What are they actually doing to Malvolio? He is critical. However in Elizabethan times the twelve days following Christmas were a time for a mixture of emotions; disguise, madness and boisterous frivolity. Malvolio is one of the main sources of humour in Twelfth Night. What does he tell Cesario How does Malvolio react to the letter? 2. Where does Feste say Olivia's brother's soul is? The audience is aware but the characters are not, except of course, Viola herself. It follows certain patterns which are commonly found in Shakespeare’s comedies; it ends in marriage and is based around disguise and false identities. a = s.createElement(o), He is the vain, pompous steward of Olivia's household. (function(d,s,a,b){a=d.createElement(s);b=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];a.async=1;a.src="https://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js";b.parentNode.insertBefore(a,b);})(document,"script"); DOMAIN = 'artscolumbia.org'; Having explored “Twelfth Night” and its aspects of humour, we can safely say that to both a contemporary and modern audience this is a very funny play, with many sides to its humour. 7. Feste's perceptiveness is used as a device to remember what has happened in Twelfth Night without becoming too involved in the play and not seeing the bigger perspective. He thoroughly enjoys his new role as he is making Malvolio madder and without Malvolio in the way he is more important to his mistress, Olivia. Her ring. When Malvolio tells the disguised Clown that he is in darkness, what does the Clown answer? The fool does not normally have a dramatic role but some fools do, and Feste is one of those. 3. What does Sebastian think of Olivia and his situation? Though he's a kind of entertainer, who will only perform for money, what he chooses to sing to people is intentionally relevant. He sees through people. How about receiving a customized one? He enjoys telling people what to do. Eventually Malvolio is released and the prank is revealed to Olivia. Why? Orsino has been asking Olivia to accept his love, but Olivia refuses it. What message does Olivia give to Cesario to deliver to Orsino? This is perhaps an example of umour, which in its essence is neither visual nor verbal even though the visual is a “vehicle” for it. He brings a level of both humour and sympathy to the play. Shakespeare displays Feste's skill at juggling words as an example of the differences between Feste and other fools as traditionally fools are considered to be ignorant buffoons who are there to entertain using jokes and juggling objects to create amusement. Maria forges a letter to Malvolio, supposedly from Olivia, suggesting that she loves him and he should wear yellow stockings and smile all the time. Feste takes him to a dark cell. "Feste is an observer. He not only participates in the scheme to humiliate the unpopular steward, Malvolio, but takes a leading part in tormenting him. Who is talking to Cesario when Malvolio is sent out to meet him? When Feste first enters into the play he has been absent from Olivia's court a long time and must now return into her favour. This gives rise to its French name, "La Nuit Des Rois". How well do Feste and Sebastian get along (4.1.1-22)? I think that it would appear very funny and trange to the audience (both contemporary and modern) to see both Aguecheek and Belch together. Feste subtly conveys his messages and thoughts through his songs to the audience about the other characters in the play. What token does Olivia send to Cesario after Cesario has left? Olivia and Viola-Cesario (I, v) The first and most important case of mistaken identity in my opinion, began in Act 1, scene 5, in Olivia's household. This makes Feste a pivotal character in Twelfth Night as without him many other things could have happened and a lot less humour and jokes would have occurred. })(window, document, 'script', '//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js', 'ga'); Who does the Clown pretend to be from the outside? 1) Is Antonio in affection with Sebastian? What effect does Malvolio's behaviour have on Olivia? In William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night the character of Feste is a solitary wit surrounded by fools. Cares for Him. He reads on. Viola, when she arrives in Illyria just after... William shakespeare, a famous poet and playright, has written many sonnets and poems in his time. What does Sir Toby realize and become afraid of? Shakespeare uses various methods, to create sympathy and empathy for the characters in Twelfth Night like, Viola (Cesario),Lady Olivia, and Malvolio. m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m) However, Feste displays his insight about the people surrounding him instead while also offering his thoughts about which ruinous condition he would rather be in, "many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage". As Twelfth Night is a play all about foolery and based on the Feast of Fools it is fitting that Feste should make fun of the lesser characters of the play, which somehow make the audience laugh at them as well. Malvolio initially seems to be a minor character, and his humiliation seems little more than an amusing subplot to the Viola-Olivia-Orsino- love triangle. What message does Olivia give to Cesario to deliver to Orsino? 