Lancelet

Lancelet is the jester of the Merchant of Venice. Often in Shakespeare's plays, the jester/clown is often the smartest character in the play. In Lancelet's monologue, he contemplates running away from his master who is a Jew. He talks about how the devil is on his shoulder telling him to run away. Lancelet's conscience, however, tells him to stay, which demonstrates the inner struggle that everyone experiences between making the right choice and making the wrong choice. Lancelet talks about how he is an honest man even though his father wasn't. In a twist at the end of the monologue Lancelet says how the Jew is the devil incarnate and the devil is on his shoulder and says that either way he is running to a devil.
     Since Lancelet is the joker of the merchant of Venice, I decided to research the importance of the joker in each of his plays. In an article by Samantha Markham, I found that the fools in Shakespeare's various plays all have something in common. They are always commoners who are usually servants or friends of the main character in each play. Shakespeare's fools make witty, profound observations about the themes of the play and its characters. In Shakespeare's comedies, fools are often used to encourage a more serious examination of the situations, themes, and characters of a play. Paradoxically, fools do not only amuse and entertain, but also prompt an audience to ponder serious social, religious, and political views. Comedic fools, like their tragic counterparts, often have a much more simplistic, almost childlike, view of the world. In closing, Samantha Markham points out the irony in there being absolutely nothing foolish about any of Shakespeare's fools.