TheFoolsofShakespeareanInterpretationofTheirWitWisdomandPersonalities 10106162

TH E FO O L S
O F SH A K ES P EA R E
A n In te rp retatio n of Tneir W it,
W is do m a n d P e rs o n a lit ie s
BY
FR E D E R I C K W A RD E
NEW Y O RK
M CB RI D E, NA ST 8: C O M PA NY
I913
To
tlze m em o ry f
o ll
tlz at g a an t g en t l e
m an, l yalf i n d and

o r e sp l n did a t
e c o r,
L O UI S 1 A M ES,
in asso c ia tio n w ill: wlwm were

spe n t the napp ie s! yea rs of my fro/e s
s iand l life is de dic a te d a ll tit at m ay be
,
fo un d wo rt/ty in lite fo llo w ing p ag e s .

PREFA C E
Fool ery sir doe s w al k ab out
, , the or b l ike the s un ;
it shine s ever yw here .
H ow far the abo ve epi gram may apply to the

c ompiler o fthis wor k may be a matter o f opini o n
, .
Am on g the legion o f books dealing wi th the

chara c ters o f S hake s peare I h ave fou nd the ma
,
j o rity to be d evote d to his trag i c an d serious c rea

tions a few to his h umorous types but n o ne t o
, ,
hi s f ools.
In the co u rse o f a leng thy c areer u pon the

stage whi ch has been c hiefly devote d to the pl ays
,
o f S hakespeare I have wi tnesse d the per f orman c e

,
o f these f ools by a cc omplishe d a c tors wh o se s kil l
has illuminate d the text an d whose abili ties have

,
vitalize d the poet s c reations till they live d in my

’
min d not as imaginary bein gs but as real men

, ,
who wal ke d talke d and gambole d be fore me

, ,
.
I have listene d to their wor ds l aughe d at thei r,
W it pon dere do n thei r wis dom an dhave marveled

, ,
ii PREFA C E
th at thei r point and si gnifi c an c e have apparently

es c ape dthe noti c e o fso many rea ders an dstu dents .
This must be my ex cu se i f not my j ustifi c ation

, ,
for the book .
The matter was the subj ect o f one o f my le c

tures un de r the title The Wit an d W i s dom
,
“
,
o f S hake s peare s F ools and in c lu de d in my

’
“ ”
series S hakespeare and H is P la y s I f oun d .
,
however the material so abun dant I c oul d not

,
in c lu de i t in the limite d time at my c omman d o n

the plat form I have there fore elaborate d the
.
theme enlarge d the s c ope o f the desi gn and

, ,
divi de d i t into chapters which I hope will enter

,
tain the rea der instruc t the stu dent and prove o f
, ,
some interest gene rally .
I make n o c l aim to ori ginality an d have e n ,
de av o re d in all in s tances to c re dit the author with

the thou ghts I have quote d .
I have f oun d oc casion i n several instan c es to ,
di ffer wi th some of the wel l kn own S hakespearean

s cholar s ;but i t must always be remembere d that
I spea k f rom the view point o f the a c tor fo r
-
,
wh om and for whom alone the plays were written

, .
PREFA C E iii
I have not entere d the literary disse c ting room nor ,
inva de d th e realm o f p s y c hol o gy T he line o f

.
demarcation between humor and imbe c ili ty folly ,
and in s anity I leave to the professional alienist

,
.
I have taken the characters as they appear in

the pl ays and as I conceive the auth or inten de d
them wi th du e re feren c e to thei r relation to th
,
u
other chara c ters .
I proc ee d u pon the f act that S hakespeare being ,
an actor wrote these pl a y s to be a c te d That his

,
.
purpos e was to c reate or draw the chara c te rs as

he saw or imagine d them for dramatic pre s enta
tion I believe thei r li terary quali ty was a mat
.
ter o f comp arative in di fferen c e to him the cre ,
ation of the plot the c on c eption o f the c hara c

,
ters and the arran gements o f the in c i dents bein g

,
hi s first i f no t his onl y c onsi deration The beauty

, .
of diction the delicate image ry the exqu isite

, ,
poetry and the sublime philo s ophy were the

, ,
spontaneou s expression of hi s tran sc en dent but

un c ons c ious genius
Sc an the re c o rds o f the tho ug hts o f men ,
On g rav e n s to ne, or papyrus le af;

On parc hm e nt s c ro ll o r rin te d
p pag e ,
Thro ug h all the e o ns o f the ag es pas t

To the hig h no o ntide o f the pass ing day
The n add the s u m, and its g rand to tal

Will be begg ared by the g en ius o f o ne nam e,
Shak espe are !

FR ED E RI C K W ARD E .
CON T E N T S
I N T ROD U CT IO N
T H E FOOL I N L I FE A N D L I T E RA T U RE
Y ORI C K
T O U C H STON E
T RI N CU LO I N T H E TE M P E ST
FE ST E IN “
T W E LFT H NI G H T ”
L A U N CE LOT GO B B O IN “
THE M ER C HA N T OF
V E N I CE
CI T I Z E N I N J U LI U S CE SAR
“
T H E CLOW N I N A N TON Y AND CL EO P A T RA

“
T H E G RAVE D I GG E R S I N
-
“
H A M LE T
”
L A U N CE A ND SP EED I N T H E Two G E N T L E M E N
“
OF V E RONA
”
“
T H E FOOL I N K I N G L E AR
I L L U S T RA T I O N S
F re derick War de a s Cecco in The

D uke s J e ster
’
Fro ntis pie ce
FA OTN G
P A GE
Edw in B ooth a s B e rtuc c io in The Foo l s ’
R eve ng e
J am e s L e w i s a s Touch stone in A s You L ike

It 34
T C Cooke as T rincu l o in The T e mpe s t
. .
74
E Y B acku s a s Fe s te in Tw e l fth N ight
. .
“ ” “ ”
96
“
Charl e s Cha rter s a s L aunce l ot Go bbo in The
”
M erchant of V e nice ”
1 16
“ ”
L o ui s J a m e s a s P ep é in F rance s co da Rim im 1 5 0
“ ”
J am e s L e w i s and Si dney H er b e rt a s L aunce and
“ ”
Spee d in T he Two G ent l em en of V erona 1 70
FO OL S O F S H A K E S P EA R E
I N T RO D U C TI O N
fool was however exempt upon the prin

, , ,
“
c ip le that The re i s no s lan der in an allowe d
f ool . Us uall y a f avorite with his mas ter his , .
influence was sou ght in many a s tate an d c ourt

intri gu e fo r un der the cloak o f foll y he coul d by
,
coul d no rove or
ri dicule anys chem e or ro t r
'
M
wi s hes mi ght de s ire H owever plain his t ruths
.
o r bitter his sati re few were ra s h enou gh to re tali

‘
ate and woe to that noble or courtier who mi ght

,
in c ur the enmity o r displeas ure o f the fool for he ,
woul d be c ome the target of hi s wit an d the butt

o f his j ests wi th little hope o f re dress or o pp o r
, ,
tu n ity f or reven ge .
M imfg o f a j ester was a lonel y o ne : he was

subj ect to the C a pr i ces o f his master c o n ,
above the boar d hate d below it yet feare d by

, ,
all.
To pl ay su c h a part s ucc ess fully require d a m an

I N T RO D U CTI O N 3
o f more than or dinary H e c oul d not be

wi thout le e mu s t be a man O f great
to ta ke a dvantage O f every oc casion for the c xr
ci s e o f hi s W i t Wi th j ud gment o f the t i me
, , and
di s cretion as t 0
T imes have change d P rogre s s and evoluti on

.
have brou ght new c on ditions ; f olly no l on ger

carries a bauble and the man who
, nou gh
to wear the motle y O f the me di
the toga o f
the s tate s man with di gnity to tfi ce an d honor
to him s el f .
The requirement s o f a court fool are well de

“
ribe d b y Viol a in Twel fth Ni ght A ct 3 Sc 1 , , . .
Thi s fe ll ow s w i s e enough to pl ay the foo l

’
A n d to do that w e ll c rave s a kin d of w it

H e m u s t Obs erve their m oo d o n w h o m he j e s ts ,
The qua l it y of per s on s and the ti m e

, ,
A n d l ike the hag g ar d check at every fea ther

, ,
That com e s b efore his eye Thi s is a p ractice .
A s fu ll of l abor a s a w i s e m an s art ;
'
Fo r folly that he w i s e ly s ho ws is fit ,
B ut w i s e me n fo lly fa lle n q uite taint their w it

,
-
, .
4 I N T RO D U CTI O N
T he a slress the fool was a motle y or parti
of
colore d doublet an d hose with the arms o f the ,
house to whi c h he belonge d embroi dere d on the

breast or thi gh ; his hea d dress a hoo d parti -
,
C olore d like his c oat an d su rm ounte d by a c oc ks

‘
comb ; his emblem which he always c arrie d

, ,
was a lath or short sta f f hea de d by a miniature

,
hood and coc k s comb similar to his own c alle d

a bauble an d was as sa c re d to the fool as
,
the s word to the sol dier or the c rest to the ,
kni ght The bauble also serve d as a protection

.
,
who mh e m ighto f —
fend fo r
h
strike the f ool was to
L o nsidercd the agtg fag oward

s s g g g
The cap bauble
v
.
, ,
and points o f the j e s ter s dress were a dorne d with

’
s mall bells th at j in gle d as he move d and gave ,
warning o f his approach .
“
J aqu e s in As Y o u Like It
, thus enumerate s ,
the privile ges o f a fool

O, that I w ere a fool !
I a m amb itiou s fo r a m otl ey coat .
I m u s t have l i b erty
Withal a s l arge a Charter a s the w ind
, ,
I N T RO D U CTI O N 5
T o bl o w o n w hom I pl ea s e : for s o fool s h ave
A n d they that are m o s t g a ll e d w ith my fo lly ,
T hey m u s t m o s t l augh A nd why sir m u s t they s o ?

.
, ,
“ ”
T he why is pl ain a s w ay to pari s h church
H e that a foo l doth ve ry w i s e ly hit
, ,
D oth very foo l i sh ly a l though he s mart

, ,
N ot to s ee m s e n s e l e ss of the b ob ;if n o t
The w i s e m an s folly is anato m is d
’ ’
Even by the squan deri ng g lance s of the foo l .
I nve s t m e in my m otl ey : give m e l eave

T o s peak my m i nd and I w i ll throug h an d throu gh
,
C l ean s e the fou l b o dy of the infecte d w or l d ,
I f the y w i ll patiently receive my m edicine .
m
°
The ester wa s not u sually a gentleman but ,
hi m m mm
s ometimes f rom desi gn or poli c y and sometimes ,
because of physical infirm ities whi c h ren dere d

them incapable o fbearing arms or prevente d them ,
from ta kin g part in feats o f c hi val ry in fiel d o r

tou rney No t in f re q uently the j ester was a
.
app e g r
p dg rinl pgint to hi s satire
anceg rl .
“ ”
Dr Doran in his H istory O f Court Fools
.
, ,
gives u s the followin g le gen d as the origin o f the

,
C hara c ter and the offi c e

,
6 I N T RO D U C TI O N
O nce upon a time i t happene d that all O l y mpus
,
was dull and the go ds were mopin g about simply ,
bore d to death It was a warm summer day an d

.
in a distant valley below th e y coul d s ee a group

o f Gree k peasan ts disportin on the reen turf in
g g
g al a attire The ha
.
p p y rus ti c s were d ancin g an d
sin ging enj oyin g the bri ght sun s hine and the
, ,
s oun ds o f thei r mirth floate d up f aintl y to th e go ds

i n a manner th at was al together o ffen s ive to th em .
“
Omnipo tent F ather c rie d Mercur y ill natur
”
, ,
-
“
e dly , i t woul d be rare Sport 0 king O f go ds and
,
men to s c atte r all these gaily robe d reveler s and

,
-
,
”
by a s hower spoil their finery and thei r fun .
The su gg estion was enthusiasti c all y receive d by

the assemble d deities .
“
I prop o se an amen dment exclaime d Juno , ,
wi th feminine sympathy “
Be fore yo u sen d the
.
rain let you r priest from the shrine below an

,
noun c e to the people that a shower is abou t to

”
des c en d b u t i t shall wet only f ool s
,
.
Zeus approvin g a sli ght soun d of thun der was

, ,
hear d an d the priest stoo d in front o f the altar

,
and ma de the requi s ite ann o un c ement to the pe o

I N T RO D U C TI O N 7
ple . one of the Greeks too k the pre c aution

Only
to go into his house E very other man waite d to
.
se e the f ools dren c he d an d every man there was ,
in two minutes wet to the skin W hen the sun .
reappeare d the man who had sou ght shelter c ame

out o f doors and l au ghe d at hi s drenche d and dis
c on c erte d fellows who an gere d at hi s dry and
, ,
comfortable c on dition fell upo n him an d be at him

,
“
severely c alling him a f ool and the l ike
,
.
B ru ise d and battere d he de fen de d himsel f as wel l

,
as he c oul d c rying H ave patience but a moment

“
, , ,
and I will prove to yo u that I am not su c h a fool
as I look H is to rrnen to rs paus e d and he loo k , ,
ing upwar d fell on his knees exclaimin g :

, ,
O Zeus merci ful an d j ust sen d down another

, , ,
shower ;we t me to the skin even as these f ools are

we t make me as g reat a f ool as my nei ghbors
,
an d enable me a f oo l to li ve at pea c e amon g

, ,
”
fools .
Down c ame the s hower praye d fo r and the tw o ,
assemblies the go ds above an d the fools below

, ,
roare dwi th lau ghter as he stood there dren c he d to

,
” “
the s k in li ke the re s t This is unj ust c ried
.
,
8 I N T RO D U CTI O N
“
Juno as the l au ghter c ease d and you have
,
spoile d that g oo d fellow s robe ’

.
“ ” “
Tru e replie d Zeu s but with that shower I
, ,
be s towe d u p on him wit wi s dom an d humor and

, , ,
have breathe d that f a c t in to the ear o f the chief

o f the district who will take thi s humorous philos
,
opher home wi th him to be at on c e his diverter

,
”
an d in s tructor .
That ni ght at a banquet given by the chief the ,
wi s e f ool s tood near his master pouring o u t witty

,
truths as fast as his lip s coul d u tter them and the ,
g o d s both envie d th e fu n and a dmi re dthe wis dom .
” “
That fellow c rie d Zeu s s hall be the foun der
, ,
o f a race . H ence forwar d each c ourt shall have

its f ool ;an d fool s s hall be the preachers and ad
m o n ishe rs o f kin gs .
”
Chil dren he adde d to the
, ,
g o d s an d go dd e ss e s raisin g a goblet of nectar

, ,
“ ”
here s a health to the first o f fool s
’
.
10 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKESPEARE
Of that brilliant spe c ta c le It is of Triboulet th at .
the followin g bon m o t is relate d H e had o f .
fen de d a powerful nobleman o f the court who in , ,
retaliation threatene d to han g him As the

, .
nobleman was a man of his wor d poor Triboulet s ,

’
li fe was in dan ger so he went to the kin g and

,
tol d him o f the threat .
“
Never fear Triboulet sai d the kin g i f he
, , ,
han gs yo u I ll hang him fifteen minutes after

,
’
war ds .
T o this T riboulet replie d Coul dn t you r ,

’
Maj e s t y c ontrive to hang him fi fteen minutes

”
be fore ?
T wo other F ren c h f ools o f di s tin c tion were
an dlChiC Otl The former hel d the
'
“ M ‘ W ' H Ld /
j este r to three kin gs H enri II F rancis , ,
II an d Charles I! ; while the latter was the

,
‘
f rien d and fool to H enri III .
The most prominent E n glish c ourt f ools o r

j esters were : !W ill the rei gn o f
"
H enry VIII ifa i ch ttache d to the househol d o f

,
Car dinal W olsey ; at the c ourt o f

Q ueen Mary ;and at o f E liz
IN L I FE A ND IN L IT ERA T URE 11
abe th .H eywoo d however was also a drama

, ,
tist o f some distinction an d Tarleton a very po p

, ,
the perio d Later we fin d .
A rchie A rmstron g at thé co u rt o f James I ; and

“
Tom K illi grew who besi des bein g j ester was

,
“
Master of the R evels to Charle s I The lat
, .
“
ter is describe d b y P ep y s as a merry droll but ,
”
a gentleman o f g reat e s teem wi th the king .
K illi g rew was probably the l ast o f the li c ense d

court fools an d the offi c e of hou s ehol d j ester
,
ce ase d to exist the c hara c ter subsequently de gen

,
e ratin
g into the itinerant merry an drew a buffoon-
,
who appeare d at c ountry fairs an d village festi

vals an d is n o w seen onl y at Chri s tmas time wi th
,
the mummers that a cc ompan y the waits an d c arol

singers in o ld fas hione d E n glish villages
-
.
In romance the fool has prominently fi gure d ,
alwa y s with pi c turesque and f requently with dra

mati c e ffe c t
.
S ir W alter Sc ott in hi s romantic novel Ivan

,
”
hoe has de s cribe d with mu ch detail an d fi deli t y
,
“ ”
th e C hara c ter of W amba and has given us a
,
very a c curate and impressive pi c ture o f the li fe

an d chara c teri s ti c s o f the j e s ter min s trel o f the -
time o f R ichar d C oeur de Lion - -

.
W e are in debte d to Victor H u go in Le R oi ,
”
s am m u se fo r a strikin g an d powerful picture
’
,
of the Italian court fool The character is more .
familiar perhap s in a dramatic version o f the

, ,
“ ”
s ame s tor y calle d The F ool s R evenge b y Tom
,
’
Ta y lor in which the late E dwin Booth gave s uch

,
a won derfully effe c tive pre s entation o f the poor

de forme d j e s te r B e rtu c c io c oncealin g un der the
,
motley g arb and mockin g tones o f the foo l the

intensity O f a father s love ’
.
The F rench court fool i s most pi c ture s quely

presente d in La Dame de M o nse re au in which
“ ”
,
the el der Dumas has woven a very intere s tin g

an d excitin g roma nce aroun d the c haracter o f
“ ”
Chicot j e s ter to K in g H enry III Chicot i s
, .
rep re s ente d as a gallant soul full o f honor and ,
chival ry as rea dy with his swor d as with his

,
wit both being equall y effe c tive The romance

,
.
was dramatize d for me re c ently un der the title ,
”
o f The Duke s Jester
’
by Mr Espey W illi ams
,
.
,
who trans ferre d the s c ene o f a c ti o n f rom th e c ourt

From a n e tc/ nu : by W . 1 " m an y
. In po ssessi o n f
o The Playe rs. New Yo rl
Edwin B oo th as
“
B e rtu c c io in
“
T h e Fo o l
’
s Rev enge
IN LI FE AND IN LIT ERAT URE 13
o f F ran c e to that O f the Duke of Milan in Italy ; ,
“ ” “ ”
an d chan ge d the name o f Chicot to Ce cc o .
I playe d the part o f the j ester wi th s om e su c ce s s ,
a n d retaine d the play in my repertoi re for several
years .
In the drama we have an a dmi rabl y c onstru c te d

“
an d splen di dly written play F rancesca di R i
,
mini b y the late George Boker where we fin d

,
”
,
the fool P epe keen of wit but deprave d in

“ ”
, ,
“ ”
min d a ve ry Iago in motle y H is fun i s ma
, .
lic io u s his humor mischievous an d hi s wit malev

,
olent A masterly p er forman c e o f the c hara c ter

.
was given b y m y frien d and comra de Mr Lo ui s , .
James with whose name it will always be

,
i dentifie d .
It is S hakespeare however who has given us

, ,
the best types o f fool ig which may be foun d not

,
W E
M
I have en deavore d to e H e has le ft us
that make the chara c ter s live a gain in their true

and perfect body an d envi ro nment .
Of pertinent interest after this brie f s ket c h o f

14 T H E FOO L S OF SHAKESPEARE
the hi s torical positi on O f the fool i s the inte rp re
tatio n of S hake s peare s fools containe d in a p ost
’
humous wor k b y F rancis Douce publi s he d in ,
“
Lon don in 1 83 9 entitle d Illu s tration s from
,
”
Shake s peare . There I find a chapter o f about
“
twent y pages with the caption : Desertation I .
,
”
The c hara c ter of S hake s peare s fools ’
.
My knowle dge Of thi s work was obtaine d from

Mr W i l fre d Clarke a so n o f the l ate eminent
.
,
come dian John S leeper Cl arke who foun d the

, ,
manu s cript of the extracts printe d below in the

, ,
propert y room O f the o ld W alnut S treet Theater

in P hil adelphi a while he was examinin g s ome
,
paper s an d effec ts o f his deceas e d f ather The .
M SS was written I have subsequentl y learne d

.
, ,
by Mary A nn Booth and is in a fine han d on

, ,
o ld fa s hione d blue note paper

-
now s oile d and ,
discolore d with age an d dogs c are d as i f from

,
-
f requent u se and re ference .
In the printin g O f the excerpts I have retaine d

the capitalizin g o f the words an d the pun c tuation
as I foun d i t in the M SS as characteri s ti c Of the
.
wri ter an d the perio d .

P uttenha m s peaki ng of the l att e r ,
s ays
fo u n e or counterfeit f
bu f d
a e to he ar - , him
is l ike hi ms
for s uch a
maketh v al
”
A ll flic iate d occas ionally a s m enia l s ervant s

'
i w .
1
: FOO1
E
P l ong e d to thi s 3 d
r c l a ss .
and di s or dinat e
j oy b ecam e inc o rpo
‘
f ate
bo dy of a j ca ster ;thi s fe ll ow in per s on is

in appe are ll court ly b ut in b ehaviour a very ,
an d n o m an ;his s tu die i s to coine b itter j e s t s or ,
to she w a nti que m otion s o r to s i ng bau die ba ll ads ,
g ive him a l ittl e w i ne in his hea d he is continua lly ,
Heari n g an d maki ng of m outhe s : he l au gh s inte m pe r

ate ly at every l ittl e occa s ion and dance s ab out the ,
hou s e l e aps over tabl e s o utsk ips m en s hea ds tri ps

, , ,
up his com pa n ion s hee ls b ur n s s ack w ith a can dl e

, .
and hath a ll the feat s of a l or d of m i s ru l e in the coun
try : fee d him in his hu m our y ou s h all h ave his heart , ,
in m eere kin dne ss he w i ll hug y ou in his arm e s k isse ,
y ou o n the cheek an d rapping out an horri bl e oath

, ,
crie G od s s ou l To m I l ove y ou you kno w my poore

’
, ,
heart com e to my cha mb er fo r a pi pe of tob acco

, ,
there l ive s n o t a m an in thi s w or l dthat I m ore honour .
In the s e cere m o nie s y ou s hall kno w his courting and ,
it is a s peci al ] m ark of him at the tabl e he s it s an d ,
m ake s face s : keep no t thi s fe ll o w com pan y fo r in ,
j g g
u lin w ith h im y ou r w a rd r o pes s ha ll be w a ste d
, ,
y our cre dit s crackt y our c ro wne s cons ume d and ti m e

, ,
IN L I FE AND IN L IT ERAT URE 17
( the m o s t p reciou s riche s of the w or l d) utter ly l o st .
Thi s is the picture of a rea l hirel i ng or arti fi ci al fool ,
”
from a s i ngu l ar tract e ntitl e d Wit s m i s erie 1 5 99 “ ’
,
.
I t is s o ex cee ding ly C l ear that the ter ms C l ow n an d

foo l w ere u s e d how ever i m proper ly as sy nonym ou s of
, ,
our Old w riter s that it w ou l d be an unnece ssar y o c c u

patio n of the reader s ti m e to a dduce e x am pl e s T heir
’
.
confu s e d i ntroduction in the dr am ati s per s ona: m ight

indee d ren der thi s po s ition doubtfu l to any o ne who
had no t w e ll con s i dere d the m atter ;b ut a l thou g h the
£0 0 1 9 2q Old pl ays denote d either a w itty hire in g
,
l
or arti fi cial foo l both retai n e d fo r the purpos e Of
,
maki ng s port for their e m pl oy er s the dow n w a s c e r — ,

m v
tainly a Character—of m uch greater variety —

“ h
He o c
m
.
w
fl “h "
c as io n all re p re s e nte
e d o n e o f the a ho v e per s onag e s ;
y
sOm e tim e s he w a s a m
c w “ an” .
ere ru stic an d very Often n o ,
m ore than a s hre w d and w itty dom e stic There are

w
.
s om e i n stance s in which anyl o w c h} rac te r i n a pl ay

f fi r
; v a
3
”
s erve d to a mu s e the au dience s w ith his s a ll ie s

M
foone ry an d thu s b eca m e the C l o wn of

al m m
O f coar s e b uf
q
, “ ~ n
the piece I n _s hort the theatrica l c low n or foo l

.
,
s ee ms to ha ve been a land f haéro g e neo us ch arac ter

“ h w C N g ar- “ m u m
dra w
,
n in 55& fr6 m re al l ife but very Con s derably

“ ”
he i ghtene d to p roduce s tag e e ffect ; an o pinion that

i ,
derive s con s i derabl e s u pport fro m w hat Shake s peare

has put into the m outh of H a ml et w hen he m ake s him ,
a dm on i s h tho s e who pl ay the c lo w n s to Speak no

more than is set dow n for the m I ndee d the g re at .
,
dr am ati s t hi ms e l f cannot be abs o l ve d from the i m pu ta

tion o f havi ng g iven too high a co l ouri ng to the Char
ac te rs in q ue s tion un l e ss we s uppo s e what is ex
, ,
tre m ely p rob abl e that his pl ays have b een very m uch ,
i nterpol ate d by the exte m poraneou s nons en s e of the

pl ay er s .
D r Fu ll er s peaki ng of the C ourt J e ster who m he

.
, ,
s ays s om e count a nece ss ar y evi l re mark s in his u s ua l ,
quaint m anner that it is an Ofli c e w hich none b ut he

,
that hath wit c an perform and none b ut he that want s ,
it w i ll perform .
TH E C LO W N .
2 A fi itty ntstics .
3 A ny se rv ant of a s hre w d awn dmw itty

.
M
'fi fil “
an d who , a Si m i l ar in o u r m
like “
1
1 3 17
t £ }?
was ma e tOtre at hiS m aSte r w ith g reat
“
d
u
“
fa mi l i a
in or der to pro duce s tage e f
fect .
I II T he .fe mal e fo ol_who wa s g e nerallymi diot , .
I V The C ity or Co rporati onFool w ho s e offi ce w

.
‘ w m “ w
,
to a ss i s t at publ ic enter tainm ent s ahdin page ant s To

.
.
15 n bet g F
'
e rhap s the L or d M ay or s s tate fool

’
,
an d tho s e e m pl oy e d by the com pa nie s o f tra de s & C .
V T avern Fools T he s e s ee m to have b een re

. .
taine d to a m u s e the cu sto m er s W e l earn from .
of B e n J on s o n s pl ays that they e x hi b i te d w i th’
j e ws h arp m ou nte d o n a j oi nt stool and in ano ther o f

,
-
,
the m he has p re s erve d the nam e o f s uch a character

the y w ere s ometi m e s qual i fi e d to s ing afte r the I ta l ian
m anne r Fools w ere a ls o e mpl oy e d in the comm on
.
he Foo l of the ancient theatrica l m ys terie s am

s more p roper ly s peaking them e
no w ; ( A
M i W
, ,
IN LI FE A ND IN L IT ERAT URE 19
a s i ngu l ar characte r that w ou l d afi o rd m atter for

,
’
m uch b etter de sse rtatio ns than tho s e of War burton

and U pton B ei ng generally dre ss e d in a fool s hab it
.
’
he appe ar s to h ave b een g ra dua lly an d un di s ting ui sh

ably bl e n de d w ith the do m e s tic foo l ;ye t he w a s c e r
ta in ly a b u f foon of a di fferent s o rt H e w a s alw ays .
a b itter ene my to the D evi l an d a pa rt of his e m pl oy ,
m ent cons i ste d in te az ing and tor m enting the poor

fi e n d o n eve ry occa s ion H e cea s e d to be in fa shion
.
at the e nd of the s ixteenth centu ry .
V II The Pop} in the o ld dwu mb sho ws exhi b ite d at

.
W
W w
fairs , an d per hap s at in n s 1n wh ié h h e w a s g enera lly

,
e ng age d in a strugg l e w ith death ;a fact that s ee ms

all u de d to m ore than once in Shake s peare s pl ays I t ’
.
is po ss i bl e that s o m e ca s ua l ve s ti g e s o f thi s s pecie s of

e nte rtai n m e nt m ight have s ug ge s te d the m odern Eng
l i sh p antom i m e s .
V II I T he Foo l m
. in the Whit s un a l e s and M o rri s
W m ‘
u l
n a
m a.
-
dance .
The M ou nte b a nk s fool or M erry A n dre w

’
I! .
, .
T here may be other s introduce d into our o ld dra ma s

of an i n de finite and irre gu l ar kin d and no t re duci bl e ,
to any of the ab ove c l a ss e s .
C O ST U M E .
Whoever is de s irous g enera l an d ac

cur ate i n form ation concerni ng the g reat variety of
dre ss e s th at b e l ong to s om e of the ch aracter s in que s
tion at di fferent perio ds m u s t s tu dy ancient p ri nt s an d
,
painti ng s an d e s pecia lly the m iniature s that e mb e l

,
lished manu s cri pt s T he s e w i ll fu rni s h s uffi cient

.
20 T H E FOO L S OF SHAKESPEA RE
s peci m en s ; but the diflic ulty of a s certaining how the
theatrica l foo ls an d c l o w n s of Shake s peare s ti m e
’
w ere a lw ays hab ite d is i n su perabl e I n s om e in stance s

, .
the pl ays the ms e l ve s a ss i s t by pecu l iar reference s that

l eave b ut l itt l e doubt ;b ut thi s is no t the ca s e in g en
e raL
I t m ay b e co ll ecte d b oth fro m the pl ays the ms e l ve s ,
an d fro m variou s othe r authoritie s that the co s tu m e ,
of the dom e s tic foo l in Shake s peare s ti m e wa s of ’
t w o s ort s .
( H ere fo ll o w s o m e etching s in penci l .