3. h._hjSettings={hjid:779227,hjsv:6}; Analytics.copyButton = 'article.essay-content '; Malvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, or What You Will. In “Twelfth Night”, there is a specific character who we would find funny by his drunken antics, he is the uncle to the fair lady Olivia and is called Sir Toby Belch, in “Twelfth Night” Sir Toby is a lord of misrule, in Shakespeare’s era in great households, at ime of festivities a servant would be allowed for say a weekend to get drunk and make a fool of himself so that everyone else in the household is entertained and this way through Toby’s antics an audience would find him funny by his words and his choice of “friends”, we know that he likes to have a drink but he also likes excess of it: ” These Clothes are good enough to drink in… (I iii 9-10) & “… With drinking health to my niece” These are not the last times that we see him drinking. Viola-Cesario was sent by Orsino to try and "woo" Olivia for him but Viola, in love with Orsino herself, knew that she would not want to do this: "I'll do my best to woo your lady. No problem! https://phdessay.com/consideration-role-feste-twelfth-night/, Discuss the dramatic significance of Feste in Twelfth Night. Feste is the centre of amusement and merriment in every situation, providing the entertainment for the others and he does this in many ways. In the later part of the play a different side of him is exposed. Yet this deception increases sympathy for Malvolio because he doesn't deserve such mistreatment. In Act 4 Feste reveals he is ready to become part of the play and take an active role. He is saying that becoming a fool was his only way to survive because he could not have succeeded any other way. Here you will also find the best quotations, synonyms and word definitions to make your research essay well-formatted and your essay highly evaluated. His occupation is that of Olivia's paid fool, which she inherited from her. Haven’t found the relevant content? While reading “Twelfth Night”, I realised that the audience would notice that there are many aspects of humour evident. These be her very C's, her U's and her T's, and this makes her great P's. (function(h,o,t,j,a,r){ can use them for free to gain inspiration and new creative ideas for their writing assignments. “He’s coming, madam; but in a very strange manner. As Malvolio recognizes certain letters, he mouths them aloud; this is a superb comic example of "echo comedy." Among the difficult forms to categorise (and paradoxically these can be visual or verbal) is humour, which is not always primarily funny. For what reason is Feste (the Comedian) in a tough situation and how can he receive in return? In this way he goes over the top with his role and needs someone to keep him in check but has no one to do this for him. a.src = g; He's a big time hater and criticizes just about everything – Toby's partying lifestyle, Feste's licensed fooling, and all other forms of fun. The unprovoked strictness of his nature makes the audience less likely to sympathise with him, making his downfall more humorous, since it could be seen as a form of comeuppance. Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/consideration-role-feste-twelfth-night/, Consideration of the Role of Feste in Twelfth Night. Sebastian tells Antonio of his sister, Viola, who he fears has been drowned; he thanks Antonio for his kindness in saving him from being drowned, and resolves that he must be off alone. Feste uses his role as the fool to poke fun at Sir Andrew and sets him up for further humiliation later on because Sir Andrew stores the words Feste uses in his memory and later uses them in any context to try and convince everyone of his intelligence. This illustrates his perceptiveness and ability to adapt to any situation no matter what he is supposed to do. Feste‟s kind of humour, called satire, is used today by many comedians. Viola doesn't pay much attention to this description as she thinks that her cousin is too drunk to know what he saying. Analytics.readMoreButton = ''; Feste somewhat becomes the narrator of the play by commenting on actions that occur within the play and foreshadowing events. Humour, appears in different forms both in real life and in “Twelfth