Although the Fool may seem strange to us, an Elizabethan audience would have greeted the Fool with great familiarity. The position was a historic one in Shakespeare's time, with the monarch appointing an official court jester (Fool). In conventional drama of the day he was a hold over from morality plays, with his role-becoming classic. His role had established characteristics and responsibilities. Among them the Fool had license to roam the stage and interact with the audience often joking and talking directly to them. He had great popularity with the audience of the time, with his role a bridge between the action on stage and the audience's own experience. Today it may be thought of as 'low comedy', but in its day it was welcomed. Shakespeare exploited the aspect of the Fool to make him a major character in the play as well as a commentator on the action, much the way the chorus functioned in a Greek tragedy.
             King Lear appealed to all socio-economic groups through its characters in Shakespeare's time. The character of the Fool is in the social realms between King Lear's royalty and Poor Tom's poverty, while still maintaining their social divide. This shows the structure of society from royalty to poverty concentrated on by Shakespeare throughout many of his works. Tradition has it that the Fool in an Elizabethan tragedy is the instructor of the wise man. Speaking in riddles, the Fool repeatedly reminds Lear of his folly, which we know to be the truth. The Fool then gives vent to our thoughts and emotions. This means we can't help loving the Fool as Elizabethan audiences did as he represents us, the audience. This is why the audience misses the Fool after Act 3. His honesty, wit and clever wordplay entertain not only Lear but the audience as well, bringing some light and humour into an otherwise tragic play. The notion of the Fool providing comic relief can be difficult to see in the darkness of King...