Malvolio
Examine the character of Malvolio in Act II Scene 3. How does he change in Act III Scene 3?
Twelfth Night is a Shakespearean comedy that was first performed on the epiphany. It was not given a proper name as Shakespeare said to call it ‘What You Will’. Twelfth Night explores the key themes of unrequited love, mistaken identity, madness and revenge. This analysis will focus on the character of Malvolio, who is at the centre of the play’s sub plot, intended to lighten the mood in the play. We will examine his personality and how it changes throughout the play. Malvolio was tricked my Maria the maid, Feste the clown, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Fabian as an act of revenge due to his actions. We first meet Malvolio in Act 1 Scene 5, when he calls Feste ‘a barren rascal’ or an ‘empty fool’. This offends Feste and will sit deep with him throughout the play. Straight away he comes across as a very pompous and self-obsessed character to the audience. Olivia furthers this by saying, ‘Oh you are sick of self-love Malvolio.’ This shows that Olivia also has a similar impression of Malvolio to the audience and that she does not agree to his behaviour. Shakespeare purposely wrote this scene so Malvolio would become a figure of mockery from early on and so he can be taught a lesson later on in the play. He then returns in Act 2 Scene 3 and deepens our negative impression further by acting badly once more. He offends Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, who were drinking and singing by saying. “My Masters are you Mad?” This becomes very ironic as later on in the play he is shown to be a lunatic when he is tricked by Maria and the others. He then proceeds to offend them even more:
‘Have you no wit, manners or honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night? Is the no respect of place, persons, or time in you?’
This appears as if he has planned what he was going to say before he came to say it, which makes him appear even more pompous to the audience and the characters
Twelfth Night is a Shakespearean comedy that was first performed on the epiphany. It was not given a proper name as Shakespeare said to call it ‘What You Will’. Twelfth Night explores the key themes of unrequited love, mistaken identity, madness and revenge. This analysis will focus on the character of Malvolio, who is at the centre of the play’s sub plot, intended to lighten the mood in the play. We will examine his personality and how it changes throughout the play. Malvolio was tricked my Maria the maid, Feste the clown, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Fabian as an act of revenge due to his actions. We first meet Malvolio in Act 1 Scene 5, when he calls Feste ‘a barren rascal’ or an ‘empty fool’. This offends Feste and will sit deep with him throughout the play. Straight away he comes across as a very pompous and self-obsessed character to the audience. Olivia furthers this by saying, ‘Oh you are sick of self-love Malvolio.’ This shows that Olivia also has a similar impression of Malvolio to the audience and that she does not agree to his behaviour. Shakespeare purposely wrote this scene so Malvolio would become a figure of mockery from early on and so he can be taught a lesson later on in the play. He then returns in Act 2 Scene 3 and deepens our negative impression further by acting badly once more. He offends Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, who were drinking and singing by saying. “My Masters are you Mad?” This becomes very ironic as later on in the play he is shown to be a lunatic when he is tricked by Maria and the others. He then proceeds to offend them even more:
‘Have you no wit, manners or honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night? Is the no respect of place, persons, or time in you?’
This appears as if he has planned what he was going to say before he came to say it, which makes him appear even more pompous to the audience and the characters