16th century, England, English, Europe, historical figure, quotes, research
The humanist writer and entertainer John Heywood (c. 1497 – c. 1580) used the padding of a jester’s folly to deliver his political views more effectively and to build bridges among factions. He spoke in a direct manner to Henry VIII but with sufficient...
19th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, play, primary source, Qing dynasty, quotes, stories
An actor who showed all the signs of being a jester was He Jiasheng 何家聲 (What Family Reputation). During the reign of the Guangxu Emperor (r. 1875-1908) he used an improvised pun to comment on the lack of reform in government.In the play Clear Brook Cave, he acted...
18th century, dramatic character, Europe, German, Germany, play, primary source, quotes
Ludwig Tieck’s play Puss-in-Boots (1796) features a court scholar who in the king’s eyes has the same status and function as the jester, as he explains while hurling his sceptre at the scholar’s head: Sir Brazenbold of Scholarship! What presumption...
19th century, China, Chinese, dramatic character, East Asia, historical figure, play, primary source, Qing dynasty, quotes
Perhaps a Chinese equivalent to the Elizabethan Richard Tarlton in being a widely loved and acclaimed comic actor and a self-appointed ad hoc court jester was Liu Gansan 劉趕三 (1817-94), who had all the outspokenness of a jester and:left behind him the reputation of a...
1st century, Europe, historical figure, Italy, Latin, primary source, quotes, Roman
Even Nero (r. 54-68), not noted for his niceness, allowed a certain latitude to his mocking critics and these were probably mimes – actors who could take it upon themselves to improvise on stage and send some satirical sallies out into the auditorium. Despite...
dramatic character, India, primary source, quotes, Sanskrit
Rare to find a clear prescription concerning the recommended physical appearance of a jester type, in this case, a litany of desirable defects. This is from the Indian classic hand book of drama, the Natyasastra (c. 200 BCE), showing a wealth of permutations in comic...
5th century, dramatic character, India, play, primary source, quotes, Sanskrit
Vidusaka is a stock comic character in ancient Sanskrit drama; there has been much ink spilled as to whether he was a jester or not, and many of the arguments against this proposition seem rather to confirm it. We’ll be featuring more quotes and stories about...
19th century, dramatic character, England, English, Europe, historical figure, play, primary source, quotes
A number of historical jesters had plays written about them, including Dongfang Shuo 東方朔 (c. 160 – c. 93 BCE) in China, and Henry VIII’s jester Will Somers. Here we find Charles the First (1824), a dramatic fragment by Shelley, which has Charles I give an...
