Twelfth Night

Twelfth night
Act 1 scene 1
Plot
The play begins with introducing the character of duke Orsino who is presented as being ‘lovesick’ for the duchess Olivia. We learn from one of Orsino’s gentlemen valentine that Olivia is mourning for her dead brother and is going to stay in mourning for 7 years. Orsino thinks that this is great as he believes that if Olivia can love her brother with so much passion she will be even more passionate towards him, when she falls in love with him which of course Orsino thinks is inevitable.
Key quotes Character | Quote | explanation | Orsino | ‘if music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it surfeiting’ | This quote gives us the impression that Orsino is a petrarchan lover who is more in love with the idea of being love than with Olivia herself. This is further highlighted by the fact he doesn’t mention Olivia until line 20.‘Excess’ is a motif which runs throughout the play. | Orsino | ‘enough no more’ | Suggests Orsino’s fickleness as he quickly changes his mind on whether he wants to listen to music. | Orsino | ‘receiveth the sea’ | Could be a cataphoric reference to viola who will appear from the sea and who eventually ends up marrying Orsino. The sea is used by Orsino many times to describe his love. | Orsino | ‘the noblest I have’ | Suggests Orsino’s self importance as he calls himself ‘noble’. Suggests a narcissistic personality. | Orsino | ‘she purged the air of pestilence’ | This unrealistic statement symbolises orsino’s unrealistic love for Olivia, as obviously she cannot rid the air of plague. | Orsino | ‘my desires, like fell and cruel hounds’ | Orsino self loved is pursued by his own desires. | | ‘please my lord, I might not be admitted’ | The fact that Orsino does not go himself to woo Olivia suggests his love for her is not true. |
Other key points * Orsino refers to the legend of actaeon who was a huntsman who was turned into a deer and torn into pieces by his own hounds as a punishment for watching the virginal goddess Diana bathing. * Olivia is presented as a similar character to Olivia as they are both ruled by strong emotions. * Comedy could be created by the exaggeration of the character of Orsino as the stereotypical character who is in love with love and himself.
Act 1 scene 2
Plot
This scene introduces the character of viola taking place soon after she has just been shipwrecked. It is understood that viola was very lucky to survive the shipwreck and drowning and that it is very unlikely that her twin brother is still alive. Viola learns that the play is set on the Illyrian coast and is ruled by count Orsino. Viola learns that Orsino is trying to woo the duchess Olivia however he has so far failed as since Olivia’s father and brother have died she had ‘abjured the company and sight of men’. Viola feels sympathy for Olivia as she too thinks she has lost both her father and brother. However the captain explains that Olivia ‘will not admit no kind of suit’ and viola decides (bizarrely) to pretend to be a eunuch and go and work for Orsino. Character | Quote | Explanation | Viola | ‘What country friends, is this? | The fact viola’s first line in the play is a question suggests she is a resourceful character and is intelligent as she is thinking about her situation rather than succumbing to grief unlike Olivia. | Viola | ‘and so perchance may he be’ | Viola’s quick answered pun of the captain use of ‘perchance’ immediately presents viola as a quick witted and intelligent character. | Orsino | ‘a noble duke, in nature as in name’ | The captain’s opinion of Orsino is positive which would suggest he is good at his job and is well respected. | Viola | ‘he was a bachelor then’ | Possibly foreshadows the fact that Orsino could be a potential love interest for viola. |
Key points * Viola entrance in Illyria by water makes literal two images depicted from the previous scene- Orsino’s speech about ‘the sea of love’ and Olivia’s saltwater tears which are called ‘brine’. This foreshadows that viola will be acting as a mediator between the two characters. * Viola’s decision to disguise herself as a eunuch could be seen as comedic due to the incongruity of the action.
Act 1 scene 3
Plot
This scene introduces the characters of sir Toby belch, Maria and Sir Andrew aguecheek who are some of the low characters who will create much of the comedy in the play. Sir Toby belch who is Olivia’s cousin discusses his pity for his niece and her mourning and Maria responds saying that Toby must keep himself within the limits of order. Sir Toby mentions his friend sir Andrew who he believes could be a potential suitor for his niece, sir Toby describes Sir Andrew as an intelligent and wealthy knight however Maria has other opinions of him. When the character of sir Andrew is finally presented on stage it is clear that Maria’s description of him being a ‘fool’ is most accurate with Sir Andrew being presented as a character that is ill witted and slow and an easy target for jokes by the other characters. Character | Quote | Explanation | About sir Toby | ‘that quaffing and drinking will undo you’ | Suggests that sir Toby is a heavy drinker who enjoys a party. | About sir Andrew | ‘he’s a very fool and a prodigal’ | As Maria is presented as the most responsible out of her and sir Toby this sets sir Andrew up to be a feebleminded character. | Maria | ‘it’s dry sir’ | Maria’s quick witted response presents her as a quick witted, intelligent and perceptive character. | Sir Andrew | ‘what is pourquoi’ | The fact that sir Andrew doesn’t understand the word pourquoi makes both sir Andrew and sir Toby look stupid as sir Toby said sir Andrew ‘speaks or four languages word for word without book’. | Sir Toby | ‘Ha higher! Ha, ha, excellent’ | The fact that sir Andrew will do whatever sir Toby will do anything that sir Toby tells him to do suggests Toby has sir Andrew under his thumb which could create humour. |

Key points * Like Orsino sir Toby is characterised by excess as Toby refuses Maria’s reasonable suggestion for sir Toby to ‘confine’ himself ‘within the modest limits of order’. * Maria’s insults such as in line 21 ‘he’ll have but a year in all these ducats’ meaning sir Andrew may earn a lot of money but he would waste it all away. Maria also says sir Andrew is a ‘fool’, ‘prodigal’, and a ‘coward’ which would have amused the Shakespearian audience. * This act also creates comedy by using sir Andrew as a butt of jokes such as sir Andrew getting mixed up with Maria’s name calling her ‘mistress Mary accost’ and Maria turning sir Andrew down and the visual comedy of her bringing his hand to her breast and her double meaning of the word buttery-bar as pub but also a woman’s breast. Sir Andrew is also the butt of the jokes with Maria’s double meaning of the words ‘dry’ and ‘barren’. * The wording of sir Toby’s description of Sir Andrew’s hair is also comedic as he says ‘it hangs like flax on a distaff’ which doesn’t sound madly complimentary. He also uses it to create bawdy sexual innuendo by saying ‘I hope to see a housewife take thee between her legs and spin it off’. * There is also visual slapstick comedy created by Sir Andrews’s presumably poor dancing skills and the fact that in some performances sir Toby pokes Sir Andrew to make him dance more.
