Saturday Night Lear: "SNL” Cast as Today's Shakespearian Fools

By Jack Wolfram, Emory University

Recently finishing its forty-fifth season, NBC’s live television variety show Saturday Night Live (SNL) has developed a reputation for disregarding the comedic boundary “lines” that are rarely crossed when discussing certain issues concerning the sociopolitical world, current events, and pop culture. Over the past several years, SNL casts predominately focus the majority of their satirical skits and sketches on the inherent character of powerful, high-profile entities. Due to the live broadcast nature of the show, SNL actors are notorious for taking full advantage of this unique comedic platform where very little dialogue is censored. These comics’ performances every Saturday night resonate far beyond the simple guffaws of entertainment.

Issue XIContent EditorsDecember 17, 2020television, late-night, show, Shakespeare, King Lear, SNL, classic, literature, fool, First FolioComment