The Fool (King Lear)
Play
Summary
Lear's nameless court jester is the sharpest intelligence in the play's early acts, deploying songs, riddles, and savage puns to tell his master the truth that no one else dares speak — that Lear was a fool to give away his kingdom. He accompanies Lear through the storm with fierce tenderness, then vanishes entirely from the play without explanation after Act III, scene 6. His disappearance has haunted critics; some see a symbolic merger with Cordelia (whom Lear at the play's end calls "my poor fool").
Notable Quotations
"Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise." *(I.5)*
"All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with." *(I.4)*
"I am better than thou art now; I am a fool, thou art nothing." *(I.4)*
"The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long, / That it had its head bit off by its young." *(I.4)*
"And I'll go to bed at noon." *(III.6 — his last line in the play)*