Possibly my favourite Shakespearean character has to be the Fool from King Lear. He sees the world as mad and the only way to view the world as anything but, is to become mad and then the world will seem rational. In many ways the Fool seems aloof from humanity, with our laws and morality(or lack of it). What fascinates me most is the lack of any beliefs in anything, no hope of retribution or, otherwise, eternal damnation, no hopes or dreams, just the here and now, life is how it is and always will be. In a way he is right to do so, violence and cruelty remain the human trademarks but at the same time, love and faith are sacrificed.
Although seemingly Godless and alone, he shows the ultimate loyalty to Lear in his madness and follows him through all his pain and ridicule to eventually die off stage, or at least this is hinted at. I always wonder on this most ambiguous character and his oddness. For me this has to be one of the enduring characters of any play. The modern world may well have suited the Fool, in fact he probably would have fitted right in.
