Clowns
Bardolph“coney-catching rascal”; follower of Falstaff. [Br. Lit.: Merry Wives of Windsor]
medieval jester, butt, and buffoon. [Ital. Folklore: Walsh Classical, 54–55]
fool at the court of King Arthur, who knighted him. [Br. Lit.: Barnhart, 303]
playful fool. [Br. Lit.: Twelfth Night]
jester in the court of Mary Queen of Scots. [Scot. Hist.: Brewer Handbook, 380]
a “wit-snapper,” a “merry devil.” [Br. Lit.: Merchant of Venice]
comic character in commedia dell’arte; dressed in multicolored tights in a diamond-shaped pattern. [Ital. Drama: NCE, 1194]
deformed dwarf ; court fool. [Am. Lit.: “Hop-Frog” in Portable Poe, 317–329]
Cupid’s companion and fool. [Rom. Lit.: Psychomachia]
after Joseph Grimaldi, famous 19th-century clown. [Am. Hist.: Espy, 45]
a clown in Sleary’s circus. [Br. Lit.: Hard Times]
(1897–1979) foremost silent, sad-faced circus clown. [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 83]
hamburger chain’s Pied Piper. [Am. Culture: Grinding]
Andrew Borde, Henry VIII’s> physician. [Br. Hist.: Wheeler, 241]
clown Canio stabs his unfaithful wife and her lover. [Ital. Opera: Osborne Opera, 233]
court fool of Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII. [Br. Hist.: Brewer Handbook, 380]
a “motley-mined,” “roynish” court jester. [Br. Lit.: As You Like It]
jester in the court of Denmark. [Br. Lit.: Hamlet]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.