Editing Jester (section)

===In fiction===
[[Image:William Dyce - King Lear and the Fool in the Storm.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|''King Lear and the Fool in the Storm'' by [[William Dyce]]]]
The jester can be symbolic of common sense and of honesty, notably in ''[[King Lear]]'', where the court jester is a character used for insight and advice on the part of the monarch, taking advantage of his licence to mock and speak freely to dispense frank observations and highlight the folly of his monarch. This presents a clashing irony as a greater man could dispense the same advice and find himself being detained in the dungeons or even executed. Only as the lowliest member of the court can the jester be the monarch's most useful adviser.

The [[Shakespearean fool]] is a recurring character type in the works of [[William Shakespeare]]. Shakespearean fools are usually clever peasants or commoners that use their wits to outdo people of higher social standing. In this sense, they are very similar to the real [[fool (stock character)|fool]]s, and jesters of the time, but their characteristics are greatly heightened for theatrical effect.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=81oZXMaib6IC&q=gravediggers++hamlet&pg=PA139 |title=The fools of Shakespeare: an ... - Frederick B. Warde - Google Boeken |access-date=2011-12-24|last1=Warde |first1=Frederick B. |year=1913 }}</ref> The "groundlings" (theatre-goers who were too poor to pay for seats and thus stood on the 'ground' in the front by the stage) that frequented the Globe Theatre were more likely to be drawn to these Shakespearean fools. However they were also favoured by the nobility. Most notably, [[Queen Elizabeth I]] was a great admirer of the popular actor who portrayed fools, [[Richard Tarlton]]. For Shakespeare himself, however, actor [[Robert Armin]] may have proved vital to the cultivation of the fool character in his many plays.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foolsforhire.com/info/history.html |title=History of the Fool |publisher=Foolsforhire.com |access-date=2011-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011053002/http://www.foolsforhire.com/info/history.html |archive-date=2008-10-11 }}</ref>