Annotated Bib 2.0: Shakespeare's Fool as Rhetorical Device

Title: “Almost at times, the Fool”: Shakespeare’s Fool as a Rhetorical Device in Modern Television

Thesis: Shakespeare's professional fools, while serving particular commentary on and perspective for characters in the original plays, have evolved to become prolific rhetorical devices within a fictional world by maintaining truthfulness, interpreting unfamiliar in-world norms, and remaining distinct from set cultural norms in order to bridge any disconnect between a TV series and its audience.

Cuthbertson, Thomas H. The Fool’s Replies: Toward a Poetics of Folly in Shakespeare’s Comedies. Diss. Indiana University, 2014. ProQuest: 3613685. Print.

While this might be the longest .pdf on the planet, it does directly speak to the unique role of Feste as immune to social hierarchies within Twelfth Night. Freedom from social constraints is one of the easy identifiers for entertainment Fools.

Gunn, Giles. “American Literature and the Imagination of Otherness.” Journal of Religious Ethics 3.2 (Fall, 1975): 193–215. JSTOR. Web. 25 November 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40014895>

Giles Gunn explores how developing ideas of otherness throughout American history shaped American fiction. Since one of my criteria for a Fool requires a sense of otherness, I’m using Gunn’s essay as a base point for how otherness is defined in American culture.

Jensen, Nettie. “Feste and Lear’s Fool: Different Genres, Same Function.” This Rough Magic 1.1 (January, 2010): 115–125. Print. 

Nettie Jensen discusses the shared role of Fools as truth tellers. I find this a consistent attribute in modern Fools, so being able to have scholarly support on which to base my conclusions is vital.

Meyer, Russell J. “Fools and Fool-Makers: Types of Comic Characters in Renaissance Literature.” Journal of Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association 1 (1980): 39–46. Print.

Meyer breaks down the four categories of Fool in Shakespeare’s plays, distinguishing “natural” fools from “professional” fools. Instead of delving into disparate versions of Shakespeare’s fool, I get to piggyback off of Meyer’s work! This article provides really useful categorization.

Porter, Lynnette. Tarnished Heroes, Charming Villains and Modern Monsters: Science Fiction in Shades of Gray on 21st Century Television. Jefferson: McFarland Publishers, 2010.

Porter explores the shifting paradigm of morality in modern sci-fi television and how it reflects evolving cultural reactions to unprecedented shifts in ethics. I've found that Porter's reasoning behind shifting morals in contemporary entertainment provides an excellent frame for my discussion.