)
O n the fi r s t of the s e the coat w a s m otl ey or parti
col oure d and attache d to the b ody by a g ir dl e w ith
, ,
b e lls at the ski rt an d e lb ows though n o t a lw ays The

, .
b reeche s and ho s e c l o s e and s om eti m e s e ach leg of

,
a di fferent col our A hoo d re s e mbl i ng a m onk s cowl

.
’
,
w hich at a ver y ear ly period it w a s cert ai n ly de s ign e d

,
to i m itate covere d the hea d entire ly and fe ll dow n

, ,
over part o f the b rea st and s hou l der s I t w a s s o m e .
ti m e s decorate d w ith a ss e s ear s or e ls e te rm i nate d in

’
the neck an d hea d of a cock a fa s hion a s o ld a s the

,
fourteenth centu ry I t had often the comb or cre st

.
only of the ani mal .
T he fool u s u ally carrie d in his hand an offi cia l

s ceptre o r b aubl e w hich was a sho rt s tick ornam ente d
,
at the e nd w i th the figure o f a foo l s hea d or s o m e ’
ti m e s w i th that o f a doll or puppe t To thi s instru .
m e nt there w a s fre quent ly annexe d an inflate d skin

or bl a dder the for m of it varie d I t wa s no t a lways
, .
fill e d with air b ut occa s ionally w ith s and or pea s

,
.
IN LI FE AN D IN L IT ERAT URE ‘
21
The other dre ss and w hich a ppear s to have b een

,
more comm on in the ti m e of Shake s peare w a s the ,
long petticoat Thi s origina lly appe rtaine d to the

.
i diot or natura l fool Why it ca m e to be u se d for

.
the a ll o w e d foo l is n o t apparent It w a s l ike the fi r s t

.
,
of variou s col our s the materials often cos tly a s o f

, ,
ve l vet an d g uar de d or fring e d w ith y ell o w I n o ne

, .
in stance we have a y e ll o w l eather dou bl et .
I
T RI N C U LO .
The charac ter of T ri ncu l o w ho in the dra mati s

,
per s onae is ca ll e d a j e ster is 12 3 & y

,
“
r we ll di s c rim
, m
in ate d in the cour s e of the pl a y it s e l f Kg he i s on ly .
M iafi there
'
wa s n o opportunity of e x hi b iti ng him in the l e giti m ate

characte r of a profe ss e d foo l : b ut at the conc l u s ion
of the pl ay it appear s he w a s in the s ervice of the
Ki ng of N apl e s a s w e ll a s Ste phano H e mu st be .
reg ar de d a s an a ll ow e d do m e stic bu ffoon and hab ite d ,
in the u s ua l m anner .
LA U N C E A ND S P EE D .
The character of Spee d is that of a M d w itty

w ant . L aunce is s o m ethi ng di ffere nt exhibiting
a m ixture of archne ss and ru stic s i m pl icity T here is
,
no a ll u s ion to dre ss no r any othe r circu ms tance that

,
mark s the m a s the dom e s tic foo l or j e ste r .
TH E C LO W
Thi s c l o w n i s a dom e stic fo o l in the s e rv ,
“
ic e of Ol ivia . H e i s s pe c ia lly term e d an a ll owe d
22 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKESPEAR E
foo l and Fes te the j e ster that the L ady O l ivi a s
, ,
’
”
father took m uch del ight in M a lvo l io l ike w i s e .
” “
s peak s of him a s a set fool O f his dre ss it is im
po ss i bl e to spe ak m
.
I f the fool s ex pre ss ion ’
“
I wi ll im pe tic o at thy greatility be the orig ina l l an ,
guag e he m u s t have b een hab ite d accor ding ly

, Mr . .
R it s on has a ss erte d that he has neither coxcomb no r

b aubl e de ducing his arg u m ent fro m the w ant of any
,
a ll u s ion to the m Y e t s uch an om i ss ion may b e a ve ry

.
fa llaciou s gui de in j u dging o f the hab it of thi s char

acter on the s tag e I t mu s t how ever be a dm itte d
.
, ,
that where thi s happen s there c an be no c l ue a s to

the p reci s e m anner in w hich the foo l w a s dre ss ed .
M E AS U R E —
EA S U R E T H E C LOW N
FOR M .
M in l ay o ffic iates a s the tapster of a

b rothe l ; w hence it has e én c o nc lude d that h e i s not
' ' "
w
~
a do me stic fool no r ought to appear in the dre ss o f

,
that character A l itt l e con s i deration w i ll s erve to

.
she w that the opinion is erroneou s that thi s c l ow n is ,
altog ether a do m e stic fool and that he shou l d be hab

,
ite d accor ding ly M any ancie nt p rint s fu rni sh in

.
s tance s of the common use of the dom e stic fool in

b rothe ls .
r
ova s LAB O U R S LO ST—T H E C LOW N
L
’ ’
.
T he c l ow n in thi s pl a y is a m ere count ry fe ll ow .
The te rm foo l a pp l ie d to him in A c t V Sc I I m ean s

“ ”
, .
,
n othi ng m ore than a s i lly fe ll o w H e has no t s uf .
fic ie nt s i m p l icity for a natura l foo l n o r wit enough ,
for an arti fi cial one .

T H E WI N T E R S TA L E
’
.
T he c l ow n i s a m ere c ountry booby .
K I N G L E AR .
The foo l of thi s pl ay i s the g enuine dome s tic b uf

foon ; but notw ith standi ng his s arca stica l fla she s of
wit for w hich we m u s t give the poet cre dit and
'
, ,
a s crib e the m in s om e deg ree to w hat is ca ll e d s tage

e ffect he is a m ere natura l w ith a con s i derabl e share
,
of cunn ing T hu s Edg ar calls him an innocent and

.
,
every o ne w i ll i mm e diat ey l di s ti n gui sh h_i_r_n from s uch

a character a s T o uchsto nem s dre ss on the stage
_
shou l d hé partiE
_
o lo u re dfhis hoo d cre s te d either with
a cock s co mb to which he often a llu de s or w ith the

’
,
c o c k s he ad and neck H is b aubl e shou l d have a hea d

’
.
l ike his o w n w ith a g rinning countenance fo r the pur

po s e o f e x citing m i rth in tho s e to w ho m he occa s ion
a lly pre s ent s it .
Y OR I C K
The K ing J e ste r

’
s
A ML E T a y oun g Dani s h prin c e ae c om

, ,
an ie d by his frien d H oratio stands by a

p ,
lo w wall that en c loses a g rave y ard wat c hin g an

o ld sexton who is d i gging a grave W i th p ro fes .
sio n al un c on c ern the o ld f ellow shovels out the
earth toge ther with some human bones ;amon gst

,
them two s k ulls one o f whi c h he strikes smartly

,
wi th his spade to imbe d i t in the soft earth and ,
prevent its rolling away .
S ho c ke d at the apparent in di fferen c e o f the o ld

man to th ese dea d reli c s the prin c e a dvances in
, ,
te rru p ts his work an den g ag e s him in c onver s ation

, .
The g rave digge r is a quaint in depen dent o ld fel

- '
lo w and answers the prin c e s questions with

’
,
humorous bluntness T he prin c e inqui res H ow

.
,
”
long will a man lie in the earth e re he rot ?
After replying to the question the sexton pi c ks ,
25
26 T HE FOO L S OF S HAKESP EARE
up o ne o f
the s kulls f rom the moun d o f earth
“
an d asserts This skull hath lain i the earth ’
,
“ ”
three an d twenty years
- -
W ho s e was i t ? .
“
asks the prin c e A whores on mad fellow s i t
.
’
“
was repl ie s the sexton an d then a dds A pesti
, , ,
len c e o n him for a m ad r ogu e ! a poure d a fiagon ’
o f R henish o n my hea d o n c e T his same s ku ll .

,
”
s ir was Yoric k s s k ull the kin
g s j e s ter
’ ’
.
, ,
Gently ta kin g the grim remain der f r om the

i rreverent hands o f the o ld grave di gger and -
,
g azing at i t with lovin g ten derness the prin c e ex ,
c laims : A l as poor Yoric k —I knew him H ora

“
, ,
tio : a fellow o f infin ite j est o f most ex c ellent ,
f ancy : he hath b o rne me o n his ba c k a th ou sand

times ; and n o w how abhorre d in my imaginati on
i t is ! my gorge rises at i t H ere hun g those lips .
that I have ki s se d I know no t how o ft Where , .
be yo u r gibes now ? your gambol s ? yo ur son gs ?

y our flashes o f m e rrirnent that were wont to
'
set the table in a r o ar ? No t o ne now to m oc k

”
your own grinnin g ! quite c hap fallen ! -
Fo r three and twenty years that skull had la

- -
in the earth till every ves ti ge o f its p e rso nalii

,
Y OR I C K 27
had been destroye d and only the expe rien c ed eye

,
of the o ld sexton c oul d re c ogni z e it

'
A chapless s k ull ! dust an d bo nes t ossed u p

f rom the de c aying earth f rom whi ch they spran g ,
and to whi c h by the inexorable l aw of nature

, ,
they had retu rne d; a skull that on c e was c overe d

with s kin and tissues through which ran a myri ad
,
o f arteries an d veins c onveying the blo od t o and

,
f rom the a c tive brain that lay in the no w empty

shell A s k ull th at had c rowne d a f rame c lothed
.
,
li k e i tsel f interse c te d wi th nerves that c onne c te d

,
the sensations o f heart and brain and c anals that

,
c arrie d the vital flui ds o n thei r c easeless c ourse ,
g ivin g the entire stru c t u re a living enti ty an d an,
in divi dual personality ;the personality o f Yori ck ,
j ester to the c ourt o f H amlet K ing o f Denmar k

,
.
Yoric k ! what a merry lovin g soul he must

,
have been how full o f fun and f roli c Wh at

, .
pran ks he m u st have pl aye d o n those big good ,
nature d lon g haire d Vi king warriors as they sat

,
-
,
at the banqu et table in the great hall o f the c astle

o f E lsinore In f an c y I can hear thei r laughte r
.
,
at his mad c ap j ests and the deep roar o f th ei r

,
voi c es as they j oin in the choru s o f his merry
songs .
I c an see him in the c hu rchyar d seriou s for a

,
moment sitting on an an c ient tombstone g ravely

, ,
“ ”
wat ching the o ld sexton di gging a pit o f cl ay ;
the l as t restin g pla c e o f folly and wis dom ;
but his fun lovin g so ul c ann ot l ong be restraine d
-
by even su c h solemn environment ; so furti vely , ,
the m ad rogue purloins the bibulous o ld g rave

di gg er s fla gon o f Rh eni s h stan din g near by and
’
-
, ,
pou r s its content s over the hea d o f the disc o m fite d

s exton ; then fleet as a deer he ru n s away leap s
, ,
the churchyar d wall an d the f aint e cho o f his

,
merry lau ghter is the only sola c e for the o ld man s ’
wrath .
Yori c k ! the lines are few and the des c ripti o n

,
brie f that S ha ke s peare has given u s o f the man ,
but they are so pregnant wi th su ggestion so sweet ,
in thou ght an d so ten der in memory that he lives

,
in our min ds as c ompletely a s thou gh he gambole d

o n the ear th a ain an d l au hin ly j in le d his c ap
g , g g g
and bells in our ve ry ears .
H o w happy m u st have be en those early days

Y OR I C K 29
at E lsinore when H amlet was a c hild and Yori ck

,
his pl a y fellow H o w they must have r omped

-
.
together in the gardens What fun it was for the .
l ittle prin c e to climb upon the j ester s shoul ders ’
an d race pick bac k alon g the terra c es the boy s

-
,
’
lon g fai r c urls blowin g in the win d and his merry ,
lau ghter filling the ai r wi th musi c H o w pleas .
ant to sit in the s hade o f o ne o f the big o ld trees

i n the par k and listen to the j ester tel l s uc h i nter
,
estin g tales o f the fol klore o f the c ountry ;o f the

tra ditions o f the prin ce s warli ke ra c e and the ’
,
mi ghty deeds o f his g reat Vi king an c estors T hen .
there were st o ries to o won der ful stories o f go b

, , ,
lins sprites and f airies who did su c h stran ge

,
thin gs that the relation o f them alm os t f r i ghtens

the little prin c e ; but he is reass u re d by a smile ,
an d twining his arms roun d dear o ld Yorick s

’
,
ne c k and k is s ing the j ester s lips he nestles c lose

,
’
,
to the breast o f his motley f rien d in confi dent

se c uri ty .
Three and twenty years have pa s se dsin c e then

- -
years o f s orrow years o fpain ! The prince is now

,
a man wi th more than a man s share of doubts

,
’
,
perplexities an d c ares : and yet at the sight o f th
bare chapless s ku ll o f his dea d play fellow all
,
-
the sweet an d ten der pas t c omes ba ck ag ain .
Wh at a ten der path os is min gle d wi th

prin c e s philosophi c reflect i ons o n the remains 0
’
his dea d f rien d as memory re c alls each wor d

,
inci dent . It is in dee d a reflex o fYorick himsel

as the prin c e utters the g rim j est , Now ge t you
to my l a dy s c hamber an d tell her let her paint
’
, ,
”
an in c h thi c k to this f avor she must c ome
, .
So must we all ! The kin g lies in his marble

sepul c he r the j ester in his humble grave in the
,
chur c hyar d: but the e rmine robe an d motle y

c oat the c rown an d bauble will min gle thei r dust
, ,
and fin d e q u ality in the u niversal demo c ra c y o f
death .
the matter with j u dgment an d he is never at a

,
los s for a repl y that is apt and to the point .
Tou chstone s c orns mere pe rsiflag e is happ il

d
,
f ree from the punnin g habit and i s sel dom a c

,
ru p te r of wor ds ;he makes his j e s ts by logi c al
du c tio n s wi th a g ood premi s e a soun d argument

, ,
and a positive con c lusion .
Thi s s ame happy quality ma y be foun d in hi

encounte rs wi th the gentlemen of the court ,
l a die s in thei r disguise s the simple shepherds in

,
the f orest and with the grave philosopher Jaques

,
in dee d i t is the latter gentleman who mo s t ac cu

,
rate ly su m marizes the a c complishments an d gives ,
the keynote to the j ester s chara c ter when he pre

’
s ents him to the Duke : Is not thi s a rare fellow

“
,
g ood m y lor d? he is as g oo d at any thin g an d yet ,
”
a fool .
The wit o f Tou chstone does no t sc intill at , but e
bu rn s wi th a s tea dy flame ;it is n o t like the Sparks

that fly from the c ontact o f tempere d steel but ,
the bri ght and ru ddy glow that ra diate s from

molten metal in the cru c ible It is sententious .
rather than brilliant more philosophic than friv

,
T OU C HS T O N E 33
o lo u s, an epi grammati c H is humor

d invari ably .
is never malicious n o r his sati re bitter ;he s hoots

,
his wit at eve ry mark that presents i tsel f but his ,
s hafts are harmless ;the y have no barb and leave

no stin g .
Touch s tone is not a bu ffoon he doe s not pla y,
practical j e s ts nor in dul ge in s uch pran ks as did

“ ”
th at m ad rogu e Yorick H ad it been Touch .
s tone in the church y ar d at E l s inore when the sex

ton was di ggin g a g rave he woul dnot have p oure d
,
a flagon of wine over the o ld g rave di gger s hea d; -

’
e woul d probably have leane d ag ainst one of the

o ld yew tree s wat c he d the proc ee din s with quiet
, g
reflection and i f the o ld sexton had a dvance d any
,
o f his soc ialisti c theories the j ester woul d have

,
argue d the matte r to the e nd and no doubt have,
him on his o wn propositi on .
There are no demon s trations o r expres s ions o f

“
a ffection b y Touchstone as by the fool in King
,
”
Lear yet he is not lackin g in lo y alty ;he leave s
,
the c ourt of Duke F re derick to follow the for

tunes o f Celia the Duke s dau ghter out of s incere
,
’
regar d running the risk o f the Du k e s disple asure

,
’
34 T H E FOO L S OF SHA KESPEARE
an d probably o f puni shment i f dis c overe d;he ac
c e p ts the f a ti gues o f the j ourney an d the di sc
forts o f li fe in the forest o fA rden without hesi

tion or c omplaint ; he rea dily a dapts him s el f
his new envi ronment keeps his own counsel
, ,
well as that o f hi s mi s tre s s and hol ds the sec

,
o f the disg uises o f Celi a and R osalin d in v io l
My fi rs t acquaintance with Touchstone w

ma de man y years ago at Manche s ter in Englan
, ,
“
A ve ry el aborate produ c tion of As You Like I
was presente d at the P rince s Theater there
’
.
pl aye d the part o fO rl an do to the R o s alin dof th

beauti ful and incomp arable actres s Mi s s A del
,
N e ilso n Mr Comp ton was the fool I cann

. . .
imagine a more a dequate ande ffecti ve p e rfo rrnan

o f the p art than Mr Compton g ave ; hi s qua
.
personalit y his unctuous humor his arti s tic i

, ,
s tinc t a dde d to hi s ripe experience c ombine d

, ,
p resent a comp lete embo diment o f the poe

de s i gn . The mobilit y of his features reflecte d
Spi rit o f every line he uttere d;an d thou gh he s
do m smile d un der the gravit y o f hi s e xp re ss i
,
y o u seeme d to feel there was the k eenest a

J
am e s L s
e wi as To uc h s to ne in A s Y o u L ik e It
ation o f the humor o f the oc c asion which lau ghter ,
woul d have f aile d to c onvey .
The memory o f Mr Compton s per f orman c e

.
’
will ever remain with me as the livin g embodiment

of Tou c hstone .
W
It —
im to c o nj ure up in one s
’
min dtlrgp ic tu res—thaL Shak espeare has drawn and

0
,
g ive th em vitality f orm ,a n d color I have e n j .

-
,
rs t meetin g
o f Touchstone with the gloomy philos opher

J aqu e s in m
, m m e c centric
gentleman .
A foo l a foo l ! I m et a fool i the fore st

,
’
,
A m ot l e y fool —a m i s erabl e w or l d!
A s I do l ive by foo d I m e t a fool
,
W ho l ai d him dow n and bask d him in the sun ’
A n d rail d on L a dy Fortune in goo d ter ms

’
In goo d s e t ter ms and ye t a m ot l ey foo l

, .
The description i s brie f but i t su gge s ts to the

,
imagination a scene o f rare sy lvan beauty and ,
s trikin g human contra s t A n openin g in the trees

.
where the sun unimp e de d by the heavy foliage of

, j
the deep fore s t bri ghtens the lan dscape and the ,
!
atmosphere is re dolent wi th the f ragran c e o f the

3 6 T H E FOO L S OF SHAKES PEARE
wil dwood flower s The bees are hummin g drow

.
ily the bi r ds flit by on s p ee dy wings to reach thei

,
ne s ts an d from thei r leaf y home s trill out thei

,
j o y in s weete s t mel ody Touchstone is l y i

.
upon the soft green turf ; he imagines him s el f

be alone u nseen unhear d H e is so lilo qu iz i
, ,
.
s p eakin g hi s thou ghts alou d as many thinkers ,
pos s ibl y c ontrastin g the beautie s of n atu re

which he is envi rone d with the frown s o f fo
,
that have bani she d hi s mi s tre s s an d him s el f f r

th e luxu rious li fe of the court to the plain horn ,
existence in the primitive forest But he is .
alone J aqu es wan derin g throu gh the forest

.
, ,
s erves the motle y fi gu re reclinin g on the g rou

and hearin g hi s voice but seein g no au ditor s ,
an d listens Notin g his motley c oat Jaques

.
,
first takes the fellow for an or dinary fool ,
which most people at that time inclu din g S hake ,
s peare him s el f had a profoun d c ontemp t ; b

,
Touchstone s railin g is no or dinar y abu s e ;it is

’
” “
s uch good term s ‘
su ch g ood se t terms
,
that the phil o s opher not only stops to li s ten

“ ”
the motley f ool but is so entertaine d that he
,
38 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKESPEA RE
0 that I w ere a fool !
I a m a mb itiou s for a m otl ey coat .
But to retu rn to that po rtion o f this intere s ting

interview the poet has given u s It is narrate d .
b y J aqu es him s el f
“
G oo d m orro w ,fool quoth I , N o sir quoth he .
, , ,
”
Call m e n o t foo l ti ll heaven hath s ent m e fo rtu ne .
A n d then he dre w a dia l fro m his poke ,
A nd l ooking o n it w ith l ack l u stre eye -

,
“
Says ver y w i s e ly I t is ten o c l ock ; ’
“
Thu s m ay we s e e quoth he ho w the w or l d w ag s
, ,
.
Tis b ut an hour ag o s ince it w a s n ine

’
A n d after o ne hour m ore t w i ll be e l even ;

’
A n d s o fro m hour to hou r we ri p e an d ri pe

, , ,
A n d then fro m hour to hour we rot an d rot ;

”
A nd there by ha ng s a tal e When I did hear
.
T he m ot l ey fool thu s m ora l on the ti m e ,
M y l u ng s b e g an to cro w l ike C hantic l eer ,
That foo ls s houl d be s o deep conte m pl ative -

,
A n d I did l augh s a n s inte rm i ss ion

A n hour by his dia l — O nobl e fool !
.
A worthy foo l ! M ot l ey s the only wear’

.
W e are no t informe d o f the e ffe c t o f the inter

view on Tou c hstone but doubtless like a good , ,
sol dier that appreciate s a foem an worthy o f his

s teel he e s teeme d the philo s op her the more a fter
,
the combat o f thei r wits .

T OU CHS T O N E 39
H en ry Giles in his H uman Li fe o f S hake

,
“
s peare c all s Touch s tone The H amlet of mot
,
”
”
ley and fin ds a s a dne s s in his j e s ts and in his
,
” “
moc kery seem ( s ) to hear ech o es f rom a solitary

heart .
”
H e epi gr ammatically s ummarizes the
“
character as follows : H e i s a thinker o u t o fplace ,
a philo s opher in mistaken ve s ture a genius by ,
nature an outcast b y destiny

, It may be pre
.
’
s ump tion on my part to differ fr o m so di s tin

u i sh e d an authority but while I approve the
g , ,
“ ”
appli c ation o f the term H amlet of motley as
j u s tifie d by Touchstone s analogy to the Danish
’
p rin c e in his reflective philosophy on the m u ta b il

“
it y of li fe I fail to find any evi dence o f sa dne s s
,
“ ”
in his j ests or the e c hoe s f rom a solitary heart
in his sentiments or c on duct As I have be fore.
observe d hi s j e s ts are no t f rivolous but they are

, ,
chara c teristic o f the man quaint and s ententi ous

, ,
an d never la c king in humor O n the arrival o f

.
the fool in the forest o f A r den wi th Celi a and ,
R osalin d he j ests at the love tale which he an d

,
'
the l a die s overhear S ylvius rel ate to Corin and ,
burlesques the amatory verse s that O rlan do has

4 0 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKESPEARE
written to R osalin d H e mee ts and c ourts A u
.
dre y the c ountry wench with the usual attentions

, ,
an d compliment s o f a lover in his station an d in ,
the thir d a c t arran ges to marr y her ; in fact he ,
woul d have done so but for the a dvi c e of J aqu e s

, ,
who u rges him to postpone the ceremon y till a

more favorable opportuni ty This opp ortunit y
.
presents itsel f at the conclusion o f the play and ,
Touch s tone is there with his s wee theart eager as , ,
“
he decl ares to s wear and for s wear ac c or din g as
, ,
”
marri ag e bin ds. The s e con ditions do not seem
to in dicate a solita ry heart A s to Mr G ile s s ’
. .
final summa ry o f Tou chstone s c haracter his

’
,
g enius I a dmit ;b u t a thinker is never out o fpla c e

there is no distinctive vesture fo r a philosopher
an d the j ester to so important a persona ge as the
can scarcel y be terme d an outca s t .
It woul d seem by the ini ti al appearance o f

Touch s tone that Shake s peare inten de d to rep re
“ ”
sent him as the or dinary type o f a dull fo ol and ,
later en dowe d him wi th the wealth o f wit and

wi s dom that has so enriche d the chara c ter an d ,
made it so c onspi c u o us in the c ome dy .

T OU CH STONE 4 1
This has c au se d so eminent an authorit y as D r

‘
Furne s s to c onclu de that S hake speare inten de d to
present two s eparate and distin c t chara c ters : an !
“ “
or dinary ro y nish clown or c lowni s h fool as i ,
he i s c alle d in the fir s t act and the keen an d witty

“
,
”
“
philos opher the wor thy fool we fin d in the
,
later a c t s .
Again I am compelle d to di ffer wi th a dis

,
t ingu ishe d scholar .
I c an find nothin g inconsistent in the character . .
In the first act To

, S wa g: li ght and
‘
friv o lo u th the duties
o f his off ic e which were to entertain an d amuse

,
his m aSterT nd hiS househol d; an d even that

'
‘
triflin g example o f the kni ght and the pan c akes

“
is an apt illu s tration o f his argument o n swearin g
”
by his honor ; while his sarca s tic reference to
l
” “
breakin g o f ribs as sport fo r l a die s is entirely
”
f
c onsistent with hi s philosophi c satire in the late rl ’
a c ts
.
T he unities o f the c hara c ter are well preserve d ,
an d th e link connectin Touch tone at the c ourt

g s 1 ,
with T ouchstone i n the forest is c learly define d .

4 2 T H E FOO L S OF SHAKESPEARE
I R osalin d and Celi a havin g deci de d to leave the
,
court an d seek security in the forest R os alin d ,
proposes :
What if we assay d to steal ’
The c l ow ni s h foo l out of y our father s court ?

’
Wou l d he no t be a com fo rt to our trave l ?

To this propo s al Celia eagerly as s ent s
He ll go a l ong o e r the w i de w or l d w ith
’ ’
me ;
L eave m e a l one to w oo him .
That her wooin g was succe s sful is obviou s fo ,
the next time we meet them the y are at the e dge

the forest Touchstone is wi th them and li
, ,
themselves wearie d by the j ou rney they ha

ma de The c ontinuit y is c omplete The s
. .
trenchant wit that s atirize d the breakin g o f ri

at the c ourt humorou s ly exclaims against th
,
f ati gu es o f the j ou rney and the dis c omforts o ,
the f orest .
Ros . O J w ear y are my s pirit s !

up ite r l ho w
I care no t for my s pirit s if my l eg s w ere

Iw ea
Tau
y
r
.
.
, no t
C el . I p ray y ou b ear w ith m e ;I cannot g o fu rther .
To u . Fo r my part I had r ather b ear w ith y ou than

,
he ar y ou ;yet I shou l d b ear no cro ss if I did b ear y ou , I
fo r I thi nk y ou have n o m one y in y our pur s e .
Ros . We ll thi s is the fore s t of A r den

,
.
To u . A y n o w I a m in A r den ; the m ore foo l I !

