LEILA VIEIRA DE JESUS A STUDY OF FOOLS: LEAR'S FOOL IN SHAKESPEARE'S KING LEAR AND VLADIMIR AND ESTRAGON IN BECKETT'S WAITING FOR GODOT PORTO ALEGRE 2012 2 UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL INSTITUTO DE LETRAS PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM LETRAS ÁREA: ESTUDOS DE LITERATURA ESPECIALIDADE: LITERATURAS DE LÍNGUA INGLESA LINHA DE PESQUISA: LITERATURA, IMAGINÁRIO E HISTÓRIA A STUDY OF FOOLS: LEAR'S FOOL IN SHAKESPEARE'S KING LEAR AND VLADIMIR AND ESTRAGON IN BECKETT'S WAITING FOR GODOT Mestranda: Leila Vieira de Jesus Orientadora: Rosalia Angelita Neumann Garcia Dissertação de Mestrado em Literaturas de Língua Inglesa, apresentada como requisito parcial para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Letras pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. PORTO ALEGRE 2012 3 4 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Rosalia Angelita Neumann Garcia, for her guidance, patience and suggestions, and, most importantly, for introducing me to Samuel Beckett and Waiting for Godot in a Literature class during my under-graduation years; I would like to thank the committee for accepting my invitation and taking the time to read my work; I would also like to thank my family and friends for the support and for putting up with my constant canceling of plans, especially in the last few months of writing this thesis; And Cesar Gemelli for the support, encouragement, and dedication. 5 King Lear: Dost thou call me fool, boy? Fool: All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with. (William Shakespeare, King Lear) We are all born mad. Some remain so. (Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot) 6 Resumo O foco dessa dissertação é analisar o papel, as características, e a presença dos bobos ao longo da história, focando em sua constante aparição no teatro. Os personagens principais da minha análise serão o Bobo, na peça Rei Lear de William Shakespeare, e Vladimir e Estragon, na peça Esperando Godot de Samuel Beckett. Na análise desses personagens, discuto semelhanças entre os autores, que já foram notadas por críticos como Martin Esslin, Jan Kott, e Northrop Frye, e mostro como os personagens de Beckett são similares aos bobos de Shakespeare. Bobos, no teatro, frequentemente agem como mediadores entre o palco e a plateia, guiando os espectadores e falando verdades. O Bobo de Lear diz verdades criticando seu mestre e o lembrando das decisões erradas que ele tomou; os personagens em Esperando Godot dizem verdades sobre a falta de sentido de nossas vidas e, mais importante, nos mostram essa falta de sentido no decorrer da peça. Em relação à linguagem, o uso dela pelos bobos é diferente do uso dos outros personagens porque eles a manipulam para criar desentendimentos e jogos de palavras. No teatro de Shakespeare, a principal razão para esse uso peculiar da linguagem é que os bobos querem mostrar sua sagacidade; no teatro de Beckett, eles usam uma linguagem sem sentido para mostrar que ela está quebrada e que tentativas de comunicação são inúteis. Através das ações e diálogos dos bobos de Beckett em Esperando Godot, podemos ver que a vida é absurda e que vivemos em um mundo cheio de incertezas. Apesar de personagens bobos geralmente serem vistos como superficiais e insignificantes, especialmente nas peças de Shakespeare, eles são extremamente importantes no teatro e têm uma maneira única de interagir com os outros personagens e com o público. Palavras-chave: Bobos; William Shakespeare; Rei Lear; Samuel Beckett; Esperando Godot. 7 Abstract The focus of this thesis is to analyze the role, characteristics, and presence of fools throughout history, focusing on their recurrence in the theater. The characters I will focus on are Lear's Fool in William Shakespeare's King Lear, and Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, discussing similarities between the two authors, which have been mentioned by critics such as Martin Esslin, Jan Kott and Northrop Frye, and showing how Beckett's characters are similar to Shakespearean fools. Fools in the theater often act as mediators between the stage and the audience, guiding spectators and telling truths. Lear's Fool tells truths by criticizing his master and reminding him of the wrong decisions he has made; the characters in Waiting for Godot tell truths about the meaninglessness of life and, most importantly, show us this meaninglessness throughout the play. The use of language by fools is different from that of other characters because they manipulate it to create misunderstandings and word games. In Shakespeare's theater, the main reason for this peculiar use of language is that fools want to show their wit; in Beckett's theater, the characters use nonsensical language to show that language has broken down and that attempts at communication are pointless. Through the actions and dialogues of Beckett's fools in Waiting for Godot, we can see that life is absurd and that we live in a world full of uncertainties. In spite of the fact that fool characters are often seen as shallow and insignificant, especially in Shakespeare's theater, they are of extreme importance in the theater and have a unique manner of interacting with other characters and with the audience. Keywords: Fools; William Shakespeare; King Lear; Samuel Beckett; Waiting for Godot. 8 Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................................9 1. The Fool in Literature, History, and Culture.........................................................................14 1.1 Folly through Folly's words............................................................................................14 1.2 Defining Terms...............................................................................................................16 1.3 Fools throughout History and in Literature....................................................................24 1.4 Fools in Popular Culture.................................................................................................28 1.5 Lear's Fool and Vladimir and Estragon as Fools............................................................31 2. Shakespearean Fools and the Fool in King Lear...................................................................35 2.1 The Neglect of Shakespearean Fools.............................................................................35 2.2 The Role of Fools in Shakespeare's Theater...................................................................36 2.3 Fool Actors in Shakespeare: Will Kemp and Robert Armin..........................................37 2.4 The Characteristics of Shakespearean Fools..................................................................38 2.5 The Fool in King Lear....................................................................................................42 2.5.1 Lear's Fool's Teachings and Criticisms...................................................................43 2.5.2 Lear as His Own Fool.............................................................................................51 2.5.3 Lear's Fool and the Theater of the Absurd..............................................................55 3. Beckett's Waiting for Godot and the Theater of the Absurd.................................................59 3.1 The Theater of the Absurd..............................................................................................59 3.2 Samuel Beckett and His Theater....................................................................................61 3.3 Waiting for Godot...........................................................................................................63 3.3.1 (Lack of) Hope........................................................................................................65 3.3.2 Uncertainty.............................................................................................................67 3.3.3 Repetition................................................................................................................72 3.3.4 Constant Conversation............................................................................................81 3.3.5 While Waiting.........................................................................................................90 3.3.6 The Representation of Godot..................................................................................93 3.3.7 “The Play Where Nothing Happens, Twice”..........................................................94 Final Considerations.................................................................................................................99 References...............................................................................................................................112 Annex 1...................................................................................................................................117 Annex 2...................................................................................................................................120 Annex 3...................................................................................................................................124 9 Introduction Martin Esslin says, in The Theater of the Absurd, that his is not a book to discuss Shakespeare's fools as forerunners of the Theater of the Absurd, and he adds that we are too familiar with Shakespeare to notice how there is, in his plays, “the same