Act 1 scene 4
Plot
Viola who is now disguised as Cesario has been employed for Orsino for 3 days and with the conversation between Cesario and another of Orsino’s servants valentine Cesario and Orsino are getting along well. Orsino summons Cesario saying that already he has ‘unclasped’ to him ‘the book’ of his ‘secret soul’ and that because Cesario looks so feminine he should try and go to persuade Olivia to marry him. However as viola leaves to go and see Olivia she informs the audience that she in fact desires to marry Orsino and has fallen in love with him. Character | Quote | Explanation | About viola said by valentine | ‘already you are no stranger’ | Suggest that Cesario and Orsino have immediately got on; this may foreshadow their future marriage. | About Orsino said by Cesario | ‘Is he inconstant, sir, in his favours?’ | Perhaps foreshadowing orsino’s seemingly sudden desire to marry viola after seemingly being desperately in love with Olivia. Perhaps suggesting Orsino’s fickleness. | Orsino | ‘the book’ | The fact Orsino refers himself to the ‘book’ suggests he has inflated opinions of himself. | Orsino | ‘secret soul’ | Could be humour as obviously his heart is not that ‘secret’ as he has spilt all his secrets to someone he knows nothing about. | | ‘all is semblative to a woman’s part’ | Dramatic irony as the audience knows Cesario is really a woman. This seems to suggest that Orsino believes Cesario to combine the physical qualities of both male and female and creates gender confusion which much of the play’s comedy revolves around. | Viola | ‘Yet a barful strife; whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife’. | Tells the audience viola has fallen for Orsino, this creates further complication in the play. |
Key points * The intimacy Orsino has when with Cesario / viola is a sharp contrast from the detached relationship he has with Olivia. * Orsino’s comments on cesario’s feminity create gender confusion in which much of the plays comedy revolves around.
Act 1 scene 5
This is the first scene in which we actually see Olivia having been mentioned in previous scenes. The image we see of Olivia may be slightly different to how we may expect her to behave as instead of being in constant mourning and fragile she appears to be in control of her servants and partakes in witty conversation with Feste (a clown). This scene is also introduces the character of Malvolio (Olivia’s steward) who is presented as a sober and austere and god fearing character. Maria informs Olivia that a ‘gentleman’ from Orsino’s court desires to speak with her. At first Olivia is adamant she will not speak to him however after hearing Malvolio’s and sir Toby’s vivid description of him Olivia is intrigued and says she will listen to the boy. Olivia puts on her veil to listen to Cesario and does not declare who she is. Cesario declares he wants to know if he is speaking to the lady of the house as he has gone to ‘great pains’ learning Orsino’s ‘well penned’ speech and he wants it to be directed at the right lady. Olivia is intrigued at Cesario’s frankness and abrupt manner and admits she is the lady of the house. Olivia says she is sick of Orsino’s messengers bringing her ‘feigned’ and ‘fearful’ dialogues. It is apparent Olivia is not at all interested in Orsino and even makes fun of his clichéd ways of declaring his love towards her like Cesario saying that his text comes from ‘Orsino’s bosom and heart suggesting that she knows Orsino doesn’t really love her but is in love with the idea of being in love with her. Olivia asks what Cesario would do if he was in love with a woman who didn’t love him back and is surprised by his poetic response. It is clear by this point that Olivia has fallen for Cesario asking what his ‘parentage’ is. After Cesario replies rather cryptically Olivia demands that Cesario to not let Orsino send anymore messengers except if he sends Cesario again. Olivia offers Cesario money but he refuses calling Olivia ‘fair cruelty’. After Cesario has left Olivia declares that she has fallen in love with Cesario like she has caught ‘the plague’. Olivia lies to Malvolio saying that Cesario has left a ring behind with him and for him to chase after him with it. Character | Quote | Explanation | Feste | ‘Apt in good faith, very apt. well, go thy way. If sir Toby would leave drinking, thou wert as witty a piece of eve’s flesh as any in Illyria.’ | As Maria is also witty this could foresee the future marriage of Maria and Toby. This could show feste’s ability to see more in a situation. | Malvolio | ‘Such a barren rascal. I saw him put down the other day with an ordinary fool that has no more brain than a stone’ | Malvolio’s callous and bitter and unforgiving insult of Feste sets Malvolio up to be a tyrannical and unfriendly character as there appears to be no sign of a joke in his insult and it appears he truly believes what he is saying. | Olivia | ‘there is no slander in an allowed fool’ | Suggests Olivia can have a light-hearted spirit, has control over Malvolio and isn’t afraid to have a laugh even though she is supposed to be is mourning for 7 years. | Viola | ‘he’s fortified against any denial’ | Suggests viola stands her ground and isn’t prepared to give up easily. Viola is a catalyst for events in the play as she is not a static character like Orsino. If viola had not gone to Orsino’s the play have been rather boring as Orsino would simply be wallowing in his love sickness and Olivia may not have come out of her state of mourning. | Viola | ‘Not yet old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy, as a squash is before ‘tis a peasecod, or a codling when ‘tis almost an apple. ‘Tis with him in standing water between boy and man. He is very well favoured and speaks very shrewishly. One would think his mother’s milk were scarce out of him’ | Malvolio’s speech which first gets Olivia intrigued in Orsino’s messenger. Suggests gender ambiguity of Cesario because of his voice and appearance. Creates dramatic irony as the audience knows Cesario is neither a boy nor a man. | Viola | ‘I swear- I am not that I play’ | Creates dramatic irony as the audience knows Cesario’s real identity. | Viola | ‘make me a willow cabin at your gate’ | Shows viola determination achieve Orsino’s love. Shows she is a passionate character. | Viola | ‘I am a gentleman’ | Creates gender ambiguity and dramatic irony as the audience knows this is not true. | Olivia | ‘how may one so quickly catch the plague’ | Shows Olivia has fallen in love with Cesario. Compares falling in love to like the plague. This is like when Orsino says Olivia clears the air of the plague. The metaphor of the plague is a reminder of the plays dark side. | Olivia | ‘I do I know not what, and fear to find, mine eye too great a flatterer for my mind.’ | Suggests Olivia loves Cesario’s outward appearance. She doesn’t know what he is like inside. This is a factor of dramatic irony. |