,
w hen I w a s at hom e I w a s in a b etter pl ace : b ut

,
trave l er s m u st be content .
It is obvious to me that the characters develope d

in the min d of the author as he progre s se d in the
constru ction o f the play and however clear may,
have been his first c oncep tion of the part he el ab ,
orate d and pe rfecte d it as the poss ibilities pre

s ente d them s el ve s .
Dr Fu m e ss however i s mo s t emphati c against}

.
, ,
thi s view o f S hake speare s me tho ds H e sa y s :

’
.
,
— —
j
f
“
I cannot s uppos e it i s unthinkable th at fro rr
,
the firs t instant ea c h c hara c ter was not present
before him in perfe c t symmetry and absolute c orri
”
p le te ness .
Thi s is the natural point of view o f su c h an ac

c omplishe d s cholar an d sc ientifi c literary c riti c as
Dr Furnes s ;but S hakespeare hadnot the Doc tor s
.
’
a dvantages o f a systemize d e ducation nor such ,
profoun d literary c ulture S hakespeare a dopted .
meth ods o f his own which were at variance with

,
44 T H E FOO L S OF S H AKESPEARE
co nventionality ; he di sc arde d the scientifi c rules
o f con s truc tion followe d the natural in s tincts o f
,
hi s own min d an d establishe d a new stan dard

,
o f dramatic writin
g .
S uch evi dence as we have in dicate s that nearly

,
all o f the poet s pl a y writin g wa s hastily done

’
-
,
an d as he then th ou ght but for tempora ry use on

,
the s tage W e have n o evi den c e o frevision ei ther

.
for publi c ation o r for subsequent reproduction ,
but much that j u s tifies the inference that he was

in di fferent to the merits o f his dramati c work ;
so that while hi s plots may have been c are fully
p repare d the characters grew in detail ed impor

,
tan c e as they develope d in the min d o f the actor

dramatist and the c onstru c tion of the pla y p ro
,
c e ed ed
. It mu s t also be remembere d that S hake
speare worke d from more than one point o f view ;
he possesse d the creative faculty o f the auth or ,
the i deality o f the poet the constructive ability

,
of th e dramati s t as wel l as the a c tor s instin c t o f

,
’
delineation This con dition I as s ume to have

.
“ ”
existe d in the c onstru ction of As You Like It ,
an d the result was the evolution o f Tou c hstone .

4 6 T H E FOO LS OF SHAKESPEARE
g reat heap o f y ou r knowle d g e ? R o salin d

”
“
e c hoes he r c ousin s sentiment by ad ding Ay
’
, ,
marry now unmuzzle your wis dom

, For an .
’7
swer Touchstone requests th e ladie s S tan d y ou

, ,
both forth now ;stroke you r chins an d s wear b y ,
”
you r bear ds th at I am a knave The l a die s do .
as requeste d passin g thei r han ds over thei r f aces

, ,
“
Celi a exclaimin g By o u r bear ds i f we had them
, , ,
”
thou art Touch s tone conclu de s the s tory and
.
“
the argument by assertin g : By m y knavery i f ,
I had it then I were ;but i f y ou s wear by that that

,
is not you are not forsworn

, No more was this .
kni ght swearing b y hi s honor for he never had

, ,
any ; o r i f he had he had sworn i t awa y before

,
”
ever he saw those pan c ake s o r that mustard .
Learnin g f rom the fool that the s tory has ref

e rence to a frien d o f her fathe r Celia threatens ,
“
him with the whip for taxation ,
Touch
stone s reply i s worth y o f the keenest s atiri s t
’
“
The more pi t y that fools may not speak wisel y
,
”
when wi s e men do fooli s hl y .
The a dvent of Le Beau a courtier puts an , ,
e ndto the dis c ussion Le Beau invites the la dies to

.
“
se e some wrestlin g whi ch he terms go od sport
, ,
and des c ribes wi th mu c h detail the bouts that have
alrea dy oc curre d in which Charles the champion

, ,
wrestler has over thrown and broken the ribs o f

,
th ree young men brother s who have essa y e d to

, ,
c ompete wi th him Le Beau reports the y oung

.
men as havin g been apparently f atally inj ure d ,
an d that s ome of the more s ympatheti c spectators
have j oine d th e age d f ather of the bo y s in his

l amentations at thei r hurts A t the c on c lu s ion o f
.
Le Beau s narrative Touch s tone g ravel y inqui res

’
“
But what is th e s port Mon s ieur that the l a dies
, ,
” “ ”
have lo s t ? Wh y thi s that I speak of retu rns
, ,
“ “
the courtier Thu s replies Touchs tone men
.
, ,
ma y g row wiser every day ! It i s the first time

that ever I heard breakin g o f ribs was S port for
”
la dies.
In the early da y s o f my dramati c experience .
”
there was an unworthy gag introdu c e d into this
s c ene b y come dians who pla y e d Touchstone A t .
the conclu s ion of the wre s tlin g whi c h is wi tne s se d

,
b y the la dies and Tou chstone the c h ampion is ,
worste d by O rlan do and thrown senseless to the

,
g roun d The duke wi th whom the wrestler is

.
,
“
a favorite inquires with some anxiety H ow
, ,
”
dost thou Charles ? in reply to which Le Beau
,
“
s houl d an s we r H e c annot speak my lor d
,
”
, .
Come dian s however were pe rmitte d to appro p r1

, ,
ate this line and woul d pre f ace it with th e wor ds ,
“ ”
H e sa y s makin g the s entence in i ts enti rety
,
“ '”
rea d H e sa y s he c annot speak my lord
, ,
a povert y stricken j e s t of whi c h Touch s tone

-
“
woul d have been in c apable H app il y thi s gag
.
,
’
is now omitte d .
The j ourney o f R os alin d Celi a and T o u c hsto n

,
to the forest o f A rden has been al rea dy re fe

to , together with the latter s witticisms on the
’
subj e c t but there is o ne passag e o f the fool s I

,
’
“
c annot refrain f rom repeatin g Travelers must ,
”
be content .
Sp ea kin g f rom man y years o f experience over

man y miles an din man y lan ds I know o fno bit of
,
wi s dom wi t or philosophy in the realm of litera

!
-l
, ,
tu re that expres s es a more emphati c truth than

those four words o f Touchstone .
“
It is while re s tin g in the s kirt o f the forest
that the travelers u nper c eived overhear a l over s

, ,
’
complaint b y a youn g shepher d S ylvius to his , ,
more mature f rien d Corin The relation o f the

.
pas s ion o f th e y oun g shepherd brin gs from R o s a

lin d the acknowle dgment that she is s imilarly
a ffecte d;an d Tou c hstone declares he too has s uf
fe re d and humorousl y de s cribe s his experien c es
,
wi th Jane S mile con c lu din g wi th the sage aver

,
“
ment : W e that are true lovers run into strange
cap er s ; but as all is mortal in nature so is all ,
”
nature in love mortal in foll y The sentiment
.
“
is approve d by R osalin d who remarks Thou
, ,
” ”
s peakest wiser than thou art ware o f Na y .
,
“
mo destly replies Touch s tone I shall ne e r be
,
’
ware o fmine own wi t till I brea k my shins a gainst

”
it
.
Tou ch s tone s a daptability and g ood nature

’
soon make him f rien ds and in the thir d a c t we

find him in ple asant c onverse wi th the o ld s hep
her d Corin who evi dently has con s i derable re s pect
,
for him for he a ddre ss e s him first a s Ma s ter

,
“
” ”
an d subsequentl y as
“
c hsto n e S ir Corin s ’
.
wit howeve r is no matc h for that o f

, ,
Touchstone but the latter is c ompelle d in j u s tic e
, , ,
to acknowle dge that even in the limite d S phere

of his pastoral li fe the shrew d observations o f th
o ld s hepher d have ma d e him a natural philos
opher The dial ogu e is bri ght an d c harac te r1st1c
.
th rou ghout the sc ene but the passages quote d be ,
low are e s pec iall y good exam ples o f Tou chstone s ’
Co r . A n d ho w l ike y ou thi s shepher ds l ife M a ster

’
Touch stone ?
To u T ru ly she pher d in re s pect of its e l f it i s a
.
, , ,
g oo d l ife ; but in re s pect that it is a s hepher d s l ife

’
,
it is nau ght In re s pe ct that it is s o l itar y I l ike it

.
,
very w e ll ;but in re s pect that it is p rivate it is a ve ry ,
vi l e l ife N o w in re s pect it is in the fi e l ds it pl ea s

.
, ,
e th m e w e ll ;but in re s pect it i s n o t in the cou rt it is ,
te diou s A s it i s a s pare l ife l ook y ou it fit s my

.
, ,
hu mor w e ll : but a s there is no m ore pl enty in it it ,
g oe s m uch a g ain s t m y s to m ach —Wa st ever at court .

,
She pher d?
Co r N o tru ly
.
, .
To w T hen thou art damne d

. .
Car Fo r no t b ei ng at court ? Your re as on

. .
To n W hy if thou never w a s t at court thou n ever

.
, ,
s aw st goo d m ann er s ;if thou never s aw s t g o o d m an

’ ’
n er s then thy m a nner s m u st be w icke d;an d w icke d

,
ne ss is sin and sin is dam nation

,
.
T OU C HS T O N E 5 1
A little more reasonin g an d Corin c onfe ss es

,
him sel f u nable to c ope further with Touch s tone :

Co r . You have too courtly a wit for m e ;I ll re s t ’
.
Tau . Wi l t thou re s t da m ne d? G o dhe l p thee sha l ,
l o w m an I f thou b e s t no t dam ne d for thi s the devi l

.
’
hi ms e l f w i ll have no she pher ds .
It is evi dent th at at this time T ouchstone has

not yet fallen a victim to the bucoli c charms o f
A u dre y ; for he ri dicules wi th extempo raneous
,
doggerel the very intere s tin g l ove verses that

,
R osalin d ha s foun d h an gin g on the forest tree s ,
and so seriously offen ds the la dy that he is sum
marily dismi s se d f rom her presen c e .
Sho rtly afte r however in s pite o f his sad ex

‘
, ,
pe rien c e with Jane S mile we find him payin g

,
a ss i duous c ourt to the rustic maiden A u drey ; ,
“ ”
o ffering to fetch up her goats ply i n g her wi th
,
the usu al questions and awaiting he r replies with

,
the u sual anxiety o f a lover ;b u t the c ourt fool s ’
langu age an d referen c es to c lassi c O v i d are be y on d

the un derstan ding o f the simple c ountry wench ,
who in genuously as ks for further in formation .
is i s somewhat dis c oura ging to the motley lover ,

an d he thus compl ains : When a man s verses ’
.
c annot be under s too d nor a man s good wit ,

’
.
s econ de d wi th the forwar d c hil d U nder s tan din g ,
i t strikes a man more dea d than a great re c konin g

”
in a little room .
H e then expresses the wish th at the go ds had

ma de her poeti c al This to o i s be y on d A u dre y s
.
, ,
’
comp rehen s ion and she artlessl y inqui re s I s it

, ,
”
hone s t in dee d and wor d? Is it a tru e thin g ?
In spite of Tou c hstone s desire th at A u drey shoul d
’
be poeti c al he has apparentl y no very exalte

,
opinion o f poetry for in repl y to her query,
“
replie s No tru ly fo r the truest poetry i s
, , ,
most fei gn in g ;an d lovers are given to poetry ;

what they swear in poet ry may be s ai d as love
”
the y do fei gn .
I must con fe ss that I find almos t a s m uc h diffi

cu lty as A u dre y in c omprehen din g the argum
o f Touchstone in the followin g passages To .
“
A u dre y s query D o you wi s h then th at the gods
’
” “
had ma de me p oetical ? Touchstone replies I ,
do truly ;for thou swe ar st to me thou art honest :

’
,
now i f thou wert a poe t I mi ght have some hope

, ,
ting fo r a c ompliment b u t w i th re f reshing c an dor
,
“
a dmi ts : Well I am no t f ai r an d the re fo
, ,
”
pray the gods to make me honest I find in
.
dre y s simple prayer an dwomanly c an dor qualitie s

’
in dicating th at in the choi c e of a wi fe Touchstone

has neither been u nwise nor unfortunate .
It woul d appear th at Touchstone had little

do u bt o f the su cc ess o f his suit fo r he not only
,
tells A u dre y that he will marry her but has antici,
pate d matters by en gaging S i r O liver Martext ,
“
the vi c ar o f the next villag e to meet them in this
,
pla c e in the forest and to c ouple us

, .
That A u dre y approves o f this hasty wooi ng is

evi dence d by her characteristi c all y implie d c o n
“ ”
sent Well the gods give us j oy ! to which
, ,
“ ”
Touchstone a dds Amen ! ,
As the fateful moment ap proaches however , ,
Tou chstone in dul ges in some sel f communion : -
“
A man may i f he were o f a fear ful heart stagger
, ,
in this attempt ; for here we have no temple but

1
the wood no assembly but horn beas ts But
,
-
.
what thou gh ?
, I s the sin gle man there fore
blesse d? No ;as a walle d town is more worthier
than a village so is the forehea dof a marrie dman

,
more honorable than the bare brow o f a bachelor ;

an d by ho w much defense i s better than no skill
by so mu c h is a horn more p recious than to want .
H avin g arrive d at this con c lusion S i r O liver ,
Marte xt havin g arrive d also Touchstone is anx

,
ious that the ceremony s hall proc ee d an d as ks o f

,
“
the vicar W ill y ou despatch us here un der the
,
”
tree o r s hall we go with y ou to your c hapel ?
,
“
For reply the vi c ar lookin g aroun d asks
, , Is , ,
”
there none here to gi ve the woman ? to which the
fool who is obviousl y unfamiliar with the mar
,
riag e s ervice respon ds I will not take her on gi ft

,
”
o f any man . A S this attitu de o f Touchstone
s eem s liable to postpone in definitel y i f not prevent 1
,
the ceremony altogether J aqu e s who has been lis

, ,
tening u nob s e rve d to the enti re scene steps for ,
war d and offe rs hi s service s H aving however

.
, ,
a c quire d a pro foun d respect for Touchstone and ,
percei ving th at he is in earnest in his desire to b

marrie d to A u drey J aqu e s urge s him to have the;
,
c eremony performe d in a churc h b y a properl y o r

daine d minister an d the appropriate surroun dings
j
,
o f a gentleman ; rather t han by a he dge priest in
-
the forest like a be ggar Touchstone he s i tates

, .
be fore a doptin g this course an d Shake s peare has

,
p u t an as i d e s peech into hi s mouth, which i f taken

j
se rio u sly woul d destroy much of o u r re s pe c t fo r
him S ome o f the commentators have taken it

.
rio u sly an d have d

, e du c e d the c on c lusion that
o u c hsto n e inten de d to dece i ve A u dre y ;but I c an
'
xl ot think it E very a c tion of the f ool and every
.
,
O ther line that the auth or has g iven him expres

, s es
Sin c ere regar d and in dicates honorable intentions .
he entire speech s eem s to me to be the spon

T
tan e o us expression o f the humor o f the situation ,
as it app ear s to the keen sense of Ou r motle y

If rien d The subj ect matter is n o t new n o r the
.
treatment o f i t ori ginal Marriage has been the

.
theme of j est at all times to all con ditions o f

,
peop le an d Touchstone was to o in s tin c tivel y a

,
j e s ter n o t to app reciate the pos s ibilit y o f a j e s t ,
even o n himsel f The line s are as follow s

.
( As i de ) I am not in the min d but I were better

to be marrie d o f him than o f another for he is ,
not li ke to marr y me well an d not being well

,
T OU CHS T O N E 57
marrie d will be a g ood ex c use for me herea fter

,
”
to leave my wi fe .
H owever Touchstone an d A u dre y a cc ompany

,
J aqu e s to di s cuss the matter f urther leavin g the,
de s pise d S ir O liver in hi gh du dgeon an d wi thout

,
a fee .
J aqu es evi dently su cc ee de d in c onvin c in g

Touchstone o f the propriet y o f his su gge s tion but ,
A u drey fails to comprehen d the ne c essity o f de

lay To her limite d un derstan din g o ne priest i s
.
,
as goo d as another In the first scene o f the fifth

.
act she emphati c ally expre ss e s her impatien c e in ,
dic ating that she has an opinion i f not a will o f

, ,
her own and prote s t s F aith the prie s t was goo d

,
“
, ,
”
enou gh for al l the o ld gentleman s saying
,
’
.
Touch s tone fin ds i t quite a task fo r his wi t to

paci fy the la dy and is onl y su cc e s sful by divert
,
ing her attention to the c laim s o f another to her

affe c tions ;a certain forest y outh name d W illiam .
is a shrew d piece of diplomac y on the part o f

e fool and no t new to the worl d by any means ;
,
te rminate an argument by chan gin g the sub

fe c ting reproa ch o r o f meetin g one
f ,
ac c u s ation b y makin g another A u drey however .

, ,
denie s the soft impea c hment an d fortunatel y the ,
bucol ic gentleman referre d to appears mo s t o p

p o r tu n e ly on the scene .
I
Touchstone re gards the new c omer cri ti c ally ,
“
an d c o rnp lac e n tly observes It is meat an d drink
,
to me to see a c lo wn By my troth we that have

.
,
g oo d wi ts have mu c h to an s wer fo r; we shall
”
be floutin g we cannot hol d
, .
It is a curiousl y c ontraste d g roup we have be

fore u s now : The c ountry girl awkwar d and ,
embarrasse d in the pre s ence o f her rustic suitor ,
an d her c ourt traine d lover ; the forest youth ill ,
at ease nervou s ly s hi fting f rom o ne foot to the

,
o ther as he stan ds hat in han d be fore her ; and

, ,
the smu g sel f satisfie d c ourt fool who con sc ious

,
-
,
o f pos s e ss ion revel s in his superiority an d re

, ,
j o ic es in the disc o m fitu re of his unsuc c essful rival .
Wi th what a deli ghtful as s umption of patron

age , Tou chstone questions the simple W illiam ,
en c ourage s embol dens then confu s es and finally

, , ,
drives the poor f ellow f rom the fiel d wi th the m o st

terrible threats o f disaster and death The s cene .
is rich in c ome dy but beneath the sur f ace may be

,
appreciate d a deep s atire on the worl d .
O ne passage e s pecially presents a most whole ,
some truth th at it is su pe rfluou s fo r me to em

,
p h a s iz e,but which I cannot forbear quoting .
Amon gs t o ther questi on s Tou chstone asks o f ,
“ ”
W illi am , A rt thou wi s e ? W illiam inc au
tio u sly replies A y si r I have a p retty wit
’
.
, , ,
i
This is Touch s tone s opportu nity an d he re to rts
’
i:
,
“
Wh y thou sa y e s t well I do now remember a
, .
saying The fool doth think he is wise but th

, ,
”
wi s e man kn ows himsel f to be a fool .
“
T ou c hstone is n o w su mmone d by his master
”
an d mi s tre ss ( R os alin d di s gu ise d as Ganyme de
, ,
and Celia ) who evi dentl y acquaint him o f thei r

,
matrimonial intentions an d approve o f his ; for

,
“
the next time we meet the motley lover and his
” “
l ass the former tells her To morrow is the j o y
, ,
-
ful day A u drey ;to morrow will we be marrie d

,
-
”
,
to whi c h she c an di dly and sensibl y replies I “

,
do de s i re i t wi th al l m y heart ;an d I hope i t is no

di s honest de s ire to be a woman o f the worl d ”
.
A u drey s wishes are shortly realize d;R osalin d

’
,
the good f air y waves her wan d and the forest o f
, ,
A r den becomes a veritable Temple o f H ymen .
A ll difference s are a dj uste d al l wron gs ri ghte d , ,
an d tru e love recei ve s its rewar d It is a j oyou s ‘
meetin g o f thei r betters to whi c h To u ,c hstone

brings his prospective bri de an d to which they ,
are heral de d by J aqu e s in his characteri s ti c

“
f ashion : There is sure another floo d towar d , , ,
an d the s e c ouples are comin t o the ark ! H ere

g
c omes a pai r o f very stran ge beasts whi ch in all ,
”
ton gu es are cal le d fools .
H oweve r o n thei r appearan c e he be s p eaks a

,
wel c ome for them from the Duke : Goo d my

lor d like this fellow to which the Duke hou r
,
”
,
“
te o u sly replies I like him ve ry well
, .
Tou chstone s acknowle dgment is chara c teri s ti c

’
,
i f not e s pecially g all ant ; but his sel f abneg ation -
i is s carc ely c onsistent with his previously expresse d

“
declaration that he woul d not take A u drey on
,
g i ft o f an y man H owever . hi s c onclu d in g epi ,
g ram is c onvin c in g a n d his ,meta p hor p e r f ect

G o d ie ld y ou sir! I de s i re o f you the like I
’
.
,
p re s s in here sir amongs t the re s t o f the country

, ,
the c ause o f a quarrel and the effic a c y o f that ,
“ ”
re deemin g an d peace re s torin g preposition i f
,
-
.
J aqu es presentation o f Tou c hstone to the

’
Duke an d the s ub s equent dialogue is as f ollows :

,
fag . G oo d my l or d bid him w e l co m e

T hi s is the
, .
m otl e y -
m inde d g entl em an that I have s o
often m et in
the fore s t ;he ha th b ee n a cou rtier he sw ear s , .
Tau I f any m an doub t that le t him put m e to

.
,
my purg ation I have tro d a m ea s ure ; I have flat

.
te re d a l ady ;I h ave b een po l itic w ith my frien d sm oo th ,
w ith m ine ene my ; I have u ndone three tai l or s ; I

have had four quarre ls and l ike to have fought o ne , .
A n d ho w was that ta en up ?
’
J aq .
Tau Faith we m e t and foun d the quarre l wa s

.
,
upon the s eventh cau s e .
J aq H o w did y ou find the quarre l on the s eventh

.
cau s e ?
Tau U pon a e s even ti m e s re ove
. li m d — a s thu s ,
s ir
. I did di sl ike the c ut of a certain cou rtier s b ear d ’
.
H e s ent m e w or d if I s ai d his b ea rd w a s no t c ut
,
w e ll he was in the m i nd it w a s : thi s is c all e d the

,
Retort Courteou s I f I s ent him w or d again it w a s

.
n o t w e ll c u t he w ou l d s en d m e w or d he c u t it to p l ea s e
,
hi ms e l f thi s is ca ll e d the Q uip M ode st I f ag ain it

,
.
,
w a s no t w e ll c ut he di s abl e d my j u dg m ent ; thi s is

,
call e d the R eply C hur l i sh I f again it w a s no t w e ll .
c ut he w ou l d a n sw er I s pake n o t true ;thi s is ca ll e d

, ,
the Re p roo f V a l ia nt I f agai n it w a s no t w e ll c ut

.
, ,
he w ou l d s ay I l ie d; thi s is ca ll e d the Countercheck

Q uarre ls o m e : an d s o to the L ie C ircu ms tantia l an d

the L ie D irect .
J ag .An d ho w oft did y ou s ay his b ear d w a s no t

w e ll c ut ?
Tau I dur s t g o n o fu rther than the L ie C ircu m
.
s tantial no r he dur s t no t give m e the L ie D irect ;an d

,
s o we m e asure d sw or ds an d parte d .
J ag . Can y ou nom i nate in or der no w the de g ree s

of a lie ?
Tau O s ir we quarre l in p rint by the b ook a s
.
, ,
you h ave b o o k s for g oo d m anner s I w i ll na m e y ou .
the deg ree s : the fi r s t the Retort C ourteou s ;the s e c

,
o n d the Q ui p M o de s t ;the thir d the R e ply C hur l i s h ;

, ,
the fou rth the R e p roof V a l ia nt ;the fi fth the Counter

, ,
check Q uarre ls om e ; the s ixth the L ie w ith C ircu m ,
s tance ; the s eventh the L ie D irect A ll the s e y ou

, .
m ay avoi d b ut the L ie D irect ;an d y ou m ay avoi d that

too w ith an If l I kne w w hen s even j u stice s cou l d
,
‘ ’
no t take up a q uarre l b ut w hen the partie s w ere m e t ,
the ms e l ve s o ne of the m thou ght b ut of an ifI a s I f

, ,
“
s ai d s o then I s ai d s o and the y shook han ds

,
“ ”
sw ore b rother s You r if is the only peace .
” “
e r ;m uch virtue in If .
The con c lu din g c ompliment o f J aqu e s is but a

j u s t tribute to the a cc omplishments o f Touch
stone an d well epitomize s what I con c eive to be
,
the poet s c on c eption ;while the rep ly o f the Duke

’
in di c ates the vein o f sati ri c al truth that un derlies

the enti re characte r and summarizes the motive
, ,
as well as the re s ult o f the author s c learly ex

’
presse d intention .
]aq .Is no t thi s a rare fe ll o w m y l or d? he s a s

,
’
goo d at a ny thing and ye t a fool

,
.
D uk e H e u s e s his folly l ike a stal ki ng hor s e and

.
,
un der the p re s entation of that he s hoot s his wit .
It was my p rivileg e to take part in the g reat

dramatic fe s tival hel d in Cincinnati in 1 885 ,
“
One o f the pl a y s p r oduce d was A s You Like It .
I pla y e d the part o f O rlan do to the R osalin d o f

that fine actress F anny Davenport S tuart
, .
R obson was the Touchstone o f the o cc asion and ,
I re c all with pleasure the u nique and interestin g

per formance he gave o f the character H i s dress .
was that o f the conventional j e s te rs ;parti c olore d -
doublet and hose o f the pe rio d with the tra di

,
tio nal hoo d c o c ks c omb an d bauble

,
H is walk
.
,
o r perhap s I c oul d better describe i t as a strut ,
was like that o f the barn y ar d bi r d whose hea d

a dorne d hi s o wn and his carriag e was in harmony
,
with the s ame i dea H is voice : what pla y goer

.
wh o has on c e seen and hear d S t u art R obson in

any o f his humorous c hara c te rs c an forget that

voi c e ! The pe c uliar @
with i t s ever chan gin g
infle c tions ri s in g to a hi gh treble at the e n d o f
,
each senten c e accompanie d with a c on s tan t snap

,
pin g o f the e y es and an ab ru pt j er k in g of the

,
hea d f rom si de to si de at almo s t eve ry other

,
word .
Mr R obson wa s hel d in hi gh e s teem so that

.
hi s app earan c e was g reete d with hearty app lau s e ,
and almo s t every phrase he u ttere d w ith roars ,
of l au ghter The s tory of the kni gh t and the

.
pancakes never seeme d to me so humorous while ,
“
the reque s t to Celi a an d R o s alin d to s tan d forth, ,
”
stroke your chins and swear b y y our beards etc , .
as so lu dicrous that the la dies themselves were

u lse d with lau ghter an d scarcel y able to p ro
with thei r l ines .
A nother scene in which Mr R obson appeare d .
to the g reatest a dvanta g e wa s in S cene I of the
Fi f th A ct ; loc ate d in the fore s t of A r den The .
characters are Touchstone A u drey hi s countr y , ,
swee theart and W illi am a simple ru s tic The

, , .
latter c harac ter thou gh c omparatively u n impo r

,
tant was o n this occ asion playe d by Mr W illiam
, .
H Crane o u t o f c ompliment to his o ld f riend

.
,
an d c omra de Mr R obson with whom he had

.
,
been so lon g a ss oci ate d The deli ght ful ai r o f

.
superiority as s ume d by the court fool over the

bucolic youth who in his s moc k froc k S too d with
,
va c uous stare an d open mouthe d won der in fear

-
ful awe o f his motle y tormentor was a splen di d ,
contrast o f dive rsifie d humor The keen in c isive .

