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The Harlequinade Clowns

© Virginia Marin

The clown of circus and pantomime in his baggy costume, over-sized shoes, whitened face, grotesque red lips and odd little tuft of black hair is probably a relic of the Devil as he appeared in medieval plays. He is the descendant of many court fools and jesters. The clown, also used in puppetry as a storytelling device, is centuries old. "The Clown" in particular is important, for his life's goal is to checkmate and steal the thunder from Harlequin...

...Now Harlequin is a mischievous little fellow, a clown, supposedly invisible to all eyes but those of his beloved Columbine. His one function in life? To dance through the world and frustrate the knavish tricks of the Clown who is in love with Columbine and makes no secret of his admiration. Harlequin wears a tight-fitting spangled or parti-colored outfit and is usually masked. Tiny bells dangle from his shoes and cap. His face, painted white, is in a perpetual smile.

The genesis of Harlequin is thought to be that of a sprite or hobgoblin because of his impish and mischievous nature, though he certainly does not bear the ugliness of sprites. His contemporary and very good clown friend is Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow.

Puck is the generic name for a type of supernatural being, or imp, found in most folklore. They are known for playing tricks on humans.

Robin Goodfellow, another name for Puck, is derived from English folklore. The spirit, being evil by nature, was dubbed Goodfellow as sort of a Harlequin appeasement. Hobgoblin is yet another name for this clowning spirit.

Those that Hobgoblin call you, Harlequin and sweet Puck,
You do their work and they shall have good luck.
(A Midsummer Night's Dream, II, i)

Thanks to Shakespeare, sprites and hobgoblins took on the guise of clowns changing from their shape-shifting hideousness to the more appealing and lovable clown. Under this mantle, clowns worked their way into legends, folklore and myths.

Harlequin's sweetheart is the lovely dancing Columbine, daughter of Pantaloon, a cunning and dangerous old man. She, like Harlequin, is also invisible to all mortal eyes. Columbine can be likened to a whirling dervish while dancing. She stands ever so still to center herself, then crossing her arms in front she turns counter-clockwise very slowly, round and round, on only one foot. The turning increases until she is virtually taken to the still point of the universe. As she twirls and whirls her tiny feet trip across the grass so lightly that if the ground were water, no ripples would be seen.

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