Fools in Shakespeare's Comedies

The purposes and classifications of the fools and clowns Shakespeare uses in his comedic plays.

Ever heard the phrase ?catching a cold?? How about the words gloomy, bumps, or countless? All these words and several others were made up by a single writer during the Elizabethan period of English history (Project 1). His name was William Shakespeare. He is accredited with over thirty-seven plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets, and several other poems. His plays are usually broken into three general categories: comedies, histories, and tragedies.
Although Shakespeare?s writings have made him into a household name, not much about his life is known. The mystery surrounding Shakespeare?s life also pertains to his writings. Most of what is known about Shakespeare comes from historical documents, but the rest is inferred through the views and messages he incorporated into his writings. A common tool that Shakespeare employs to integrate his opinions about his society is through the characters in his plays labeled as clowns or fools. Apart from giving insight into Shakespeare?s viewpoint of his society, the fools serve other functions. They are used to further the plot, inform the audience about important ideas in the plays, and invoke laughter through their words and actions. Another important matter to consider is the different types of fools that Shakespeare uses to further his stories. Shakespeare?s inclusion of humorous characters in his plays presents information for the audience through the purposes that Shakespeare sets for the clowns and the type of fools he uses to relay the information.
For example, the role of the fool in The Merchant of Venice is to act as a mediator in the secret courting between two lovers, Lorenzo and Jessica. Jessica is a Jew who is planning to run off against her family?s wishes with the Christian Lorenzo by disguising herself as his torch-bearer. Jessica gives the fool, whose name is Launcelot Gobbo, a secret letter to give to Lorenzo to arrange the scheme. Lorenzo, in return, sends the confirmation that all is ready to Jessica through Launcelot. Jessica says to Launcelot, ?Give him this letter; do it secretly? (II.iii.7) and later Lorenzo tells Launcelot to, ?Hold, here, take this. Tell gentle Jessica I will not fail her; speak it privately? (II.iv.19-20). In Launcelot?s deliverance of Lorenzo?s message to Jessica a common characteristic of Shakespeare?s fools is revealed. One major function of Shakespeare?s fools is to act as a mediator between various characters in his plays.
Launcelot utilizes a crafty mixture of wit and words to serve Shakespeare?s purpose of relaying messages between characters. Shakespeare uses this wit with words to emphasize points that he thinks the audience needs to take special notice of. When Launcelot conveys Lorenzo?s message to Jessica, he does it using a rhyming couplet. ?There will come a Christian by/ Will be worth a Jewess? eye? (II.v.41-42). These sentences would have stuck out to the audience that the play was being performed for. Shakespeare had the fool make the statements to alert the audience to the seriousness of the lovers? actions and to announce a turning point in the story that results from the disappearance of the two lovers. Another instance of Launcelot?s clever use of words is when he talks with Lorenzo later in Act Three Scene Five and purposefully twists Lorenzo?s words to confuse him. Lorenzo describes how cleverly Launcelot uses words and exclaims, ?Goodly Lord, what a wit-snapper are you!? (III.v.42). Lorenzo also comments on how all fools are witty with words and says,
?O dear discretion, how his words are
suited!
The fool hath planted in his memory
An army of good words; and I do know
A many fools that stand in better place,
Garnish?d like him, that for a tricksy word
Defy the matter.? (III.v.56-61)
Lorenzo hints in the passage, that there are better fools in the world that have equal or better skills than Launcelot at playing with words. The act of describing the fool or clown by another character is a common occurrence in Shakespeare?s writings.
An important distinction must be made in order to classify Shakespeare?s fools. By analyzing the fools? roles among the different social classes, the type of humor they present, and their interaction with the audience, all the jesters in Shakespeare?s plays can by separated into two general categories of fools: wise fools and foolish fools (Hinckley 1). The characteristics of a wise fool would include the mingling of people from different social classes and thus, easy access to the aristocratic sphere of influence; the audience would interact with the clown by having to think about the fool?s wit in order to see the humor in his words, and the clown would use his intelligence in combination with his words to be entertaining (Hinckley 1). For a foolish fool, the opposite is true. A foolish fool is only funny because of their foolish words and actions. The audience does not have to have much intelligence to see the humor in the clown?s actions, and the clown has a harder time interacting with the nobility of the play, and therefore, usually acts was a lower class citizen (Hinckley 1).
For The Merchant of Venice, Launcelot would be classified as a foolish fool. Lorenzo?s doubt in Launcelot?s ability to be appealing is a major indication that he is a foolish fool. Also, when Launcelot?s interactions with other characters in the play are analyzed, it is found that he does not intermingle with many gentry after he runs away from his rich master to work for a poorer businessman; he mostly communicates with other servants and their families. The audience does not have to have much intelligence to understand his humor because his silly words and actions are straightforward. In this way, Launcelot fits the mold to be classified as a foolish fool.