,
quali ty o f Mr R ob s on s come dy and the in te lli

.
’
g ent un d e rstan din g an d a p p reciation of the text

un derl y in g i t was never better e xample d than
by his delivery o f that potent trui s m The ,
doth think he is wi s e but the wi s e man kno

,
”
him s el f to be a fool It was in dee d a ge m
. ,
wis dom in a s ettin g o f gOlde n come dy .
the a ss umption of an ger the di re ful thre ,
bl oodthi rs t y c on s equences with which he

whelme d the terror stricken W illiam an d d
-
him f rom the fiel d leavin g the fool in full

,
u n di sp ute dpossession o f his la dy love were sim pl

delicious .
This s c ene was ren dered doubly effective by

s kill and sin c erity with which Mr Crane pla y e d .
the part o f W illiam Like a tru e artist he

.
,
ave this small bit o f c haracter work the same at

g
tention to every detail as thou gh i t we re the prin
c i al part in
p the come dy In appearan
. c e he ,
looke d as i f he had steppe d out o f an o ld E ngli s h

en graving o f rural li fe ;his diale c t was per fect and
his un gainly wal k an d awkwar d bearin g remin de d
o ne o f the t y pe s that may yet be s een and hear d
in the remote villages of the mi dlan d countie s in

E n gl an d .
In s pite o f Mr R ob s on s s ucce s s in the earlier

.
’
s cenes of the play I think he was most effecti ve

,
in the l a s t act It ma y be remembere d th at here

.
the various threa ds of the plot are drawn together

an d the fabri c o f the s tory c omplete d Af ter .
thei r a dventure s in the forest the s everal couples

, ,
by mutual arran gement meet at a certain point

,
where thei r di fference s are arran ge d thei r misun ,
de rstan dings explaine d an d their conciliations

effe c te d Amon g them come Touch s tone and
.
,
A u drey H ere R obson fairly revele d in the situ

.
ation H e stru tte d he c rowe d and to co ntinue

.
, ,
the Simile he fi apped his win gs with the tri
,
um phan t satis f a c tion o f a barnyar d rooster ;

argu e d his ri ght to be c alle d a courtier with the
logic o f a lawyer an d expoun de d the de grees o f
,
a lie with the wis dom o f an ora c le .
What o ld pla y goer does not recall the delic

an d refinement o f Mr Jam es Lewi s s p ’
.
an c e o f the S ha ke s pearean clowns in the s everal

c ome dy revival s at Dal y s Theater New York
’
,
.
“ ”
As You Like It was pro duce d there in the earl y
ei ghties with A da R ehan a s R os alin d John Drew
, ,
as O rlan do and Mr Lewi s ( Little Jimmie Lewis

, .
,
as he was affectionatel y c alle d) as Touch s tone .
The cameo c learne s s o f his conception the quaint ,
inci s iveness o f his delivery t he si gnifi c an c e o f

,
his business an d the deli c ate fin i s h o f the entire

,
characterization left an impre ss ion never to be

forgotten The performance had n o t that
.
brea dth o f h umor given to it b y some c ome dian s ,
nor the rich un c tion o f other s but i t was imbue d

,
wi th the qu aint little gentleman s own personal ’

7 0 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKESP EARE
ene d step and smilin g fa c e the tenor o f his
,
thou ght s apparently c han ge d an d bri ghtene d by

the memory of the pleasures he had enj o y e d b y
the performances o f the talente d little gentleman
he had so unexpecte dl y met and recognize d .
I rel ate d the inci dent to Mr Lewis later It

. .
g ratifie d him ex c ee din g ly a

,
n d he tol d me he felt
it to be o ne o f the most deli ghtful compliments
he had ever re c eive d .
A nother T ou chstone worthy o f note was that

presente d by Mr E dwin S tevens the su cc es s or
.
,
of Mr Lewis as the c ome dian of Dal y s Theater

.
’
.
E qu ally artistic was Mr S teven s but enti rely dif

.
,
fe re nt in metho ds as he was in feature s an d
p hy s ique. Mr . S tevens s eeme d to take his posi
tion more s eriously than Mr Lewis and main

.
taine d a g reater per s onal di gnity H e Spoke his

.
line s wi th the deliberation o f oracular wis dom

rather than with s pontaneous wit and amon g the ,
c ourtiers c arrie d himsel f as a s oc ial equal rather

than as a retainer H e wooe d the humble
.
A u drey with c on des c ension and a ccepte d c o m

,
dation as a matter of c ou rse It was a mo s t

.
g h t fu l per f ormance of the character f rom the

t o f view of S teven s an d a worthy
,
ie v em e nt o f a ve rs atile and intelli gent a rtist

.
T R INC U L O
IN
T H E T E M PES T
What e d nz mzy s this

'
’
a pi .
R I NC U L O in The Tempe s t is the only

, ,
o ne of S hakespeare s fools who in the dram

’
ati s p er s on ae o f the p la y is c alle d a j e s ter ; and

is the one least worth y of the title .
Fool to the c ourt o f A lonzo K in g of Naples , ,
Trin c ulo while a c compan y in g his master an d

,
others on a se a voyage is s hip wrecke d and c ast

, ,
with them upon an unknown and apparently u n

,
inhabite d i s lan d H ere he has won derful adv e n

.
ture s meets extraordinary bein gs and is brou ght

, , ,
b y the art o f P ros pero the genius o f the i s l an d

, ,
un der the infl u ence of f ai ries sprites goblins and

, , ,
other s tran ge c reature s of the author s imagination ’

.
Whatever ma y have been Trin c ulo s ability as ’
72
TR IN C U L O 73
a wit at c ou rt he c ertainl y does not appear to

,
g reat a dvanta g e in that respe c t on the i s l an d ,
althou gh i t must be admitte d he i s envi rone d by

, ,
an atmosphere of discomfort and dan ger whi ch ,
while affordin g amusement to the observer savors ,
little o f humor to him .
In his first s c ene he is o u t o n an open pl ain ,
”
with neither bu s h nor s hrub in a heavy storm ;
on his next appearance he is un der the influence
o f liquor ;an d the thir d time we meet him he has ,
been pursue d by fien ds throu gh a horse pon d and -

,
is saturate d with its offen s ive c ontents .
H e is dominate d in the fir s t in s tan c e by terror ,
in the se c on d by liquor in the thir d by an ger

,
an d dis gu st ; an d is in tu rn cowar dly mau dlin , ,
silly and di s gu stin g H is wit is the poo rest kin d

.
o f punnin a n d his pranks i f so they may be

g , ,
c alle d are no t s pontaneous fun but drunken

, ,
folly .
H e is u n grate ful and trea cherous O n bein g .
resc ue d from the se a he exhibits no anxiety for

,
the sa fety o f his master nor lo y alty to hi s mem

,
o ry when he is suppos e d to be lost ;an d he rea dily

,
74 TH E FOO LS OF S HAKESPEARE
j oins in the miserable plot wi th S tephano the ,
drunken butler to mur der P ro s pero and gain pos

, ,
se ss ion o f the i s lan d .
E ven Caliban the i gnorant sem i s avage has a

,
-
,
“
contempt for him and in turn c alls him a pie d
,
” “ ”
ninn y a j es ting monkey an d a scurvy ( t
, ,
”
patch ; while S tephano his c oun tryman and ,
“
c o mra de in reply to the fool s boast th at I c an
,
’
“
swim like a du ck retorts Thou gh thou c ans t
, ,
’
”
S wim li ke a du ck thou art ma de like a goose ;
,
and does n o t hesitate to Strike him when he is
offen de d .
The mo s t pointe d epi gram ma de b y Trin c ulo

is in the s econ d scen e o f the secon d act when , ,
s ee king shelter f rom the s torm u n der the gaber

dine of Caliban who is apparently dea d he s ay s
w
, , ,
Misery a c quaint s a man ith strange be d

”
f ellows .
H is best retort is in the las t scene o f the l as t

act while still envelop e d in the foul e fllu v iu m o f
,
'
the horse po n d when he is aske d b y A lonzo his

-
, ,
”
master H ow c am st thou in this pickle ? to
,
’
“
whi c h he replies : I have been in su ch a pi c kle ,
T . C . Co o k e as
“
T rin c u lo
"
in
“
The Te mp e s t
76 TH E FOO L S OF SHAKESPEARE
the lips o f the j e s ter an d the quality o f the l atter
,
be gan to deteriorate f rom the witty retainer o f the

cou rt to the coars e bu ffoon who s e j e s ts ap
,
peale d to the lo w and the i gnorant rather than to

,
the c ulti vate d an d intelli gent

.
It was at this perio d of deterioration that

“ ”
S hake s peare wrote The Tempest and pos s ibl y
,
hi s conception of Trinculo may be ba s e d upon the

con ditions that then existe d and the chara c ter
,
ma de to present his o wn view of the coar s ene s s o f

exp res s ion an d the povert y o f wit exhibite y
W
th e p ro fe ssmn al fool s o f h i s t i me
.
That S hake s peare was alive to the c urrent

events of the period in which he wrote is illus
trate d b y a p a s sa ge spoken b y Trin c ulo in his
first scene .
A number o f American In dians had been

brou ght from the newly e s tabli s he d colony o f Vi r
g ini a to Lon d on ; the novel ty o f thei r c olor ap
,
p e ar a n c e an d dre ss attracte d great attention and

,
c au s e d c on s i derable ex c i tement and curiosity .
O ne o f the In di ans su cc umbe d to the ri gors o f the

TRI NC U L O 77
E nglish c limate an d die d the c orpse being subse

, ,
quently pla c e d o n publi c exhibition many per

,
son s pa y in g a substantial fee to look at i t .
When Trinculo sees the apparently dea d body

o f Caliban lyin g upon the g roun d and does n o t
,
“ ”
know whether i t i s a man or a fi s h but f rom,
its foul o dor believes i t to be the latter the poe t

,
s atirizes the prevailin g sensation in the wor ds o f

,
“
the fool : A stran ge fish ! W ere I in E n glan d
now ( as I on c e was ) an dhadbut this fish painte d ,
not a holi day fool there but woul d g ive a pie c e

of S ilver ; there woul d this mon s ter make a m an ;
any stran ge bea s t there makes a man When .
the y will no t give a doit to relieve a lame beggar ,
the y will l ay out ten to see a dea d In dian .

FEST E
IN
TWE L FT H NIG H T
I am inde e d no t her fo al but he r
, c o rru pte r o f
”
wards
N the list o f the chara c ter s in Twel fth

Ni ght the f ool is not g iven a name H e is
, .
”
couple d with F abian as Clown an d together
, ,
“ ”
they are calle d S ervants to O livia but in A ct ,
2 Scene 4 o f the pla y he i s s poken o f b y Curio

, , ,
” “
a g entleman atten din g on the Duke a s Fe s te , ,
“
an d is de s cribe d as the j e s ter a fool that the
,
”
I ady O li vi a s father took much deli ght in He
’
.
is a c o m bin mmn o fg e m mj ns tre a

w
member o f the hou s eho ld o f them ia
w
a wealth y noblewoman of Ill y ria .
Feste is not of the gentle dispo s ition of Yorick

nor o f the mental fiber of Touch s tone ;his wit has
nei ther the spontaneou s humor we c an imagine in
80 T HE FOO LS OF SHAKESPEARE
ei an history and le gen d and is not u na c quainte d
,
with the philo s ophy of Pythagoras .
In spite o f his ears to be tol h
appr
‘ e ciated
‘ '
and 5 1tho u gh he
i s a dmitte d to the revel s o f S ir Tob y Belch
an d ,
S i r An drew A guecheek on a comp arative equal

,
i ty , n account of hi s accomplishments
as H e a s sociates with the servan ts
tress .
H is be s t frien d appear s to be Maria the w ait ,
ing woman to La dy O livi a

-
On his first ap pear
.
ance in the pla y in Ac t 1 S cene 5 he is appar

, , ,
entl y seekin g her good offices with he r mi s tre ss .

,
to ex c use his evi dentl y unauthorize d and len gthy ,
ab s en c e f rom th e househol d W ith feminine .
curiosity Mari a en deavors to gain from him an

account o f his truan c y but Fe s te s h rew dl y avoi ds
,
any c omp romi s in g a dmissions Maria som ewhat .

,
i rritate d exp res s e s her s el f wi th charac teris ti c de

,
c isio n and warn s him of the severe puni shm ent

,
he may expe c t Fe s te as s ume s a reckle s sness but

.
,
realizes the gravity o f h i s offen s e

FES T E 81
M ar N ay either te ll m e where thou ha st b een or

.
, ,
I wi ll no t open my l i ps s o w i de a s a b ri st l e m ay ente r
in w a y of thy excu s e ;my l a dy w i ll hang thee for thy
abs ence .
Clo L e t he r hang m e ; he that is w e ll hange d in

.
thi s wor l d nee ds to fear no col or s .
M o r Make that g oo d
. .
Clo H e s hall se e none to fear

. .
M o r A g oo d l enten an sw er ;I c an te ll thee where

.
“
that s ay i ng wa s born of I fear no co lor s , .
Clo Where g ood M i stre ss M a ry ?

.
,
M ar I n the w ar s ; and that may y ou be b ol d to

.
s ay in your foo l e ry .
Clo We ll Go d g ive them w i s dom that have it ;

.
,
and tho s e that are foo ls le t the m u se their tal ent s , .
M ar Y e t y ou w i ll be hang e d for b eing s o l ong ab

.
s ent
. H ere co m e s m y l a dy ; make y our excu s e
wi s e ly y ou w ere b e st
, .
Mari a leaves him and bein g al one Feste thus ,
“
soliloquizes : W i t an t be th y will put me int o ,
’
,
thee , do ver o f t rove fools :

and I that am sure
s a y s Q uina alus ? Better a witty fool than a

—
‘
o
m m
fool i sh w1t .
’
The La dy O livi a enters whom he re s p e c t full y ,
“
sal u tes w i th : G o d ble s s thee lady
, ,
But the la dy is evi dentl y m uc h displease d and ,
very promp tly and in di gnantly c omman ds :

“ ”
Take the fool awa y .
W i th c hara c teristi c au da c ity the fool chal

le nges the l a dy in the followin g dialogue
,
Clo . D o y ou no t hear fe ll ows ? T ake a way

, the
la dy .
Oli . to y ou re a dry fool ;I ll no mo re of y ou ;

Go ,
’ ’
b e s i de s y ou g r o w di shone st .
Clo . Tw o fau lt s m adonna th at drink and good

, ,
coun s e l w i ll a m en d: for g ive the dry foo l drink then ,
is the foo l n o t dry ;b id the di s hone s t m an m en d him

s e l f ;if he m end he is no l onger di shone st ;anythi ng
,
that s m ende d is but patche d;virtue that tran s gre ss e s

’
is b ut p atche d w ith sin ; and s in that a m e nds is b ut

p atche d w i th virtue The l ady b a de take a w ay the
.
fool ;therefore I s ay again take he r a w ay , .
Oh .Sir I b a de the m t ake a w ay y ou

, .
Cla . M is priso n in the hi ghe s t de g ree !

m a donna g ive m e l eave to p rove y ou a fool
, .
Oli Can y ou do it ?
.
Clo . D ex terou sly g oo d ma donna , .
Oli .M ake y ou r p roof .
Cla . I m u s t catechi s e y ou fo r it G oo d ma .
donna why m o u rn st thou ?

’
Oli G oo d foo l fo r my b rother s death

’
.
.
,
Clo . I thi nk his s ou l is in he ll m a donna , .
Oli I kno w his s ou l is in he ave n fool

.
, .
a known dis c reet man th ou gh he do nothing b u t
,
”
reprove .
Feste is no t without gratitu de to his mi s tress

“
fo r his de fense and thus expre s ses i t :
, Now
Mercu ry en due thee with le asmg for thou S pea k
,
”
e st well o f fools .
But o n the retirement o f Malvolio the la dy ,
“
does not he s itate to rebuke the fool : Now yo u
see sir ho w your f oolin g grows o ld and people
, , ,
”
di s like i t .
The dialogue is here interrupted by the a dv ent

o f S i r T oby Bel ch a c ou s in o f the La dy O livi a
, ,
who appears o n the scene in a very drunken c o n

dition . The la dy is prop erly in di gnant and de ,
“
man ds o f Feste : Wh at s a drunken man like’
,
”
f ool ?
Feste replies : Like a drown d m an a f ool ’
and a ma d man ; one drau ght above heat make s

him a fool the secon d ma ds him and a thir d ,
dro wns him .
O livia p lea s e d with the f ool s epi grammatic

,
’
“
humor continues the pleasantry : G o thou and
,
’
FES T E 85
see k the c rowner and let him sit o my co z ; for

,
’
he s in the thi rd degree o f drink he s drowne d

’
,
’
go look after him .
Feste obeys and retires wi th the wor ds :

, He
is but m ad yet madonna ;and the fool shall loo k
,
”
to the ma dman .
In Marie W ainwri ght s production o f this ex ’
u isite c ome d y in whi c h she toure d the c ountry

q ,
some seaso ns ago the part of F este was playe d

,
by Mr E Y Bachus who brou ght a keen inte lli

. . .
,
g en c e an d appreciation to hi s per f o rman c e In .
the foregoin g scene Mr Bachus miti gate d the , .
g ro s s impertinence of F este to his mistre s s by the

introduction o f some bu s iness that I believe was
entirel y ori ginal with him H e c arrie d in his .
p o uch or po c ket some little d oll s in the f orm o f

dimin u tive zanies which as the dialogu e pro
,
g res se d he pro c ee de d with ap p arent un c on s ciou s

ness to dre s s This busine s s s eemed to dull the
.
e dge his g den ess b y_divi ding the attention o f

his hearers between his wor ds an d his a c ti ons .
A t the c onclusion o f the dialogu e Feste droppe d ,

his little z anies o n the groun d; and at his exit
Marie pi c ke d them up an d c ontemptuously threw ,
them after him .
F este next appears in the thi r d sc ene o f Ac t 2 ,
j oinin g in the noisy mi dni ght re v e ls p f S ir Toby

an d S i r A n drew A gu echee k H e sihgs them a .
love son g and wi thout any spe c ial wi t ri di c ules

’
the shallow e gotistical affectations o f the one and ,
the drunken foll y o f the other H e improvises .
“ ”
a c atch c leverly but promptly disappears at ,
the first S i gn o f trouble .
F a min s trel is evi dently known

and a pp g
nr iate d fo r in the fourth s c ene he is sent
o him who fat
-
fo r by the Duke O rsino to s ing f

w a
Q fi , ,
the c onclusion o f the son g give s h i m money :
D ukeThere s for thy pain s

.
’
.
Fe s N o pain s s ir ;I take pl ea s ure in s ingi ng s ir

.
, , .
D uk e I ll pay thy pl ea sure then

.
’
.
Fes T ru ly sir and pl ea s ure w i ll b e pai d o ne ti me

.
, , ,
or another
Atru ism as wise as witty

'
.
,
The character as well as the c ompass o f Fe s te s ’
c apacity is well illustrate d in the fir s t scene o f the

ness : I warran t thou art a merry fellow and
“
,
c arest for nothin g .
The reply s he re c eives however is neither po

, ,
lite nor encouragin g : No t so sir I do c are fo r

“
, ,
s omethin g ;but in my cons c ien c e s ir I do no t c are , ,
for y ou ;i f that be to c are fo r nothing si r I woul d , ,
”
i t woul d make yo u invisible .
I gnorin g this di sc ourte s y Viol a asks : A rt

,
”
not thou the La dy O livia s fool ? ’
A gain Feste j u s tifie s his o ffice by the de sc rip

tion he g ives of him s el f : No in dee d sir; the
“
, ,
La dy O livi a has no foll y ;she will keep no f ool ,
s ir till she be marrie d; and fools are as like hus

,
ban ds as pilchar ds are to herrings ; the hu s ban ds ’
the bi gger I am in dee d no t her fool but her

.
,
ly toViol a s assertion th at She saw Feste

’
recentl y at the pala c e o f the Count O rsin o the ,
j e s ter gives us the following terse but eloquent

“
trui s m : Fo o le ry si r doth walk about the o rb
, ,
A t this Viola who is di sgu ised as a y o u th and

, , ,
i s mi s taken fo r o ne by Feste offer s him a c oin

, .
FES T E 89
In way o f thanks the latter ex c laims : Now

Jove in his next c ommodity o f ha i r sen d thee a
, ,
”
be ard .
Viol a is deeply in love wi th the Duke O rsino ,
who is i gnorant o f her passion ;and at this s ally

“
o f the f oo l wittily rej oins : By my troth I l l ’
, ,
tell thee ;I am almos t si c k fo r o ne thou gh I wou ld

“
,
l
2 ”
l
”
not have it g row o n my c hin . a
.
Feste does no t u n de rstand this allusj g n but fi ,
hol ding the c oin he has re c eive d in his han d ,
makes the pointe d s ugge s tion : Would no t a

”
pai r o f these have bre d sir? ,
Viola replies : Yes being kept togeth er and

,
put to u se .
Feste is resou rc e ful and retu rns to the c harge

,
arme d with a s imile f rom Gre c ian legen d .
Fer .I w ou l d pl ay L or d P andaru s of P hr ygia s ir , ,
to b ring a C re ss i da to thi s T roi l u s .
Via I un der s tand y ou s if tis we ll b egge d

.
, ,
’
.
Fes The m atter I hope is no t g reat sir b eg ging

.
, , , ,
but a be g g ar ;C re ss i da w a s a b egg ar .
Fin ding his efforts to in c rease his bounty ine f

fe c tu al F este c ontinues to
,
“
dally ni c ely wi th
” “
wor ds an d then retires
, My la dy is within
.
,
si r I will con s tru e to them when c e you c ome ;

.
who yo u are an d what yo u woul d are o u t of my

welkin ; I mi ght s ay element but the wor d is ,
overworn .
It is the pre c e ding s c ene that su ggests to Vi ola

the pas s age that s o aptl y de sc ri be s the require
ments o f a fool whi c h I have quote d at length in
,
the intro du c tion to this book and which I repro ,
du c e here to a cc ent u ate its si gnifican c e .
Thi s fe ll ow s w i s e enough to pl ay the fool ;

’
A n d to do that w e ll crave s a ki n d of wit ;

H e m u s t o bs erve their m oo d on w ho m he j e st s ,
T he q ual ity of p er s on s an d the ti m e

, ,
A nd l ike the haggar d check at every feather

, ,
That com e s b efore his eye Thi s is a practice.
A s fu ll of l abor a s a w i s e m an s art ; ’
Fo r folly that he w i s e ly s ho ws is fi t ;
B ut w i s e m e n fo lly fall e n quite taint their w it
,
-
,
.
g "
The c omplications that arise in A ct 4 cou se ,
quent on the dis gu ise o f Viol a as Cesario an d ,
her subsequent mi s taken iden t1tyfor S ebastian ,
occur in rapi d su cc ession . Feste of cour s e be, ,
comes involve d in them ,

an d in the first sc ene ,
92 T HE FOO LS OF SHAKESPEARE
“
That th at is is ;s o I b eing ma ster par s on am m a s
, , ,
te r par s on for w hat is that b ut that ? and i s b ut

‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’
,
‘
is ’
H e g reets S ir Toby wi th a Latin salutation an d ,
bears himsel f wi th humorous gravity as S ir

Topaz H e W . an d applies thém ,
with a c ontrary meanin g H e questions Mal .
volio as to his views on the Op inions of Pythag

ora s con c e rnin g wil d fowl an d leave s him with
,
as s ume d in di gnation when the allege d lunat 1e

will not agree wi th the p hil o sopher .
Fer . R e main thou

s ti ll in darkne ss Thou sha lt .
hol d the opinion of Pythag ora s e re I w i ll all o w Of ,
thy w it s an d fear to ki ll a w oo dcock l e s t thou dis

, ,
po ss e ss the s ou l of th y g ran da m .
Feste then doffs hi s di s gu ise an d a ddresses ,
Mal volio in his o wn character with assume d ,
s y mpath y : A las sir ho w fell you besi des your

, ,
five wits ?
“
I am a s well in my wit s fool a s thou art , , ,
rep lies Malvolio .
“
Then ”
retorts Fe s te ; y ou are m ad ln
,
dee d if you be no better in your wits than a

,
”
f ool .
FES T E 93
F este c ontinues to pl agu e the p oo r stewar d ,
n o w as S i r Topaz now as him s el f revelin g in the

, ,
di c o m fitu re till the man is almost dis

’
p r1so n e r s s
tra c te d and begs fo r c an dle in k and paper that

, , ,
,
he may c ommuni c ate wi th his mistress These

’
arti c les Feste promises to obtain but be fore goi ng ,
delivers a partin g sha f t

Fes . A re y ou no t m ad in dee d? or do y ou b ut coun
te rfe it ?
M al . B e l ieve m e I a m no t ;I te ll thee true
, .
Fer . N ay I ll ne er b e l ieve a m adm an ti ll I

,
’ ’
see hi s
b rain s .
A nd
w i th a merry catch the lau ghin g fool ,
leaves the poor imprisone d steward to his misery .
Mal volio evi dently obtains his ink and paper ,
writes his letter and intru sts it to Feste fo r de

,
livery ; the latter however poc kets the missive

, , ,
“
an d on th e prin c iple that A m ad man s epistles ’
are no gospels so i t s kills no t when they are de

,
”
livere d keeps it there till inclination prompts
, ,
an d opportunit y provi des a suitable o cc asion to
p resent i t to his mistress .
In the meantime in c ompany with F abian Feste, ,

en c ounters the Duke O rsino for whom he lately ,
s an e Duke a s ks i f they belon g to the

o f the La dy O livi a W ith his usual .
effronte ry an d lack o f reveren c e he answers , ,
“
A y si r we are some o f her trappings
, ,
.
The Duke recognizes him an d graciousl y in ,
“ ”
qu ires : H ow dos t thou my g oo d fellow ? ,
H is reply and argu ment are worthy a wi s er

man than Feste and exhibit a philosophy as ,
soun d as it is whole s ome

, .
Fes T ruly sir the b etter fo r my foe s and the

.
, ,
w or s e fo r my friends
D uk e J u st the contra ry ; the b etter fo r thy
.
frien ds .
Fes N o s ir the w or s e
.
, , .
D u k e H o w c an that be ?
.
Fes M arry s ir they p rai s e m e and m ake an a ss

.
, ,
of m e ;no w my foe s te ll m e pl ainly I am an a ss ; s o

that by my foe s s ir I p ro fi t in the kno wl e dg e of m y
, ,
s e l f and by my friends I am abu s e d:

,
w hy then , ,
the w or s e fo r my frie n ds an d the b etter for m y foe s , .
Appreciatin g the sh rew d wi s dom of the fool ,
“
the Duke exclaims Thi s is excellent which , ,
ive s F este an Op ortunit y fo r one o f the cleverest

g p
retorts in the play :
9 6 T HE FOO L S OF S HAKESP EARE
Fin ding that any further e ffort to enlarge his
p u rse at the expense O f the Duke woul d be u se
less fo r the present Feste reti res ;no t however
, , , ,
without a parting hint o f future p o ssibilities .
Fes . M arry s ir l u ll aby to

, ,
your b ounty ti ll I com e
again . I g o s ir ;b ut a s y ou , s ir le t y our bounty
,
take a nap I w i ll a w ake it an

,
A f ter mu c h delay 5 an opportunity ,
to deliver the letter of Malvolio to his mistres s .
”
S he c omman ds him to Open and rea d it which ,
he proc eeds to do pre fa c in g his tas k with the ad

,
monition
Fes . L ook, then to b e w e ll, e difie d when the foo l
de l iver s the m adman .
But La dy O livi a has had enou gh o f his folly

an d inst ru cts another to rea d th e letter which ,
being done explains the trick that has been playe d

o n Malvolio an d a ss ists in unravelin g the c o m
,
pli c a tions and clearing up the mysteries Of the

,
play O s humiliation i s suffi cient pun

’
.
98 T H E FOO LS OF SHAKESPEARE
By sw ag g ering cou l d I never thrive ,
For the rain it rain e th every day .
B ut w hen I cam e unto my b e ds ,
With hey ho the w in d an d the rain

, , ,
With toss pot s s ti ll had drunken heads

-
,
Fo r the rain it raine th ever y day .
A g reat whi l e ago the wor l d b eg un ,
With hey ho the w ind and the rain

, , ,
B ut that s a ll o ne our pl ay is done

’
, ,
A n d w e ll s trive to pl ea s e y ou eve ry
’
day .
This son g has cause d su ch an amount o f con

flic ting c omment so opp osite in its c p nc lu sio ns
, ,
that I appen d a few excerpts to a s si s t the rea der

in his consi deration of it s intention and sig
n ific anc e .
George P Goo dale the dramatic critic incor

.
, ,
p o ra t e s the view of Charles K ni ght in one o f a

series o f e ss ay s on the s ubj ect publi s he d re c entl y
, ,
“
un der the c aption Of The K alei do s cope in The”
“
D e tro it Fre e P re ss He s ays : The s on g o f the
.
Clown ori ginall y given as an epilogue thou gh

, ,
n o t retaine d in the actin g e ditions o f the hour is ,
j u di c iousl y re gar de d as the most philo s ophi c al

Clown song on re c or d o n the dis c overable wis,
FES T E 99
do m o f
which a treatise mi ght be written .
Ch arles Kni ght in dee d goe s so far as to charac

, ,
te riz e it as the hi s tory o f a li fe from the c on dition ,
o f a little tin y boy

,
throu gh man s e s tate to de

,
’
,
c aying age The c o nc lus1o n 18 that what is true

.
o f the in divi dual i s t rue o f the s p ecies and that ,
what was Of y e s ter day was also o f generation s

long pa ss e d away— for a great while ago the ‘
worl d begu n .
’
H owar d S taunton takes another view of the

son g and quotes S teven s in s upport o f hi s theory
, , ,
in his notes on the subj e c t : It i s to be reg rette d “

,
perhaps that this nonsen s ical ditt y as Steven s

,
‘
,
’
terms it ha s not been lon g s ince de gra de d to the

,
foo t note s It was evi dentl y o ne O f thos e j i gs

-
.
,
with which i t wa s the ru de c ust o m o f the Clown

to g ratify the g roun dlin gs upon the conclu s ion of
a pl ay The s e absur d compositions inten de d
.
,
onl y as a vehi c le for were u s ually im

p ro v 1z at1o ns o f the sin er ta
g gg e d to s ome popul a r,
balla d bur den—o r the fir s t line s O f various son gs

-
stru n g together in lu dicrou s j uxtapositi on at the ,
e nd of ea c h of whi c h the per f orme r i ndulged in

,
hi deous g rima c e and a grotesque sort O f Jump
,
‘
”
Jim Crow dan c e ’
.
W ei ss takes a more sentimental view O f the

son g and in a s omewhat len gth y e s sa y attaches
, , ,
to it a deep s i gnific ance c on c lu ding with a ten der

,
reference to the FOO1 in K in g Lear who uses some ,
o f the line s o f the s ame son

g but with a far dif
E
,
fe re n t moti ve . W he n the pla y is over ,
Feste is le f t alone upon the stage Then he sings .
a son g which conve ys to u s hi s feelin g O f the

worl ds part ialit y : all thin gs proc ee d ac c or ding to
’
law ; nob o dy is humore d; people mu s t abi de the

c onsequence O f thei r a c tions fo r the ra i n 1t ,
‘
rain e th ever y da A little tiny b may have

’ ‘ ’
y . o y
his to y ; but a man must gu ard against knavery
an d thieving : marria ge i tsel f c annot be sweetene d
“
b y swagg ering ;whoso drinks wi th toss pot s will ‘

-
’
a dru ken hea d i t is a very Old worl d and

‘ ’
g e t n : ,
be gan so long ago that no c han ge in i ts habits

c an be loo ke d for The grave in s inuation O f this
.
son g is tou che d with the vagu e s oft bloom O f the ,
play . The note i s har dly more presage ful

than the c ri c ket s stir in the late silen c e o f a s um
’
the g reatest am u
”
others .
Fo r my part I think the s on g is the c o nv e n

tio n al c on c lusion o f the pl ay appropriate but
, ,
wi th no spe c ial si gnifi c an c e

.
“
The s ame desi gn i s followe d in Love s Labor s ’ ’
” “ ”
Lo s t and the Mi dsummer Ni ght s Dream ;
,
’
they bo th te rminate with a s on g Epilogu es c o n

.
A s You Like It an d H enry v m ;and

‘
“ ” “ ”
c lu de
Chorus c lo s es the historical plays The trage dies

.
alone clo s e wi th the culminatin g in c i dent .
I recall when alm o st every f orm o f dramati c

”
composition clo s e d with a T ag and it was o ne
“
,
o f the superstitions o f the dramati c pro fe s sion ,
that to speak the tag at rehearsal au gure d failure .