Key points * Olivia’s use of prose and blank verse shows she is a down to earth character. * Sir Toby comes in half drunk further reinstating the image of his character in the audience’s mind of a lazy, drunk and excessive character. Act 2 scene 1 We realise viola’s twin brother Sebastian is still alive having been saved by a sea captain called Antonio. Although having only just met Antonio seems to have become quite attached to Sebastian. Sebastian believes his sister to be drowned. Sebastian says he doesn’t really know what he is going to do but he perhaps is going to work for Orsino. Antonio claims he is an enemy of Orsino’s court but will go anyway. Character | Quote | Explanation | Sebastian | ‘it was said she much resembled me’ | Dramatic irony as the similarity between Sebastian and viola creates much of the plays plot and comedy. | Antonio | ‘I do adore thee so’ | Perhaps suggests homosexuality which also creates gender ambiguity. In the previous scene Olivia declared her love for Cesario perhaps this parallel with the two ending soliloquies foreshadows the 2 people who are most battling for Sebastian’s affections. | Key points Many productions of twelfth night have portrayed Antonio’s affections for Sebastian as homosexual love. Act 2 scene 2 Plot Malvolio tries to return the ring that he thinks belongs to Cesario as Olivia has told him to do however viola is adamant she left no ring to Malvolio. Malvolio in contempt and thinking Cesario is being ignorant throws down the ring and exits. Viola confused picks up the ring and in a soliloquy realises that Olivia has fallen in love with her. Character | Quote | Explanation | Viola | ‘she loves me sure’ | Shows viola is insightful, intelligent and can tell people’s emotions and intents. | Viola | ‘disguise, I see thou art a wickedness’ | Viola can see disguises can cause confusion and ambiguity. | Viola | ‘my state is desperate for my master’s love’ | Shows viola’s dedication towards her passion towards Orsino. | Viola | ‘it is too hard a knot for me t’untie’ | Shakespeare has created a clear love triangle between the main characters and the audience has to wait to see how the love triangle will be ‘untied’. | Key points The rhyming couplet which ends the scene suggests all will be alright at the end of the play. Act 2 scene 3 Plot Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are having a revel. Feste enters and is persuaded by sir Toby and Sir Andrew to sing a love song. Maria enters wondering what all the racket is about warning Malvolio will come and tell them off .the revel continues and Malvolio then comes to reprimand the revellers warning that Olivia would be ‘very willing to bid’ them ‘farewell’, angering all the other characters. When Malvolio has left Maria calls him a ‘kind of puritan’ and says she has devises a plan to ridicule him by writing a letter pretending to be Olivia. The letter would be expressing Olivia’s love for Malvolio to make him look like a fool. When Maria leaves sir Toby calls her Penthesilea who was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology showing his affection towards her. Character | Quote | Explanation | Feste | ‘that can sing both high and low’ | Could be referring to viola- dramatic irony | Feste | ‘journeys end in lovers meeting’ | Could be foreshadowing the fact that the plays journey will end when the main characters (who are lovers) meet together for the first time. Could show Feste is insightful. | Feste | ‘What’s to come is still unsure. In delay there lies no plenty, then come kiss me, sweet and twenty. Youth’s a stuff will not endure. ‘ | Suggests a sombre undertone to the play suggests that twelfth night and epiphany will soon be upon the characters causing their festivities and revelling to come to an abrupt end. Suggests the characters are fighting to retain their youth as none of them are getting younger. Suggests to the characters that if you love someone go for it. This could be a reason why sir Toby who listens to the song marries Maria. | Malvolio | ‘My masters are you mad or what are you?’ | Creates the impression that Malvolio is puritanical and austere who does not enjoy any fun and goes against the plays theme of having a good time. Malvolio is not afraid to reprimand the other characters suggesting he thinks himself superior to them. Creates an inversion of order which could create comedy and usually a household steward would never tell off his masters. | Malvolio | ‘she is very willing to bid you farewell’ | Creates the impression that Malvolio is unfriendly, unforgiving and tyrannical as it appears he enjoys making people feel uncomfortable. | Sir Toby | ‘Art any more than a steward? Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?’ | Sir Toby challenges Malvolio and brings down his role to merely a steward. | Malvolio | ‘Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady’s favour at anything more than contempt you would not give means for this uncivil rule. She shall know of it, by this hand. ‘ | Creates the impression that Malvolio can be quite a nasty character as he tries to blackmail Maria into believing in his point of view. | Maria | ‘go shake your ears’ ‘monsieur Malvolio’ | Shows Maria’s contempt for Malvolio | Sir Toby | ‘good night, Penthesilea’ | Shows sir Toby’s affections for Maria as Penthesilea was a legendary strong Amazonian woman in Greek mythology. | Sir Toby | ‘She’s a beagle true bred, and one that adores me. What o’that?’ | Shows sir Toby recognises that Maria has feelings for him too. | Sir Andrew | ‘I was adored once too’ | Presents sir Andrew as a tragic character as it suggests he has lost someone who loved him. | Key points The major subplot of the gulling of Malvolio is established. The Shakespearian audience would have been more likely to be on the side of the revellers as the audience would have more than likely despised puritans as they were attempting to ban the theatre. Act 2 scene 4 Plot The scene begins at Orsino’s with the duke wanting to hear the same song which was played to him the night before, however curio (one of Orsino’s attendants) explains that Feste is not there (We now know where Feste is when he is not at Olivia’s residency). Orsino sends curio to find Feste and talks to Cesario about love. Orsino says to Cesario that before falling in love he should think of him and remember the upset love can cause. Orsino then asks what he thinks of the song that is playing and Cesario responds saying the song is true to the emotions of love. The duke believes that Cesario has already fallen in love. Cesario admits he already has fallen in love and when the duke asks what the lady is like Cesario replies cryptically saying she has a temperament like the dukes and that she is around the same age of the duke. The duke frowns upon this and tells him that it is much more wiser for a man to take a younger wife as he says it becomes more difficult for a man’s affections to remain true when a woman’s beauty wears off, which will occur quicker in an older woman. This shows that Orsino’s love for Olivia is only from her outward appearance and not her personality or inside which suggests he is quite shallow. Curio returns with Feste who sings for the duke. Feste leaves and Orsino once again asks Cesario to go and see Olivia. Cesario asks what the duke will do if Olivia cannot love him. Orsino says he cannot accept that reply. Cesario then asks if a woman loved Orsino as he loves Olivia, wouldn’t she just have to accept that Orsino cannot love her. However Orsino replies saying that a woman is physically not able to feel the same intense passion which he feels for Olivia. Cesario uses an anecdote of saying about his (imaginary) sister. Once loved a man as Cesario himself may love Orsino if he were a woman the same way he loves Olivia. Orsino then asks what happened to Cesario’s sister and Cesario replies saying that his sister never told her love. Cesario explains that men may preach about love but they never really love as much as they preach they do. Cesario asks if he still wants him to go to Olivia’s and Orsino tells him to go and take a jewel to her and make sure he is not denied entrance. Character | Quote | Explanation | Viola | ‘of your complexion’ | Dramatic irony as the audience knows the person Olivia loves is of Orsino’s completion as it is Orsino himself. | Orsino | ‘our fancies are more giddy and unfirm, more longing wavering, sooner lost and worn than women’s are.’ | Suggest Orsino doesn’t understand women. | Orsino | ‘for women are as roses, whose fair flower being once displayed doth fall that very hour’ | Suggests Orsino is shallow as he only cares about outward appearance. | Orsino said by Feste | ‘thy mind is a very opal’ ‘changeable taffeta’ | Feste knows Orsino is fickle as the colour of an opal and foreshadows the fact that his love will quickly fade for Olivia’s to violas. | Orsino | ‘Get thee to yon some sovereign cruelty. Tell her my love, more noble than the world.’ | Suggests Orsino enjoys being in his situation and enjoys suffering for love- he is an attention seeker. Suggests Orsino has a high opinion of himself as he says his love is ‘more noble than the world’. | Viola | ‘Say that some lady as perhaps there is, hath for your love as great a pang of heart as you have for Olivia. You cannot love her; you tell her so. Must she not then be answered’ | Dramatic irony. Suggests viola is courageous. | Orsino | ‘No women’s heart so big to hold so much- they lack retention. Alas their love may be called appetite.’ | Dramatic irony as the audience knows that Orsino’s love is shallow and lacks retention. Makes Orsino out to be a hypocrite’ | Viola | ‘my father had a daughter loved a man, as it may be, perhaps were I a woman’ | Dramatic irony | Viola | ‘She never told her love, but let concealment like a worm I’th bud feed on her damask cheek. She pined in thought, and with a green and yellow melancholy she sat like patience on a monument, smiling at grief.’ | Describes viola’s situation. | viola | ‘we men’ | Dramatic irony | Viola | ‘we men may say more, swear more, but indeed our shows are more than will, for still we prove much in our vows, but little in our love’ | Sums up Orsino’s attitude to love. | Viola | ‘I am all the daughters of my father’s house, and all the brothers too; and yet I know not’ | Viola is clever with words. Suggests viola’s suspicion that her brother is still alive. Maybe suggests that viola thinks she will die from her love for Orsino like her imaginary sister did in love. Suggests that the play may end in tragedy especially as viola is just a servant and has to declare her true love’s love to someone else. | Key points This scene is essential in establishing the depth of feelings viola has for Orsino. This scene shows how lonely viola is as she has no one to talk to about her situation apart from the audience and she rarely expresses her feelings through soliloquies. Unlike Rosalind in as you like it who has her cousin Celia to be a friend throughout her disguise. Violas disguise helps her to get to know Orsino as if she was a woman she would have not been able to talk with him because of rules and conventions in place in Tudor society at the time. Scene 2 act 5 Plot Sir Toby gets another one of Olivia’s servants (Fabian) in on the plot to gull Malvolio. Maria has written the letter and leaves it in a box tree for Malvolio to find. Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Fabian hide behind the tree and watch as Malvolio is taken in by the letter. Malvolio is immediately tricked by the letter and decides he will change his behaviour and clothing to suit what ‘Olivia’ had written in the letter for example by wearing yellow cross- gartered stockings, smiling all the time and being surly with kinsmen. After Malvolio has left sir Toby says he could marry Maria for her plot foreshadowing their characters endings. Maria explains the logic to what she has put in her letter by saying that Olivia hates yellow and the fashion of cross gartering and that she will find smiling very inappropriate to her situation in which two of her close family members have recently died. Character | Quote | Explanation | Sir Toby | ‘the niggardly, rascally sheep-biter’ | Shows sir Toby’s opinion of Malvolio. | Sir Toby | ‘my metal of India’ | Metal of India was a name for gold at the time of writing which shows sir Toby’s affections for Maria as it suggests he prizes her and shows their love for each other as sir Toby calls her ‘my’. | Malvolio said by Maria | ‘he has been yonder I’the sun practicing behaviour to his own shadow for this half-hour’ | Shows that Malvolio is a narcissistic character who has high opinions of himself. Suggests that it will be easy to fool him that Olivia loves him as he has high self worth and esteem at this point in the play. | Maria about Malvolio | ‘the trout’ | Shows Marias dislike of Malvolio. | Malvolio | ‘’tis but fortune, all is fortune. Maria once told me she did affect me, and I have heard herself come thus near, that should she fancy it should be one of my complexion. Besides she uses me with a more exalted respect than anyone else that follows her’ | Shows that Malvolio already thinks Olivia likes him before he has already read the letter. Gives the impression that Malvolio is hypocritical as puritans should not care about fortune, this reinstates the image of puritans to Shakespeare’s audience that all puritans are hypocrites. The fact Malvolio calls Olivia ‘she’ suggests he does not love her but only the fortunes she could bring him. Suggests that Maria has been planning this gull of Malvolio for a long time as she has been putting ideas into Malvolio’s head. | Malvolio | ‘Perchance wind up my watch, or play with my- some rich jewel. Toby approaches, curtsies there to me’ ‘an austere regard of control’ | Shows Malvolio’s desire for control and materialistic riches. | Sir Andrew | ‘I knew ‘twas I, for many do call me a fool.’ | Presents sir Andrew as a tragic and pathetic character. | Malvolio | ‘ by my life this is my lady’s hand’ | Suggests Malvolio’s close attention to Olivia. | Sir Andrew | ‘Her c’s her u’s and her t’s why that? | Shows sir Andrew’s innocence. | Malvolio | ‘I will smile, I will do everything that thou wilt have me’ | Shows Malvolio has been completely taken in by the letter. | Sir Toby | ‘I could marry this wench for this device’ | Foreshadows the character’s ending. | Maria | ‘he will come to her in yellow stockings- and ‘tis a colour she abhors- and cross gartered – fashion she detests- and he will smile upon he, which will now be so unsuitable to her disposition, being addicted to the melancholy as she is, that it cannot but turn him into a notable contempt’ | Shows Maria has well thought out her letter and is clever. Shows that the play will not end up with Olivia falling in love with Malvolio, which I believe would have been a pretty good ending. | Key points The fact Malvolio opens the letter which is not addressed to him shows he is not perfect especially as he thinks it has been written by his master. The situation where sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Fabian are hiding behind a tree could be seen as very funny as every character is trying to shut each other up. ACT 3 SCENE 1 Viola and Feste are taking part in a witty conversation. They discuss why Feste is found both at the duke’s and at Olivia’s. Feste talks about Cesario having no beard which could suggest that he knows more than he is letting on about viola’s disguise. Feste leaves Cesario and sir Toby and Sir Andrew enter. Sir Toby tries to confuse Cesario to prevent him from seeing Olivia as sir Toby wants Sir Andrew to marry Olivia as he believes he will be able to afford more food and drink this way. Olivia and Maria enter and Olivia completely ignores Sir Andrew telling sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria to leave her with Orsino’s servant. Olivia finds out Cesario’s ‘name’. viola again tries to plead Orsino’s case to Olivia but Olivia will have none of it saying that he would prefer his mind to be filled with ‘blanks rather than filled with me’. Olivia declares her love for Cesario but viola simply says that she pities her. The two characters than engage in witty stichomythia in which Cesario explains he is not what he says he is. Cesario declares that ‘he’ will never love Olivia and that she should be in love with Orsino not ‘him’ but Olivia just says to Cesario that he must come again as she loves him. Character | Quote | Explanation | Viola | ‘so thou mayst say the king lies by a beggar if a beggar dwell near him, or the church stands by thy tabor if thy tabor stand by the church’ | Presents viola as a quick witted and intelligent character as she is able to keep up to feste’s jokes. | Feste | ‘corrupter of words’ | Suggests Feste is more than a fool. | Feste | ‘now Jove in his next commodity of hair send thee a beard’ | May suggest Feste knows more about viola’s disguise than he is letting on. | Viola | ‘is thy lady within’ | Dramatic irony. Could be said knowingly to Feste as if she knows he knows about her disguise. | Feste | ‘Would not a pair of these bred, sir?’ | Shows Feste is an experienced fool who tries to get as much money as possible. | Viola about Feste | ‘this fellow is wise enough to play the fool’ | Suggests viola knows Feste knows more than he is letting on about her. | Viola about Feste | ‘but wise men, folly-fallen, quite taint their wit’ | Suggests an inversion of order as a fool is normally presented as stupid. Could suggest a difference between appearance and reality like viola’s disguise. | Viola | ‘et vous aussi; votre serviteur’ | Presents viola as an intelligent character as she is able to speak French fluently when talked to. Suggests sir Andrew is dim as he is unable to sustain a conversation in French even though he was the one who started the conversation. | Olivia | ‘let the garden door be shut and leave me to my hearing’ | Shows Olivia’s fixation on Cesario and her lack of love for sir Andrew. Shows her control over the rest of the household, showing she is a strong minded character.’ | Viola | ‘And he is yours, and his must needs be yours. Your servant’s servant is your servant madam. | Presents viola as witty as she has an answer for everything anyone throws at her. | Olivia | ‘enchantment you did here’ | Suggests Cesario has put a spell on Olivia. | Olivia | ‘the clock upbraids me with the waste of time’ | Olivia knows understands that Cesario cannot love her because of the age gap between them but is still adamantly in love with him. | Olivia about viola | ‘your wife is like to reap a proper man’ | Dramatic irony as the audience knows that Cesario is definitely not a ‘proper’ man. | Viola | ‘I am not what I am’ | Dramatic irony. Shows difference between appearance and reality. | Key points Act 3 scene 2 Plot Sir Andrew informs sir Toby he will be departing his company shortly as he has failed to make any impression on Olivia. However sir Toby and fabian persuade him to stay as they say Olivia’s attachment towards Cesario is only to make Andrew jealous so he will make a move on her. Fabian and sir Toby say the only way Andrew can prove his love to Olivia is by challenging him by writing a letter to scare Cesario off. After sir Andrew has left sir Toby admits he will not give the letter to Cesario as he compares his bravery to that of a ‘flea’. Maria come in and informs Toby and fabian that the letter she wrote has ‘dogged him like his murderer’ and that Malvolio is doing everything (much to their delight) what the letter said he should do including grimacing and wearing yellow cross garters. Character | Quote | Explanation | Fabian | ‘this was a great argument of love towards you’ | The audience knows that fabian and sir Toby are making a mockery of sir Andrew as everyone will know that the statement said by fabian is blatantly false. | Sir toby | ‘I have been dear to him, lad, some two thousand strong or so’ | Shows Toby is just using Andrew for his money. Creates humour because of the double meaning of ‘dear’. | Sir toby about sir Andrew | ‘For Andrew, if he were opened and you find so much blood in his liver as will clog the foot of a flea, I’ll eat the rest of the anatomy.’ | Suggests sir Andrew is cowardly. Presents sir Toby as an unpleasant character as he insults his ‘friend’ behind his back. | Fabian about Cesario/ viola | ‘and his opposite, the youth, bears in his visage no great presage of cruelty’ | Suggests Cesario will be a poor fighter. Foreshadows the humour which will occur when the two unwilling and cowardly ‘men’ duel. | Key points Maria’s description of Malvolio creates comic anticipation of the characters’ entrance. Many theatre critics and directors have felt the plays rhythm falters with this long but quite slight scene and have found difficulty in keeping up the pace established by the action so far. Act 3 scene 3 Antonio has followed Sebastian who appears pleased to see him. Antonio says he is in constant danger whilst in Illyria as he was once in a sea fight against Orsino’s palace. Antonio says he is going to an inn called ‘the elephant’ and leaves his purse with Sebastian for his convenience. Act 3 scene 4 Maria informs that Malvolio is acting rather strangely, suggesting he has been possessed saying he does nothing but smile. Malvolio comes in with yellow stockings and cross gartering. Malvolio believes that Olivia has written the letter so thinks she is pretending when she appears to not know anything about his appearance. Olivia accuses Malvolio of being tired and says ‘go to bed’ which Malvolio believes with him. The characters then are involves in witty stichomythia as neither character knows what the other is talking about. Olivia thinks Malvolio is ‘mad’ and calls upon Maria and Toby to look after him as a servant informs Olivia that ‘the young gentleman of the count Orsino’s’ has ‘returned’. Malvolio thinks that Olivia is playing along with the letter as he believes he is getting ‘special’ treatment so he can be ‘opposite with a kinsman’ and ‘surly with servants’. When sir Toby, fabian and Maria arrive they treat Malvolio as if he is mad and act as if he has been possessed by demons. Once Malvolio has left sir Toby comes up with a cruel plan that they shall put Malvolio in a darkened room as Olivia already thinks he is mad and this was the convention to do with people in Tudor times who people believed were ‘mad’. Sir Andrew then enters proclaiming he has written a letter for Cesario. The letter is unbelievably stupid and when Sir Andrew has left sir Toby says that he could never give this to Cesario as it would not be taken seriously and sir Toby will personally tell Cesario that he must duel Sir Andrew. Olivia and viola talk again in private with Olivia saying she would give anything to Cesario with Cesario replying that she should give her love to ‘his’ master. Olivia once again is adamant that she will make Cesario love her and demands he come back tomorrow. Sir Toby and fabian say that Cesario must fight sir Andrew. Sir Toby says that Sir Andrew is a tremendous fighter and will be not satisfied until the ‘pangs of death’. Viola who is obviously frightened tries to get out of the fight by saying excuses such as ‘he’ is ‘no fighter’. Sir Toby leaves Cesario with fabian and goes to find sir Andrew. Viola asks fabian ‘what manner of man is he?’ and he replies saying that he is ‘the most skilful, bloody and fatal opposite that you could possibly have found in any part of Illyria’ which scares viola. Sir Toby lies to Sir Andrew saying that Cesario is ‘a very devil’ and is very violent which makes Sir Andrew very frightened also with Andrew even offering Cesario his horse. Fabian and sir Toby attempt to make Sir Andrew and Cesario fight even though the pair are both quivering with terror. Antonio sees the pair and thinking Cesario is Sebastian he tries to save him and stop the fight. Officers from count Orsino’s court see Antonio and try to arrest him. Antonio asks for his purse back from Cesario still believing he is Sebastian and is shocked when he replies he has no purse and has never seen Antonio in his life. Antonio is understandingly upset and as he is dragged away by the officers he mentions Sebastian’s name shocking viola allowing her to question whether he is still alive. Character | Quote | Explanation | Olivia | ‘Where’s Malvolio? He is sad and civil, and suits well for a servant with my fortunes’ | Dramatic irony as the audience knows Malvolio will enter grinning. | Olivia | ‘I am as mad as he’ | Olivia Suggests that her infatuation for Cesario has made her mad. | Olivia | ‘wilt thou go to bed Malvolio’ | Innuendo | Olivia | ‘why this is midsummer’s madness’ | Suggests that the norm has been turned on its head. | Malvolio | ‘why everything adheres together’ | Malvolio makes everything work towards his favour as he wants the letter to be true as he dreams of being ‘count Malvolio’ | Fabian | ‘if this were played upon a stage now I could condemn it as an improbable fiction’ | Dramatic irony. By reminding the audience aware that the play is entirely fictitious Shakespeare is able to make his plot more unbelievable as the audience realises that the play is not meant to be a representation of real life. | Sir Toby | ‘We’ll have him in a dark room and bound’ | Suggests that sir Toby can be cruel or suggests that the other characters really despise Malvolio. | Sir Andrew | ‘thy friend as thou upset him and thy sworn enemy’ | Sir Andrew’s letter is so pathetic that it makes him appear as a tragic character. | Olivia | ‘a fiend like thee might bear my soul to hell’ | Olivia suggests she has been possessed by the madness of love. Could be suggesting that she would be prepared to go to hell for Cesario. | Sir Toby and fabian | ‘he is a knight dubbed with unhatched rapier and on carpet consideration, but he is a devil in private brawl’ ‘the most skilful, bloody and fatal opposite you could possibly find in any part of Illyria’ | Dramatic irony as the audience knows that sir Andrew is the opposite to what he is being described as. | Sir Toby about Cesario | ‘’he’s a very devil’ | Dramatic irony as the audience has just seen that Cesario / viola was acting the opposite to the devil even comparing ‘himself’ to ‘sir priest’. | Sir Andrew | ‘let the matter slip and I’ll give him my horse, grey Capulet’ | Presents sir Andrew as cowards as he is willing to give his horse away to a person he really has never met to avoid a fight. This creates humour as it is an inversion of the norm as traditionally knights are associated with bravery and courage. | Viola | ‘a little thing would make me tell them how much I lack of a man’ | Dramatic irony. Suggests viola is close to unmasking herself from her disguise. | Antonio | ‘Will you deny me now?’ | Suggests Antonio’s confusion. | Viola | ‘I hate ingratitude more in a man than lying vainness, babbling drunkenness or any taint of vice whose strong corruption inhibits our frail blood’ | Mirrors Orsino’s speech where he says women are frail however here viola says men are frail. Dramatic irony as it could be seen that sir Toby who is also on stage is a drunkard and a liar. Also Antonio believes Cesario / Sebastian to be ungrateful as he believes the boy is ungrateful as Antonio had given him money and saved his life. | Antonio | ‘thou hast Sebastian, done good feature shame’ | First mention of Sebastian whilst viola is disguised as Cesario. Gives viola hope that her brother is still alive as Antonio said he rescued someone ‘half out of the jaws of death’. | Viola | ‘He named Sebastian. I my brother know yet living in my glass even such and so. In my favour was my brother and he went still in this fashion, colour, ornament, for him I imitate. ‘ | Viola allows herself to believe that her bother may be alive. She admits that when she disguised herself she based her disguise on her brother because she wanted to keep his memory alive in her, which she believes may be a reason why someone may think she was Sebastian. | Key points Antonio’s arrival brings an indication of potential tragedy as his character does not appear to have a happy ending. This scene begins to untangle the ‘knot’ of the plots complications. Act 4 scene 1 Plot Feste greets Sebastian believing he is Cesario confusing Sebastian. Sir Andrew, sir Toby and fabian enter also believing Sebastian is Cesario. Sir Andrew obviously having been spurred on by sir Toby and fabian strikes Sebastian. Sebastian being a man and being very different to viola strikes sir Andrew back wondering why he was hit exclaims ‘are all the people mad?’ Sir Toby who is shocked that ‘Cesario’ has responded in this way tries to restrain Sebastian but Sebastian frees himself and sir Toby draws his sword just as Olivia enters. Olivia also believing Sebastian is Cesario is astonished her uncle wants to harm Cesario and tells him get out of her sight. Olivia apologises for her uncle’s behaviour and Sebastian is astounded by Olivia’s beauty questioning whether he is dreaming. Olivia asks whether Sebastian (who she still thinks is Cesario) will be ruled by her and Sebastian says ‘he will’. Character | Quote | Explanation | Feste | ‘Vent my folly!’ | Suggests feste’s shock at who he thinks is Cesario’s demotion of his state to a simple fool as he had explained in act 3 that he was not just a fool but a ‘corrupter of words’ and he believed Cesario to be trustworthy and a supporter of his jokes. | Sebastian | ‘What relish is in this? How runs the stream? Or am I mad or else this is a dream. Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep; if it be thus to dream, still let me sleep’ | Suggests that Sebastian has already fallen in love with Olivia. | Olivia | ‘I prithee would thou’dst be rules by me’ | Suggests that Olivia knows that ‘Cesario’ has changed somehow and is making use of this. | Sebastian | ‘madam I will’ | Suggests that Sebastian has fallen in love with Olivia at first sight. | Key points The usage of words such as ‘fool’ and ‘foolish’ and ‘folly’ between Feste and Sebastian help to highlight the absurdity of the situation which is coming to a head. Act 4 scene 2 Plot Feste persuaded by Maria and sir Toby disguises himself as sir Topas a priest taunts the imprisoned Malvolio and tries to convince him that he is insane by saying that it’s not really dark and Malvolio is just imaging the darkness. Malvolio is adamant he is not mad and continually asks Feste for a candle and a pen, ink and paper so he can show he is not mad and Feste finally relents and lets him have his wish. Character | Quote | Explanation | Maria | ‘I prithee put on this gown and this beard make him believe thou art sir Topas the curate. Do it quickly. ‘ | Suggests it was Maria’s idea to taunt Malvolio like they do. | Malvolio | ‘I am as well in my wits, fool, as thou art’ | Meddles with the idea of madness and and insanity. Who is sane and who is insane? | Key points Many critics call this the darkest scene of the play. Feste’s disguise as sir Topas is symbolic of the deceit caused by disguises. Act 4 scene 3 Plot In Olivia's garden, Sebastian enters and can't believe his good fortune as Olivia, who he has just met, appears totally into him and recently gave him a pearl as a token of her love however Sebastian doesn't know that Olivia thinks he's "Cesario." Sebastian ponders where Antonio is as he could ask him whether he is dreaming and Olivia is real. Sebastian exclaims that he must be mad or else Olivia may be. Olivia enters with a priest proposing marriage to Sebastian and Sebastian goes with it accepting much to Olivia’s delight. Character | Quote | Explanation | Sebastian | ‘I do feel’t and see’t’ | Sebastian wonders whether he is dreaming and whether the situation he is in is real. This could be a form of dramatic irony as the audience knows that the play is not real and the situation is a much exaggerated form of what could happen. Reality and what is real is a key theme in the comedy as the audience with so many disguises is left to analyse what is real and what is false. | Sebastian | ‘that I am ready to distrust mine eyes’ | Sebastian suggests he may be mad as he thinks he is in an unreal situation. Suggests Sebastian is bewildered by the recent events which have happened to him which may be a reason he accepts to Olivia’s proposal of marriage even though he had only met her the day before. However quick marriages are a norm in Shakespeare’s plays with notable examples including Romeo and Juliet and viola and Orsino at the end of the play. | Sebastian | Calls Olivia ‘the lady’ | Suggests Sebastian does not even know Olivia’s name. May suggest the age gap between the two characters as Olivia had pointed out before in the play. | Sebastian | ‘yet if ‘twere so she could not sway her house, command her followers, take and give back affairs and their dispatch with such a smooth, discreet and stable bearing as I perceive she does’ | Sebastian suggests madness is not being able to control your life and behaving in an uncontrollable manner. | Olivia | ‘blame not this haste of mind’ | Suggests Olivia wants to take control of her situation and wants to cease her chance on ‘Cesario’s’ sudden change of heart. However deep down she may feel that something may be not quite right in the situation and may be just kidding herself that she believes it is Cesario. The fact that it is Olivia that proposes to ‘Cesario’ gives the impression that Olivia is a strong minded and assertive character as this action goes against social conventions even today let alone in Tudor times. | Sebastian and Olivia | ‘I’ll follow this good man and go with you, And having sworn truth, ever will be true’ and ‘then lead the way, good father and heavens so shine That they may fairly note this act of mine.’ | The fact Sebastian and Olivia both talk in rhyming couplets at the end of the scene suggests that they are a good match for each other and are well suited. Suggests completeness and a clockwork neatness as without Sebastian Olivia may have married a woman. | Key points The fact Sebastian says it would be useful to have Antonio’s opinion may show how lonely his character is in his situation like viola. Act 5 scene 1 Plot
This act with its single scene acts as the denouement for the play and ties up (the majority of) the storylines. The scene begins with Feste holding a letter written by Malvolio. Fabian is curious and asks to see it but Feste refuses. Orsino, Cesario and curio enter. Officers bring in Antonio who causes confusion as he believes that Cesario is Sebastian which further gives viola hop that her brother is still alive. Olivia enters and Orsino immediately starts to flirt with Olivia. However Olivia totally ignores him and starts to shout at Cesario for leaving her so soon after their marriage. Orsino is furious as he believes that his trusty servant ‘Cesario’ has betrayed him and married Olivia. Orsino storms off and Cesario tries to follow him but ‘he’ is collared by Olivia who demands ‘he’ stay. Viola is very confused as she doesn’t know what Olivia is talking about as she has never married Olivia- only Sebastian has! The priest enters and confirms that he has just married Olivia to Cesario as he believes that Cesario and Sebastian are the same person also. Orsino is outraged and says he never wants to see Cesario ever again. To make matters even worse sir Andrew comes in exclaiming that ‘Cesario’ has just attacked him and sir Toby however the audience knows that this must have been Sebastian and not Cesario. Cesario denies everything and sir Toby enters saying that all what sir Andrew has said is true. Both sir Toby and sir Andrew are bleeding and when sir Toby asks if anyone has seen the doctor, fetes tells sir Toby that the doctor is drunk and is not going to come which infuriates sir Toby as he says that he hates ‘drunken rogues’. Sebastian finally enters and apologises to Olivia for hurting her kinsman. Everyone is shocked as there appears to be two ‘Cesraios’ on stage. Sebastian notices Antonio not knowing he has been arrested. Antonio is bemused thinking that Sebastian has made a division of himself. Sebastian sees Cesario and realises who ‘he’ is and is overjoyed that his sister is alive. Cesario finally admits ‘he’ Is really viola and says her clothes are with a sea captain and that she does not want Sebastian to ‘embrace’ her until she is dressed in her ‘maiden’ clothes. Sebastian looks at Olivia and tells her that she is lucky she married him and not ‘Cesario’ as alternatively she would have been married to a female. Orsino tells Olivia not to worry about her situation as Sebastian is of noble blood, which means Olivia hasn't just married a servant boy like she first believed after all. Orsino turns to viola and calls her ‘boy’ even though he knows she is a woman and reminds viola that she had said that she fancied a ‘woman’ like Orsino and asks whether this was aimed at him and whether viola still loves him. Viola says she is still totally besotted by Orsino. Orsino asks viola to marry him and to see viola in her ‘woman’s weeds’ and viola responds saying that her clothes are with a sea captain who is now being held by Malvolio. Olivia calls for Malvolio and Feste hands to her the letter Malvolio wrote while imprisoned in the dark room. Feste says Malvolio's possessed by the devil, but, when he reads the letter aloud to Olivia, Olivia knows something's is not right. Fabian brings out Malvolio who is understandably upset, saying that he is confused as to why he was locked up for doing everything Olivia had told him to do in the letter such as arguing with everyone, smiling and wearing yellow cross gartered stockings. Olivia realises that the letter Malvolio is referring to must have been penned by Maria and is saddened by her company’s behaviour towards Malvolio. Olivia promises she will try to make things better for Malvolio causing some of the other characters to protest as they believe that Malvolio had done wrong things in the past and that they were just getting their revenge but Malvolio storms of stage saying that he will get his revenge! Fabian also tells the audience that Maria and sir Toby have got married offstage. The play ends with the indication that Orsino and viola will soon be married and everyone will live happily ever after (except from Malvolio, sir Andrew and perhaps Antonio) and Feste sings a song to end the play.

Character | Quote | Explanation | Feste | ‘do not desire to see this letter’ | Suggests Feste is ashamed of what he and the others have done to Malvolio. | Orsino | ‘that face I do remember well, yet when I saw it last it was besmeared as black as Vulcan in the smoke of war’ | Orsino’s recollections of his sea battle against Antonio show Orsino can be a man of action and who has great military leadership with influence outside the main sphere of his household. This suggests that Orsino’s love of love itself may be just a result of boredom without having to have a war to conduct. Orsino speaks with great force when remembering Antonio as ‘besmeared as black as Vulcan in the smoke of war’. This presents Antonio as a sinister character and raises questions about the duality hinted about his character. The metaphor that Orsino uses describing Antonio as like Vulcan (the rough blacksmith of the gods) suggests that Antonio’s character is not all what it seems and he could be a much more brutal and violent character than first meets the eye which is further evidence of the theme that all is not what it seems or what meets the eye. | Antonio | ‘today my lord and for three months before’ | Starts to alert the other characters such as Orsino that all is not normal as Orsino knows that Cesario has been in his court for 3 months. This creates a build up for when Sebastian finally appears on stage. | Olivia | ‘Cesario you do not keep promise with me’ | Presents Olivia as a strong willed woman who likes to be in control. | Orsino | ‘Still so cruel’ and ‘you uncivil lady, to whose ingrate and unauspicious alters my soul the faithfull’st offerings hath breathed out that e’er devotion tendered- what shall I do? | Suggests that Orsino has built an idealised image of Olivia in his mind of a woman who ‘heaven’ personified but when he is confronted with reality he does not like it. suggests Orsino was never really in love but in love with love itself and the feelings of devotion and faithfulness that went with it but had never before really found a real woman in which to devout his feelings to. | Viola | ‘after him I love more than I love these eyes, more than my life’ | Shows viola’s devotion towards Orsino. Creates confusion for Olivia. | Viola | ‘more by all mores than e’er I shall love wife’ | Dramatic irony .further confuzzles Olivia who believes she has married him. | Viola | ‘Who does do you wrong?’ | Shows violas confusion. | Sir Toby | ‘I hate a drunken rogue’ | Presents sir Toby as a hypocrite and a foolish character as sir Toby spends most of the play getting and being drunk. | Sebastian | ‘I am sorry, madam, I have hurt your kinsman’ | Suggests that Sebastian will not be punished for hurting sir Andrew and sir Toby. Suggests even though he has married Olivia he still does not know her name calling her ‘madam’. Suggests that Sebastian is strong and valiant- the total opposite of sir Andrew- thus presenting him as a better suitor for Olivia. | Orsino | ‘one face, one voice, one habit and two persons; a natural perspective that is and is not’ | Unravels the plays confusion as t is the first time Sebastian and viola have been seen on stage at the same time. Encompasses the plays theme of all that is not what it appears to be and appearances can be deceptive. | Antonio | ‘an apple cleft in two is not more twin’ | Suggests Antonio and viola are very similar which is why it is so easy they have caused so much confusion. | Stage direction | ‘Sebastian (sees viola)’ | Could be argued to be the climax of the play as the whole play is building towards viola and Sebastian’s reunification. | Viola | ‘do not embrace me till each circumstance of place, time, fortune do cohere and jump that I am viola’ | Suggests viola is not proud of her disguise as she didn’t want to see her brother to see her like this. | Orsino | Calls viola ‘boy’ even though he knows ‘Cesario’s’ real identity | Suggests Orsino’s confusion. | Olivia | ‘they say, poor gentleman, he’s much distract’ | Suggests Olivia feels sorry for Malvolio. Suggests madness should be something that should be pitied. | Orsino | ‘this savours not much of distraction’ | Suggests that madness is something that is obvious and is easy to spot. Suggests that sanity is not easily forged. Suggests it is up to personal opinion who is mad and the labelling of madness is socially constructed as it is up to society to judge who is mad and who is sane. Many could have judged Orsino as mad in the play as he was so absorbed with love and Many could say that viola’s decision to disguise herself as a ‘eunuch’ was an act of insanity etc. ` | Fabian | ‘in recompense whereof he hath married her’ | Indicates to the audience that sir Toby and Maria have got married offstage. Suggests that Maria was in love with sir Toby and she came up with the plot to gull Malvolio to impress him so that he would realise that he loved her back. | Feste | ‘thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges’ | Feste suggests that Malvolio had it coming for him as it was only a matter of time someone would get revenge on him for his behaviour towards others. Suggests that Feste believes what comes around goes around and that he thinks they should just leave the situation as both sides have had their fun and that Malvolio shouldn’t need to punish the others as he had punished them before which is why they had fooled him in the first place. | Malvolio | ‘I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you!’ | Suggests that Malvolio’s tale doesn’t have a happy ending as he is full of spite and anger. Suggests malvolio’sself alienation will not be cured. |
Key points- this is the first time we see Orsino and Olivia on stage together which would suggest they are not well suited towards each other. In this scene all the strands of the plot are brought together. Michael Pennington notes that the final marriages ‘have something perfunctory about them as if the fantastic contortions of the plot have turned the characters into puppets’. Suggesting that Shakespeare’s use of marriage is simply a plot device and not something which is ultimately satisfying for the principal characters.