Night”. Who does Olivia send to the gate to get rid of the stranger? Throughout the play Malvolio’s inability to laugh is evident, he isolates himself from others and his ability to even understand humour is questionable. Feste the Jokester is Olivia's authorized moron, which implies he truly has a permit to state anything he desires. Olivia then enters with Malvolio, and Feste proceeds to demonstrate cleverly that Olivia herself is a fool for mourning her brother’s death to such extremes. His stern, puritan ways are clearly paradoxical to the jovial mood of both Andrew and Toby. Cross dressing is humorous also... er linked If the play was based upon one single plot, Twelfth Night would not have been as it is. The play starts off with a ship that that was shipwrecked just off the coast of Illyria, and the two main protagonists, Viola and Sebastian are separated and both believe each other to be dead. This is certainly true with Shakespeare's play 'Twelfth Night', as it is merely a plagiarism of another play. Malvolio’s character does not seem to have a very important role at the beginning of the play but he does his job properly as Olivia’s steward. Feste ridicules Malvolio with his disguise and mocks the steward's earlier behaviour by adopting a pompous voice; 'that that is, is.' Olivia thinks he’s mad. Feste interjects that it was he who played Sir Topas. Feste and Malvolio are complete opposites, in names and professions as well as their personalities. ga('send', 'pageview'); Save time and let our verified experts help you. Why has Sir Andrew written a challenge to Cesario? 4. a=o.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]; If you need this or any other sample, we can send it to you via email. In this essay I will be exploring Twelfth Night and focusing on the extent at which folly is used to create humour. He convinces Olivia that, all in all, the whole thing was a good joke, not to be taken too seriously. r=o.createElement('script');r.async=1; It’s a very responsible job that he takes very seriously. This is probably in revenge to Malvolio's remarks regarding Feste's 'barren' humour. Someone might think or argue that this theme is much more present “Twelfth Night” than other play’s written by William Shakespeare, such as “Romeo and Juliet” the theme is that of a forbidden love. As Malvolio starts to read the letter, he concludes that it must refer to him. Malvolio's character is deceived by forged handwriting, disguise, word play and self deception. One of his most famous plays was the 'Twelfth Night'; a romantic comedy written during the Elizabethan era; where women stayed at home, being the ideal 'mother' of the house, not having a real voice compared to the men. window.a2a_config=window.a2a_config||{};a2a_config.callbacks=[];a2a_config.overlays=[];a2a_config.templates={}; })(window,document,'https://static.hotjar.com/c/hotjar-','.js?sv='); We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. ","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://artscolumbia.org/exploration-humour-twelfth-night-24910/"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://artscolumbia.org/#/schema/person/e56254a13a322b955b496444e232976f","name":"Igor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://artscolumbia.org/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d50242bb4c6badfc3d84c26db38b048c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Igor"}}]} He returns saying that Viola will "stand at your door likes a sheriff's post... but... Twelfth Night was the festival held on the night of the 5th January (12th night after Christmas), and the night before the Epiphany, the time the Three Wise Men visited Jesus. When Malvolio reads in the letter, "If this fall into thy hand, revolve," he turns around on the stage, evoking roars of laughter from those in the box … Sir Toby. }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date(); Happily in due course she is more than content with Sebastian. Malvolio; Twelfth Night character: William Pleater Davidge as Malvolio in 'Twelfth Night' by William Shakespeare, Henry Andrews (1794-1868) (c.1846) Created by: William Shakespeare: Style. The letter instructs that, if "Olivia's" beloved finds it, he must indicate that he reciprocates his feelings by being surly with the servants,wearing yellow stockings, crossing his garters at the knee, and smiling all the time. Sorry, but copying text is forbidden on this website. What does Malvolio think of Feste? Malvolio is the steward (head servant) to Lady Olivia. Malvolio, and he does little to redeem himself as the play progresses. These assumptions were confirmed when I recently saw the Royal Exchange’s theatres production of “Twelfth Night” where Toby Belch was in fact small and fat. Someone could say that they