LAU NC E L O T G O BB O
IN
T HE M ER C HA NT OF V E N I C E
A M e rry D e v il
“
that deli ghtful c ome dy The Mer c hant O f ,
”
Venice we have a t y pe o f the shrew d but
,
i gnorant serving man or boy drawn o n the s ame

, ,
line s a s Launce and S pee d in The Two Gentle

men of Verona and the two D ro m io s in The
”
,
“
,
Come dy o f E rrors but apparently youn ger and

”
,
le ss mature d than either of them .
H is name is Laun c elot Gobbo a fact O f which ,
he is s omewhat prou d H e ha s a cru de philos

.
Op hy an d a ru de kin d of wi t H e use s big wor ds

.
and misapplie s them most in genuou s ly H e is .
g oo-
d nature d f,ull o f fun an d rej oi c es in a prac
,
ti c al j e s t
.
Launcelot is the servant to S hylo c k a weal thy ,
Jewish merchant and money len der O f Veni c e ,
10 3
10 4 T H E FOO L S OF SHA KESPEARE
with whom he l ives an d o f whom he stan ds in
whole s ome awe H is fun lovin g nature ho w
.
-
,
ever ha s s erve d to bri ghten the dull and dreary

,
home of that s tern an d reven geful gentleman a ,
fact that Jes s ica the Jew s dau ghter frankly

,
’
acknowle dges in her fir s t interview wi th the bo y .
Our hou s e ishe ll and thou a m erry devi l

,
D i ds t rob’
it of s om e ta ste of te diou s ne ss .
Launcelot does not app ear till the s e c on d scene

o f the se c on d act o f the come dy when we fin d ,
him s tealthily leavin g his master s hou s e W e ’

.
learn th at he feels aggrieve d at s ome apparent

wrong at the h an ds of hi s employer and is debat ,
ing whether to remain in hi s s ervi c e o r to run ,
away H is soliloquy or s el f argument o n the

.
-
point i s m ost entertainin g H e woul d be j u s t

.
,
but bein g both plainti ff and defen dant as well ,
as a dvoc ate and j u dge o f the question at i s sue ,
he c an s c ar c ely be c re dite d with impartialit y .
H owever the motives that he frankl y ac kno wl

,
e dges an d the reas ons he a dvan ces are mo s t de

,
li ghtfully h u man and most humorously ex

,
presse d T he entire passage is a quaint and by

.
,
c
b ut a kin d of har d con s cience to offer to coun s e l m e
,
to stay w ith the Je w : the fi en d g ive s the m ore frie ndlv

cou n s e l ! I w i ll run ;fi e nd my hee ls are at your c o m
,
m andm ent I w i ll run

, .
H owever Launcelot doe s not run ;he is s pare d

,
that violen c e to his con s cientious s cruples b y the

u nexpecte d a dvent Of hi s f ath er an Old Italian ,
peas ant who s e voice is hear d callin g in the dis

,
tance and halts the woul d be runawa y

,
-
.
Laun c elot s deci s ion o f character is not very

’
marke d nor his resentments very s tron g fo r in a

, ,
moment his wron gs are forgotten and he i s de ,
si gnin g a practical j e s t on hi s age d parent .
“ ” “
0 heavens ! he ex c laim s thi s is m y true
,
be gotten father ; who bein g more than s an d

,
blin d hi gh g ravel bli n

,
-
d knows me not —
-
I W 111
try confu s ion s wi th him .
Old Gobbo bent with age almo s t blin d and

, , ,
feelin g hi s wa y b y the aid of a staff hobbles on ,
the s cene ; he carrie s a s mall basket on hi s arm ,
an d in a voice of
“
chil di s h treble crie s : M as
” “
ter y oun g gentleman I pray you whi c h is the way

, ,
to ma s ter Jew s ’
LAU NC EL O T G O BB O 10 7
Launcelot take s the Old fellow by th e shoul

ders and turns him first to th e ri ght then to the
, ,
left and finally c ompletely roun d givin g him

, ,
the followin g somewhat c onfu s in g dire c tions :

,
“
Tu rn up o n your ri ght han d at the next tum
ing but at the next turnin g o f all on y ou r le f t
, ,
marry at the ve ry next tu rning turn o f no h an d

, , ,
but turn down directly to the Jew s house ’

.
S mall won der that the Old man ex c l aims

”
By Go ds sonties twill be a hard way to hit
’
,
’
.
H owever he is see k in g and most anxious to

,
find his so n an d as so on as he has re c overe d f rom

,
i
the j oltin g he has re c eive d at the han ds O f his
de m o nstrat1v e 1n fo rm an t he a s ks him the follow

,
ing most extraor dinary an d c onfu s in g que s tion

“
Can y ou tell me whether o ne Laun c elot that ,
”
dwells wi th him dwel l with him or no ?
, ,
Thi s i s ex c ellent matter fo r the bo y to try c on

fusions with so he answer s question with ques
,
tion pre facin g it however wi th an a s i de Mark

, , , ,
me now ;n o w will I rai s e the waters Tal k you .
”
o f y oun g Master Laun c elot ?
But the Old man will no t a dmi t that his so n
10 8 T HE FOO L S OF S HAKE SP EARE
“
is entitle d to the di gnity o f Maste r Launcelot ”
so that e cc entric youn entleman

g
w h o c ertainl y
g ,
ha s a novel s en s e Of humor tells him that hi s son

,
i s dea d The sin c ere grief o f the Old man evi

.
de n tly s hames the boy for he quickly chan ges

,
“ ”
his tone and asks
, Do yo u know me father ?
°
“
O ld Gobbo piti fully replies : A la c k sir I , ,
am san d blin d;I know you not .
This in duce s s ome s hrew d ob s ervation s from

“
La u n c elot whi c h are worthy o f note : If yo u
,
had your e y e s you mi ght fail Of the k nowing me :

,
”
i t i s a wi s e father that knows his o wn chil d .
Laun c elot then kneels down with his back to

“
his f athe r and continues : Give me your ble s s
,
ing : t ru th will c ome to li gh t mur der c annot be ,
hid lO ng a man s son may but in the e n d truth

’
, ,
”
will o u t
.
T he Old man has been de c eive d on c e an d hesi

tates ; upon whi c h Laun c elot ex c laims with s ome
“
impatien c e : P ray you let s have no more fool
,
’
ing about i t but give me your ble ss ing ; I am

,
Laun c elot your bo y that was your son that is

, , ,
”
your chil d that shall be .
Italian peas antr y H aving e s tablishe d his i den

.
tity wi th his father Launcelot proc ee ds to tell

,
him o f his intention to run awa y from the Jew s

’
service and we gather his reason to be that he

, ,
does not ge t sufficient food to s atisfy his youthful

appe ti te ;but perhaps the fact that the Lor d B as
“
sanio is en ga ging servants and givin g them rare ,
”
new liveries may be the temptation
, .
The c ontemptuou s re ference to the Jewish rac e

b y this i gnorant boy and hi s vul gar pu n on the
,
wor d Jew are si gnificant in di c ations o f the general

prej u di c e against the Jews at this perio d;not only
in Venice but in all part s o f the civilize d worl d
,
.
We ll w e ll ; but ; fo r m ine o wn part a s I have se t

, ,
up my re s t to runa w ay s o I w i ll no t re s t ti ll I have
,
ru n s o m e g rou d M m a s ter s a ver y w ive im

’
J h
n y . e ;g
a pre s ent ! g ive him a hal ter ;I am fam i s h in his s erv
ic e ; y ou m ay te ll eve ry fi nger I have w ith my ri bs .
Father I a m g l a d yo u are com e ;g ive m e y our pre s ent

,
to o n e M a s ter B a ssan io who i n dee d give s rare new

,
l iverie s ;if I s erve n o t him I w i ll run as far a s Go d

,
has any g roun d—O rare fortun e ! here co m e s the

m an — to him father ; fo r I am a J e w if I s erve the
,
J ew any l onger .
LAU NC E L O T GO BB O 111
The interview between Old Gobbo his so n an d , ,
the Lor d Ba ss anio is deli ghtfull y entertainin g .
Launcelot s u s ual volubility halts in the p resen c e

’
o f the you n nobleman d his father s a ss istance ’
g an ,
“ ”
become s nece ss ar y to pre fer the suit impertinent
“
to him s el f an d expre s s
, the very defect o f the
matter . H owever the sui t i s grante d and
’
, ,
Launcelot is instructe d to take leave of hi s o ld

master and report at the lo dgin gs o f his new em
,
ploy er The sel f satisfa c tion of Mas ter Laun c e

.
-
lot at his success i s mo s t humorou s ly expre s se d ,
and wi th an e goti s m equall y amu s in g ; while hi s
optimi s tic views o f the future obtaine d f rom the ,
line s in his han d in dicate a confi dence in the,
science of palmi s try which the a u thor evi dently ,
does not s hare .
Father in — , I cannot g e t a s ervice n o ;I have ne er

.
,
’
a tong ue in my he ad— We ll if any m an in I taly h ave ,
a fairer t abl e which doth o ffe r to sw ear upon a b oo k !

—I shall have g oo d fortun e — G o to here s a s i m pl e
,
’
l i n e of l ife ;here s a sm all tri fle of w ive s ;al a s ! fi fteen

’
w ive s is nothi ng ! el even w i dows an d n ine m ai ds is a

s i m pl e com i ng in fo r o n e m an ; an d then to s cape
-
’
dro w ning thrice and to b e in peri l o f my l ife fro m

,
1 12 T HE FOO L S OF SHA KESPEA RE
the e dg e of a feather be d — here are s i mpl e s cape s ’
.
,
We ll if Fortune be a w oman she s a go o d w ench

, ,
’
for thi s g ea r —Father co m e ; I ll take my l eave of

.
,
’
the J e w in the t w ink l i ng of an e ye .
Notwithstan din g hi s s cruples o f c onscience that

cause d him so much anxiety when we first met ,
him Launcelot has not been entirely loyal to his

,
mas ter and on leavin g we find him se c retl y bear

,
ing a letter from Jessica the Jew s dau ghter to

’
, ,
her y oun g Ch ri s tian lover Lorenzo The mi s , .
sive requi res a rep l y which Launcelot Obtain s ver

bally an d the cunnin g y oung ra s cal cleverly man
,
a ge s to conve y it to the youn g J e we ss while bear ,
ing an invitation to her f ather from his new mas ,
ter Bassanio H is wor ds are no t brilli ant but

, .
,
serve to in di c ate his in genuity .
M i stre ssl ook out at w indo w fo r all thi s ;

, ,
There w ill com e a Chri stian by ,
Wi ll be w orth a J ew e ss eye ’
.
Launcelot ac c ompanies his new master to Bel

mont where on our next meetin g we find him
,
c om fortabl y in s talle d; very mu ch at home an d ,
in a new livery H e is still ban dying wor ds wi th

.
da m ne d . There is but one hope in it that c an do y ou
an
y g ood .
Jess A nd what . hope is that I p ray thee ? ,
L au n M ar ry y ou m ay partly hope that y ou are

.
,
no t the J e w s dau ghter

’
.
Jess So the s in s of my m other s hou l d be vi s ite d

.
on me .
L auu T ru ly then I fear y ou are da mne d b oth by

.
father and m other ; thu s when I s hun Scyll a you r ,
father I fa ll i nto Charyb di s y our m other ;w e ll y ou

, , ,
are gone b oth w ays .
l e ss I sh all be s ave d by my hu sb and; he hath

.
m a de m e a Chri s tian .
L au n T ru ly the m ore to bl a m e he ; we w ere

.
,
Chri sti an s eno w b efore ; e e n a s m any a s coul d w e ll ’
live o n e by another Thi s m aking of Chri stian s w i ll

, .
rai s e the price of hog s ; if we g row all to be pork

eater s we s ha ll no t s hortly have a ra sher on the coals
,
for m oney .
The entran c e o f Lo renzo puts an e nd to

Launcelot s c al ami tous pre di c tions an d that
’
,
.
g entleman h avin g little appreciation O f the lat

ter s verbal foolin g dire c ts him f G o in sirrah
’ “
, ,
”
bid them prepare for dinner .
To which the i rrepre ss ible Laun c elo t replies

”
That is done si r ;they have al l s tomachs
,
.
W ith some impatien c e Lorenzo exclaims ,

LAU NC E L O T G O BB O 1 15
Goo dly Lor d what a wit snapper art thou ! then

,
-
”
bid them p repare dinner .
This does not disc ou rage the bo y who re ,
“
spo n d s: Th at is done to o sir;only cover is the
, ,
”
word .
Loren z o w i th some i rritati on seeks to bri n g

, ,
this equiv oc ation to a c l o se and now give s his

,
“
dire c tions with emphasis : I pray thee un der ,
stan d a plain man i n his plain meanin g ;go to thy

fellows bid them c over the table s erve in the
, ,
”
meat and we will come in to dinner
, .
The imperturbable sel f e s teem and good natu re

- -
o f La u n c elot is proo f however a gainst c ensure or

, ,
sar c asm ; and with u nruflle d g ravity he replies

“
with humorous iteration °
For the table s i r it , ,
shall be serve d in ; for the meat sir it s hal l be , ,
c overe d; for y ou r c omin g in to dinner sir why , ,
let it be as h u mors an d c on c eits shall gove rn .
A nd hav i ng thus delivere d him s el f Launcelot ,
makes a di gnifie d exit f rom the scene .
Lorenzo s apostrophe to Laun c elot s dis c ourse

’ ’
is an a dmi rable summary of the s hallow min d ,
that mi s takes the mere j u gg lery o f words for wit .

1 16 T HE FOO LS OF SHAKESPEARE
It was a favorite method o f S hakespeare s to ’
“ ”
fu rni s h h u mor in hi s simple s and servin g men ,
an d prove d an amusin diver s ion in their mouths

g
but in others i t is the un c ons c ious tribute that
, ,
i gnoran c e an d in c apa c ity pays to knowle dge and

distin c tion .
L ar . O dear di s cretion , ho w hisw or ds are s uite d!

The fool hath pl ante d in his m e m o ry
A n ar my of g oo d w or ds ;an d I do kno w
A m any foo ls that s tan d in be tte r pl ace ,
G arnish d l ike him that fo r a t rick sy w or d

’
D efy the matter .
Launcelot makes one more brie f appearance to ,
announce the early return of Bassanio to Bel

mont and as a harbinger o f gla d ti dings we leave
,
him 1n the service o f a noble mas ter and a gra

clous mistre s s .
The busine s s o f the S hake s pearean c lowns is

tra ditional It has been han d
. e d down b y c ome
dians from generation to generation It was
.
f amiliar to every stage manager o f experience in ,
the days o f the re s i dent s toc k c ompany ;and an y

departure f rom the c onventional bu s ine s s of these
LAU NC E L O T G O BB O 1 17
parts was until recently viewe d with

, , disap
proval an d re garde d as presumption
, .
A m o st interesting and u ni que per form ance o f

Laun c elot Gobbo was given some years ago by
that sterling chara c te r actor Mr R obert P eyton
, .
Carter so long as s ociate d wi th Miss Mau de

,
A dams I was the S hylock of the performan c e to

.
which I re fer Mr Carter s Laun celot was no t a

. .
’
boy but a humorous and mi sc hievou s youn g man

, .
A t no time durin g the per f ormance even when ,
tremblin g with fear be fore his master was a s mile ,
ab s ent f rom his f a c e ;wi th this resul t the au dien c e

,
were smilin g all the time Laun c elot wa s in view .
You knew as you looke d at him during his sel f

,
argu ment between duty an d inclination that hi s ,
min d wa s al rea dy ma de up to run awa y an d that ,
his c on s cientiou s s cru ples ( i f he really ever had

an y ) were overcome before he uttere d them H is .
p ra c ti c al j est with hi s f ather when , he mi s di rects

him to the Jew s house in dicate d that i t was but
’
,
a sample o f the pranks the youn g man had pl aye d

1 18 T HE FOO LS OF SHAKESPEARE
upon him all his li fe an d the bri ght twin k le in
,
“
his eyes as his you n g mi s tress c alle d him a merry
”
devil connote d a thousan d tricks that the young
rascal had playe d durin g the term o f his servi c e in
the Jew s hou s e and robbe d that somewhat dreary
’
“ ”
resi dence of its taste o f te diousness .
M r Carter s business o n the delive ry o fJessi c a s

.
’ ’
letter to Lorenzo was ori ginal and goo d;his exag

g erate d o beisance to the several f rien ds in c ompany
wi th that gentleman bein g parti c ularly c hara c ter
i s t le an dhappy In the las t a c t o f the c ome dy to o
.
,
f requentl y omitte d in repre s entation Mr Carte r s

, .
’
appreciation of S hakespearean humor was mani

fest The importance Of his new employ ment
.
,
“ ”
his vanit y in hi s rare new l ivery and confi den c e
,
o f privile ged service were deli ghtfully pre s ente d ,
an d roun de d o u t a performan c e as notable as it
was c onsistent an d e f fe c tive

.
The Merc hant o f Veni c e hel d an important

place i n the repertoire o f the late Mr R ichar d
.
Mansfiel d In di scu s s in g the various characters

.
in the play wi th that distin gu ishe d gentleman he ,

ve
ye d naturally and wi thout e ffort : the result
being a well proportione d and artisti c per form
ance .
CI T IZE N
IN
J U LI US CZESAR
“ ”
HE trage dy o f Julius Caes ar is so exalte d
in theme so heroi c in sentiment andso noble
,
in prin c iple that humor woul d s c ar c ely be an ap

,
r
p po r ia te f a c tor in its composition The
. ma g ni
tu de o f manhood that the author ha s brou ght into
such strikin g contrast and j uxtapo s ition is so c om
ple te ly sustaine d andthe elements o flofty patriot
,
ism and civic virtue are pre s erve d so ex c lusively ,
that the le s ser qualities and c on ditions o f li fe are

dwarfe d into insign ific ance .
The c hara c ters o f Mar c u s Brutus Cassius Mar c

, ,
Antony C aesar Cas c a Trebonius and the others

, , , ,
“ ”
are cast in such heroic mol d that the y rep t e
,
“
sent the hi ghest heaven of invention and like ,
”
Chorus in the prologue to H enry V we mi ght
, ,
well as k
A ki ng do m for a stage prince s to ac t
,
A n d m onarch s to b eho l d the sw e ll i ng s cene !
H owever before the great per s onages in the

,
drama make their app earance S hakespeare has ,
g iven us an illustration of the c hara c ter o f the

R oman popula c e and has intro duce d an episode
,
that serve s a s a foun dation for the later inci dents ,
an d at the s ame time furnishe s an excellent exam
ple o f broa d come dy an d whole s ome humor .
It is in the first scene o f the pla y which is ,
”
s impl y de s cribe d as R ome A S treet . A num .
ber o f citizens are as semble d; a t y pical c row d o f

mechanic s arti s an s s ervin g men an d i dler s who
, ,
-
, ,
are awaitin g the a dvent of the proce ss ion to the

ceremonies o f the feast o f the Luperc al They .
are good nature dl y but somewhat boi s terously

-
j ostlin g and shoutin g when they are interrupted

, ,
b y the approach of two of the tribune s F lavius ,
an d M aru llu s who in turn s ilence reprove and

‘
, ,
que s tion them .
The dialog ue between the characters briefly in

form s u s o f th e s umptuar y laws o f R ome at that
perio d and in di c ates the sentiments an d relations
,
1 24 T H E FOO LS OF SHAKESPEAR E
times rea dy for a verbal passage at arms with any
o ne who h as the temerity to c hallen e them This
g .
t y pe is n o t rare but occ asionally o ne meets a

,
natural wit who is both mellow and keen S u c h .
an o ne I imagine the in divi dual to be who appears

“ ” “
u n der the title o f the S e co n d Citizen in Julius
Cae sar.
The man is a c obbler by tra de and a wit by ,
natu re ;his replies to the questions of the tribunes

are re s pe c tful but each of them is a cc ompanie d
,
by a j est which in the presentation o f the play is

followe d by a hearty laugh from his fellows to ,
in di c ate thei r appre c iation and his popularity

,
wi th them .
The s c ene as I be fore observe d i s brief and

, ,
largel y sel f explanatory ;I there fore give the text

-
in full without further c omment :

Flav ius . H ence ! ho m e y ou i dl e creature s , g et y ou
,
hom e .
Is thi s a hol i day ? What ! know y ou no t,

B ei ng m echanica l y ou ought no t w al k
, ,
U pon a l ab ori ng day w ithout the s ig n

,
O f y our p rofe ss ion ? Speak w hat tra de

,
art thou ?
CIT IZE N IN J U LI US CZESA R 1 25
Firs t Cit .. Why sir a car penter

, , .
M arullus . Where is thy l eather apron and thy ,
rul e ?
What do s t thou w ith thy b e s t appare l
on ?
You Sll w hat tra de are y ou ? ,

‘
Se c o nd Cit T ru ly s ir in re s pect of a fine w ork

.
, ,
m an I am but a s y ou w ou l d s ay a cobbl er
, , , .
M arullus B ut w hat tra de art thou ? An sw er m e

.
directly .
Se co n d Cit A tra de sir th at I hope I m ay u s e

.
, , , ,
w ith a s afe con s cience ;which i s indee d s ir a m ender , ,
o f bad s ol e s .
M arullus What tra de thou k nave ? thou naug hty

.
,
knave what tra de ?

,
Se c o nd Cit N ay I b e s eech y ou s ir be no t out

.
, , ,
with m e : ye t if y ou be out s ir I c an m en d y ou
, , , .
M arullus What m e an st thou by that ? M en d m e

’
.
,
thou s aucy fe llo w ?

Se c o n d Cit W hy s ir cobbl e y ou
.
, ,
.
Flav ius T hou art a cobbl e r art thou ?

.
,
S e c aud Cit T ru ly sir a ll that I l ive by is with the

.
, ,
a wl : I m e ddl e w ith no tra de sman s m atter s no r

,
’
w om en s m atter s b ut w ith a wl I a m indee d sir a

’
.
, ,
s ur g eon to o ld s hoe s ;w hen they are in g reat dang er ,
I re cover the m A s p roper m en a s ever tro d upon

-
.
meat s — l e ather have gone u pon my handi w ork .
Flav ius B ut wherefore art n o t in thy s hop to day?

.
-
W hy do s t thou l ea d the s e m e n a bout the

street s ?
1 26 T HE FOO L S OF S HAKESPEARE
S e c au d Cit . T ru ly sir to wear out their shoe s to
, , ,
g e t mys e l f into m ore w ork B ut indeed sir we m ake

.
, ,
hol i day to see Caesar an d to re j oice in his trium ph .
The c obbler s reply brin gs even a more severe

’
reproo f from the tribune s but trumpets are hear d ,
in the distance the pro c es s ion is seen approa chin g

, ,
an d the c ensures O f the patri c ian s are u nhee de d as
the citizens disperse in the di re c tion o f the c oming

spe c tacle.
An amusin g in c i dent o cc urre d in a notable per

“ ”
fo rm an c e o f Julius C aesar given s ome years ago
in S an F rancisco .
As a matter o f interest I mention the c ast o f

the principal chara c ters all o f the a c tors having
,
sin c e passe d away .
B rutus Mr E dwin Booth

.
M r Barton H ill.
M arc Anto ny . . M r John M c Cu llo ugh

.
J ulius Caesar Mr H enr y E dwar ds

.
A ll o f the s e c hara c ters wi th othe rs enter on the

, ,
first s cene in a proce ss i on retu rnin g from the games

o f the Luper c al and are followe d by a c row d of
,
1 28 T HE FOO L S OF SHA KE SPEARE
memo ry but i t is still a ffe c tionately cherished in
,
the sphere in whi c h they live d .
The c itizen s appear on several o cc asions during

the progress o f the trage dy notably in the S enate
, ,
scene at the as s assination o f C aes ar and later in

, ,
th e market place where they are a ddre s se d in tu rn

-
,
by Bru tus an d Mar c Anton y Thei r lines are

.
merel y acquie s cent to the sentiments o f the prin

c ip al c haracter s ;but th ere is o n e line that alwa y s
struck me as humorous in the extreme It occ urs .
in Ac t 3 Sc ene 2 a f ter the fir s t part o f Mar c Ah

, ,
tony s a ddre s s over the bo dy o f C aesar A ntony

’
.
,
apparentl y overc ome by emotion pauses in his

,
eloquent argument in de fense o f his dea d f rien d ,
“
when the F i rs t Citi z en sagely remarks : Me
thinks there is much reas on in his sayin gs To .
which our Old f rien d the S econ d Citizen replies :

,
“
If thou consi der ri ghtl y O f the matter Cmsar ,
”
hath had great wron g .
It is to this la s t s pe ech that I re fer H is ab .
su rdly ina d equate expre ss ion o f sy mpathy for the

reat man w ho has been so foull y mur dere d an d
g ,
whose bo dy lies be fore him c overed with wounds ,

CITIZ E N IN J U LI US CESAR 1 29
alwa y s seeme d to me to c arry with i t a s ense o f

the ri diculous that I coul d never c o mpletely over
,
c ome ;althou gh I am prepare d to a dmit that per ,
se, i t is not inappropriate to the limite d inte lli

gen c e o f the spe aker .
There is a brief ep isode in the next s c ene o f the

same act in which the c itizens a gain appe ar that ,
has a deli ghtful tou c h o f sati rical humor . It o c

c urs after the people have been arou s e d to ven ge
ance again s t the con s pirators b y the a ddress o f
Marc A ntony and are seekin g the assas s ins in
,
the streets o f the city Amon g man y su s picious

.
persons a cc oste d b y the crow d is Cinna the poet

, ,
who is seize d and assaile d by a pe rfe c t volle y o f

questions from the excite d multitu de ;to which he
“
replies : W hat i s my n ame ? Whither am I go
ing ? Where do I dwell ? A m I a marrie d man
o r a bachelor ? Then to answer ever y man di
re c tly an d briefl y wi s ely an d trul y ;wi s ely I say
, , , ,
I am a bachelor .
T o this o u r ever humorous frien d the S econ d

-
Citizen who is one o f the foremo s t in the c row d

, ,
and evi dently a marrie d man re s pon ds i n cha r a c

,
130 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKESPEAR E
“
te ristic fashion : That s as mu c h as to say they
’
,
are f ool s that mar ry ;you ll bear me a ban g fo r ’
”
that I fear
, .
F ur ther que s t ionin g reveal s the name of the

capture d man to be Cinna which bein g al s o the ,
name o f one of the c onspi rator s for whom he is ,
“
mistaken the c row d cry : Tear him to pieces he
, ,
”
i s a conspirator !
The poor fellow however protest s : , I am ,
Cinna the poet ;I am Cinna the poet

