Fools And Kings Essay, Research Paper

Erik Irre

April 26, 1999

& # 8220 ; Fools and Kings & # 8221 ;

Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s dynamic usage of sarcasm in King Lear aids the microcosmic illustration of non merely sixteenth century Britain, but of all times and topographic points. The subject that best develops this illustration is the treatment of saps and their folly. This treatment allows

Shakespeare non merely to portray human nature, but besides to arouse a kind of Socratic

self-contemplation into the nature of society & # 8217 ; s ain ignorance every bit good.

One type of sap that Shakespeare involves in King Lear is the immoral sap.

Edmund, for case, may be seen as a sap in the sense that he is morally weak. His

folly lies in the fact that he has no sense of right or justness, which rewards him with

an ill-timed, dry decease. He discusses this as his male parent, Gloucester, leaves to chew over the

& # 8220 ; plotting & # 8221 ; of his boy Edgar. Edmund soliloquizes,

& # 8220 ; This is the first-class foppery of the universe, that

when we are ill in luck & # 8230 ;

& # 8230 ; we make guilty of our catastrophes

the Sun, the Moon, and stars, as if we were scoundrels

on necessity ; saps by heavenly compulsion. & # 8221 ; ( I. two. 32 )

for the exclusive intent of exemplifying his evil. Edmund realizes that his immorality is self-

taught. This monologue shows the audience Edgar & # 8217 ; s folly in his belief that

malignity is the force that drives one to greatness or prosperity. It besides illustrates the

asshole & # 8217 ; s misidentify belief that by gulling his male parent, he might be able to extinguish Edgar,

the competition for Gloucester & # 8217 ; s rubric, and perchance free himself of his male parent in the same

act. This is a premier illustration of immoral folly in King Lear.

Another type of sap in King Lear is the nescient sap. Whereas characters such as

Goneril, Regan, and Edmund are fools because of their inclination to harm others for self-

addition, the nescient foolish are non needfully driven to evil. However, the immorality are about

ever driven to foolish actions. Gloucester, arguably Lear & # 8217 ; s foil, puts forth an interesting

position in the drama. His character is presented as one who is blind to the truth, and

ironically, one who becomes physically blind in the terminal. In actuality, it is his sightlessness to

the truth of Edgar & # 8217 ; s love and Edmund & # 8217 ; s greed and apathy that finally brings about

Gloucester & # 8217 ; s death. When he says, & # 8220 ; I have no manner and hence want no eyes, / I

stumbled when I saw & # 8221 ; ( IV.i.173 ) , he seems to be exemplifying the realisation of his ain

folly. Gloucester illustrates, through his usage of verbal sarcasm, that his folly

prevarications in the fact that he ne’er genuinely saw anything ( e.g. the true nature of Edmund or Edgar )

until he was blind. Another illustration of Gloucester & # 8217 ; s nescient folly is the

bad luck he predicts at the beginning of the drama. He says,

& # 8220 ; These late occultations in the Sun and Moon portend no good to us. Though the

wisdom of nature can ground it therefore and therefore, yet nature finds itself scourged by

the consecutive effects. Love cools, friendly relationship falls off, brothers divide & # 8230 ; in castles,

lese majesty ; and the bon

vitamin D cracked ‘twixt boy and father” ( I, ii, 103-109 ) .

This statement ironically predicts the huge bulk of the drama with eldritch truth.

Shakspere seems to be utilizing Gloucester as a tool to supply more penetration into the

nature of folly.

Another nescient sap, and evidently one of the most of import, is King Lear

himself. Shakespeare intentionally uses Lear as a representation of the darker side of

human folly. He appears to be exemplifying the foolishness of non listening to one & # 8217 ; s inner

voice, every bit good as discoursing the corruptness of power and wealth. He foremost demonstrates his

folly by stating to his girls, & # 8220 ; Merely we shall retain the name, and all the

add-on of a male monarch & # 8221 ; ( I, i, 15 ) . His want is to keep the land without all the

attach toing duty of the Crown. However, in a more complicated mode, Lear & # 8217 ; s folly is derived from his inability to see that although he was king, he was a simple adult male every bit good. As a male monarch, he wished to hold his girls openly display an deathless fondness for him. He shows that his patterns are derived from that of a male monarch, in that he can merely see life through the eyes of a male monarch, non a simple adult male. Unfortunately for Lear, his ground comes to him in lunacy. He states & # 8220 ; When we are born, we cry that we come to this great phase of saps & # 8221 ; ( IV.vi.178-179 ) as if he eventually had come to realization that everyone is a human being, be they king or mendicant.

By far the most influential medium used by William Shakespeare in the illustration and thematic development of saps and folly is the Fool. This character is highly dynamic throughout the drama. He is seen by Lear and others as a simple-minded imbecile, in the tribunal to entertain the male monarch and his girls. However, as the drama progresses, the sap proves to be the wisest character in the drama. Paraphrased, he says one should ne’er judge wisdom by office. The Fool speaks some of the most insightful words in the drama. He says to his & # 8220 ; nuncle, & # 8221 ; & # 8220 ; Thou had & # 8217 ; st small humor in thy bald crown when thy gavest thine aureate one away. & # 8221 ; ( I.iv.155-156 ) The sap here shows affecting penetration into the place of the male monarch, stating him that there was no justification or intelligence in Lear & # 8217 ; s giving his belongingss to his eldest girls. In King Lear, the drama seems to go around around the wisdom of the Fool. He expresses his concern to Kent, saying, & # 8220 ; Let travel thy clasp when a great wheel runs down a hill, lest it interrupt thy cervix with following it & # 8221 ; ( II.ii.261-262 ) The Fool & # 8217 ; s usage of metaphor expresses his awareness of the events taking topographic point in the drama. Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s usage of saps and folly in King Lear represents an penetration into popular wisdom.

The character of the sap introspects our ain intelligence. Do we, for case,

cognize for a fact that he who holds the highest office is the most intelligent or wisest individual for the occupation? The thematic usage of folly besides defines much about human nature. Shakespeare brings up many interesting points about the function of immorality in folly, tacitly saying that it is non needfully foolish workss that lead to evil, but evil that leads to foolish workss. The Southern Cross of the drama is one can avoid playing the sap by minding one & # 8217 ; s ain interior voice. As Edgar says in the last lines of the drama, & # 8220 ; The weight of this sad clip we must obey / Speak what we feel, non what we ought to state & # 8221 ; ( V.iii.322-323 ) .