are a sort of a “visual oxymoronic duo”, one being tall and slim and the other overweight and short. He reveals in his songs that Orsino is "roaming" after the wrong love in his pursuit of Olivia. How does Feste feel about Malvolio? But he becomes more interesting as the play progresses, and most critics have judged him one of the most complex and fascinating characters in Twelfth Night. a.appendChild(r); number: 206095338. Antonio's adoration for Sebastian turns out to be so solid, it seems sentimental in nature. How or what are often targets of their criticism? In Twelfth Night William Shakespeare uses many forms of deception on Malvolio and the other characters for humour purposes. Scholars m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0]; Sometimes it is in the form of verbal humour, sometimes visual and other times in forms, which cannot be categorised. Enraged, Malvolio declares that he will revenge himself on everyone present, and … How does Malvolio connect to disguise and deceit in Act 2 Scene 5? (2017, Aug 27). Categories. They assist in the make believe game and fool around with characters who "evade reality or rather realize a dream". In Twelfth Night, Feste, Maria and Sir Toby are the simpletons that make the parody work in numerous faculties. gif] There is another droll part of the physical aspect, and that is towards the end of the play when we see the twins Viola and Sebastian, together and the rest of the characters on the stage surprised as well as the people watching, in seeing two identical “Cesarios” and “Roderigos” neither of whom is Cesario or Roderigo. 2. Check it out goo.gl/Crty7Tt, An Exploration of Humour in Twelfth Night Essay, While reading "Twelfth Night", I realised that the audience would notice that there are many aspects of humour evident. This is shown in Act1 scence1 when valentine is informing Duke... We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you, Sorry, but downloading is forbidden on this website. (Wager you'd prefer to know where you can get your hands on one of those.) To woo Olivia, Orsino sends messengers to speak on behalf of him. Analytics.printButton = ''; Take away the fool, gentlemen. I think that the audience in this case will be laughing to Malvolio because in the play he is not seen as being a good man but a bad on as his name suggests (Mal = Bad; volio = to want), the opposite of “benevolent”, but also for the way he is dressed, and I can say that having watched a production myself I can safely say that the audience did indeed the way Malvolio was dressed and the consequences of this joke played on him very funny, who thinks highly of himself and is self-important as we see when he reads the letter and shows his bumptiousness. Someone might think or argue that this theme is much more present "Twelfth Night" than other play's written by William Shakespeare, such as "Romeo and Juliet" the theme is that of a forbidden love. This is a case of Dramatic Irony where the audience knows more information about the characters, than the characters themselves. ‘I told him you were sick… I told him you were asleep… ‘ As play progresses he becomes more complex and in some way amusing character as he is self-conceit and narcissistic. Analytics.previewButton = '.artscolumbia__essay-info__preview a'; In act 1 scene 5 we first learn about Viola's behaviour from Sir.Toby. These incidents have made the play more fun, interesting and surprising and have certainly given the play a few twists. Olivia accepts he has been mistreated … Sir Andrew is revealed as even more ignorant than Sir Toby has already portrayed him as Feste uses his skills at juggling words to make up new words, which seem real and genuine to Sir Andrew. How would you describe Malvolio's frame of mind? Malvolio, unhappy and angry, plans revenge. This example takes place in Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 63-64, where he has proved Olivia to be wrong: “The more fool, Madonna, to mourn for your brother’s soul being in heaven. Malvolio, in spoiling the fun of Feste and, later, the group of men, as well seems to spoil the audience’s fun. Antonio asks if he may go with Sebastian, but Sebastian refuses this kind request, and is gone. Sebastian, Viola's brother, is shown alive, and in the company of Antonio, a somewhat ­shady sea-captain who is wanted by Count Orsino for questionable doings on the seas. Malvolio is Olivia’s steward and his job is to manage Olivia’s house; he is her chief servant. One of the activities was a masquerade, in which everyone wore masks to conceal their identity, therefore also concealing their rank in society.... Twelfth Night is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. Who does Olivia ask to look after him and why is this funny? He does not want to listen to what Maria says to him and using his quick wit manages to answer her. [Aside] Yet a barful strife! 