, , .
Cinna s poetry does no t ap pear to be hi ghl y

’
appreciate d by the peop le o r he has unfortunatel y

,
en c ountere d an uns y mpathetic criti c for one O f ,
“
the c i tizens ex c l aims : Tear him for his bad
”
verses ;tear him for his bad ver s es .
“
Again the poet protests : I am no t Cinna the ,
”
c onspirator .
W hatever j ustice there ma y have been in the

f ate a dj u dge d the poor poet b y the enrage d p o pu
l ac e o u r in genuous frien d the S econ d Ci tizen is
, , ,
“
not wi thout mer c y and he proposes : It i s no
,
matter ;his n am e s Cinna ;plu c k but his name out

’
o f h i s heart an d t u rn him goin g

,
.
T HE CL OW N
IN
ANT O NY A ND CL EOPAT RA
“
N that mo s t excellent work entitle d S tu die s in
”
S hake s p eare b y R ichar d Grant White the
, ,
author give s s ome s oun d a dvice to s tu dent s an d

rea ders o f the poet which I mo s t heartil y in dor s e :
,
“
Don t s kip s mal l p art s s uch as servants clown s
’
, , ,
”
rustics et c rea d them all
, . .
Thi s s u gge s tion cannot be to o emphaticall y im

pre s se d upon the min ds o f young rea ders who , ,
eager for the development of the plot o r for the

main p oints of the stor y frequentl y ne glect or
,
omi t the minor parts deemin g them n o n e ss ential

,
-
to the intere s t o f the pla y Thi s is to be dep lore d;

.
for S hakesp eare ha s pla c e d man y of his be s t

thoughts and mo s t pointe d epi grams in the mouths
o f comparatively unimportant characters ;so that
to pass o ver or ne glect these passages i s to lo s e

1 32
IN A NT O NY A ND CL EOPAT RA 133
man y beauties of thou ght much philo s op hi c re

,
flec tio n an d a fun d of characteri s tic humor

, .
F rom the rich mine o f his tran s cen dent geniu s ,
the p oet has drawn s uch a wealth of wit an d wis

do m that he has en dowe d the peasant as liberally
,
as the prince an d the clown as the courtier ; the

,
fla s he s of brilli anc y that s parkle in the repartee o f

the p rince be c ome bi ts of homel y humor in the
s imple dialogue of the p easant and the compli ,
ment of the c ourtier is bluntly expre ss e d in the

ru gge d honest y of the clown The garb bec o m
.
,
ing an d appropri ate is fitte d to the wearer ; the

,
doublet to the one the smock to the other

, .
In all o f his rustic an d humorou s chara c ter s ,
S hake s peare ha s been most c on s ervative of thei r

poss ibilitie s ;probably from the fact that prior to
his time an d al s o durin g hi s early career on the
,
stage the clown monop olize d the attention Of the

,
au dience to the exclu s ion of the s eriou s intere s t o f

the pla y an d was usuall y a most ex aggerate d cari
,
c atu re without sense or si gnifi c an c e .
S hake sp eare felt thi s con dition keenl y and ex

pre ss e d himself emphatically o n the subj e c t ;espe
134 T H E FOO L S OF S HAKESPEAR E
i lly i n the prince s in s tru c tions to the player in
’
c a
H amlet ( Ac t 3 Sc ene , H e set himsel f abou t

to reform the evil b y keeping the c lown and th e
,
“
come di an within the limits o f the mo de s ty o f
”
nature .
“
The brie f sketch o f the bucolic c lown in An
”
ton y and Cleopatra is di s tin c tl y S hakespearean
in character and it is to be re gretted that he does
,
n o t appear at g reater len g th in the pla y W hile .
the trage dy i s lo c ate d in Egy pt the c lown is es s en

,
tially E n glish an d is a capital type of the c ountry

,
.
c lo dhoppe r many o f whom still survive in remote

,
E n gli s h villages to day an d such as the poet saw

-
,
daily at S tratfor d when a bo y .
This c lown is a stoc kil y built ru ddy fa c e dman

-
,
-
,
with a s hoc k hea d o f hai r dresse d in a homespun

,
or c oarse canvas smoc k awkwar dly stampin g into

,
the apartment stoli dly in different to c on ditions or

,
envi ronment bent only on the execution o f his

,
commis s ion which is to bring the pretty worm o f

,
“
”
Nilu s that kill s and p ains no t conceale d in a
, ,
basket o f figs to some unknown la dy H e is in .

s houl d desire y ou to touch him for his biting i s
,
immortal ; tho s e that do die o f it do sel dom o r

”
never re c over .
The perver s ion of lan guage in the above i s de

lic io u s an d to m y min d equal to an y thin g that
,
”
Dogberry s ays in Much A do A bout Nothin g ;
an d is another exam p le of S hake s peare s favorite
’
me thod o f expressin g humor by the mi s u s e o f

wor ds b y his cl own s an d fools .
Ignorin g the warning o f the clown the queen ,
“
eagerly inqui re s : Re m e m b re st thou an y that
’
”
have die d on t ? T o whi c h the g arrulous o ld
’
fellow re s pon ds : Very many men an d women , ,
to o .I hear d of one o f them no lon ger than ye s

te rday a ver y hone s t woman but somethin g given
,
to lie as a woman shoul d not do but in the wa y

,
o f honesty ;how she die d of the bitin g o f it what ,

-
pain she felt Trul y she make s a very goo d re

.
port o f the worm ;but he that will believe al l that

they say shal l never be save d b y hal f that they
,
do .
The u nconsciou s but di rect reference to Cleo

patra hersel f in the above is pas se d wi thout notice ,
IN A NT O N Y A ND CL EOPAT RA 137
or in the extremity o f her g rie f unperceived ;and ,
the clown is di s misse d .
But the fellow i s not to be gotten rid o f so

ea s il y ;he starts to go but retu rn s repeate dl y wi th
,
continue d warnin gs as to the dan gerous chara c ter

“
o f the worm : Look you the worm i s not to be
,
”
truste d an d G ive i t nothin g I pra y you for it
, , ,
”
is not worth the fee ding .
To thi s la s t a dmonition Cleopatra inquire s

,
”
Wil l it eat me ? The clown take s this que s tion
as a reflection o n himsel f an d replies with some
,
“
empha s i s : You mu s t no t think I am so sim
ple but I k now the devil him s el f will no t eat
,
a woman ;I know that a woman i s a dish for the

go ds i f the devil dre s s her not
, But truly the s e
.
, ,
same whoreson devil s do the g ods great harm in

thei r women for in ever y ten that they make the
, ,
”
devils mar five An d with the partin g s aluta
.
“ ”
tion : I wi s h yo u j oy o f the worm the c lown ,
finally takes his departure .
O r dinary stu dents of S hake sp eare must have

note d that in spite o f the fact that the poet has
g iven us some o f the noblest i deals o f womanhood ,
there are passa ges in his pla y s of the keenest sati re ,
an d bitterest denun c iation o f women .
H o w f ar his o wn unfortunate experien c e with

the sex may have influen c e d his min d it i s not ,
m y purpose to di sc uss here ;but in the two passages

spoken by the clown that I have quote d above I
, ,
c annot but think there is an echo from the heart o f

the man that a s the poet s oun ds the ke y note o f
,
-
an uncon genial marriage an unappre c i ative mis

,
tre ss and a frien ds dupli c ity

,
’
.
It is interestin g to note that in the two g reat

,
“ ” “
trage dies Juliu s Cms ar an d A ntony and Cleo
,
”
patra the only s c enes o fhumor in both in s tance s
, ,
equally brief are pla c e d in the former at the be

, ,
g innin g o f the play an d in

, the latter almost at its
c on c l u sion .
The ci r c umstance s are the s e : A y oun g la dy
attache d to the court of the K in g o f Denmark has
been drowne d The general op inion bein g that
.
she committe d s uici de In the time of Shake

.
sp eare an d p rior thereto s uch unfortunate s were

, ,
denie d Chri s tian burial Thei r remain s were in

.
te rre d out s i de of con s ecrate d g roun d wi thout s erv
ice o r an y of the rite s o f the Church In fact it .

,
was not unusual to bur y them at the inter s ection

of the hi ghwa ys ve ry deepl y an dto drive a stron g
, ,
s take throu gh the body The Obj ect o f this bar

.
barous p rocee din g bein g to empale and de s troy

,
the evi l Sp i rit which the prevailing s upersti tion

,
suppo s e dto be in po ss e ss ion of the s uici de In the .
pre s ent in s tance the K in g has comman de d that

,
the remain s o f the unfortunate la dy s houl d be

burie d in the consecrate d groun d of the chu rch
yar d .
The K ing s comman d violatin g all the ancient

’
,
an d a cc ep te d tra dition s of the church arou s e s the ,
in di gnation o f the o ld sexton who combines the ,
office o f g rave di gger To this personage S hake

-
.
speare has given su c h a strong in divi dualit y such ,

T HE G RA V E D I GG ERS -
14 1
a pun genc y o f wi t and wealth of humor toge ther ,
with su c h deli ghtful tou che s o f nature making it ,
so t rue to li fe
, that I cann ot but think the poet
mu s t have had a prototype in hi s o wn observation
an d experience .
In the li s t o f characters in the play this person

“
age an d his assistant are set down as Two
”
Clown s as Grave di gger s but mo dern e ditors
-
,
have s ep arate d them in the ca s t and c alle d th em

,
”
Fi rs t an d S econ d Grave di gger s
-
Thi s metho d
.
has been a dopte d in all the actin g e dition s an d ,
in the followin g observations I s hall so de s i gnate

them .
The fir s t g rave di gger is o f a t y pe that may be

-
foun d in man y of o u r countr y villa ges to day -

,
“
a quaint sententious o ld fellow dre ss e d in a little
brief authorit y an d full O f his own importance
,
1)
.
H e has a little kn owle dge o f l aw quote s one or

,
two le gal phrases in Latin incorrectl y and ,
preache s a cru de i dea of s oc iali s m to hi s youn ge r

as s istant much to the awe and a dmi ration of that
,
simple in divi dual who a ddre ss e s his ac kno wl

,
“
e dge d superior as Goodman delver .
I picture the o ld fellow in my min d as robust

o f figu re ru ddy of feature with di s tin c t evi den ces
, ,
o f bibulous taste on his nose and cheek s a humor ,
o u s twinkle in hi s e y es , in sp ite of an assume d

severity dre ss e d in the homely s mock o f the
,
pea s ant of that place and perio d and about fift y

,
years o f age H e has the courage o f his c o n

.
v ic tio ns f or he has sel dom f oun d an y one to c o m
bat them so he a dvances his argu ment s wi th the

,
authority o f one who s e dictum is not to be que s

tio ne d . S houl d the s e fail him however he can
, ,
com mand the re s pect of his fellow s by a rea dy

ton gu e an d homely wit as examp le d in his dia
,
logu e wi th his subor dinate and later with P rince

,
H amlet .
H e is no re specter o fpersons : his replie s to the

que s tions o f H amlet bein g a s s trai ghtforwar d and
blunt as th ose to his pea s ant c ompanion while ,
hi s replication s in the ex c han ge o f wi t with the

former in di c ate so much irreverence and indepe n
dence that i t draws from the P rince the sign ifi
,
“
c ant observation : By the Lor d H oratio , ,
Now c omes the inherent love o f argument in

“
the Old man H ow c an that be unles s she
'
drowne d hersel f in her own defense ? ”
The y ounger man ha s n o repl y to thi s propos i

tion but c ontents him s el f with reiteration
,
“
Wh y tis foun d so
,
’
T o the or dinar y peasant
.
o f the time this would have con c lu de d the matter ,
but the sexton who has s mall re s p e c t for the

,
ver dict of the crowner s que s t an d perc eiving an

’
,
Opportunit y to expoun d his wis dom proc ee ds with ,
his argu ment .
It require s little imagination to realize the po m

o s it of the s tu r dy o ld s tickler fo r tra dition as
p y ,
he empha s izes his points ; o r to note the sy llabic

orotun dit y wi th which he utters the Latin phrase
that he has probabl y he ard in s ome le gal p roc ee d
in gs an d memorize d fdr u se at a future time to
, ,
awe hi s a dver s ary with hi s learnin g ; and to o b

serve the ori ginalit y o f his log ic in the conclu s ion
“
that the l ady s death was no t acci dental
’
It
.
mu s t be se offen den do ; i t cannot be el s e Fo r

‘ ’
.
here lie s the point : i f I drown mysel f wittin gl y ,
i t argu es an act : and an a c t hath three branches ;

T H E G RAV E D I GG ERS -
1 45
it is to act to do and to pe rform : argal she

, , , ,
”
drowne d hersel f w1tt1ngly .
H is a ss istant is no t wi thout some sel f a ss ertion -
in spite o f Latin and logic and make s a valiant ,
attemp t to enter a protest a gain s t the o ld man s ’
prej u dice d conclu s ion s Nay but hear yo u

.
, ,
”
g oo dman d el ver But. the g oo d man will not be
s ilence d wi th flattery nor does he propose to
honor hi s youthful disputant with more c ontro
v e rsy b u t proc ee ds to demon s trate his theory in
,
a practi c al f ashion Takin g hi s spa de he lays i t

.
down o n the smooth tur f o f the c hurch yar d ex -

,
“
plainin g : H ere lies the water ; goo d Then .
at some little distan c e f rom the spa de he stan ds

“
the pick or mattoc k on e nd: H ere stan ds the
”
man goo d andtakin g a pos ition between the two
, ,
implement s with j u dicial g ravity he del ivers

, ,
“
himsel f as follows : I f the man go to this water
and drown himsel f i t is will he nill he he oes ;
, g , ,
mar k yo u th at ;but i f the water c o me to him and

drown him he drowns n o t him s el f : arg al he that
, ,
is no t gu ilty of his o wn death Shortens not his

”
own l ife .
This demon s tration almost convinces the ru sti c
s kep ti c but he is still in doubt as to the legal
,
“
aspe c t of the ca s e andinquire s : But i s thi s l aw ?
,
”
“ ”
A y marry is t ;c rowner s quest l aw c onclu de s
’ ’
, , ,
the o ld man .
F in din g no argu ment to combat thi s conclu s ion ,
the y oun g fellow fall s back on the elemental

“
s ociali s tic que s tion of human inequalit y Will .
ha the truth on t ? If thi s had not been a

’ ’
y o u
entlewoman h s houl d have been burie d out ’
g s e , 0
”
Chri s tian burial The o ld fellow full y in dor s e s
.
this prop os ition and empha s ize s i t with a s till

,
more forcible example thou gh perhap s s ome , ,
ma y not recognize the a dv antage s of the s pecial

“
privi le ge s quote d W h y there thou s aye s t : an d
.
,
the more pit y that g reat folk s shoul d have coun

te n anc e in th i s worl d to drown or han g themselves ,
more than their even Chri s tian Come m y -

.
,
s p a de . The o ld man takes his S pa de but befor e ,
proc ee din g to work asserts the natural di gu i

,
hi s tra de and bemoans the degenerac y of the age ;

,
which provoke s the following bi t o f delightful

e quivoq ue
sizes with hi s in dex finge r the que s tion th at is to
con fu s e the wits o f hi s youn ger a ss istant ; the
other leaning o n the mattock listens with p arte d
lip s eager to catc h every wor d an d match hi s wit
, ,
against that of th e veteran humori s t .
“
What is he that buil ds s tronger than either
”
the mason the shipwri ght or the c arpenter
, ,
?
The youn g man is puzzle d for a moment ,
s c rat ches his hea d then with a l oo k o f triumph

, , ,
“
answers quickl y : The gallows maker ; for that
-
”
f rame outlives a thousan d tenants .
It is a goo d answer and the o ld fellow i s not

slow to acknowle dge it but i t is no t the c orre c t
,
one so the momentary sati sf a c tion o f the young

,
man is tu rne d to chagrin and his wi ts spurre d to

,
ano ther effort H o w the o ld fellow chuckles as

.
the y oun g o n e wre s tles with the knotty problem,

an d how deli c iou s ly is the patrona ge o f the o ld
e gotist s superior wis dom expresse d in the pas sage

’
that follow s : I like th y wit well in go od ,
f aith : The gallow s does wel l : but how doe s it

well ? It does well to thos e th at do ill : now thou
dos t ill to say the g allows is built stron ger than
T HE G RAV E D I GG ERS -
1 49
the chu rch : argal : the gallows may do wel l to thee .
T o t ag ain c ome
’
.
,
The young man repeats the proposition : W ho “
buil ds stron ger than a mason a shipwri ght o r a , ,
”
c arpenter ? and ru e fully s tru ggles to fin d another
fittin g repl y But his mental f ac ul ties are dull
.
,
it is beyon d him he has to c on fess i t an d the o ld

, ,
fellow does not spare him but a cc entuates his ,
triumph and c om
, pletes the poor fellow s hum ili ’
ation by g ivin g the answer and then dismissin g ,
him to fetch a stoop o f liquor .
“
C u dgel thy brains no more abou t it for your ,
dull ass will n o t men d his pace with beatin g and ,
when yo u are aske d this question next say a ,

‘
g rave-
ma k er : the’
houses that he makes l ast till
dooms da y . G O ge t thee to Yau ghan fetc h me a
, ,
”
sto op o f liqu or .
The tra ditional business at this point was fo r

the o ld grave digge r to remove with great de lib
-
c ration a n u mber of ve s ts or wai s t coats o f various

-
c olors an d patterns c arefull y fol d and lay them

,
at o ne si de and then roll up his sleeves be fore

,
des c en ding into the u n c ompleted g rave to proc ee d

W Ith his wor k This ab s u rdpie c e o f bu s ine s s ha s
’
.
,
however lon g sin c e been dis c ar de d and the actor

, ,
of to day plays the part wi th more appro

-
p riate a c tion c onsistent

, with the character an d ,
within s c ope of human poss ibili t y La y ing hi s .
spa de an d pic k by the si de o f the g rave he

g ra dually lowers himsel f into i t with the natural
e ffort of a man o f his age then in a wor k ,
man like manner proc ee ds firs t to loosen the earth

-
wi th his pick then to throw it out together with

, ,
the s kulls an dbones as the dialogue c all s fo r them ,
chantin g the wor ds of the o ld balla d at the proper

cues emphasizin g the effort and punctuating his
, ,
s in ging wi th the strokes o f his mattoc k an d the ,
work o f the spa de .
It is at thi s point that P rin c e H amlet an d his

frien d H oratio appear outsi de o f the low wall
that encloses the g rave y ar d S eein g the o ld
-
.
man s g rim occupation an d hearin g hi s humorou s

’
s ong the in c ongrui ty o f the p rocee ding surp ri s e s

,
the P rince who inquires of hi s frien d: H a s thi s

,
fellow no feelin g of hi s bu s ine ss that he s in gs at

g rave makin
-
g ?
”
T o whi c h H oratio sa gely re
T HE G RAV E D I GG ERS -
1 51
plies : Cu s tom hath ma de i t in him a property

”
o f ea s iness .
U n c ons c iou s of obs ervation the s exton c o n ,
tinu e s his work and his son g throwin g out the ,
earth some human bones and two chaple ss s kull s ;

, ,
while the P rince and his frien d look on and

philosophize on the grue s ome relics that are so
i rreverentl y han dle d b y the Old man The se c .
o n d skull thrown f rom the g rave is about to roll
awa y when the sexton strikes i t sharply with his

,
S pa de to imbe d it in the s oft fre s h earth Thi s , .
apparent bru tal in difference to the grim remains

o fpoor mortality is the subj e c t of fur ther S pe c ula
ti ve philos ophy on the part of the P rince who ,
finally steps over the wall a dvan c es to the si de ,
of the grave and a ddre ss e s the grave di gger as k

,
-
,
“ ”
ing : Who s g rave s th i s sirrah ?
’ ’
,
I imag ine the o ld man has been as ke d this

que s tion so frequentl y and b y all manner of pe o
,
ple that he has grown impatient at the que ry an d

, ,
with s carcel y a glance at hi s questioner he an s wers

“
abru p tl y Mine sir and continue s his work
, , ,
”
an d hi s son g .
I re c al l when I was a ve ry smal l boy liv ,
ing i n an E n gli s h countr y village an o ld cobbler , ,
who s e shop o r rather stall was o n the si de of the

, ,
street by whi c h I went to sch o ol H e was a .
quaint good nature d o ld fellow an d I woul d fre

,
-
,
quently s top watch him at work an d tal k to him

, .
A ll o f his work wa s done by han d H e u se d .
to si t at the e nd o f a low ben ch o n whi c h

were all o f hi s materials an d tool s in little ,
square compartm ents H e wore a large pair o f

.
s pe c ta c les wi th horn f rame s an d woul d bend ,
over a woo den l as t hel d fast to his knee b y a

,
ci rcular leathern s trap f rom his foot make holes ,
with an awl in s ert anddraw the wax e nd ti ghtly

, ,
as he atta c he d the upper to the sole o f the shoe
he was ma king I u s ed to re gar d him with great

.
interest and won der at his dexterit y and rapi dity

, .
I knew practically everybody in the village and ,
with bo y ish c uriosity woul d a s k the o ld c obbler

who the shoes were for H e woul d invariabl y
.
repl y M r W e arem
“
. This puzzle d me for
.
’1
some time as I knew no one o f that name ; but

,
u ltimately I c omprehen de d: i t was a reproof to

H am . What m an do s t thou dig it for ?
G ra . Fo r no m an, s ir
.
H am . What w oman then ?

Gra . Fo r none neither .
H am . W ho is to be burie d in t ? ’
Gra . On e that w a s a w oman s ir b ut re s t , , he r s oul ,
she s dea d
’
.
H o ur . Ho w l ong ha st thou b een a g rave m aker ? -
The an s wer is given with chara c teristi c lo q u ac

ity b y the o ld man who still maintains his repu
, ,
tatio n as a wi t snapper -
.
The most c as ual rea der o f S hakespeare c annot

}
but Observe how much is connote d as well as

expresse d in many o f the brie f passage s o f the
poet In answer to the above simple que s tion
.
,
the valor o f the late K in g and the martial char ,
acter o f the Danes is s u gge s te d; we are tol d the

day of H amlet s bi rth ; we learn of the go ss ip o f
’
the people and the general impre ss ion of the

P rince s mental con dition the s upp os e d rea s on o f
’
his de sp atch to E n glan d together with s ome satir ,
ical allu s ions to the peop le o f that c ountry ;an d ,
while the Old man in geniously reveals the age o f

T HE G RAV E D I GG ERS
-
155
H amlet he in c i dentall y su ggests his own

,
I .
have been sexton here man and bo y thirty, ,
years.
This g rantin g he was about twenty years o ld

,
when he be gan his work as a g rave make r and it -

,
is improbable to su ppose that he woul d be e n

tru ste d with su ch s erious work at an earlier age ,
woul d make him fifty at this time as I have be ,
f ore s u gge s te d .
H amlet s next question :

’
H ow lon g will a
”
man lie in the earth ere he rot ? provokes more
punnin g b y the Old man and some very plain and
ori ginal rea s onin g as to the time an d pro c ess o f
the decay of mortal remains ;those o f a tanner in
particular .
The dialogu e i s terminate d by the selection of

one o f the S kulls b y the grave di gger to illu s trate
-
his arguments which the o ld man a ss erts i s the

,
s kull o f Yorick the late K in g s j ester

,
’
.
“
The propert y of easine s s su gge s te d b y H o
,
ratio is again example d by the i rreverence and

,
familiarit y with which the g rave maker han dles -
this skull A s he recall s the pranks o f the dea d

.
j ester he lau ghin gly slaps the hollow temples o f
,
the un c onscious remnant as i f he were boxing the

,
ears Of the livin g j e s ter and g lee full y chu ck les

,
“ ”
as memory revives the m ad rogu e s wit and ’
humor before han ding it to the P rin c e

, .
This inci dent diverts the min d o f H amlet f rom

his c ate chism of the g rave di gger to ten der mem -
o rie s o f his C hil dhood s frien d an d pla y mate

’
so ,
that the sentiment o f the scene i s chan ge d but ,
to thi s I have re ferre d at s ome length in a f ormer
c hapte r .
The funeral pro c ession enters the church yar d -

,
the sexton assists in lowering the bo dy of the u m

fortunate la dy to its l ast restin g pla c e and with ,
that dut y done the character of the grave di gger

,
-
in the pla y is conclu de d But i f we permit o u r

.
im aginati on a little scope we mi ght see after the , ,
funeral part y has left the s c ene the o ld fellow ,
shoveling the earth back into the newly tenante d -
g rave, an d hear the refrain of his quaint son g

borne upon th e stillness o f the early morning air :
A pick -
a s pa de a s pa de
ax e , an d , ,
Fo r an d a s hrou di ng s heet :
g ray hai r that

, w as always d ishevele d H e .
dresse d the part in a dark brown tuni c o r smoc k ;

hi s arms were bare but his legs and feet were
,
encase d in rou gh bu s kins and san dals H e .
l ooke d the part to perfect i on ;he did not have to

act onl y to Speak the line s an d he was the o ld
, ,
g rave d i-
gg er The . sel f i mportance
-
the g rave
, a s
s u mption o f knowle dge and the ai r o f brie f
,
“
authority over his fellow worker were finely -
g iven ;while his surpri s e d ex p re ss ion at the au dac
i t y of the youn ger man in questionin g hi s j u dg

ment was a S plen di d illu s tration o f the as s urance
o f i gnoran c e an d sel f con c eit-
.
A t the time o f whi c h I s pea k ( 1 87 6 ) very

li ttle i f any s c ene ry and few p ropertie s were
, ,
carrie d by tourin g dramatic companie s W e car .
rie d none but depen de d o n the stoc k o f the

,
theater s we vi s ite d for the scenery and borrow ed ,
the propertie s and furniture from loc al stores giv ,
ing in return c omp limentary tickets to the p e r

fo rm anc e .The two human skull s were espe
c ially diffi cu lt to obtain in the smaller towns .
T HE G RAV E D I G G ERS -
159
O ur property man however was of consi derable

-
, ,
exp erience an d full of resource in an emergency

an d when unable to obtain the real article in v ari
abl y foun d a s ub s titute that s erve d the pu rpo s e .
Fo r the skull s he use d two l arg e tu rnip s s haping ,
them like the human hea d ex c avatin g the e y e ,
s ockets hollowin g the j aw s and mou th and then

, ,
c olorin g them wi th brown paint In dee d they .

