Explore and debate the function of Feste
Explore and debate the function of Feste, the fool. To what extent does he offer honest insight to at least one other character, and to the audience?
A fool by definition is “a jester or clown, especially one retained in a royal or noble household”. Clowns and fools appear throughout the history of comic drama, and commonly, they can be categorised in two ways. There is the licensed fool, who has permission to joke about the world in which the play is set, create satire and poke fun at their society; or there is the natural fool who is often simple and of a lower class, who seemingly lacks any common sense or intelligence. In Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, Feste is described by Curio as, “a fool that the Lady Olivia’s father took much delight in.” (2.4) One could say that this description puts him in the role of a jester who is retained in the noble household of Lady Olivia, yet it is difficult to place him in just one of the two categories because in many ways he falls under both. He is a licensed fool in the sense that he is given permission to poke fun at Malvolio who is otherwise a Puritan, thus fulfilling the intention of mocking his society, but he is the natural fool in the sense that he is clearly of a lower class. This allows him to reveal truths to the audience and sets him apart from Malvolio who we view very differently. Feste speaks in prose as opposed to blank verse, which singularly outlines his lowly position in social society as a jester, but arguably he is much more intelligent than we would initially presume. Not only does this fool know Latin, “Cuculus non facit Monachum” (1.5), but also, as remarked by Cesario, “This fellow’s wise enough to play the fool, and to do that well craves a kind of wit.” (3.1), Feste's penchant for accurately judging situations and other characters puts him in a position to point out the folly of those around him, whilst creating laughter in the audience. Feste is also able to stand outside the green world
A fool by definition is “a jester or clown, especially one retained in a royal or noble household”. Clowns and fools appear throughout the history of comic drama, and commonly, they can be categorised in two ways. There is the licensed fool, who has permission to joke about the world in which the play is set, create satire and poke fun at their society; or there is the natural fool who is often simple and of a lower class, who seemingly lacks any common sense or intelligence. In Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, Feste is described by Curio as, “a fool that the Lady Olivia’s father took much delight in.” (2.4) One could say that this description puts him in the role of a jester who is retained in the noble household of Lady Olivia, yet it is difficult to place him in just one of the two categories because in many ways he falls under both. He is a licensed fool in the sense that he is given permission to poke fun at Malvolio who is otherwise a Puritan, thus fulfilling the intention of mocking his society, but he is the natural fool in the sense that he is clearly of a lower class. This allows him to reveal truths to the audience and sets him apart from Malvolio who we view very differently. Feste speaks in prose as opposed to blank verse, which singularly outlines his lowly position in social society as a jester, but arguably he is much more intelligent than we would initially presume. Not only does this fool know Latin, “Cuculus non facit Monachum” (1.5), but also, as remarked by Cesario, “This fellow’s wise enough to play the fool, and to do that well craves a kind of wit.” (3.1), Feste's penchant for accurately judging situations and other characters puts him in a position to point out the folly of those around him, whilst creating laughter in the audience. Feste is also able to stand outside the green world