The Fool's Character as a Symbol of the Comic Life Feeling in William Shakespeare's Drama Cover Image

Āksta tēls kā komiskās pasaules izjūtas simbols Viljama Šekspīra dramaturģijā
The Fool's Character as a Symbol of the Comic Life Feeling in William Shakespeare's Drama

Author(s): Evita Mamaja
Subject(s): Theory of Literature, Drama, British Literature
Published by: Latvijas Kultūras akadēmija
Keywords: William Shakespeare; drama; interpretation of creative work; comic life; foolishness;

Summary/Abstract: In the drama of William Shakespeare all the contrasts of his age are reflected. By emphasising different aspects in the drama of the English Bard, it is possible to obtain a new perspective in the interpretation of his creative work. The real and most absolute personification of the comic dimension of the world is the Jester - a character known already from Greek and Roman comedies, medieval religious plays and the Italian commedia dell' arte. The symbolical figure of the Fool or the Jester is one of the most meaningful char acters created by William Shakespeare. His philosophy allows him to notici sense in the absurd and make a fool of common sense. The Jester expresses the estranged state of the human mind - to the apotheosis and culmination of this tragic foolishness in the figure of King Lear's Jester. At the end of "King Lear" the King and the Jester exchange places and the King becomes the Jester.

  • Issue Year: 1/2004
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 38-47
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Latvian