,
looke d remarkabl y well an d few o f the au dience

coul d detect the impos ition from the f ront o f th e
theater On e ni ght howeve r when Mr Mc
.
, , .
Vicker as the g rave di gger han de d the suppos e d

,
-
,
s kul l to Mr Booth as H amlet the l atter gentle

.
, ,
man faile d to g ra s p it se c urely and i t fell wi th a

heav y thu d to the stage The deception was then
.
obvious and the au dien c e roare d with l au ghte r

, .
But wor s e consequen c e s followe d The c on .
foun de d tu rnip rolle d down to the footli ghts ,
knocke d o ff one of the tips of the gas j ets ( ele c

tric ity was n o t then in use ) a big flame ro s e from,
the broken j et a cry of Fi re ! was rai s e d and a

, ,
pani c in the a u dience was only averte d by the

prompt action of th e lea der o f the or chestra who ,
reache d over and smothere d the flaming gas j et -
wi th his pocket han dkerchie f .
On another oc ca s ion durin g our S outhern tour ,
M r M cV ic k e r c alle d me on o ne si de prior to the

.
beginnin g of the last a c t of H amlet an d whis ,
“
pere d in m y ear W atch me when I hand E dwin
,
the skul l to ni ght -

I watche d
. .
It appeare d that our property man had been -
u nable fo obtain even tu rnips with whi ch to

f ashion s kulls fo r the grave yard s c ene so he had
-
,
proc ure d a couple o f very large Bermu da onions ,
c u t and per forate d them as he had done the

tu rnips c olore d and pl ac ed them in the g rave
, ,
Mr M c Vic k e r alone bein g cognizant of the char

.
ac ter o f the remains The g rave di gger threw

.
-
them o u t at the proper cue an d the deception ,
pas s e d unnotice d but when the o ldsexton han de d

, ,
the s uppo s e d skull o f poor dea d Yorick to Mr .
Booth who had a parti c ular aversion to onion s in

,
any form the aroma o f th at mutilate d S phere

, ,
min gle d wi th the o dor o f the paint bec ame ,
offensive to him that he was seize d with naus

LAU NC E A ND SPEE D
IN
T HE T WO G E N T L E M EN OF V ERO N A
HERE seem s to be little doubt but that the

“
come dy o f The T wo Gentlemen o f Ve
rona wa s one of the earlie s t o f the po et s dra ’
matic works There i s n o authentic re c or d of its

.
fir s t presentation but it is the general imp res s ion

,
amon g the commentators that i t occ urre d in 1 5 9 1

5
o r 1 92 . S i dne y Lee
, probably the most a c
curate and reliable authorit y on S hakespeareana ,
place s it s econ d in or der of p roduction It wa s

.
not p rinte d in the author s li fetime no r was i t pub

’
,
lishe d till it wa s inclu de d in the F irst Folio e dition

o f colle c te d pla ys that appeare d in 1 62 3 seven
,
year s after the poet s death

’
.
There i s a c rude c onventionali ty in the c o n

stru c tion o f the plot inexperien c e in the develop
,
1 62
LAU NC E A ND SPEE D 1 63
ment o f the characters and immaturity in its de

,
duc tiv e philo s oph y The s e c on ditions c onfi rm

.
the view point taken above and are en tirely c on

-
,
s istent with the kn own facts S hakespeare was .
at this time but twenty seven years o f age had

-
,
been in Lon don but six or s even years and thou gh ,
stu dy and observation had g iven him s ome i dea

o f dramatic c ompo s ition i t wa s o n conventional
,
lines on ly ; experience had not y et develope d

hi s powers o r given him an y mar ke d in divi d
u ality.
Mrs Cow den Clarke g oes so far as to su ggest

.
that the come dy was probably one o f the M SS .
that S hakespeare took with him to Lon don .
This is di sprove d I think by his re ferences in the

, ,
play to historical and m y tholo gical characte rs ,
with which he woul d hardl y be familiar be fore his

a dvent into the metropoli s .
I doubt i f S hakespeare did an y literary work

o f a dramatic c haracter before he went to Lon
do n. It was his as s oc iation wi th a company o f

profe ss ional actors in a varie d repertory o f play s
, ,
with the environment o f a regu larly e quipped

theater that reveale d to him the possibilities o f

,
the drama inspire d his ambition and develope d

, ,
his genius .
“
There is no ori ginalit y in the s tory o f The
”
Two Gentlemen of Verona nor in any o f the ,
in c i dent s o f the come dy The chara c ters are but

.
p rotot y pes of tho s e which appear elaborate d an d

,
complete d in hi s later p lay s after experience had

, ,
mature d his power s and given him a deeper in

s i ght into human nature .
This is particularl y true o f Launce and S pee d ,
the two clownish servants in the come dy who are ,
“
reproduce d as the two B romios in The Come dy ,
” “ ”
o f E rrors ;as P eter in ,
R omeo an d Juliet an d ,
“
as Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Ven
,
ic ; but with far more con s isten cy o f purpose

an d detail O f c hara c ter .
Laun c e an d S pee d are servants : born to serve ,
c ontente d to serve wi th little or no ambi tion be

,
yon d it They are personal atten dants on V al

.
e n tine and P roteus ,two y oung noblemen and ,
ac c ompan y thei r respe c ti ve ma s ters o n their

travel s obeyin g thei r or ders without que s tion
, ,
deg ree , and v i e with ea ch other in amphibolous
rep artee .
Of the two Launce has the keener wit and

,
deeper p hilosophy H e is also more resour c eful

.
when Occasion deman ds ; wi tness hi s prompt ac ,
c e p t an c e of the puni s hment that had been im
“ ”
po s e d On his un gentlemanlike do g Crab which , ,
woul d have en de d the career of that canine ;and

the s ub s titution o f the s ame ill bre d cur fo r the
-
“ ”
li ttle j ewel he wa s commi ss ione d to c arr y to
Mi s tre ss S ylvia which had been stolen from him
,
by the bo ys in the market place -

.
Sp ee d is the firs t of the s e two worthie s to ap

pear in the p la y It is in the fir s t sc ene o f the
.
firs t act and in hi s s e c on d s peech he begin s a cor

,
ruption of wor ds in a succession o f the mo s t

atroc ious puns and ing enious transliteration s that ,
positivel y app all b y thei r au dacit y : and he c o n

tinu e s i t throu ghout the s cene The pla y o n the
.
wor ds Ship an d s heep poun d an d pinfol d and

, , ,
the evolution from a no d o f the hea d an d the ,
“ ” “ ”
exclamation ay to the word Noddy fully ,
j ustifies the term P roteus app lies to it s illy , .

In fa c t there is but one bit o f repartee in the

,
enti re dialogu e worthy of note : P roteus ex

“
c l aim s wi th obvious sarca s m : Be s hrew me but ,
”
you have a qui ck wit to whi c h Spee d who has
, ,
been unable to extract a gratuity f rom him re ,
“
p lies : A n d y et it cannot overtake you r slow
pu rse .
The dialogu e in A ct 2 S cene 1 between S pee d

, ,
and S i r Valentine i s in the same vein as in the

,
firs t a c t ;but S pee d seems to have some a dvantage

in it fo r travel appear s to have s harpene d the wi t
,
of the servant while love has dulle d the spirit o f

,
the master In Spee d there is evi den c e o f more

.
observation both o f in c i dent s an d c i r c umstances ;

a clearer and bri ghter expression o f i deas c o m ,
bin e d with a s hrew dness that approa c hes wi s dom ,
—e spe c 1ally in hi s reflections on S ir Valentine s ’
love lorn con dition ; while there is a dimne s s o f

-
comprehen s ion that amounts almo s t to den s it y in

the lack o fun derstan din g di s pla y e d b y his master .
Spee ds critical philo s oph y however never per

’
, ,
mits him to los e si ght o f the deman ds o f his

s tomach o r the perquisites o f his po s ition
, .
This s c ene is so a dmirable in its c ommingling o f
h umor an d satire that I quote it at length ,
Val W hy ho w kno w you that I a m in love ?

.
,
Spe e d M ar ry by the s e s pecia l m ark s

.
, Fir s t y ou .
,
have learn d l ike Sir P roteu s to w reath y our ar ms

’
, , ,
l ike a m al content ;to re l i sh a l ove s ong l ike a rob in -

,
re db rea st ; to w a l k a l one l ike o n e that had the pe s ,
tile nce ; to s i g h l ike a s choo lb oy that had l o s t his

,
A B C ;to w eep l ike a y oung w e n ch that had b urie d

,
he r g ra n da m ; to fa s t l ike o ne that t ake s diet ; to ,
w atch l ike o ne that fear s robb ing ; to s peak pu l i ng

, ,
l ike a b e gg ar at H all owm a s You w ere w ont when .

,
y ou laugh d to cro w l ike a cock ;w hen y ou w al k d to

’
,
’
,
w al k l ike o ne of the l ions ; w hen y ou fas te d it w a s

‘
p re s ent ly after dinner ;w hen y ou lo o k d s a dly it w a s

’
,
for want of m one y ;and no w y ou are m etam or pho s e d

w ith a m i stre ss that when I l oo k on yo u I c an h ar dly
, , ,
thi nk y ou are my m a ster .
Val A re a ll the s e thing s perceive d in m e ?

.
Spe e d T he y are a ll perceive d w ithout ye

. .
The s e foll ie s are w ithin you and s hine through you ,
l ike the w ater that no t an eye that s ee s you b ut ,
is a phys ician to comm ent o n y ou r m a l ady .
Later in the same scene the dialogu e is note

,
worthy and again illustrate s the shrew d o bse rv

,
ance of Spee d and the privile ge o f speech per

,
m itte d him by his master .

4 17 0 T HE FOO L S OF S H A KESPEARE
most attentive observer an d

listener to the inter
view between the lover and the la dy S yl vi a has .
apparentl y commi ss ioned S i r Valentine to write

“ ”
some appropriate lines fo r her to one she loves ,
“
a s ecret nameless frien d S i r Valentine hav
.
,
i ng written the lines in the form of a letter now

, ,
delive rs i t to the la dy who th ereupon retu rns i t

,
“
to the writer pointe dly exclaimin g : They are
,
for you . S i r Valentine however does no t ap

’ 3
, , .
p re c iate her meanin g l ooks bewil d

, ere d an d s tan ds
in great perp lexit y ;an d the l ady disappo m te d at ,
his la ck Of c omprehension abru ptly takes her

°
'
leave with c on s i derable S how o fan ger S i r Valen .
tine s tan ds in s peechle s s a s tonishment but Spee d , ,
who has realize d the full si gnificance o f the la dy s

’
device exclaims
,
O j e s t un s een in s crutabl e invi s i bl e

, , ,
A s a n o s e on a m an s face o r a w e athercock on a
’
steepl e !
My ma ster s ue s to he r an d she hath tau g ht he r s uitor
, ,
H e b eing he r pupi l to b eco m e he r tutor

,
.
0 e x ce ll ent device ! was there ever hear d a b ette r ,
That my m a ster be i ng s cri be to hi m s e l f s hou l d w rite

,
the l e tter .
J
am e
sL e w is an d S idn e
y H e rb e rt as L au n c e an d
“
Sp e e d
in “
t
T h e T w o G e n le m e n of V e ro n a”
172 TH E FOO L S OF S H AKESPEARE
“
earnestl y delivere d protest : A y but hear ken
, ,
s ir : Thou gh the c hameleon Love c an fee d o n

ai r I am o ne that am no u rish d by my victual s
,
’
,
an d woul d fain have meat . 0 ! be not like y our

mi s tress : be move d be move d
, .
Laun c e doe s not appear till the thir d scene o f

th e secon d act when he intro duces him s el f hi s
, ,
sentiments and his do g Crab by whom he i s ac

, ,
c ompanie d wi th mu c h humor and as with all o f

, ,
S hakespeare s characters his mental sentimental

’
, ,
and s oc ial s tatus i s at once e s tablishe d; while the
domesti c drama playe d with a pai r o f o ld shoes ,
a hat an d a sta ff a s repre s entatives o f the f amily

,
O f the Launces gives u s an introdu c tion to them

,
as e fle ctiv e ly as i f we had met them all in pe rson .
On e c an eas il y un der s tan d that Crab s failure to

’
app re c iate the importance of the j ourne y and the ,
p ath os o f partin g with s uch a famil y is a source

of g reat disapp ointment to his master The ep i .
s ode is describe d with so much deli ghtful ori ginal

i ty o f expre ss ion and humorous detail that the
rea der must be dull in dee d who c annot se e the
s c ene ena c te d be fore his e y es : the weeping women ,
the wailin g father the howlin g mai d and the , ,
“
perplexe d hou s ehol d;while the do g unmove d
”
, ,
s toli dly watches the entire procee din gs wi th a

boredexpre ss ion o fcanine in di fferen c e .
N ay t w i ll be thi s hour e re I have done w ee pi ng

,
’
all the ki n d of the L au nce s have thi s ve ry fau l t I .
have receive d my p roportion l ike the p ro di g iou s so n , ,
an d am g oi ng w ith Sir P roteu s to the i m peria l s cou rt

’
.
I thi nk C ra b my do g be the s oure st nature d do g that -
l ive s : my m othe r w ee pi ng my father w ai l i ng my s i s , ,
te r cry i ng o u r m ai d ho wl i ng o u r c at w ri ng i ng he r
, ,
hands and a ll our hou s e in g reat per pl exity yet did

, ,
n o t thi s crue l hearte d c u r s he d o n e tear : he is a s tone

-
,
a very pebbl e s tone and has no m ore pity in him than

-
a do g : a J e w w ou l d have w e pt to have s een our part

ing : why my g ran da m havi ng n o e y e s l ook y ou w e pt
, , , ,
her s e l f bl in d at my parti ng Nay I ll sho w y ou the .

,
’
m anner of it : Thi s shoe is my father —no thi s l eft ,
shoe i s my father ;no no thi s l eft shoe is my m other

—that cannot be s o neither : ye s it is s o it is s o ;it
, ,
, ,
hath the w or s er s o l e Thi s s hoe w ith a hol e in it .

,
is my m other an d thi s my father A ve ng eance on t : ’

.
,
there t is : no w sir thi s s taff is my s i s ter ; for l ook

’
, , ,
y ou she is a s w hite a s a l i ly and a s sm a ll a s a w and:

, ,
thi s hat is Nan our m ai d;I a m the do g — no the do g

, ,
is hi ms e l f an d I am the do g
, O the do g is m e an d ,
-
, ,
I am mys e l f ;ay s o s o N o w c o m e I to my father ;

, ,
.
Father your bl e ss ing ;no w shou l d no t the shoe s peak

,
1 74 T HE FOOL S OF SHAKESPEARE
a w or d fo r w eepi ng ; no w shou l d I ki ss my father ;
w e ll he w eeps on —n o w com e I to my mother ( O
, , ,
that she coul d s peak no w l ike a w ood w oma n ) , .
w e ll I ki ss he r ; w hy the re t is ;here s my m other s

, ,
’ ’ ’
b reath up and dow n ;no w com e I to my s i ster ;mark

the m oan s he m ake s : no w the do g a ll thi s w hi l e s he ds
n o t a tear n o r s peak s a w or d;b ut s e e ho w I l ay the
,
du s t w ith my tear s .
The mi s u s e of the wor ds p ro di giou s and

”
perp lexity has a mo s t familiar s oun d and ma y ,
be rea dil y recognize d as a favorite come dy device

o f the poe t to p rovi de humor f or his clown s an d
,
serving men -
.
In an intere s tin g work b y Dr A O K ellogg . . .

,
o fthe S tate Lunatic Asy lum at U tica New York , , ,
“
entitle d S hake s p eare s Delineations o f Insanit y
’
,
Imbecili ty and Suici de that di s tin gu ishe d alien

,
”
,
ist places Launce among the imbeciles an d by ,
way of preface to an able anal y sis O f the char

acter in which i s inclu de d Crab the con s tant com
, ,
p anion o f the boy he makes the

, followin g con
crete s ummary
A n othe r sh ade of m e ntal obtu s e ne ss and i mb eci l ity
ha s be en exhi b ite d by the poet in the character Of
have be fore all u de d in this article as wel l as to ,
the s ame pra c ti c e by similar chara c ters in previous

chapters I a gain quote Dr K ellogg
, .
H is hum orou s punni ng and pl ay u pon wor ds is a ls o

quite characteri stic an d s hows that thi s facu lty m ay
,
be po ss e ss e d in q uite an e m i nent deg ree by thos e of

very inferior m enta l c al i b er l ike L aunce
,
.
H o w c ompletel y S hake s peare realize d this con s
dition i s evi den c e d not onl y by the countr y men

,
an d clowns in his come die s but al s o b y the char

,
ac te rs o f inferior rank an d humble s tation in his

“ ”
tra ge die s : notabl y P eter in R omeo and Juliet
, ,
“
“ ”
the Citizen s in Jul ius C ae sar ;the Grave di gger s
,
-
,
“ ” “
in H am let ; and th e drunker P orter in Mac ,
beth .
“
The T wo Gentlemen o f Verona i s u n fo rtu
matel y s el dom presente d on the s ta ge but Mr , .
A u gu s tin Daly ma de a pro duction of the come dy

in his series of Shake s pearean revivals at Dal y s ’
Theater New York some years ago Mr

, , . .
James Lewis p la y e d Launce and while I c a nnot

,
recall the entire performan c e in detail I distinctly ,
remember his first appearance o n the s cene H e .

LAU NC E A N D SPEE D 177
came upon the s tage slowly wi th an expression

,
o f extreme di s g us t on his fa c e lea din g his do g

,
Crab b y a c or d The property man who had

.
procure d the do g for the pro duction had been

mos t fortunate in his s election fo r a more c o m
,
“ ”
p le te s pecimen of a lo w down-
c u r I never s aw .
It woul d have puzzle d the most experien c e d do g

f ancie r to name his bree d o r trace his ancestry .
Most animals when they appear upon the stage

, ,
become f ri ghtene d b y the gl are of the f ootli gh ts ,
and startle d by any appl ause that may c ome f rom
the au dience but this do g th at playe d Crab was

,
absolutely oblivious to hi s surroun din gs Crab .
re c eive d even a more c or dial greeting than his

popul ar master but while th e latter a c knowle dge d
,
the compliment g race full y the do g looke d on with

,
complete in difference as i f the entire proc ee din gs

bore d him Launce began his firs t speech whi ch
.
,
inclu de d a mil d reproach o f Crab s la c k o f sym ’
path y but it ma de no impres s ion o n the cur : he

,
thef i le d the do
g to the base of a statue or foun ,
tain on the s cene seate d him s el f o n the steps

, ,
the c u r by his si de and ena c te d the domesti c s c ene

,
de sc ribe d inthe text with a droll humor that the
au dien c e foun d i rre s i s tible but i t had no effe c t ,
on Crab who sat upon his haunche s looke d at

, ,
Mr Lewi s manipul ation of the shoes an d lis

.
’
tene d to his detaile d des c ription of the partin g o f

the family of the Launces as i f like Baron Grog , ,
“ ”
in The Gran d Du c hess he had always been ,
“
tau ght to observe an impassive countenan c e .
I regret that I cannot remember more of the

per forman c e o f Mr Lewis fo r everythin g he did
.
,
was worthy of memory : but the pi c ture o f the

do g Crab i s in delibly impresse d o n m y min d an d
, , ,
the memory of that frowsy cur that was such an

appropriate companion to his ma s ter temp ts me ,
ag ain to quote Dr Kellogg : .
N ext to the hu man a ssociate s who m a m an take s

i nto his confi den ce nothi ng s ee ms to furni s h a m ore
,
correct i n dex to his character than the s pecie s o f the

cani n e race which he s e l ect s a s his com pan ion s T he .
g r im l ooking fi ghti ng b u ll dog is found at the hee ls

-
,
o f the bu lly an d p ri e — fig hte r T he di g ni fi e d m a s ti f

z . f
an d ge nt l e m an ly N e w fou n dl an d g u ar d the ,
state ly b anker T he gaunt hound is fou nd in the train

.
o f the active vi g orou s fo x hunti ng squire The

, ,
-
.
p oo d l e or s panie l is the co mb e d w a s he d a nd , ,
Spe e d What thou s ay e s t ?
.
L au n c e A y an d w hat I do too : l o o k thee I ll b ut

’
.
, ,
l ean an d my sta ff u n der s tan ds m e

, .
Spe e d I t s tan ds u n der thee in dee d

.
, .
L aun c e W hy stan d un der an d un der stan d is all

.
,
- -
o ne .
In th e firs t s c ene of ac t thir d a new phase o f

the chara c ter of Launce is develope d H e is in .
love W e have hi s o wn a dmi ss ion o f the fact

.
,
“
wi th the a dden da : But a team of hors e s hall
not pluc k that f rom me ;not who tis I love and ’
,
yet tis a woman : but what woman I will not tell

’
,
”
mysel f ; and yet tis a milkmai d Launce does
’
.
not give us his reasons fo r the s ecre cy that he so

in geniou s ly ne gatives and we mi ght attribute it ,
to th e ba s hful mo desty of a lover but this is ag ain ,
negative d b y his sub s equent interview with

S pee d The nam e of the la dy i s wi thhel d but
.
,
“
we are f rankl y in forme d of The cate lo g o f her -
c on ditions Launce is a man Ofmetho d an d has

.
’7
carefull y c ollate d both the virtues and vices of the

l a dy and se t them down in a s ort o f debtoran d
,
cre ditor arrangement whi ch he n o t only c are fully ,
c onsi ders himsel f but on a convenient o ppo rtu ,

n itysubmits to the j u dgment o f his f riend S pee d ,
reservin g however the privile ge o f ma kin g the

, ,
final deci s ion him s el f .
The merits of the la dy are se t down somewhat

as follows
She c an fetch and ca rry .
She c an m i l k .
She b re ws g oo d ale .
She c an se w
.
She c an knit .
She c an w a s h an d s cour .
She c an s pin .
She hath m any na m e l e ss virtue s .
An d her demeri ts
She is no t to be ki ss e d fa sti ng .
She hath a sw eet m outh .
She doth ta l k in he r sl eep .
She is sl o w in w or ds .
She is prou d .
She hath n o teeth .
She is cur s t .
She wi ll often prai s e he r l i quor .
She is l i b eral .
She h ath m ore h air than wit an d m ore fau l t s than ,
irs and more w ea l th than fau l t s

, .
O ne c an easily imagine the s apient and j u dicial
ai r ass ume d b y Laun c e as Spee d rea ds the cate
,
“
”
lo g to him ;but I shrew dl y suspect th at the de c i
sion of the j u dge had been made befo re the trial
be g an or the evi dence was presente d The
, .
vi rtues he appre c iate s at thei r p ractical value ,
the vi c e s he in geniou s ly transforms into virtue s ,
and like man y in real li fe o f f ar g reater s oci al
an d intellectual preten s ion s , finally permits the

pos s e ss ion o f mone y to be the deci din g factor
in his choice W ith Launce wealth appears
.
,
to have been a c loak whos e ample fol ds are

su flic ie n t to cover a multitu de o f vices fo r ,
“ ”
thou gh she have more f aults than hairs her
“
wealth was all powerful to make the faults
g ra c ious . I am ver y much incline
, d however,
to think that the a f fectation of pru den c e was an

other o f the practi c al j e s t s of this exuberant y outh
with his frien d Sp ee d; that he himsel f con c octe d
”
the c ate lo g and the entire matter had its exi s t
-
,
ence only in the vivi d and picturesque imagina

tion o f o u r frien d L aunce ;for later we learn that
the bo y has voluntarily taken upon himsel f both
1 84 T H E FOO L S OF S HAKESP EARE
u nion mi ght avert man y an unhappy marriage
, ,
an d c onsi derably diminish the c on ge s tion in our
c ourts o f law .
The brief dialogue c on c lu ding the s c ene bears

o u t the above su gge s tion Spee d whos e name by
.
,
the way appears to be a misnomer is waite d for ,
b y his master at the north gate o f the city .
Laun c e kn ow s this an d out o f s heer mischie f as

, ,
he inferenti ally a dmits is detainin g him This

,
.
woul d seem to in di c ate that the milkmai d with

“ ”
her c ate lo g of c on ditions is pure imagination
-
o n the part o f Launce and his apparent in de

,
c isio n a mere d evi c e to detain the alrea dy dilatory

Spee d The solo and exit spee c h o f Laun c e o n
.
the hasty departure o f Spee d a c centuates the ,
“
view : Now will he be s wing d for rea din g m y ’
letter An unmannerly slave that will thrus t

.
,
himsel f into se c rets I l l after to rej oice in the

.
’
”
bo y s c orre c tion
’
.
S cene 4 of Ac t 4 in the come dy brin gs the c har

actor o f Launce to it s conclusion Crab seem s .
to be as in c orri g ible as impenitent and Launce ,
entertains us wi th a most divertin g ac c ount of the

dog s mis dee ds an d h i s own sel f sac rific e in the

’
-
c ur s behal f T o appreciate thorou ghly the

’
.
humor of the scene I c ommen d the rea der to a,
full peru s al o f the same in the play itsel f .
By the i rony o f fate Crab seems to be the fa c ,
tor ln his master s un doin g Launce has been

’
.
c ommis s ione d by his master S i r P roteus to de , ,
“ ”
l iver a little j ewel o f a do g to Mistre s s Syl via
as a present Laun c e loses the little j ewel and
.
,
in thi s dilemma substi tutes his o wn do g Crab .
The la dy in di gnantly rej e c ts su c h a present and ,
ret u rns a most sarcasti c response to the a dvan c es

o f the amorous S ir P roteus whose an ger on learn ,
ing the details o f the a dvent u re may be be tter

imagine d than des c ribe d .
The expl anation of Laun c e is c harac teris tic o f

the boy while his h u mor love of mis c hief and
, , ,
“ ”
his o ld vice o f punnin g is sustaine d to the l ast .
P ro . Where have y ou b een the s e t w o days l oiter

ing ?
L aun c e . M arr y , s ir, I carrie d M i stre ss Syl via the
do g you b ade me .
P ro . A n d w hat s ays she to my l itt l e j e w e l ?

L au nce . M arry , she s ays y our do g w a s a c ur
, ,
and
te lls y ou curri sh thank s is good enough fo r s uch a
,
p re s e nt.
P ro
. B ut she receive d my do g ?
L au nc e N o in dee d did s he no t : here have I
.
, ,
b rou ght him back ag ain .
P ro
. What di ds t thou o ffer he r thi s fro m m e ?
,
L au nce A y s ir ; the other sq uirre l was s t o l e n

.
,
fro m m e by the hangman s b oys in the market place :

’
-
and then I o f fere d he r m i ne o wn w ho is a do g a s big ,
a s ten of y our s an d therefore the g ift the g reate r

, .
P oor Laun c e narrowly e sc apes the whi p at the

han ds o f hi s outrage d master and is an g rily dis ,
mi ss e d f rom his pre s ence The future o f the bo y .
is left to o u r c onj ecture D id he los e his place ?.
D id his mas ter re s tore him to favor ? an d did he

we d the la dy who s e qualifications were the S o urce
of so much c areful c alculation ? The author
doe s not tell us Let u s however exp re ss the
.
, ,
hope that an in dul gent master forgave the ex

uberant humor of hi s y outh ful servant and per ,
mit re d Launce an d hi s do g Crab with po ss ibly ,
the la dy Launce ha s chosen to share in hi s o wn ,
felicit y so c ompletel y expre s se d in the con c lu ding

“
line s of the come dy One fea s t one hou s e one
, , ,
mutual happiness .
1 88 TH E FOO L S OF S HAKESP EARE
u tter an c e come fr om the l o v i ng heart of o ne Whos e
af fe c t io n time has t ri ed and foun d sterl ing .
“ ”
His mas te r call
s him B o y b u t that i s fr o m
,
c us tom r ather th an f a c t ;in the sam e se n se th at a
negro se rv an t i n the Sou th is cal l ed a bo y till

“ ”
he d i es of Old age .
H e has been a long tim e in the se r v ic e o ft he

'
'
his tr ain , and

is im pa ti ent o f his abs en c e ;fo r aft er "
repeatedly c al l i ng for him w i th ou t reply he ,
abruptly dem ands : Bu t yz he rg l my

“
”
have not seen him two days .
I pi F ool as a y ou n g o ld m an -
,
o l d as the king of c ou rs e ; sp are o f b o dy

,
"
hom el y fea tu res w e ak in f rame b u t sh r e wd

,
o f
.
11111192 2 gen tle he ar t full o f

,
kindn ess andco ns i de r atio n at

TH E FOO L IN KIN G L EAR 1 89
b arbar i c maste r ; see i ng w i th s ilent co n c e rn th?

g rad u al de c ay of a power fu l pe rs on ali ty ;app alled
by the mad ki ng s d i sp o s i ti on o f his kingd
’
fl '
imp ot ent t o save bu t ste ad fas t t o so oth e

'
s u bse qu ent s orro w and r em orse of h i s del u de

:
I“
I
m as te r .
(Sdm e of the r e c ent comm en tat o rs hav e fou nd
so m u ch lov e and tenderness In the FOO1 f o r th e
king as t o be almos t filial; a ndh av e advan c ed the

.
theo r that C o rdel i a an d th e f o o l are o ne an d the

y fl
s am e person T h i s v i e w I d o n o t th in k i§ j u sti
.
\
fi e d ei ther by the l angu age o r c ond i tio ns

,
T he .
only p assage i n the pl ay th at a ffo rds any au th o r

i5y far the theo ry i s found i n the las t s c ene
_
Lea r enters c a rry i ng the b o dy of C or del i a in

,
h i s arms H e l ays i t u p o n the gro und and as

.
,
he ben ds o ve r the l ifeless fo rm of h i s dau ghte r ,
he u tte rs in his gr i e f a n umbe r of bro k en phras es ,
“
among them the wo r ds : A n d my p oo r f oo l i s
anged Th is m ay re fer t o Cor deli a f or
h .
,
Shakespeare f re qu ently u ses the words “

p oo r,
fo o l as a term o f en de drm en t b u t I am Of the

”
, ,
opi ni on t hey hav e a l i teral meaning T he

. .
1 90 TH E FOO L S OF S HAK E SP EARE
en em i es o f the ki ng kn o w i ng the l o yal ty and af

,
fectio n ate devotio n o f the Fo o l fo r his m aste r .

