That lord that counsell’d thee
To give away thy land,
Come place him here by me;
Do thou for him stand.
The sweet and bitter fool
Will presently appear:
The one in motley here,
The other found out there.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4. The Fool with his clever use of witty rhyme points out to King Lear the foolishness of giving away his kingdom. He calls himself the "sweet" fool and Lear the "bitter fool." In his wise but acerbic advice the Fool is able to cut through the social class barrier of King and humble subject to tell Lear the error of his ways. He enjoys a special place in the King’s court and can get away with this.