Shakespearean fools: Their modern equivalents
Shakespearean fools: Their modern equivalents By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine Shakespeare loved a fool and not just on 1 April. He used them in most of his well-known plays, but who would their equivalents be today? It was never about bright clothes, eccentric hats and slippers with bells on them. Shakespeare's fools were the stand-ups of their day and liked to expose the vain, mock the pompous and deliver a few home truths - however uncomfortable that might be for those on the receiving end. "Shakespearean fools, like stand-ups today, had a licence to say almost anything," says Dr Oliver Double, who teaches drama at the University of Kent and specialises in comedy. "It was an exalted position." Continue reading the main story About Shakespeare William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 He married Anne Hathaway in 1582 and they had three children He publ