.
h av e h anged h i m ; add i ng ano the r s or r o w t o the

o v e r b ur dened hea r t of the gr i e f s tr ick e n ki ng
- -
.
In r ep r esen ti n g the pl ay I have al w ays h ad the

,
Fogl p resen t i n the open i ng s c ene a s i lent 5 900 ;

n ,
tat or of the d i sp o s i tio n o f the real m by the age d

king w hi ch seem t o me co ns i st ent w i th the s u b
,
s
s e qu en t di al o gu e .
I d ir e c ted h i m to ru n upon the s c en e f oll o w i n g

the en tr an c e of the king and his c o u rtp bu t be fore
the begi nni ng of the d i alo gue and wi th a merry ,
sal u tat io n to h i s maste r t o throw himsel f d o wn

at the foo t o f the throne I i nst ructed him to
.
wat ch eve ry m o ti o n, t o l i st en in tently to eve ry

w or d and by f aci al express i on s i l ently but elo
,
qu ently t o refle c t h i s emo tio ns as the ac tio n of the

sc en e p r oc eeded . Fi rst s u rp r i s e at the k ing s d i
,
r
’
v i s io n of the realm awe at the t e rr i bl e p ass i on o f

,
his age d mas te r cons tern atio n at the d i sm i ss al o f

,
Kent andh o rror at the denun c i at io n an d ban i sh

,
men t of Cordeli a Th i s b u s i n ess toge ther w i th

.
,
h i s h ardly supp ress ed ges tu res o f p rot es t and ap

1 92 THE FOO L S OF S H A KE S PEAR E
ing o ne s part th at s ou t of f av or N ay and tho u

’ ’
.
,
c ans t n o t sd f ihg w
'
i n d s i ts th ou l t c at ch c ol d ,
’
sh ortly : thkf é ta k e my co x comb W hy th i s fel

“
, .
,
l o w has banish dtwo of his dau ghte rs and d i d the

’
,
third abless i ng againsL h is w i ll ; i f th ou f oll o w

°
h im tho u m us t needs wear my co x co mb Eif

,
”
.
,
.
T he s c en e th at f oll o ws i s f ul l o f the de epest

si gn i fi c anc e T he c on tr as t between the gradually
.
,
in cr eas ing anger of the king th at cu lm i nates i n ,
the te rri ble curs e h u rled o n h i s daughter Goner i l

-
igen t wit o f the Foo l who , whileh e is

"
and the p u r , ,
u ns aring w ith the lash Of k eenes t satire so f tens

p
-
w fi
,
ea ch bl o w wim ig pg@ise d l i nes of h u mo r and

_ ,
snat ches o f song ( thems el ves the very quintes

‘
s en c e o f s at ire) i s m o st g gilging E pi gr ams ea ch

“
.
,
m o re po i n ted th an i ts p rede c essor f oll o w i n rapi d ,
se qu en c e wh i le the appl ic at i on o f th e c o u pl ets and

,
d o ggerel to the s i tu atio n i s per f e c t an d ye t ,
throu gh i t all th ere i s a ve i led tenderness an in ,
definable sym pa thy that as we l a u gh at the w i t ,
Thes c ene i s so full of wit wis dom and so und .

,
philosoph y phr as e f ol lowing the o ther w i th

,
TH E FOO L IN KIN G L EAR 193
su c h c um u lative pre c ision th at I qu ote i t almost ,
in i ts entirety .
F o o l Ho w no w nuncl e ? Wou l d I had two c o x

.
,
combs and tw o dau ghter s !

,
L e ar . W hy m y boy ? ,
F o o l I f I gave the m all my l iving I d keep my

.
,
’
coxcombs mys e l f ; there s m i ne ; be g another of thy ’
daughter s .
L e ar T ake hee d s irr ah : the w hi p

.
, .
F o o l T ruth s a do g m u st to kenn el ; he m u s t b e
.
’
whipp d out w he n the l ady b rach m ay s t and by the

’
,
Sirrah I ll te ach thee a s peech M ark it

’
fi re
.
, .
nunc l e
H ave m ore than thou sho we st ,
Spe ak l e ss than tho u kn o w e s t ,
L e nd l e ss than thou o w e s t ,
R i de m or e than thou goe s t ,
L earn m or e than tho u tro we st ,
Se t l e ss than thou thro we st ;

A n d thou s h al t have m ore
Than tw o ten s to a s core .
K en t T hi s is nothi ng foo l
.
, .
F o o l The n tis l ik e the b reath of an unfee d l aw

.
’ ’
y er ; y ou g ve m e nothin g fo r t
a C an y ou m ake no ’
.
u s e of nothing nunc l e ? ,
L e ar Why no b oy ;nothi ng c an be ma de out of

.
, ,
nothin g .
F o o l P r thee tell him s o much the r e nt of his l and

.
’
,
co m e s to ;he w ill no t b e l ieve a foo l .

1 94 T HE FOO L S OF S HA KESPEARE
L e ar. b itter fo o l !
A
Fo o l D o s t thou know the di fference my b oy be
.
, ,
t w een a b itter fool and a sw eet one ?

N o lad;teach m e
, .
F o o l That l or d that c o un sell d thee to give a w ay

.
’
thy l and
Com e pl ace him here by m e do thou for ,
him s tan d;
The sw eet and b itter fo o l w i ll pre s ently ap
p ear ;
T he o ne in m ot l ey her e—the other found o ut
there ( po in ting to the King )
. .
L e ar D o s t thou ca ll m e foo l b oy ?
.
,
F o o l A ll thy o ther titl e s thou ha s t given a way ;

.
that thou w a s t b orn w ith N uncl e g ive m e an

.
,
e gg an d I ll g i ve thee two cr o w n s
’
.
,
L e ar .What two crowns s ha ll they be ?

F o o l Why after I have c ut the e g g i the m i ddl e
.
,
’
,
an d e at up the m eat the two cro w n s of the e g g

, .
When thou c lo v est thy crow n i the m i ddl e and gave st ’
a w ay b o th part s thou b ore s t thi n e a ss o n thy b ack

,
o er the dirt : thou ha ds t l itt l e w it in th y ba l d c ro wn

’ ’
w hen thou g aves t th y gol den o ne a w ay .
( sing ing ) Foo ls had ne er l e ss g r ac e in a y e ar

’
Fo r w i s e m en are gro w n foppi s h ;

A nd kn o w no t ho w thei r w it s to w ea r ,
T heir m anner s are s o api s h .
L e ar When wer e yo u wont to be s o fu ll o f s ongs

. ,
s irrah ?
F o o l I have u s ed it nunc l e ever s ince thou m adst
.
, ,
’
1 96 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKE SPEARE
“
expresse d the al l l ic ensed Fool a ccurately s u ms
,
-
”
u p the si tu ati on .
F 0 0 1 T hou w a st a pretty fell ow when thou hadst

.
no nee d to care for he r fro wn i ng ;n o w thou art an 0
w ithout a fi gu re : I am b etter th an thou art no w : I

am a foo l thou art nothin g
, .
Mum m um , ,
Hethat k e e ps no r crus t no r crumb ,
Weary of all s hal l w ant s om e, .
Goner i l s wrath now brea ks fo rth i n a m os t

’
bitter and vi tu pe r ati ve spee c h to her f athe r the ,
i nsolen c e and au da c ity o f whi c h stri kes the o ld

king mom entarily dumb T he F0 0 1 howeve r, is .
,
nei ther surpr i se d nor affrighte d but ex c l aims ,
Fo o l For y ou kn ow nun cl e
.
, ,
The h e dg e s parrow fe d the cuckoo s o l ong

-
,
T hat it s had its h ead bit o fi by it s y o ung

’
.
W ith co ns umm ate art the p oet has g rad u ally ,
el i m i nate d the h um o r and s a ti re as the tragi c pas

s i on o f the sit u ation in c reas es ;b u t he has rese rve d
o ne line to the FOO1 that to me is aw fu l in its
sign ifi c an c e and co nnotes lim i tless po ssibil i ties o f
,
.
th ought an d c onj e c tu re Lear appalle

. d at the ,
au dac ity and dis respe c t o f his da ughter doubts ,

THE FOO L IN K IN G L EAR 1 97
the eviden c e o f his eyes and h i s ears his pers o n

,
“
ali ty his very existen c e ; and ex c l aims : Does
,
an y here know me ? W h o i s i t th at c an tell me

”
who I am ?
(
T o whi c h the FOO1 replies : Lear s sha do w?
’
The words seem to c arry c orroboration with

th e m;for instead of the powerful monar c h wh ose
I
Wi ll was l aw and word a c om mand we see be fore

, ,
which
n o th i ng but a sha dow ; real iz in g b u t t o o 1
fatal error that robbe dhim o f the power he is no w
impotent to regai S ometh ing however of his
p)
.
, ,
o ld sel f retu rns a s ins u l ts a ccu mul ate on his rev
e re nd hea d; the limit o f even p aternal enduran c e
is reache d and the o u trage d father hurls on the

,
hea d o f his th an kless chil d a cu rse the terrifi c

,
for c e o f which i s probably u ne quale din li te ratu re ;

and leaves her .
Goneril orders the F0 0 1 to follow h i m : You ,
sir more kn ave th an fool a f ter your master

, , .
T he F0 0 1 obe y s leavin g however his c ompl i

, , ,
me nts beh in d him .

198 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKE S PEARE
A fox when one ha s caug ht her
, ,
A nd s uch a dau ght e r ,
Shou l d s ure to the slaughte r ,
I f m y c ap w oul d b uy a ha lter ;
So the foo l fo ll o ws after .
Loy ally the f ai th fu l Fo ol f oll o ws h i s mas ter ;

w i th ten der s o l ici tu de he str i ves by q uip an d , u ‘
qu ai nt reply to di vert the r emn an t of the poor

,
k in g s m ind f r o m the deep grie f that e nv elo ps it

’
,
“
and by folly lab o rs t o ou tj es t his hea rt strook -
i nj u r i es
. The e f fort however is but part i ally
, ,
su cc ess fu l ; the deep so r row beneath absorbs the

rippling l au ghter on the sur f a c e and di ssolves it
i nto tears fi rth] .
H ow pathetic are the ste a df as t e Eo rts of

F 0 0 1 to c hange the cu rren t of the o ld k in g ’
thoughts and dull the c onstan tly re c urring mem

,
o ries of his wrongs As o ne w i tty su gges

.
f ai ls to hol d his attenti on the F0 0 1 flits t o

,
o ther ; a jes t a ri ddle a p u n anyth ing that

, , ,
st ifle th e iso b h o l d ba ck the tear

, or deaden ,
memo ry Not folly fo r f ol ly s sa k e b u t to ai

.
’
,
the p ain of a brea kin g heart T h is Is .
brought in t o su ch c los e rel atio n wi th

z oo T HE FOO L S OF SHA KES PEAR E
B ut the
F oo l ch anges the cu rren t of h i s
th ou ghts by an o th e r qu es t i on
Fo o l . Can s t te l l ho w an oys te r m ak es his s h ell ?

L e ar . No .
F0 0 1 . No r I neither : but I can te ll why a sn ai l has

a hous e .
L e ar Why?
.
F 0 0 1 Why to put hi s hea d in ;no t to give it away

.
,
to his dau ghter s and l eave hi s horn s without a cas e

, .
A gai n the me mory o f h i s gri e f t e tu m s , an d
g in
a a the F0 0 1 p rov i des a d i vers io n :
L e ar I w i ll fo rg et my natu re —So kind a f ath e r !
—B e my h o r s es ready ?
. .
F o o l Thy ass e s are gone ab out e m The r eas o n

.
’
.
w hy the s eve n star s are no m or e th an s ev en is a p r etty

r ea s on .
L e ar B ec au s e th e y are n o t e ight ?
.
F o o l Y es in de e d; thou w ou l ds t m ak e a g oo d
.
,
fo o l .
Ho wev er Lea r m i ght h av e a ppre ci a ted his t
d ou bt ful compl i ment i n h i s no rm al mental c on

,
d i tio n i t i s lost on him n o w an d h is thou gh ts are

, ,
o n c e m or e o n his w ro ngs '
L e ar . To tak t ’
i
aga n per for c e l—Mon ster i ngrati
tu de !
“
F OOL IN KIN G LE A R
"
THE
’
20 1
On c e m o re the F0 0 1 r e c al ls h i m f r omh ims el f

Fo o l I f tho u w e rt m y fool nunc l e I d hav e thee
.
, ,
’
b eaten for b eing o ld b efore th y ti m e

—
_ .
L ear How s thaw

’ “t "
.
Fo o l Thou shoul dst not hav e b een o ld ti ll thou

.
hads t b een Wi s e .
The ho rses are n o w br o ught o ut an d the ki ng , ,
w i th the Foo l and h i s r e duc ed tra i n o f fi fty fo l

,
—
l owe rs start o n the i r j ourney
‘
Wi th u nti ring devotio n the F0 0 1 fo l lows the

wander i ng way o f the k i ng hover i ng near h i s s i de
,
an d lighten i ng the j o urney w i th j est an d s o ng d i ,
verti ng h i s old mas ter s mind f rom i ts heavy sor

’
ro w by n u mberles s dev ic es ti ll they rea c h the

,
c as tl e o f where R eg an the king s ,

’
se c ond dau ghter and her h u sb and th e Du ke o f

, ,
C o rnw all are v is i tors

, .
T h ou gh the ki ng s v i s i t i s not u nexpe c te d the

’
,
gates are c losed n o preparat io n i s made for his

,
r e c eptio n and his arr i val i s u nheral de d Hi s

, .
messenger the dis gui sed Ken t whom he had sent

,
-
be fo r e t o annou n c e his com i ng i s set i n the sto cks ,
be for e the ent r an c e t o the c as tle ; a degradatio n

20 2 TH E FOO L S OF SHAKESP E AR E
an d p u n i shm en t re serv ed o nly for th e bas es t o f -
m en .The F0 0 1 is the fi rst t o o b se r v e thi s an d

-
,
i
r eal izi n g a t o n ce the ou trage o n the dignity of the
-
king by the of his me ssenge r end eav o rs~

,
to dw
arf the a ffro n t by t u rn i ng it t o fo l l y:
Fo o l . H a ha ;he wear s c ru e l garter s ! H o rs es are

,
ti e d by the he ad;do gs and b ears by the ne c k ;m o n

k eys bythe l oin s ;andm en by the l egs ;when a m an is
“
ov e r l u s ty at legs the n he w ear s wooden n ethe r stock s

- -
.
B u t the i nsu l t i s
t oo app arent the ou tr age t oo ,
flagr ant t o be o verl ook ed ; th e kin g demands an

,
expl anat i on f r om hi s serv an t wh ic h be i ng gi v en , ,
i ndi c ates fu rthei i ndi gn i ties and p r o v o k es f r ow

‘ n
,
th e FOO1 the fo llo win

g égge re fle c tions
$ 30 1 . Winter s
- J
: that
-
’
no t
‘
way
-
g
.
on e Yet ; if the wild gee s e fly
Fathe r s that wear r ag s do m ak e thei r chi l

d
dr en bl in d;
a n
M athe w th at b ear b ags shall see their

‘ ‘
childr en kind .
L e ar, omm anding his tr ain t o r em ai n w i th ou t

c
stle t o se ek h i s da u ghte r K ent still

en t e rs the c a .
,
in the s t o c ks n o ting the red uc ed n umbe r of

,
the
king s ’
at ten d an ts as ks : -t
T HE FOO L S OF SHAKESP EA RE
A n d l eave thee in the s torm .
B ut I w ill tarry ;the fool will stay ,
A n d le t the w i s e m an fly:
T he knav e turn s foo l that run s away ;
The foo l no k nave per dy , .
T ak ethe above phrase by phrase note its ap

, ,
pli c ati on and si gnifi c ance ;the b i tter refle c tions o f

the FOO1 on the disloyal ty o f the king s former ’
f rien ds ; the doubts o f his present foll o wers ; the

tm isms o f wis dom an d f olly ; the more than sug
gesti on o f kn ave ry ; an d the de c lar ation o f his
own devotion th at in another mi ght appear ego
,
tistic ally effu sive but in the f ool is natural an d

,
sin c ere .
B ut I w ill tarr y ;the foo l w i ll s tay ,
A nd let the w i s e m an fly .
The
reply to K ent s query is c ert ainly tru e
’
.
“
The less on was well learne d but N o t i the
’
,
”
sto cks fo ol
,
.
The F0 0 1 is silen t dur ing the s c ene th at follows ,
an d allows the i n di gnation o f the k in g to hav e
full Sway wi thout interru p ti o n til l p assion gives

,
way to grie f ;this he tries to s tay w i th the j est of

THE FOO L IN KIN G L EA R 20 5
the cockney and the eels and the butter d hay b u t ’

,
the great floo d o f an outrage d f ather s wra th is ’
beyon d his power t o stem A westri ck en and .
dumb he stan ds i mpotently wat chin g the stu rdy

,
de fense of his aged mas ter aga ins t the c ombine d

atta c k of his u nnat u ral dau ghters P owerless to .
'
shiel d him f rom a s ingle blow he sees h i s ,
strength wanin g an d his reason totter ti l l the

, ,
limit o f human en duran c e is rea che d and the o ld ,
man exhauste d in min d and body f alls into the

, ,
arms o f his h u mble f rien d with the agon i zing c ry ,

.
”
“
O fool I shall go m ad!
, ,
“
The gates li ke the hearts o f h i s perni c io u s
,
”
dau ghters are c losed agains t him ; ni ght falls
, ,
“
and the sto rm desc en ds The f ret ful elements
.
” “
c onten d , the to an d f ro c onflic ting w in d and
- -
”
rain stru ggle fo r suprema c y an d vent their fu ry
, ,
on the earth .
a
The FOO1 is not c onsistent ;he ha s not ta k en his

“
own a dvi c e to Let go thine when a great
”
wheel runs down a hill but c ,
in g an d rev o lv ing dis k as i t rolls to destructi on :

The rain dren c hes him to the s kin the wind ,
20 6 THE FOO LS OF S HAKESPEAR E
'
ch i lls his bl o od to ic e and the flash ing fire and ,
roll ing th under fil l his heart wi th fear ; but the

co mb ined fu ry o f the elemen ts c ann o t drive him
f r o m his m as ter s Side o r sha k e the loyal ty of h i s
’
O
,
love P a ti ently he fo ll o ws the aim less foo tsteps

.
o f the di stra c te d ki ng c l i nging to h is drippin g ,
garmen ts an d first by su ggestion and then ap

, ,
peal endeavo rs to gu ide the grie f stri ck en old m an

,
-
t o shelter . I
F0 0 1 O nunc l e court ho ly water in a dry hous e

.
,
-
b etter than thi s rain w ater out 0 door G oo d nuncl

-
’
.
in ; a s k thy dau g hter s bl e ss i ng ;here s a ni ght piti

’ ’
neither wi s e m en no r fools .
Yet b o th are abroa d exposed t o i ts impe tu o u ,
bl as ts .
H ow wel l ou r p o et knew th at gontras t was fi
and is the very essen c e o f the dram a ; and

,
stri kingly the co ntras ts o f li f e are h ere presente

Great natu re in the maj esty of i ts wrath we al ,
h um anity at i ts mer cy ! T he deep philos ophy 0

a child c h anged f a ther
-
,
motley c lown
and yet these
20 8 T HE FOOL S OF SHA KESP EARE
some shelter and the fo o l andt he

, “ a m M M
fl
x
kn av e le adhim
fl ‘
u nresisting ly to the hovel .
The our nece ss itie s is s trang e

art o f ,
That c an m ake vi l e thi ng s preciou s .
F oul straw that has be dde d c attle is the pallet

o f a king an d his ch amber a hovel that a swine
,
herd wo u ld despise ;yet the royalty o f his natu re

reigns within his heart and reg al gra c e sti ll shines ,
about him In his great extremity the fi deli ty o f

.
his f rien ds is not forgotten ; nothin g c oul d be

more ten der th an his g ra c ious a c knowle dgment o f
his love and apprec iation ere he see ks the humble ,
shelter they h ave foun d for him

P oor foo l and knave I have , o ne pa rt in my heart
T hat s s or ry yet for thee
’
.
O h ! f ai th ful F0 0 1 ! unselfish f r i end ! thou

/
p e e dst no t the s u nli ght o f f ort u ne to develop thy
’
love ;sto rms may f ri ght thee ; c ol d may c hill thy

blood ; and fear inv ade thy heart but thou art
f
,
stea dfas t .
The elements them selves appr o ve thy fidelity ,
and abate their fury for the s torm grows less ,

TH E FOO L IN KIN G LEAR 2 59
severe ; and above the so u ghing of th e w in d the
sweet melody o f thy gen tle s o ng in fe c ted w i th thy
,
tears fills the air wi th the so f t tran qu illity o f a

mothe r s lull aby an d soothes the vexed sp i r i t of
’
,
thy m u ch loved mas te r .
H e that ha s
l ittl e tiny w it
an d a ,
With hey ho the w in d and the r ain

, , ,
Mus t mak e c o nt ent with his fortun e s fi t ,
T ho ugh the rain it rain eth ev ery day .
H ow tru e t o na tu re is the reaction The ki ng .
is sheltere d at leas t f or a tim e ;fo r hims el f o r his

,
o wn c ase the FOO1 has no thought so the keen,
e dge o f his wit is directe d to the worl d and its

inj usti c es H OW bi tterly cynical his arrai gnment
.
o f fort une an in dic tmen t that in i ts qu ali ty is so

,
c omprehensive an d p rophe ti c it woul d seem as i f

,
the poet s vision had p i er c ed the vei l o f time and

’
,
name d the wron gs and c orru ptions o f the present
The F0 0 1 is alone and his thou ghts are

press e d in the nature o f a soliloq uy
I ll speak a p ro ph e cy e re I g o :
’
When prie s t s are mor e in w or d than m atter ;

2 10 T HE FOO L S OF SHAKE SPEA RE
When b r ew ers mar their malt with w at er ;
When nobl e s are th eir tailors tut o r s ; ’
N o her etic s b u ru d but w en che s suitor s ;

’
,
’
Wh en e ve ry c as e in law i s right ;
NO squire in deb t no r n o poor knight
,
When sl an de r s do no t l iv e in tong ue s ;
N or cutpur s e s com e not to throng s ;
When us urer s tell the i r g o l d i the fi eld ’
A n d b a w ds an d wanton s churche s b uil d

Then sha ll the r ealm Of A lb ion
Come to great confu sion
Th en c o m es the tim e who l ives to se e t
,
’
,
T hat goin g shall be us d with f e e t ’

.
J L E
IL bsfi lfi fl i EhEL
s thsj hw e iM he firsp
- —
s o l i loqu y of the FOO1 i n o the r words the firs t
, ,
ti me th a t be ing alone he h as spo k en his thg ughts

, ,
that we might kno wt hem .
As a r ule I h ave fo u nd in S h ak espear e the fi rs t

,
soliloqu y to be the k eyn ote t o the c hara c ter ;b u t

I think the p res en t inst an c e i s an ex c ep tio n The .
shrewd satire of the p ar abol ic al epigr ams that the
F0 0 1 has u ttered wi th s o m uc h deli ber ati o n w ou l d

indic ate a w o rldly w is dom and ém
! i f"
”
bittere d sa r
‘ ’
his distinglnshin g hr and whi ch se ems

'
c a ac t e r i s ti c ,
2 12 TH E FOO L S OF SHAKESPEA R E
in dee d diffic ult to determi ne who is s ane an d who ,
is n o t and the de c lara ti on o f the Foo l seems to

,
be apt and appropriate “

H e s m ad that trus ts .
’
in the tameness o f a wol f a horse s healt h, a boy s

’ ’
,
”
lov e or a wanton s oath ’
—
.
,
wm “w “ - w ‘
:
T he c ompos i tion Of the c ou rt o f j u sti c e in the ,
o ld f armho us e of a serving man a beggar and

, , ,
a F oo l o n the ben ch co mmi ssmne d by a m ad k ing

,
“
ito try i ma ginary O f fen ders fo rms a most honor ,
”
able as sembly and is indee d a gr i m sati re o n the
,
a dm i nistration o f j usti c e .
It may be observe d that whi le S hakespeare has

,
treate d the Chie f J ustic e in H en ry IV and the

m
,
higher j u dges i f so I may term the in his sev

,
eral pl ays w i th respe c t and dignity he i s very

, ,
severe o n the ignoran c e an d arroga nc e o f the petty

f
j usti c es an d loc al m agistrates H o w f ar this
m ay be du e to his o wn expe r
’
ien c e wi th several
W arwi ckshire j us ti c es whom i t is sai d he
,
be c ame somewhat tly f amil i ar in his
yo u th an d ag ains t whom he appe ars to have t e

,
.
t aine d some re e ntment all his li f e I ain not pre

s ,
p ared to say;
T HE FOO L IN K ING L E AR 2 13
The long l o n g day o f sorrow pain an d su ffer

, ,
“ ”
in g c omes to an e n d at l as t Oppresse d natu re .
“
has rea che d the lim it o f i ts en dur an c e her fos ter ,
” “ ”
n u rse repose has c losed the eye o f angu ish
, , ,
“
an d c ompass i onate sleep the balm o f hurt ,
min ds br ings oblivion fo r a time at leas t

”
, , .
T h e k in g f alls asleep his c lou de d m i nd mur

‘
F ,
“ ”
m u r i ng W e ll go to s u pper i the morning and
,
’ ’
,
the faith fu l F0 0 1 his limbs ben umbe d with c ol d

, ,
his eyes wearie d wi th watchin g an d his heart

“
heavy wi th grie f respon ds An d I ll go to be d , ,
’
at
rThese are the l ast lines spoke n b y the FOO1 the
l itter to c arry the kin g to a pl a c e o f sa fety is pre

p ared ;t he FOO1 at Kent s c omm an d assists the
,
’
,
o thers to bear away his sleepin g mas ter and is ,

’
seen no more i No furthe r re feren c e is ma de to

.
him and we are le f t in i gnoran c e o f his fate if

,
we ex c ept a brie f passa ge spoken by the kin g in

"
the last s c ene of the trage dy : An d my poo r fool
”
is han ge d .
Commentators as I have said diffe r as to the ,

,
appli c ation O f these wor ds 3Some c laim that .

’
they re fer t o his dea ddau ghte r Cor delia but I ,
p re fer t o r egard them as i n fo rm ing u s o f the f ate

of the po o r Foo l whose li fe h as been sa c ri fi c ed
,
to ; J
It i s b u t a natu ral c on c lusion and in per fe c t

,
harmony wi th the tragi c in c i dents o f the play .
S u c h l o ve s u ch u ns el fish dev o tio n c ould not sur

,
v i v e i ts obj e c t It was in evi table Li fe w i th

'
. .
’
su c h tragi c m emor i es woul d be imposs i ble to en
dure . No O ne f ate en c o mp asse d them both
. .
The g entle Sp i rit of the f a i th ful f riend h as gone

be fore an d patiently waits fo r the poo r tortu re d
,
so u l o f his loved m as ter to share the pea c e that he

has fo und .
With heig h , e ra in ;
T hou gh the rain it raineth every day ,
Oh the win d the w in d and the rain

,
.
TH E EN D

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TH E FO O L S

m an, l yalf i n d and

in asso c ia tio n w ill: wlwm were

fo un d wo rt/ty in lite fo llo w ing p ag e s .

H ow far the abo ve epi gram may apply to the

Am on g the legion o f books dealing wi th the

j o rity to be d evote d to his trag i c an d serious c rea

In the co u rse o f a leng thy c areer u pon the

o f S hakespeare I have wi tnesse d the per f orman c e

o f these f ools by a cc omplishe d a c tors wh o se s kil l

has illuminate d the text an d whose abili ties have

vitalize d the poet s c reations till they live d in my

min d not as imaginary bein gs but as real men

who wal ke d talke d and gambole d be fore me

I have listene d to their wor ds l aughe d at thei r,

W it pon dere do n thei r wis dom an dhave marveled

th at thei r point and si gniﬁ c an c e have apparently

This must be my ex cu se i f not my j ustiﬁ c ation

for the book .

The matter was the subj ect o f one o f my le c

o f S hake s peare s F ools and in c lu de d in my

however the material so abun dant I c oul d not

in c lu de i t in the limite d time at my c omman d o n

theme enlarge d the s c ope o f the desi gn and

divi de d i t into chapters which I hope will enter

some interest gene rally .

I make n o c l aim to ori ginality an d have e n ,

de av o re d in all in s tances to c re dit the author with

I have f oun d oc casion i n several instan c es to ,

di ffer wi th some of the wel l kn own S hakespearean

wh om and for whom alone the plays were written

I have not entere d the literary disse c ting room nor ,

inva de d th e realm o f p s y c hol o gy T he line o f

demarcation between humor and imbe c ili ty folly ,

and in s anity I leave to the professional alienist

I have taken the characters as they appear in

other chara c ters .

I proc ee d u pon the f act that S hakespeare being ,

an actor wrote these pl a y s to be a c te d That his

purpos e was to c reate or draw the chara c te rs as

ter o f comp arative in di fferen c e to him the cre ,

ation of the plot the c on c eption o f the c hara c

ters and the arran gements o f the in c i dents bein g

hi s ﬁrst i f no t his onl y c onsi deration The beauty

of diction the delicate image ry the exqu isite

poetry and the sublime philo s ophy were the

spontaneou s expression of hi s tran sc en dent but

On g rav e n s to ne, or papyrus le af;

Thro ug h all the e o ns o f the ag es pas t

The n add the s u m, and its g rand to tal

Shak espe are !

T H E CLOW N I N A N TON Y AND CL EO P A T RA

F re derick War de a s Cecco in The

Edw in B ooth a s B e rtuc c io in The Foo l s ’

J am e s L e w i s a s Touch stone in A s You L ike

fool was however exempt upon the prin

inﬂuence was sou ght in many a s tate an d c ourt

o r bitter his sati re few were ra s h enou gh to re tali

ate and woe to that noble or courtier who mi ght

in c ur the enmity o r displeas ure o f the fool for he ,

woul d be c ome the target of hi s wit an d the butt

M imfg o f a j ester was a lonel y o ne : he was

above the boar d hate d below it yet feare d by