Another one of Shakespeare?s plays that involves a fool is his comedy Twelfth Night. The fool?s name is Feste, and his primary purpose in the play is to set several practical jokes, on a servant named Malvolio, in motion. He also serves as a source of sanity throughout the play. In the midst of complex and chaotic love issues happening in the play because of mistaken identities caused by a set of twins, Feste proves to be the only sensible person left, who has managed not to get caught up in the confusion, and uses his position to influence the already confused other characters in the play.
As far as classification goes, Feste would definitely be put into the wise fool category (Hinckley 1). One of Feste?s practical jokes on Malvolio is to disguise himself as a curate called Sir Topas, who comes to the house and tries to drive demons out of Malvolio who ?Sir Topas? has been told is mad. ?Out, hyperbolical fiend! How vexest thou this man!? (IV.ii.24-25). Feste?s clever display of cunning almost convinces Malvolio that he is crazy. Feste?s wit with words is extremely evident when he, in a conversation with his mistress Olivia, is able to prove her to be a fool. He asks her why she is mourning her brother?s death and then exclaims ?The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother?s soul being in heaven. Take away the fool, gentlemen? (I.v.65-67). These are just a few examples of the numerous clever and witty actions he does throughout the play.
The fact that Feste is talking with Olivia who is a rich countess shows the ease of his interactions with nobility. He also cleverly swindles a duke into giving him extra money for his services. Feste says to the Duke, ?Primo, secundo, tertio, is a good play; and the old saying is ?The third pays for all?. The triplex, sir, is a good tripping measure? (V.i.32-34). The way Feste can approach a Duke of high status and cheat him out of money shows the clown?s ability to intermingle between classes, and that he acts with higher class than a foolish fool would. This does not mean, however, that his interaction is solely with the upper class; he also is involved with the lower class servants because his position is the same as theirs. By conspiring with his fellow lower classmen Maria and Sir Andrew, Feste proves that he interacts with people of both classes and can fit in both worlds.
The third element of a wise fool that Feste displays is his intellectual use of wit, connecting him to the more intelligent people in his audience. Viola describes Feste?s wit by saying, ?This fellow is wise enough to play the fool; and to do that well craves a kind of wit...this is a practice as full of labour as a wise man?s art; for folly that he wisely shows is fit? (III.i.57-58, 62-64). His actions and words are not straight forward, but contain deeper implications and meanings that cause the audience to pay closer attention to his words than they would for a foolish fool. Some examples are found in the various songs that Feste sings throughout the play.
?What is love? ?Tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What?s to come is still unsure.
In delay there lies no plenty,
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty;
Youth?s stuff will not endure.? (II.iii.46-48)
This portion of one of Feste?s songs starts by questioning what real love is, which corresponds to the play through the fact that Olivia falls in love with the Duke?s servant, who is actually a girl dressed as a man, and Viola falls in love with the Duke while pretending to be one of his male servants. The second line reflects the irony behind and how funny it is to watch the love triangles between characters unfold. Feste then speaks of the future of the play and wonders how it will turn out. The rest of the song claims how it will all come out in the end because the characters cannot maintain their childlike ignorance of the situation. Only by paying close attention can an audience member pick up on Feste?s clever inclusion of a summary of the play hidden in a love poem. By exemplifying all three of the wise fool characteristics, Feste, of the comedy Twelfth Night, can safely be classified as one of Shakespeare?s wise fools.
It is harder to classify the character, Costard, from Shakespeare?s comedy Love?s Labour?s Lost. While he appears to be a wise fool, careful study proves him the opposite. His main purpose in the play is to deliver secret love letters from two noblemen to their love interests. This is made more complicated by the setting in which the play takes place. The king from the country the two men live in has decreed that talking to any female is a punishable crime, to help motivate the kingdom to devote more time to study and self improvement for three years. Not only has Costard already been punished once for talking with a woman, but he then causes an even greater disturbance when he accidentally switches the letters while delivering them to the girls, which reveals both men?s actions to the king. Costard is solely responsible for driving the plot in the play and is useful for providing comedic relief when tensions run high throughout the play.
