Question #3: Consider the wisdom of King Lear’s fool. Look closely at the interplay between Lear and his fool and at the speeches of the fool, which offer instruction to the king. Look for connection the play makes between Lear’s fool and the other “fools” in the play – Cordelia, Kent, and Poor Tom. King Lear’s fool is undoubtedly one of the wisest characters in the play. He is not only able to accurately analyze a situation which many other characters are blind to, but he is also able to foreshadow the actions of many characters and many other incidents to come. The main instruction the fool gives to the king is to beware of doing things that are unnatural, such as giving his inheritance, (splitting his kingdom among his daughters) to his daughters before he his dead. By doing this unnaturally, Lear must face many adverse consequences, such as losing his identity, self-worth, and respect from his daughters. Many connections between the fool and Cordelia, Kent and Poor Tom are evident, mainly because they all remain true to the King throughout the entire play. Also, all four of them are not rewarded for their loyalty in the beginning and Cordelia and Kent are both “banished” from the kingdom by Lear. These four are the true selfless characters in the play, all a source virtue that the other characters lack.1. “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 no more Than two tens to a score.”(I, IV, 115.) -One significant irony in the play is the wisdom the Fool has.This advice the Fool is giving to Lear carries a great weight in foreshadowing mistakes, and solutions for them that Lear will make.-The Fool’s ...
