What the Fool?

The fool is one of the most ironic characters in King Lear. For one, his name is "Fool," yet he gives some of the most astute commentary out of all the characters in the play. He mainly criticizes the King for giving away his land to his daughters, saying that he'd "have thee beaten for being old before thy time...Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise" (1.5.39-43). This manner of speaking is typical of the fool; he simultaneously insults yet advises Lear, thus making him realize many of the King's errors. Being that he is much cleverer and more grounded than Lear, it is ironic that the foolish King Lear is (or was) in power, while the sensible fool is just that- a fool.


Despite his logical grasp on the situation, the Fool is largely an extraneous character. First and foremost, he gives a lot of sound advice to Lear, although most of it is in double talk. Most of this advice centers around Lear's foolishness in splitting up his kingdom and giving it to the daughters who hate him the most. Despite the Fool's attempts to advise Lear, his suggestions ultimately fall on deaf ears for the King does nothing to help his situation. The Fool's jabber ultimately serves to plunge Lear deeper into his madness by making him realize the gravity of his situation. Besides making the King more crazy, the fool is largely purposeless. It can be argued that the King would have become mad anyway, as evidenced by the fact that he stupidly gave away all his land before the fool came into the picture.

So if the fool's only purpose is to drive Lear to madness, why does he disappear after Act 3? I argue that the king has been so driven to into lunacy that the fool's only purpose has been served. Not only that, but now Lear is truly unreachable, for his mind is so far-gone that there is no hope for the Fool's advice to be heeded. Now fully useless, the fool disappears from the play due to Lear's final loss of sanity.