5. Where have they put him? Hire a subject expert to help you with Consideration of the Role of Feste in Twelfth Night. This is because of the letter written by “Olivia”, which causes Malvolio to act as a fool dressing in: “… yellow stockings, and wished to see thee ever cross-gartered” (II iiiii 136-7). It seems to be about Feste's life in particular and his choice to become a fool. PhDessay is an educational resource where over 1,000,000 free essays are collected. For example upon opening the letter written by Maria he says, "By my life, this is my lady's hand! In Act II Scene VI, we are exposed to seeing Malvolio in a different light. He is rude, overbearing and insults Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria and Feste. In Act 3, Scene 4, we see a very humorous scene where Malvolio is dressed in such a way that visually funny, this episode is very cruel trick, but Malvolio is the butt of a much more important trick in terms of its effects within the play. Although Olivia initially promises Malvolio that she will let him punish the guilty parties, Fabian defends himself, as well as Sir Toby and Maria—who, he reports, have just been married. If you need this or any other sample, we can send it to you via email. How is the joke on Malvolio taken even further? //= get_template_directory_uri(); ?> var eltdCoreAjaxUrl = "https://artscolumbia.org/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php" {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://artscolumbia.org/#website","url":"https://artscolumbia.org/","name":"Artscolumbia","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://artscolumbia.org/?s={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://artscolumbia.org/exploration-humour-twelfth-night-24910/#webpage","url":"https://artscolumbia.org/exploration-humour-twelfth-night-24910/","name":"An Exploration of Humour in Twelfth Night Essay Example For Students | Artscolumbia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://artscolumbia.org/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-10-28T15:30:21+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-12T15:34:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https://artscolumbia.org/#/schema/person/e56254a13a322b955b496444e232976f"},"description":"\u3010 An Exploration of Humour in Twelfth Night Essay \u3011for free from best writers of Artscolumbia \u2705 Largest assortment of free essays \u2705 Find what you need here! Festee is in a difficult situation since he has not been keeping up his work obligations, yet he receives in return by complimenting Olivia. The “question” of he play being make-belief may well add to the humour when the audience reflects that not only is “Cesario” not Viola but that isn’t Viola either, but an actor. The song goes through the life cycle from a "little tiny boy" and reverts all the way back around again to when the "world begun". 2. 9. 5. There is an opposite character to Sir Toby Belch in terms of size; this is Sir Andrew Aguecheek who is slim, very tall (as Maria says) and very stupid. Want to add some juice to your work? And that's exactly what he gets when he's duped into behaving like a "madman" to win the … Here we see Feste that with witty verbal dexterity shows Olivia’s foolishness in mourning for nothing, because what would be the point of mourning for her brother if his soul is in heaven? Dramatic Irony occurs when the audience knows something of which some or all of the characters on stage are unaware. Feste pretends to be a priest and taunts him. Feste carries the stigma of stupidity, which previous fools in literature have inflicted upon all fools but Shakespeare created Feste as an intelligent fool who would change the audience's perception of the role of fools. classic mature formal upper class urban devious strong strange complex nerdy . h.hj=h.hj||function() ga('create', 'UA-90324623-5', 'auto'); 5. Hell. He is critical He finds it funny He is angry He ignores Feste The deception devices used are mistaken identity, cross dressing, disguise, forged handwriting, self deception, word play and dramatic irony. When we first meet Malvolio, he seems to be a simple typea puritan, a stiff and proper servant who likes nothing better than to spoil other peoples fun. He is portrayed as the main antagonist. Her Ring . Feste’s wit is evident because of the way that he answers people, like the episode when he proves Olivia and not himself to be the fool; at the end he “wins” showing great wit and intelligence. i['GoogleAnalyticsObject'] = r; She Doesn't Love Orsino. Firstly, we see he deceives himself, ultimately playing the role of the person he thinks. 