King Lear Fool/Audience

Although the Fool may seem strange to us, an Elizabethan audience would have greeted the Fool with great familiarity. The position was a historic one in Shakespeare's time, with the monarch appointing an official court jester (Fool). In conventional drama of the day he was a hold over from morality plays, with his role-becoming classic. His role had established characteristics and responsibilities. Among them the Fool had license to roam the stage and interact with …

…thy they folly in” (Act 1, Sc 4). When ‘the storm’ commences the Fool says his prophecy (Act 3, Sc 2). The prophecy can be interpreted in two ways, either suggesting optimistically that virtue will triumph in England, or that optimism about the future is misplaced; ‘even in these terrible days men use their feet for walking’. I feel the Fool again provides a moment of relief, or pause in the action, where the audience can gather their thoughts.