Comic Relief in King LearCombining the antics of a circus with the pomp of a royal court is indeed a difficult task. The genius of William Shakespeare came from how he closely linked the two seemingly mutually exclusive realms to appeal to all socio-economic groups in his audience. In King Lear, Edgar's appearance as Tom of Bedlam, Lear's madness, and Lear's Fool provide the comic relief that cuts through the dramatic tension. Of these, Lear's The Fool offers the closest relationship between the two realms of royalty and madness while maintaining their separation. Fools, as I understand them, were kept by kings as entertainment devices before the advent of television. Lear's Fool, however, transcends the role of artist to take on the role of Ann Landers and Jim Davis. What particularly intrigues me are his witticisms and humorous anecdotes that combine foreshadowing, practical advice, humor and characterization in a succinct and metrical dictum. The Fool begins by offering his jester's hat to Kent, saying that if Kent wants to follow Lear, he had better have a fool, insinuating the folly of following Lear. He goes on to say that “if I gave all my possessions to my daughters,” I would have to keep a fat man. The Fool does not hesitate to juxtapose his comment with his declaration that he does not have a “monopoly” on stupidity. The Fool further emphasizes the presence of a "wise man and a fool" without saying who is who, and he criticizes Lear for "being among fools", implying that Lear is usurping the position of the error-prone Fool of judgment and pure stupidity. He tacitly insinuates through his actions and statements that he is in the company of fools, making it seem like the audience needs to know that Lear is losing his mind. The Fool also uses argument by analogy several times. He first tells Lear to a hedge sparrow who was feeding baby cuckoos, who then bit off the sparrow's head. The Fool also associates empty eggshells with Lear and his crown. Shakespeare's unique touch lies in the double meaning of eggshells. The Fool says that Lear ends up with two empty eggshells as a crown, but he also implies that Lear's head is like an empty egg, which is more clearly linked to the comparison of the color of the head of Lear with that of an egg..