Quote 1
JAQUES
A fool, a fool. I met a fool i' the forest,
A motley fool. A miserable world!
[...]
When I did hear
The motley fool thus moral on the time,
My lungs began to crow like chanticleer
That fools should be so deep-contemplative,
And I did laugh sans intermission
An hour by his dial. O noble fool!
A worthy fool! Motley's the only wear. (2.7.12-13; 29-35)
Hmm. It sounds like Jaques bumped into Touchstone in the forest, don't you think? What's interesting is that melancholy Jaques is delighted by his encounter with Touchstone, even though he makes fun of Touchstone's "wisdom" here.
Quote 2
JAQUES
O, that I were a fool!
I am ambitious for a motley coat.
DUKE SENIOR
Thou shalt have one.
JAQUES
It is my only suit,
Provided that you weed your better judgments
Of all opinion that grows rank in them
That I am wise. (2.7.44-49)
When Jaques says "O that I were a fool," he's mocking Touchstone for being a licensed fool who wears a "motley" coat (a multicolored get-up worn by court fools). Yet it also seems like Jaques really does wish he could be a licensed fool. As we know, Jaques sees himself as a philosopher with deep insight into human nature, but he's often mocked for his moody pretentiousness. So, does Jaques have what it takes to be a "fool"? Or is he just a poseur?
Quote 3
JAQUES
Invest me in my motley. Give me leave
To speak my mind, and I will through and through
Cleanse the foul body of th' infected world,
If they will patiently receive my medicine.
[...]
DUKE SENIOR
Most mischievous foul sin, in chiding sin:
For thou thyself hast been a libertine,
As sensual as the brutish sting itself,
And all the embossed sores and headed evils
That thou with license of free foot hast caught
Wouldst thou disgorge into the general world. (2.7.60-63; 66-71)
Jaques begs Duke Senior to appoint him as his official licensed fool so Jaques can point out everybody's flaws and cure "th' infected world "of all its problems. Duke Senior's not buying any of this nonsense—he points out that Jaques is more likely to infect the entire world with venereal disease ("embossed sores and headed evils") than to cure it of anything.
JAQUES
The worst fault you have is to be in love.
ORLANDO
'Tis a fault I will not change for your best
virtue. I am weary of you.
JAQUES
By my troth, I was seeking for a fool when I
found you.
ORLANDO
He is drowned in the brook. Brook but in, and
you shall see him.
JAQUES
There I shall see mine own figure.
ORLANDO
Which I take to be either a fool or a cipher. (3.2.286-294)
Jaques bags on Orlando for being in love, but Jaques is no match for Orlando's quick wit. Here, Orlando tricks Jaques into admitting that he's a fool.
Quote 5
JAQUES
I'll give you a verse to this note that I made
yesterday in despite of my invention.
AMIENS
And I'll sing it.
JAQUES
Thus it goes:
If it do come to pass
That any man turn ass,
Leaving his wealth and ease
A stubborn will to please,
Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame;
Here shall he see
Gross fools as he,
An if he will come to me. (2.5.44-55)
Jaques points out the failings of the pastoral ideal. Still, he notes that anyone who came to seek this ideal in the forest would find him there, too.
Quote 6
JAQUES
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. (2.7.146-150)
Hmm. Didn't the Duke just finish saying something very similar? (See Quote #1 above.) Although we've heard this before, Jaques makes a valid point—the world is often like a stage and Shakespeare likes to remind us of the theatrical nature of life. Here, Shakespeare also reminds us that we are in fact watching a play, which involves a bunch of actors "with their exits and their entrances." Check out "Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory" if you want to know more about this speech.
Quote 7
JAQUES
O noble fool!
A worthy fool! Motley's the only wear. (2.7.34-35)
Touchstone takes a lot of flak for being a licensed fool. Here, Jaques is mocking Touchstone's status as a "licensed fool" who wears a "motley" (a rainbow-colored coat that signified his status as a court fool). At the same time, however, fools were highly respected performers—their clowning is not only entertaining, but it's also highly witty. Touchstone, as we know, is a great entertainer and he's also one of the smartest characters in the play. (Second, perhaps, to our girl Rosalind.)
Quote 8
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining schoolboy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. (2.7.149-173)
Jaques' famous speech suggests that our lives are nothing more than a series of transformations: 1) puking infant; 2) whining school boy; 3) young, sighing lover; 4) soldier; 5) "justice" or upstanding leader; 6) silly old man who thinks he's still young ("pantaloon"); 7) super-old man, toothless, blind, and as helpless as a baby. Is this an accurate or even useful way to sum up human life?
JAQUES
The worst fault you have is to be in love.
ORLANDO
'Tis a fault I will not change for your best
virtue. I am weary of you.
JAQUES
By my troth, I was seeking for a fool when
I found you.
ORLANDO
He is drowned in the brook. Look but in, and
you shall see him.
JAQUES
There I shall see mine own figure.
ORLANDO
Which I take to be either a fool or a cipher. (3.2.286-294)
According to Jaques, love transforms us all into "fools."
Quote 10
JAQUES
The duke hath put on a religious life
And thrown into neglect the pompous court.
[...]
To him will I. Out of these convertites
There is much matter to be heard and learned.
[...]
So, to your
pleasures.
I am for other than for dancing measures.
[...]
To see no pastime, I. What you would have
I'll stay to know at your abandoned cave. (5.4.187-188; 190-191; 201-203; 205-206)
This is interesting. The melancholy Jaques is virtually the only character who doesn't change. What's up with that?
Quote 11
JAQUES
Well then, if ever I thank any man, I'll thank
you. But that they call compliment is like th'
encounter of two dog-apes. And when a man thanks
me heartily, methinks have given him a penny, and
he renders me the beggarly thanks. Come, sing. And
you that will not, hold your tongues. (2.5.23-28)
Jaques philosophizes on the nature of gratitude. His outlook on compliments being beggarly (in that they are too profuse and lowly) probably stems from his own inability to see anything worth being grateful for.
Quote 12
JAQUES [Quoting Touchstone]
'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more 'twill be eleven.
And so, from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour we rot and rot,
And thereby hangs a tale. (2.7.25-29)
Touchstone's philosophy about the passage of time is pretty depressing, don't you think? According to our favorite licensed fool, every hour that passes leads to man's further decay. What's interesting about this passage is that Jaques, who is normally sad and moody, gets off on Touchstone's dreary outlook, admitting he "laughed sans [without] intermission."