Fools and the Circular Structure of King Lear

Abstract

In King Lear (1606) by William Shakespeare, Lear’s final address to Cordelia as “my poor fool” (5.3.304) has drawn considerable scholarly attention,¹ prompting debate over whether the phrase refers exclusively to Cordelia or to both Cordelia and the Fool.² Yet, little attention has been paid to the fact that the two characters who remain on stage at the end— Albany and Edgar—are themselves “fools.” Albany, husband to Lear’s eldest daughter Goneril, is derided by her as “a moral fool” (4.2.59) for his moral rigidity. Deceived by his illegitimate brother and driven into exile, Edgar endures by adopting the disguise of the mad beggar “Poor Tom,” describing his helplessness with the lament, “Bad is the trade that must play fool to sorrow” (4.1.40). Although Lear’s Fool disappears from the stage after Act 3, Scene 6, his absence paradoxically governs the kingdom through the figures of Albany and Edgar. This paper argues that through the presence of these “fools” who remain at the end, King Lear reveals a structural circularity that extends beyond Lear’s personal tragedy.