Tightrope Walking

Tyll’s delicate, mesmerizing balancing act walking along a thin rope string between trees represents his own position precariously balanced between comedy and tragedy. He treads carefully every day as a jester, an entertainer, during a devastating war. Amid the tensions of court, the battlefields soaked in blood, in an apocalyptic world clearly intent on destroying itself, Tyll’s tightrope act suggests how to live in such a doomed and dangerous world. A person must watch every step, move with calculated precision, be careful not to upend the sway, not to give in to one side or the other. Too much tragedy and hopelessness is the only option; too much comedy and insanity is inevitable.

Court Jester

Court jesters mock the rich and powerful through the safe vehicle of humor. They represent the challenge to otherwise intimidating authority figures. Tyll’s reputation as a court...