Abstract: Fool is one of the most successful characters coined by William Shakespeare in King Lear. He not only partially breaks away his traditional image that tells jokes and makes fun of his masters, which makes him a complicated and contrary figure. In addition, he is the significant clue created by Shakespeare for the purpose to understand the wisdom in the work. On one hand, his existence helps King Lear recognize himself and the situation he encounters. Finally, he helps King Lear gain the wisdom and regain the kingdom; on the other hand, it offers audiences a better understanding of the author’s thinking and the rhythm of the work.
Key Words: Fool; Clue; Wisdom; Thinking; Rhythm

摘要：弄人是莎士比亚在《李尔王》中塑造最成功的形象之一。弄人虽突破他传统的身份——插科打诨、取乐主人，但又受传统身份束缚，这使他的个人形象及复杂又矛盾。此外，弄人还是贯穿整部戏剧的一条重要线索，他的存在帮助剧中的李尔王认识了自我和现状，获得了智慧并且重获了国土。也使剧外的观众更清晰地掌握了作者的思绪和整部戏剧的节奏。
关键词：愚人、线索、智慧、想法、节奏

The greatest of all English authors, William Shakespeare belongs to those rare geniuses of mankind who have become landmarks in the history of world culture. The works of William Shakespeare are great symbols in the history of world literature; and he was one of the first founders of realism, a master hand at realistic portrayal of human characters and relation. It is well known in what high esteem Shakespeare was held by such giants of world literature as Milton, Goethe, Stendhal and Pushkin.
King Lear is recognized as one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. It is the story of an old man facing the facts of his life straight on and dealing with the consequences of his actions. Lear's epic struggle to come to terms with his loss of power creates a tense, moving drama that is disturbing yet magnetic.
The work is that a king Lear wants to distribute his kingdom into three pieces to his daughters. When the day came, Lear would like his daughters to express their respect and love towards him in public. The two elder daughters have sweet mouth to flatter him, but Cordelia didn’t manage to. She just says something simple and pure but not beautiful, so she was expelled and later became the queen of France. After Lear got off the king’s throne, he was powerless and weak. Equipped with authority, Goneril and Regan began to despise Lear and maltreated him. Meanwhile, Cordelia assembled an army to fight against her sisters to save Lear’s life. And finally they won, and Lear found who really loves him.