«¡JURO A DIOS QUE HABLÉ DE VERAS!». DE MALACUCA A POLIDORO: EL BUFÓN EN EL MAYOR MONSTRUO LOS CELOS

The figure of the fool first appears in Western literature in Ancient Greek works. Spanish playwrights in the Golden Age were conscious of the dual function of the figure in comedies: on the one hand, the fool was used to provoke laughter; on the other, they were the voice of reason for the king. Calderón perfectly captured this duality in the play El mayor monstruo del mundo, and in its remake, El mayor monstruo los celos. The fool goes through a transformation from one play to the next, beginning with his name (Malacuca became Polidoro). As a character, Polidoro encapsulates both functions of the classic fool figure: he is an agent of comedy, but also speaks frankly to Emperor Octaviano. This article aims to establish the importance of this character type in the development of the plot of both works.