The most difficult classification point for Costard is whether he has the ability to maneuver between social classes or if he mainly associates with the lower class. The first glimpse the audience has of Costard is when he is brought before the king with the charge of talking to a woman and is sentenced to fast for a week, getting only bread and water. ?Sir, I will pronounce your sentence: you shall fast a week with bran and water? (I.i.279-280). While the king does address Costard as ?Sir?, he also speaks to him as if he is repulsive criminal scum and does not hesitate to convict him. Later in the play, the noble who is guarding Costard during his imprisonment and fast sends for Costard with the promise of freedom in return for a favor. ?I give thee thy liberty, set thee from durance; and, in lieu thereof, impose on thee nothing but this: bear this significant to the country maid Jaquenetta? (III.i.122-125). Another example of his interaction with nobility is when he is employed to carry another letter to a girl by a second noble. ?Stay, slave; I must employ thee. As thou wilt win my favor, good my knave, do one thing for me that I shall entreat? (III.i.142-144). Notice that the noble uses degrading words ?slave? (line 142) and ?knave? (line 143) to call Costard and that he is used as a lowly messenger by both nobles. By these examples, Costard does appear to be able to mingle with the nobility, but notice that each time Costard comes in contact with the nobles he must first be summoned or approached and does not go of his own free will. This leads to the conclusion that Costard belongs only to the lower class, which is the first characteristic of a Shakespearean foolish fool.
Costard does not display the wittiness with words characteristic to Shakespeare?s wise fools. In a comedic exchange with the king in Act One, Scene One, Lines 261-286, Costard reveals that he is simple-minded and not exceptionally bright.
King: ?It was proclaimed a year?s imprisonment to be taken by a wench.?
Costard: ?I was taken with none, sir; I was taken with a damsel.?
King: ?Well, it was proclaimed damsel.?
Costard: ?This was no damsel neither, sir; she was a virgin.?
King: ?It is so varied too, for it was proclaimed virgin.?
Costard: ?If it were, I deny her virginity; I was taken with a maid.?
Costard?s constantly changing testimony shows that the does not have the exceptional wit displayed by wise fools. He is described by a noblemen in a letter to the king which read, ?...There did I see that low-spirited swain, that base minnow of thy mirth, that unlettered small-knowing soul, that shallow vassal, which, as I remember, hight Costard? (I.i.235-237, 239, 241, 243). Obviously, no one in the play has much respect for Costard, which is another reason why he can be labeled as a foolish fool.
The third characteristic of a wise fool is that the audience connects with the wise fool on a deeper level than they would with a foolish fool. The only interaction the audience has with Costard during the entire play is laughing at his stupidity and comedic errors. An example of this stupidity is when Costard makes up obnoxiously long words to use. ?...for thou are not so long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus; thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon? (V.i.37-39). The audience laughs at this word, but there is no deeper meaning that Costard is trying to emphasize by saying it. Costard even describes himself as a shallow and foolish clown. ?By my soul, a swain, a most simple clown! Lord, Lord! How the ladies and I have put him down! O? my troth, most sweet jests, most incony vulgar wit! (IV.i.133-134). Because of Costard?s lack of hidden messages in his words and his absence of interaction with the audience on a deeper level proves him not to be one of Shakespeare?s wise fools. This, in addition to Costard?s inability to maneuver in between social classes and exhibit superior wittiness with his words, causes him to be classified a foolish fool.
Another example of a foolish fool in Shakespeare?s plays is the clown Touchstone in the comedy As You Like It. Touchstone?s main purpose in the play is pretty much just to be a source of comedy by using a great deal of innuendo in his speech. Shakespeare?s audience would have enjoyed Touchstone?s criticizing and rude nature as that is what they expected to see when they came to watch a comedic play. Touchstone is the clown for a duke?s court who runs away with the duke?s daughter and her friend after the friend is banished from the court. Touchstone?s other purpose in the play is to point out his fellow character?s follies and shortcomings. He comes across as a shallow and narrow-minded idiot to the audience and only gets laughs because of his ridiculous actions.
Because of Touchstone?s lack of wit with words, the other characters in the play look down on him and do not give him any respect. The duke?s daughter says to him, ?Enough, speak no more of him; you?ll be whipt for taxation one of these days? (I.ii.76-77). She and the others with her consider Touchstone as an annoyance and wish he would never talk. Even Touchstone realizes that he is not particularly gifted. He says, ?Nay, I shall ne?er be ware of mine own wit till I break my shins against it? (II.iv.54-55). He wants to think that he is clever, but accepts the fact that he will never be witty enough to be a true clown. One of Touchstone?s attempts at being witty backfires on him when he tells a shepherd that he is damned for not going to court to learn good manners. The shepherd quickly counters with, ?Those that are good manners at the court are as ridiculous in the country as the behavior of the country is most mockable at the court? (III.1.41-44). The shepherd is able to easily refute all of Touchstone?s efforts to undermine him because he can tell that Touchstone is not very bright. It is obvious that the rest of the characters in the play do not think very highly of Touchstone?s ability. Touchstone does show a glimmer of potential when he makes a thirteen line poem in Act Three Scene Two Lines Ninety through One Hundred and Three in which every line?s last word rhymes with Rosalinde, to whom he is speaking. Overall, Touchstone does not appear to have the wittiness characteristic to a wise fool.
