An Examination of the Significance of the Fool in King Lear
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An Examination of the Significance of the Fool in King Lear A Fool is used in plays as a professional jester or clown whose function it was to amuse the king and his followers by his jokes and witty remarks. The Fool enjoyed the freedom to speak on any subject and to comment on persons and events without any restraint. The Fool's function was purely to provide entertainment and to amuse people. Shakespeare's objective in introducing the fool in King Lear is to provide comic relief in the play where the events are very tragic and oppressing. The jokes of the Fool serve to lighten the gloom and to relieve the tension and the stress which are generated by the cruel treatment delivered to Lear by his own daughters and by the storm, fury and violence which he faces of which are too great to bear by the aged king. The...

