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Shakespeare is a master of the telling of stories. When we observe his works, we see the struggle of the main characters with themselves and others. Many a time there is lack of reason as the protagonists fight the demons, which keep them from their goal, but the beauty of Shakespeare is that reason is usually portrayed in the form of a fool. When we think of fools, we think of those with little capacity of understanding, but in Shakespeare, fools are usually mediators, who give us insight to their worlds. Fools are not portrayed only as jesters and clowns, but those who have a wacky take on situations, which develop.
They add resilience to the story, light to the shadows of confusion, and humor in the darkest of times. For the greater part, they are the voices of reason which know all but speak little. What they lack in presence, they make up for with their few lines full of wit and savvy. So let the fools tell their story, let their identities be known, and let their comments be the windows of truth. The first example of the wise fools, are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. There are two texts, which contains these characters: Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which tie into each others story lines.
In Hamlet, they are two courtiers that are two fools who surround themselves in analytic contemplation. King Claudius summons them, to find out what Hamlets intentions are towards him. In this process, they wish to do as the king pleases but at the same time, must not upset their childhood friend by seeming to be spying. Their take on it is Guil: We have been briefed.
Hamlets transformation. What do you recollect? Ros: Well, hes changed, hasnt he? The exterior man fails to resemble Guil: Draw him onto pleasures glean what afflicts him.
Ros: Something more than his fathers death Guil: "Hes always talking about usher arent two people whom he dotes on more than us. Ros: We cheer him upwind out whats the matter Guil: Exactly, its a matter of asking the right questions and giving away as little as we can. Its a game. Hamlet catches on due to their non-subtle blundering and deems them to be under the loyalty of Claudius. For much of the play they are nave of the workings of Hamlet and the king and thus seem to be playing both loyalties. Eventually a letter is given to them as to take Hamlet to England.
Little do they know that ironically, its purpose is to seal the fate of their friend but in turn it seals their own. Our two fools find themselves in the possession of a letter, which orders the king of England to put Hamlet to death, but Hamlet changes the letter. Instead the letter ends up being the instruction for the death of Ros and Guil. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is that of a prequel and a sequel, showing the two in detail before their meeting with Claudius and after Hamlet leaves them. It shows their characters in detail and they are placed in and absurd irrational state of chance. While flipping a coin for fun, they find that they have gotten heads consecutively eighty-five times in a row.
In attempting to find reason behind this occurrence, Guildenstern remarks, "It must be indicative of something, besides the redistribution of wealth. List of possible explanations. One: Im willing it. Inside where nothing shows, I am the essence of a man spinning double-headed coins, and betting against himself in private atonement for an unremembered pastTwotime has stopped dead, and the single experience of one coin being spun ninety times. On the whole, doubtful" This is a foreshadowing of how they have been placed in an inescapable situation created by their own nave perceptions. They are a direct Shakespearean parallel to Waiting for Godot.
The reason for this idea, is as in Godot, they never find what they seek, which is truth due to their absurd ranting about topics not relating to the task at hand. Therefore making them end up more confused. Through all of their profound analysis, they fail to see the workings of those around them. They end up truly products of a world beyond their comprehension and for this they depend on others to give their lives meaning. In the end of their tale, we see them have the enlightenment that they should have had beforehand. Our names shouted out in a certain data message summons There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said.
But somehow we missed it They held so much wisdom and so many ideas before hand, but due to their over emphasis on the workings of life, they overlooked the working of their own. They were used, and died in vain, but at least they realized their mistake. The next "fool", also holds a humorous identity but has a slightly different role. During the course of Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse plays a sort of mother and father to Juliet. In the same way she is serious, she is as equally amusing and entertaining as well. The Nurse provides warmth and love to Juliet as well as comedic relief to the audience.
She is one of the most important characters of the play for these reasons. As the main source of comedic relief, the Nurse is loud, vulgar, and, garrulous when it comes to reminiscing about the past. Her crass opinion about men is evident as she says, "Theres no trust, no faith, no honesty in men, all perjury all forster, all naught, all dissemblers." (3. 2. 85) Keep in mind, this is the character that Shakespeare choose to be Juliets companion and counselor. She is a grossly worded harridan who talks a lot about love, but never means it beyond anything other than animal lust. As senior servant in the household, she is as much respected by the family, as she is disrespectful towards them. The Nurse also plays a very serious role in the play as well as a joker.
She has the moral courage to tell Juliets parents that Juliet is in love and that is the way it is going to be. She also has great dignity and especially shows a lot of respect to her personal servant, Peter. As the tragedy deepens, it is clear to see how an important figure in the family she is as she assumes the sad role of letting the Capulet family know of the death of their beloved Juliet. Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, is fool of all fools in Shakespeare's comedies.
He seems to have the utmost loyalty to Oberon yet a simple trickster to all of the fairies. He interacts with humans frequently, disguises events as dreams, and almost steps out of character, when it suits him to. Simply put, though he is not the highest ranking fairy, and perhaps not the most powerful, he is the best player at the game of life. I am that merry wanderer of the night. When I a fat bean-fed horse beguile, Neighing in likeness of a filly foal: And sometime lurk I in a gossips bowl, And when she drinks, against her libs I bob and on her withered dewlap pour the ale. The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale, Sometime for three-foot stool mistake me; Then slip I from her bum, down she topples she. (II, 1) During most of the play, Puck very clearly serves Oberon, and Puck seems fiercely loyal to him.
When Puck first responds to the fairy's "Our Queen and all her elves come here anon" (II. i. 17), with "The King doth keep his revels here tonight" (18), he is doing more than proclaiming his alliance and warning the fairy: he is warning the audience of the king's terrible temper. Oberon, unlike Theseus, is not bound by laws, and can be limitless in his fury when his jealousy is aroused. Puck also is very concerned about his ability to entertain. Throughout the play he serves the roles of auditor, actor, director, and stage-manager. Just as a writer can make you believe anything, a pixie can make you perceive anything.
Though Puck insists in his closing monologue that the actions on stage were "no more yielding but a dream, " there were longer-term effects. Demetrius did not love Helena, and Oberon and Titania were barely speaking at the start of the play. By the end, all this had been resolved, all through the use of a "dream. " I believe Puck to be a simple malevolent spirit, and Oberon to be a wise, beneficent king. Yet, though no one escapes Puck's schemes, he is a constructive force in addition to the more memorable destructive force. His ability to interact with both realms, human and fairy, is echoed in his ability to step out of character for the epilogue, and directly entreat the audience. Just as Puck the pixie must obey Oberon the king's orders, the actor playing Puck must also obey the director and playwright's instructions.
Within those boundaries, however, he is able to transcend the limitations, and improve upon his directions, pleasing both those characters within the play, and the audience watching from the outside. Fools are usually objects of mockery. What we do not understand, we mock. But what we do not understand, for their perception differs from ours.
The fools of Shakespeare have given us new sights through their eyes. Their insight is many a time awry, but then leads to a greater truth. In essence, a fool is nothing more than a wise person with little recognition. And not only is this found in the pages of Shakespeare, but also in all of us resides the contemplations of a fool. Bibliography:
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