While Touchstone starts the story as a clown in a powerful duke?s court, he quickly shows his low class roots by running off with two other girls of the court. Even though the two girls that he runs away with are daughters of mighty dukes, they also lose their position in society when they run away to live as simple cottagers and meet up with a group of Robin Hood-like outlaws in the forest. Since Touchstone remains in their company most of the time, and that of the band of outlaws, he can safely be said to not have mobility between social classes. In fact, Touchstone?s actions make him one of the lowest clowns in Shakespeare?s plays. He is obnoxious and rude and does not exhibit any sort of sophistication. He ends up marrying a wench from the country while hiding in a forest after threatening to kill the man who is already wooing her. He tells her, ?Well, praise be the gods for thy foulness; sluttishness may come hereafter. But be it as it may be, I will marry thee?? (III.ii.35-37). His apparent lack of class in choosing friends and spouse identify him as a crude and boorish person. Since Touchstone is a member of the lower class and interacts almost exclusively with them, he cannot be characterized as one of Shakespeare?s wise fools.
His connection to the audience is on no level lower than that of rude and bawdy humor. After all, that was Shakespeare?s main purpose for including him in the play; he provided coarse attitude and lack of depth. The audience laughs at Touchstone?s acts of stupidity and do not need to analyze his actions at all to realize that he is not trying to incorporate any hidden meanings in them. He insults and finds fault in just about every character. An example of this is when he chances upon two pages, he makes them sit and sing him a song. He then proceeds to criticize them and says, ??though there was no great matter in the ditty, yet the note was very untuneable?God buy you; and God mend your voices? (V.ii.32-33, 37-38). So often does Touchstone criticize, he even names the different types of insults with names like ?Reply Churlish? (Line 74), ?Reproof Valiant? (Line 75), and ?Countercheck Quarrelsome? (Line 76). Because of Touchstone?s lack of messages with deeper meanings, lack of clever wit with words, and social rigidity he can solidly be labeled as one of Shakespeare?s foolish fools.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses fools and clowns in his comedy plays for a variety of purposes, and all of his clowns can be classified into two categories of fools: foolish fools and wise fools. The characteristics of a wise fool in Shakespearean plays are threefold. First, the fool must exemplify an exceptionally clever wittiness with his words. Second, the wise fool must easily be able to move and fit in with several social classes and act accordingly. Finally, a Shakespearean wise fool connects to the intellectual portion of his audience on a deeper level and usually communicates hidden meanings by the fools? actions or words that the audience has to follow carefully to pick up on. In the comical play The Merchant of Venice, the fool Launcelot?s main purpose is to act as a mediator between two lovers and helps them to elope. He was classified as a foolish fool mainly because of his decline in social status when he runs away from his rich master to work for a poor merchant. The next play examined, Twelfth Night, introduced the fool Feste whose main purpose is to play practical jokes and be a source of sanity throughout the chaotic play. He was labeled a wise fool because of his apparent ease when dealing with nobility and commoners alike. In his songs and speeches, Feste would often include deeper messages for the audience to pick up on and was extremely proficient with words. By examining Costard?s roles in Love?s Labour?s Lost, it is found that his main task in the play is to drive the plot and mix up the two illegal letters. He was identified as a foolish fool mostly because of the simple and straightforward humor he displayed throughout the play. The last fool analyzed was Touchstone who is found in Shakespeare?s As You Like It. It was concluded that his main role in the story is to provide crude and vulgar humor for the play. Another one of his roles that is important to the play is his criticisms of all the other characters. Classifying him as a foolish fool was an easy decisions because of his lack of depth, class, and intelligence. By including foolish characters into his comedic plays, Shakespeare was able to provide humor, add to the plots of the plays, and reveal important information to the audience.

Bibliography

Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Glasgow:HarperCollins Publishers, 1994.

Mabillard, Amanda. ?The Plays.? Shakespeare Online. 4 Feb. 2005. 14 Nov. 2005. .

?Shakespeare's Contribution to the English Language.? Shakespeare Project. 14 Nov. 2005. .

?Shakespeare Study Guides.? Sparknotes.com. 2005. 14 Nov. 2005. .

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