LEAR: Dost thou call me fool, boy?
FOOL: All thy other titles thou hast given away; that thou wast born with.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. In an ironic reversal of what you might expect, the Fool shows that he is wiser than the King, who is the real fool. When Lear sharply asks if his jester is calling him a fool, the Fool gives a reply that cuts right through society’s values, in this case the King’s titles that have become meaningless since Lear gave them away. Ironically his only title Lear is left with now is that of "fool."