Twelfth Night - Analysis of Fools A fool can be defined in many meanings according to the Oxford English Dictionary On Historical Principles. The wordcould mean "a silly person", or "one who professionallycounterfeits folly for the entertainment of others, a jester,clown" or "one who has little or no reason or intellect" or"one who is made to appear to be a fool" (word originated fromNorth Frisian). In english literature, the two main ways whichthe fool could enter imaginative literature is that "He couldprovide a topic, a theme for mediation, or he could turn into astock character on the stage, a stylized comic figure". InWilliam Shakespeare's comedy, Twelfth Night, Feste the clown isnot the only fool who is subject to foolery. He and many othercharacters combine their silly acts and wits to invade othercharacters that "evade reality or rather realize a dream", while"our sympathies go out to those". "It is natural that the foolshould be a prominent & attractive figure and make an importantcontribution to the action" in forming the confusion and thehumor in an Elizabethan drama. In Twelfth Night, the clown andthe fools are the ones who combine humor & wit to make the comedywork. Clowns, jesters, and Buffoons are usually regarded as fools. Their differences could be of how they dress, act or portrayed insociety. A clown for example, "was understood to be a country bumpkin or 'cloun'". In Elizabethan usage, the word 'clown' isambiguous "meaning both countryman and principal comedian". Another meaning given to it in the 1600 is "a fool or jester". As for a buffoon, it is defined as "a man whose profession is tomake low jests and antics postures; a clown, jester, fool". The buffoon is a fool because "although he exploits his ownweaknesses instead of being exploited by others....he resemblesother comic fools". This is similar to the definition of a'Jester' who is also known as a "buffoon, or a merry andrew. Onemain...
