Ironically for a Comedy, Suffering and Cruelty Lie at the Heart of the Play, How Far Do You Agree with This View?
Ironically for a comedy, suffering and cruelty lie at the heart of the play, how far do you agree with this view?
Despite the comical premise of Twelfth Night (TN) there is an underlying vein of cruelty and suffering that runs throughout the play. This is often a direct consequence of the humour conveyed through the narrative. Sir Toby Belch's trick on Malvolio is an example where the letter orders him to wear yellow stockings ‘ever cross-gartered’.
A question is raised as to whether Shakespeare intended the play to be solely received as a comedy or whether he intended the tone of cruelty to overpower the comedic aspects. I believe that he envisioned the play being received as a balance between the two, with neither aspect protruding more than the other.
By opening the play with a dramatic imperative sentence from Orsino, Shakespeare manages to render a detailed image of his melodramatic characteristics, his social position from the use of imperative, as well as suggesting the tone of the play. Orsino demands to Curio and the audience to 'give me excess of it [love] that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die.’ This histrionic reaction to anguish can be portrayed hyperbolically and so evoke laughter in the audience: a major aspect of a comedy. However, it could also be interpreted by the audience in a forlorn manner, setting the audience up for an assumed tragedy by associating the image of love to disease by using ailment lexis, such as ‘sicken’ ‘surfeit’ and die’. This suggests Shakespeare intended Twelfth Night to be interpreted and portrayed to the audience in different ways, with neither comedy nor suffering dictating.
In act II scene V however, when Malvolio discovers the letter composed by Sir Toby Belch, Sir Aguecheek, Fabian and Maria posing as Olivia; it is clear that Shakespeare intended the scene to be humorous. Firstly, Malvolio spells out part of a crude word, “her C's, her U's and her T's”, in reference to Lady Olivia. The
Despite the comical premise of Twelfth Night (TN) there is an underlying vein of cruelty and suffering that runs throughout the play. This is often a direct consequence of the humour conveyed through the narrative. Sir Toby Belch's trick on Malvolio is an example where the letter orders him to wear yellow stockings ‘ever cross-gartered’.
A question is raised as to whether Shakespeare intended the play to be solely received as a comedy or whether he intended the tone of cruelty to overpower the comedic aspects. I believe that he envisioned the play being received as a balance between the two, with neither aspect protruding more than the other.
By opening the play with a dramatic imperative sentence from Orsino, Shakespeare manages to render a detailed image of his melodramatic characteristics, his social position from the use of imperative, as well as suggesting the tone of the play. Orsino demands to Curio and the audience to 'give me excess of it [love] that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die.’ This histrionic reaction to anguish can be portrayed hyperbolically and so evoke laughter in the audience: a major aspect of a comedy. However, it could also be interpreted by the audience in a forlorn manner, setting the audience up for an assumed tragedy by associating the image of love to disease by using ailment lexis, such as ‘sicken’ ‘surfeit’ and die’. This suggests Shakespeare intended Twelfth Night to be interpreted and portrayed to the audience in different ways, with neither comedy nor suffering dictating.
In act II scene V however, when Malvolio discovers the letter composed by Sir Toby Belch, Sir Aguecheek, Fabian and Maria posing as Olivia; it is clear that Shakespeare intended the scene to be humorous. Firstly, Malvolio spells out part of a crude word, “her C's, her U's and her T's”, in reference to Lady Olivia. The