1. What does Toby decide to do with Malvolio? Malvolio's character and the misfortunes he encounters though out Twelfth Night provide a lot of the play's comedy scenes. Malvolio finds it, reads it. But while Malvolio may have no use for Feste’s comedy, comedy has apt use for Malvolio. What does this mean for Olivia? Who forges the letter that Malvolio thinks is from Olivia? How does Malvolio … Hi there, would you like to get such an essay? ACT IV, SCENE III 1. Toby Belch can be compared to other of Shakespeare’s characters who is Falstaff from the play “King Henry IV Part One”, which I recently saw a video of. What does Malvolio ask Feste for? She doesn't love Orsino. In Twelfth Night, the fools are the ones that control the comedy and humour in the play. In his role as Sir Topas he is more appealing to Sir Toby as Sir Toby hates Malvolio for his puritan-like ways. The humour is partly that the triangle exists so aesthetically because of the duality of Viola. How does Feste worsen things for Malvolio? Shakespeare portrays Feste as a well-drawn, wise, cunning, adaptable character. Even when he uses music he acts in his capacity as the fool for the house and is secretly wording the advice he would give to certain other characters in the play should he be allowed to tell them. His party-pooper ways and constant tattle-telling place a big giant bulls-eye on his back – he's just asking for trouble. In the recent production of “Twelfth Night” that I saw at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, there was an added piece of comedy that was added by that productions director, that is the addition of water on the stage, the floor was drenched and this added a slapstick style to the humour. What has gone on between Olivia and Cesario? The word folly means "a silly person" or. The audience at such moments like this should respond by laughing at malvolio, he’s the type of character who will say something funny but considering he has no sense of humour won’t realise what he has said that is funny which in turn makes it funnier. In Orsino's court he sings of love and how it can kill, "I am slain by a fair cruel maid" man's folly and man's deceitful nature while in Olivia's court he sings to Sir Toby and Sir Andrew he sings more joyful and careless songs but still reflecting on the characters' actions. He cant get enough of love, he says "If music be the food of love, play on" and "give me excess of it" and out of no where he commands" Enough no more "tis not as sweet as it was before" Orsino compares his love to the sea; he thinks that his love is so great it rivals the vastness of the... Today many people think of 'Twelfth Night' as a time to put decorations away and check there are no more pine needles in the carpets. Throughout "Twelfth Night" there is much foolery, fantasy and mistaken identity. {(h.hj.q=h.hj.q||[]).push(arguments)}; 11. Shakespeare creates sympathy for Lady Olivia, as we see that her brother dies. We will write a custom essay on An Exploration of Humour in Twelfth Night specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page. So considerable scope for visual humour as two incompetent fighters each believe the other can fight well. Malvolio's character is deceived by forged handwriting, disguise, word play and self deception. What does Toby tell Andrew about Cesario's reaction? His character is used in Twelfth Night to reflect on the actions and emotions of the others by keeping himself at a distance from the other characters and not becoming emotionally involved in any of the plots at the beginning of the play. UTM_MEDIUM = 'utm_medium=ch_sh'; 2. on Consideration of the Role of Feste in Twelfth Night. Sebastian pays him to leave pretty much. r.src=t+h._hjSettings.hjid+j+h._hjSettings.hjsv; Why did Toby decide to deliver the message by word of mouth? In that sense Feste is quite cruel, and even though we may think Malvolio deserves what he gets, Feste perhaps lays it on too much. In a lot of Shakespeare's play's they seem to move from chaos at the start of the play to harmony at the end of the play, "Twelfth Night" also follows this pattern, to a contemporary, Essay on Analysis Of The Book Thief By Markus Zusak Essay, The Ability to Empathize in Between the World and Me, a Book by Ta-Nehisis Coates Essay, Topic: An Exploration of Humour in Twelfth Night Essay, How does Shakespeare use deception to present the character of Malvolio and to create humour in Twelfth Night Essay, Twelfth Night - various plots and how they are int Essay, Twelfth Night: refer closely to the text and show the love and pain that Orsino, Olivia and viola experience Essay, How does Shakespeare portray the theme of identity in Twelfth Night Essay, How does Shakespeare create sympathy and empathy for the charcters in 'Twelfth Night' Essay.