A Storyteller’s Spell Shows How Love-tales End – in a Happily Way that Vanquishes a Thousand Unhappily Ways: Eleanor Farjeon’s Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard (1/2)

– Stories in a story of Martin Pippin, a fool, or a minstrel

I heard a story one evening that Feste and Martin Pippin found themselves at the same tavern, swapping songs over ale.

Martin Pippin strummed his lute and asked, “tell me, Feste, what is the difference between a fool and a minstrel?”

Feste smirked and replied, “a fool speaks truth while pretending to jest, and a minstrel jests while pretending to tell the truth.”

Martin Pippin chuckled, “then we are the same!”

Feste took a long sip of his ale and grinned, “but I get paid for it.”

I doubted the story’s truth, but then again, I heard it from a minstrel.

Throughout history, wandering minstrels and traveling storytellers have played a crucial role in shaping literature. From Shakespeare’s fool to Eleanor’s Martin Pippin, these figures serve as both narrators and performers, weaving tales that entertain, instruct, and challenge the listener’s perception of the world.

Eleanor Farjeon’s Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard embraces this tradition, bringing us a singing poet, a romantic rogue, and a teller of tales, whose power is not magic or swordplay, but words. As a literary trickster, Martin Pippin moves between the boundaries of reality and imagination, capturing the essence of what storytelling has always been—a journey through love, longing, and the wisdom hidden in fairy tales.

A fool and a minstrel—two wandering truth-tellers with different hearts

Feste, the witty fool in Twelfth Night, and Martin Pippin, the charming minstrel in Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard, are both entertainers who use their words, songs, and wit to reveal truths. While both exist on the fringes of society, Feste mocks love and human folly with sharp humor, whereas Martin celebrates love and inspires emotions through playful storytelling.

1️⃣ Their roles: entertainers who see beyond appearances
🎭 Feste is a court jester, but he often shows more intelligence than those he serves. He moves between Olivia and Orsino’s households, offering sharp observations disguised as humor. His role is to expose contradictions in human nature, often making nobles look foolish.

“Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.” (Act 1, Scene 5)

Here, Feste challenges the notion of wisdom and foolishness—suggesting that those in power may be the true fools, while jesters like him see the world more clearly.

🎸 Martin Pippin, too, is a wandering entertainer, using songs and stories to reveal truths. Unlike Feste, however, he is deeply involved in people’s lives. He actively helps a young lover win back his beloved, proving that words have the power to influence emotions and change fate.

“And this is the special wonder of love-tales: that though they may end unhappily in a thousand ways, and happily in only one, yet that one will vanquish the thousand as often as the desires of lovers run in tandem.” (First Interlude)

This line, spoken by Martin, reflects his belief in the transformative power of joy and storytelling, contrasting with Feste’s more cynical view of life.
📌Feste critiques love and wisdom from a distance, while Martin engages with them to shape people’s lives.

2️⃣ How They Use Wit and Riddles
🎭 Feste challenges people’s illusions with riddles and wordplay. He deliberately confuses logic, forcing others to rethink their assumptions.

“Nothing that is so is so.” (Act 4, Scene 2)

This cryptic line mocks how people misunderstand reality, a theme that runs through Shakespeare’s comedies.

🎸 Martin Pippin, too, speaks in riddles, but he aims to persuade rather than mock. He tells six love stories to six skeptical women, slowly winning their trust.

“I am silenced. Tales are but tales, and not worth speculation. And see, the moon is gone to sleep behind a cloud, which shows us nothing save the rainbow of her dreams. It is time we did as she does.” (First Interlude)

Martin’s wit is gentle and disarming, making him beloved by those who hear his tales.

📌 Feste’s wit exposes the flaws in people, while Martin’s unlocks their hidden emotions.

3️⃣ Their Relationship with Love & Romance
🎭 Feste does not believe in idealized romance. Instead, he sees love as fleeting and full of illusion.

“What is love? ‘Tis not hereafter; / Present mirth hath present laughter; / What’s to come is still unsure.” (Act 2, Scene 3)

He warns that love is temporary, and that people should enjoy pleasure in the moment rather than dreaming of everlasting devotion.

🎸 Martin Pippin understands love’s complexities, but rather than dismissing it, he helps others navigate its challenges.

“Who indeed, Mistress Jane, save students of human nature like yourselves?–who have doubtless long ago observed how men and women begin by filling a dim dream with a golden thing, such as youth, and end by putting a shining dream into a grey thing, such as age. And in the end it is all one, and lovers will see to the last in each other that which they loved at the first, since things are only what we dream them to be, as you have of course also observed.” (Third Interlude)

This line, spoken at the beginning of Third Interlude, is a subtle challenge to reality and illusion—suggesting that the most valuable things (like love) are not always the most obvious ones.

📌 Feste mocks love as fleeting, while Martin believes love is worth fighting for.

4️⃣ Their Place in Society: Wanderers on the Edge
🎭 Feste exists on the margins—he is valuable to the court but never truly belongs there.

“I wear not motley in my brain.” (Act 1, Scene 5)

He reminds us that his fool’s costume does not define his intelligence—he plays a fool, but he is wiser than those around him.

🎸 Unlike Feste, Martin is not just an observer—he builds relationships wherever he goes.

“Because what you love in an apple-tree is not the leaf or the flower or the bough or the fruit–it is the apple-tree. Which is all of these things and everything besides; for it is the roots and the rind and the sap, it is motion and rest and colour and shape and scent, and the shadows on the earth and the lights in the air–and still I have not said what the tree is that you love, for thought I should recapitulate it through the four seasons I should only be telling you those parts, none of which is what you love in an apple-tree. For no one can love the part more than the whole till love can be measured in pint-pots. And who can measure fountains? That’s the answer, Mistress Jessica. I knew you’d have to give it up.” (Fourth Interlude)

Martin’s role is not to tear people down but to bring them together, making him a symbol of unity and joy.

📌 Feste is a solitary figure, while Martin connects those around him.

🎶 Both Feste and Martin Pippin are truth-tellers, using song, wit, and riddles to challenge those around them. Feste’s humor is sharp and ironic, reminding others that life and love are fleeting illusions.
Martin Pippin’s wit is warm and transformative, helping people embrace love and self-discovery.

📖 If Feste and Martin Pippin met, Feste would likely mock Martin’s romanticism, while Martin would try to make Feste believe in love again. Perhaps, by the end, they’d both learn something from each other. 🎭✨