not to give it away to his daughters， and leave his horns without a case.” （5.1.28-29） Even Lear understand some of them， he didnt listen to the Fools advice， still went and asked the help from his second daughter， before they were going to set off， the Fool predicted： “She that's a maid now， and laughs at my departure， Shall not be a maid long， unless things be cut shorter.” （5.1.48-49） suggest that Regan now give the impression to Lear as a lady， but soon or later Lear would find that it wasnt true. And he indeed realized what kinds of his two elder daughters were in the end.

At the last， the Fool says some prophesy as bellow：

Fool

This is a brave night to cool a courtezan.

I'll speak a prophecy ere I go：

When priests are more in word than matter；

When brewers mar their malt with water；

When nobles are their tailors' tutors；

No heretics burn'd， but wenches' suitors；

When every case in law is right；

No squire in debt， nor no poor knight；

When slanders do not live in tongues；

Nor cutpurses come not to throngs；

When usurers tell their gold i' the field；

And bawds and whores do churches build；

Then shall the realm of Albion

Come to great confusion：

Then comes the time， who lives to see't，

That going shall be used with feet.

This prophecy Merlin shall make； for I live before his time.（ 2.3. 83-100）

“When priests are more in word than matter； When brewers mar their malt with water；” imply that Lear daughters tell the lie to Lear， and Edmund deceit his father and his brother， “When nobles are their tailors' tutors； No heretics burn'd， but wenches' suitors； When every case in law is right； “this give the hints that what will happen in Gloucesters， Edmund make the ploy to let his father to expel his brother， and Edmund should be punished， but actually he is not， Edgar should not be punished， but he is wanted by his father. And then it reveals that the whole world is not faire at most of the circumstances， it gives some statements that will never come truth， it gives the reader to think about， it is normal that the squire like in debt， the knight is wealthy， the slanders like to live in with their tongues； and the cutpurses like to come to the throngs； and the usurers will never tell other people where their gold have hidden.； and the bawds and whores will never build the churches for if they obey the moral of society， they will never be that kind of people. This is not only the prophecy， but also directs us to think about what actually the true society is.

Although there are some points of view in this article， there are still exist some of shortcomings in my analysis， some of them are concluded from the others points， some of them are came from my own thought， they are need time to examine whether it is right or wrong， but I hope it can help the following reader to understand the play. And the further researches need to carry out until the analysis had been perfect enough.

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