Comic Relief in King Lear Combining the antics of a circus with the pageantry of a royal court is a difficult task indeed. William Shakespeare's genius came from the way he tightly intertwined two seemingly mutually exclusive realms to appeal to all socioeconomic 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 the dramatic tension. Among these, Lear's The Fool provides the closest relationship between the two realms of kingship and foolishness while maintaining their separation. Fools, as I understand it, were kept by kings as entertainment devices before the advent of television. Lear's Fool, however, transcends the role of entertainer to take on both the roles of Ann Landers and Jim Davis. Particularly intriguing to me are his humorous quips and tidbits that weave foreshadowing, practical advice, humor, and characterization into one concise, metrical saying. The Fool begins by offering his jester's cap to Kent, saying that if Kent wants to follow Lear, he had better have a comb, insinuating the folly of following Lear. He goes on to say that “if I gave my daughters all my property,” I would have to keep myself a fool. The Fool is quick to juxtapose his comment with his claim that he has no "monopoly" on stupidity. The Fool also emphasizes the presence of a "wise man and a fool" without saying who is who, and criticizes Lear for "playing fools among them", implying that Lear is usurping the Fool's position as a person prone to errors of judgment and pure stupidity. Through his actions and statements he tacitly insinuates that he is in the company of fools, which provides a hint to foreshadow the audience needing to know that Lear is losing his mind. The Fool also uses the argument by analogy several times. He first connects Lear to a hedge sparrow feeding baby cuckoos, who then bites the sparrow's head. The Fool also connects the empty eggshells to Lear and his crown. Shakespeare's unique touch lies in the double meaning of eggshells. The Fool says that Lear is left with two empty eggshells for a crown, but also implies that Lear's head is like an empty egg, most clearly related in the comparison between the color of Lear's head and the color of an egg..