<Li> Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice -- Nowhere in the play does Gobbo do anything that qualifies him as an official fool or jester . Still , he is considered as such , perhaps because he is called a `` patch '' and a fool , and also because of his ( and his father 's ) malapropisms ( `` This is the very defect of the matter sir , '' `` Tears exhibit my tongue '' ) . It is possible that these terms refer rather to the idea of the clown . Either way , Gobbo is proof that Shakespeare did not necessarily constantly discriminate in his qualifications of clowns , fools , and jesters . </Li>
<Li> Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice -- Nowhere in the play does Gobbo do anything that qualifies him as an official fool or jester . Still , he is considered as such , perhaps because he is called a `` patch '' and a fool , and also because of his ( and his father 's ) malapropisms ( `` This is the very defect of the matter sir , '' `` Tears exhibit my tongue '' ) . It is possible that these terms refer rather to the idea of the clown . Either way , Gobbo is proof that Shakespeare did not necessarily constantly discriminate in his qualifications of clowns , fools , and jesters . </Li>
who play the part of the fool in the merchant of venice
who play the part of the fool in the merchant of venice
Launcelot Gobbo
Launcelot Gobbo