Preview

Twelfth Night Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
682 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Twelfth Night Essay
Man Behind the Costume: Feste the Fool A fool, is defined as a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person. In
Shakespeare’s
Twelfth Night
, Feste, the fool, plays an important role in the play. Aside from adding humour to the play, Feste has shown ­ on more than one occasion ­ the true personalities of characters, which helps the reader further understand the play and characters.
Feste in some ways is also deceiving and though he was not seen making profound remarks,
Feste seems to be the wisest out of all the characters. Feste the fool, brings cohesiveness to the play, due to his clever humour, deception and ability to show other character's true personalities.
Feste is an essential character to the play of
Twelfth Night. Firstly, Feste, joins in on the deception in
Twelfth Night
, by dressing up as a pastor and attempting to convince Malvolio that he has gone insane.
FOOL: “... Sayst thou that house is dark?”
MALVOLIO: “As hell, Sir Topas.”
FOOL: ” Why, it hath bay windows transparent as barricadoes, and the clerestories toward the south­north are as lustrous as ebony; and yet complainest thou of obstruction?”
MALVOLIO: “ I am not mad, Sir Topas. I say to you this house is dark.”
(4.2.35­43)

Feste continues to add humour to the play by dressing up as Sir Topas (a curate) and convincing
Malvolio that he is going mad. While Malvolio is trapped in the dungeon, Feste (dressed up as
Sir Topas) approaches him to ask Malvolio if the dungeon is dark, Malvolio replies by saying
“As hell, Sir Topas.” Though the dungeon is dark, Feste, still trying to convince Malvolio of his lunacy, then explains that there are windows in the dungeon and they allow plenty of light to pour in. Which then leads Malvolio to believe that he is not only going mad but also going blind, thus Feste, adds deception to the play,
Twelfth Night, but also in a humorous manner. Secondly, Feste adds humor to the play and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Jared Dick final exam #1

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In Tartuffe (1664), as in his other plays, Moliere employs classic comic devices of plot and character. Here, a foolish, stubborn father blocking the course of young love: an impudent servant commenting on her superiors’ actions; a happy ending involving a marriage facilitated by implausible means. He often uses such devices, however, to comment on his own immediate social scene, imagining how universal patterns play themselves out in a specific historical context.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    "Well the Captain is without a lover and Narcissa no longer trapped under her husband's influence. Perhaps, with some guidance she might leave him all together for the someone better? Someone who has strong ties to the light?"…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Star From Now Book Report

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Sabastian shook his head to clear his daydreaming to look up and see the shining star that his brother was looking at. “Thats the north star, Stevenson.”…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Year of Wonders Essay

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “another ruined”. It is due to this event that Mr Mompellion casts aside his faith in humanity,…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Twelfth Night, Malvolio duped himself into believing that Olivia is in love with himself. When received a love letter meant as a prank, he makes the letter suit himself. In this antic, they lock Malvolio away claiming he is possessed and sends a priest, who is really the clown. Even though Malvolio would not be able to see who is talking to him, the clown puts on a robe to camouflage as a priest. “ I’ll put it on, and I will dissemble myself in’t,” he claims knowing that it will help convince himself what he is acting to be (55). In the film, Jerry gets stuck in the life of a woman. When he is proposed to, he agrees originally, caught up in his own lie. He even gets excited and easily gets along with the other girls in the band, fooling himself of his true…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    the servants are enjoying the carvnival and no one sees them enter they descend a long winding staircase to the wine cellar and catacombs the dark and damp tunnels and caverns beneath the palazzo when generation after generation have been laid to rest.as they walk on they passpiles of bones and piles of casks.intermingled in the passagway .Montresor fusses over Forunato's healthand his schedule knowing that the more he suggests fortunato give ups the quest the more his companion will be dertmined to see it…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cask of Amontillado

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The story takes place in Italy at a carnival where Montresor and Fortunato meet each other by chance, or so it is seems. The mood at the carnival is lively and exciting. It is then that the two men head towards the catacombs of Montresor's home in search of the wine Amontillado. The catacombs are a place of death where skeletons lie scattered against the damp walls, which are covered in nitre. Montresor dons a "mask of black silk" and a heavy knee length cloak (149). Montresor's clothes seem to indicate his wanting to conceal himself so he can carry out his devious plan. On the other side of the spectrum, Fortunato wears a "tight fitting parti-striped dress, and his head [is] surmounted by the conical cap and bells" (149). His clothing seems to indicate his trusting but foolish nature. The clothing of both men seems to set the mood for the type of characters they are. However, Montresor's true character is indicated through his words. From the beginning of the story his vengeful nature sets the tone for the acts that will follow. One of the first things that Montresor narrates to the reader about Fortunato is that he "…must not only punish but punish with impunity" (149). Montresor is also manipulative, as he tells Fortunato that he will have someone else taste the Amontillado, knowing that by doing this Fortunato will feel compelled to taste the wine himself. "As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me…" (150). In addition to being manipulative and vengeful he also…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    bait. Montresor intoxicates Fortunato as they walk further into the damp and cold tunnels. When the…

    • 772 Words
    • 1 Page
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I've tried to live so I can look squarely back at him." says…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Shakespeare's uniquely constructed comedy, Twelfth Night, there are several paradoxes within the characters. Misinterpretations as well as false presentation of reality are both common occurrences within the characters. Nearly the entire cast of characters use or fall victim to some form of deceit. Both Andrew and Viola present themselves as people they are not, and Orsino and Malvolio are fooled themselves about who they are and where they want and can be. Also, on a historical note, both Olivia and Feste the clown step (by default or self-attainment) out of the socially imposed stereotypes of their biologically born person. The reasons for Shakespeare's contradictions of characters are unknown; however, it can be hypothesized, knowing the man and his style that he was poking fun at elements of the society, in which he resided, as well as the ridiculousness of higher class citizens and the ritual absurdity of the lives they lived.…

    • 1285 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When Feste’s witty remarks are matched by Viola, Feste begins his more intellectual wittiness. “A sentence is but a cheverel glove to a good wit,”3.1.10-11 In this sentence you tell that there is a deeper meaning when Feste is talking about a glove. The way that Feste describes the glove to Viola is interesting because when a person uses a glove it is normally hiding the hand. Feste has stumble onto a crucial part of the play making the plot much sweeter for the audience because they know the truth about Viola and he doesn’t; Cesario is the glove to Viola. This is perfect not only is the fool being a mocked in the play; his fooling is now…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the Shakespearian era, Twelfth Night was a festival where traditional roles were often relaxed, masters would wait on servants, men would dress as women, and inversion of the hierarchy took place in many ways. This convention of comedy is used throughout “Twelfth Night” in order to create humour for an audience of this time, as the façade of the individual characters and their feelings, leads to the confusion and chaos which, makes this play so humorous. The element of disguise in the play conforms to the idea that “nothing that is so, is so” and by using sibilance and repetition, Shakespeare makes Feste’s quote paramount. He uses the character of Feste to represent what the audience are thinking, and presents the idea that what you may see on the surface isn’t necessarily what is true.…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    He is mad at Fortunato because he said something mean. “It must be understood, that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good-will. I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation”…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Malvolio may deserve his come-uppance, but there is an uncomfortable universality to his experience. Malvolio’s misfortune is a cautionary tale of ambition overcoming good sense, and the audience winces at the way he adapts every event—including Olivia’s confused assumption that he must be mad—to fit his rosy picture of his glorious future as a nobleman. Earlier, he embodies stiff joylessness; now he is joyful, but in pursuit of a dream that everyone, except him, knows is false. I feel that his punishment may have gone a bit too far as most people can see. There is a difference between making a fool of someone and locking him or her up for life. He may have been a spoil sport and intolerant towards Sir Toby’s, