The ship of fools is an allegory

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

 that has long been a fixture in Western literature

Western literature

Western literature refers to the literature written in the languages of Europe, including the ones belonging to the Indo-European language family as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque, Hungarian, and so forth...

 and art

Western art history

Western art is the art of the North American and European countries, and art created in the forms accepted by those countries.Written histories of Western art often begin with the art of the Ancient Middle East, Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Aegean civilisations, dating from the 3rd millennium BC...

. The allegory depicts a vessel populated by human inhabitants who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, passengers aboard a ship without a pilot, and seemingly ignorant of their own direction. This concept makes up the framework of the 15th century book Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools (satire)

Ship of Fools is a satire published 1494 in Basel, Switzerland by Sebastian Brant, a conservative German theologian....

(1494) by Sebastian Brant

Sebastian Brant

Sebastian Brant was an Alsatian humanist and satirist. He is best known for his satire Das Narrenschiff .-Biography:...

, which served as the inspiration for Bosch's famous painting, Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools (painting)

Ship of Fools is a painting by Hieronymus Bosch which may be intended to exemplify the human condition. The painting is dense in symbolism and is indebted to, if not actually satirical of Albrecht Dürer's frontispiece of Sebastian Brant's book of the same name.The painting as we see it today is a...

: a ship—an entire fleet at first—sets off from Basel to the paradise of fools. In literary and artistic compositions of the 15th and 16th centuries, the cultural motif of the ship of fools also served to parody the 'ark of salvation' (as the Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 was styled).

Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...

, who wrote Madness and Civilization

Madness and Civilization

Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason by Michel Foucault, is the English edition of Histoire de la folie à l'âge classique, a 1964 abridged edition of the 1961 Folie et déraison: Histoire de la folie à l'âge classique. An English translation of the complete 1961...

, saw in the ship of fools a symbol of the consciousness of sin and evil alive in the medieval mindset and imaginative landscapes of the Renaissance. According to Jose Barchilon's introduction to Madness and Civilization,

"Renaissance men developed a delightful, yet horrible way of dealing with their mad denizens: they were put on a ship and entrusted to mariners because folly, water, and sea, as everyone then 'knew', had an affinity for each other. Thus, 'Ship of Fools' crisscrossed the sea and canals of Europe with their comic and pathetic cargo of souls. Some of them found pleasure and even a cure in the changing surroundings, in the isolation of being cast off, while others withdrew further, became worse, or died alone and away from their families. The cities and villages which had thus rid themselves of their crazed and crazy, could now take pleasure in watching the exciting sideshow when a ship full of foreign lunatics would dock at their harbors."

A 1962 novel

Ship of Fools (Porter novel)

Ship of Fools is a 1962 novel by Katherine Anne Porter which tells the tale of a group of disparate characters sailing from Mexico to Europe aboard a German freighter and passenger ship...

 by American writer, Katherine Anne Porter

Katherine Anne Porter

Katherine Anne Porter was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel Ship of Fools was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her short stories received much more critical acclaim...

 of the same name, set in the autumn of the year 1931, also uses the device of the allegory, and can be seen as an attack on a world that allowed the Second World War to happen. The novel was the basis for a 1965 film

Ship of Fools (film)

Ship of Fools is a 1965 film drama which tells the overlapping stories of several passengers aboard an ocean liner bound to Germany from Mexico in 1933...

 starring Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...

 and Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...

.

Ship of Fools is also the title of a 2002 science fiction novel by Richard Paul Russo (NOT the same author who wrote Empire Falls) where the Ship of Fools is, not surprisingly, a space ship on which no one knows the destination.

In addition, Ship of Fools was used as the title of a book by the Irish journalist Fintan O'Toole

Fintan O'Toole

Fintan O'Toole is a columnist, assistant editor and drama critic for The Irish Times. He has written for The Irish Times since 1988 and was drama critic for the New York Daily News from 1997 to 2001. He is a literary critic, historical writer and political commentator, with generally left-wing views...

 on the causes of the financial crisis in Ireland, the metaphor being used to describe the Irish political establishment and their self-deception regarding the economic situation in the country.

In popular music

In the song "We Built This City

We Built This City

"We Built This City" is the title of a song written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf, and originally recorded by the American pop rock group Starship and released as its debut single on August 1, 1985....

" by Starship, the group croons "Don't tell us you need us, 'cause we're the ship of fools, looking for America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, crawling through your schools".

The Doors

The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...

, John Cale

John Cale

John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....

 and Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...

 have all had a song called "Ship of Fools" in their respective albums Morrison Hotel

Morrison Hotel

Morrison Hotel is The Doors' fifth album. It was released in 1970. After their experimental work The Soft Parade was not as well received as anticipated, the group went back to basics and back to their roots...

(1970), Fear

Fear

Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...

(1974) and From the Mars Hotel (1974).

Van Der Graaf, the late 1970s incarnation of Van Der Graaf Generator

Van der Graaf Generator

Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester. They were the first act signed to Charisma Records. The band achieved considerable success in Italy during the 1970s...

, had a song called "Ship of Fools" that was the opening track on the live album Vital

Vital (album)

Vital is Van der Graaf Generator's first live album. Except for one-off reunions, it marked the end of Van der Graaf Generator as a band until their 2005 reunion. The album was credited under the truncated name Van der Graaf...

and a studio version of the song was the B-side on the final single released by the band.

In the song "Everybody Have Fun Tonight

Everybody Have Fun Tonight

"Everybody Have Fun Tonight" is a song by Wang Chung from their album Mosaic. It was released as a single in 1986, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart....

" by Wang Chung

Wang Chung (band)

Wang Chung are an English New Wave musical group.The group found their greatest success in America, with five Top 40 hits in the US, all charting between 1983 and 1987, including "Dance Hall Days" , "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" and "Let's Go!" .-Pre-history: The Intellektuals and 57 Men :Jeremy...

 the group croons "On the edge of oblivion, all the world is Babylon, and all the love and everyone, a ship of fools sailing on."

The group World Party

World Party

World Party is a British pop/alternative rock band, which is essentially the solo project of its sole member, Karl Wallinger. He started the band in 1986 in London after leaving The Waterboys.-Career:...

 also released a "Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools (World Party song)

"Ship of Fools" is a rock song performed by World Party. It was written and produced by singer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger, formerly of The Waterboys. Wallinger is the sole member of World Party....

" song, in 1986. Two years later Robert Plant

Robert Plant

Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...

 recorded a song by this name on his album Now and Zen; in the same year Erasure

Erasure

Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...

 also released a song called "Ship of Fools

Ship of Fools (Erasure song)

"Ship of Fools" is a song by British synthpop duo Erasure, released in February 1988 as the duo's eighth single overall.The song was issued by Mute Records as the lead single from Erasure's third album The Innocents...

".

American heavy metal band Vicious Rumors

Vicious Rumors

Vicious Rumors is an American power metal band founded in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.The brainchild of Geoff Thorpe, the band has been active on the metal scene since its inception in 1979...

 had a track named "Ship of Fools" on their 1990 self-titled album.

German doom metal

Doom metal

Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

 band Mirror Of Deception

Mirror of Deception

Mirror of Deception is German doom metal band, formed in 1990.-Biography:Along with Dawn of Winter, Mirror of Deception is Germany's longest running traditional doom act...

 included a track entitled 'The Ship Of Fools' on their 2004 album release "Foregone".

Mad Sin

Mad Sin

Mad Sin is a German psychobilly group that began in 1987.-Style:Mad Sin, formed in 1987, have been inspired by horror punk and B-movie, with a theatrical style. Without abandoning the psycho-horror lyrical content, their musical arrangements have widened to incorporate other variables...

 released the song "Houdini's Pool" in 2005, which mentions the Ship of Fools multiple times.

Fucked Up

Fucked Up

Fucked Up is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Canada. The band won the 2009 Polaris Music Prize for the album The Chemistry of Common Life.-History:The band formed and played their first shows in early 2001...

 released "Ship of Fools" as a free single to their 2011 rock opera

Rock opera

A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...

 David Comes to Life

David Comes to Life

David Comes to Life is the third full-length studio album by Canadian hardcore punk band Fucked Up. It was released on June 7, 2011 in North America and June 6, 2011 elsewhere on Matador Records in CD and double LP formats. David Comes to Life is an 18 song epic in four acts...

.

Television

In the second season of Mad Men

Mad Men

Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...

, Betty Draper can be seen reading the book 'Ship of Fools' by Katherine Anne Porter.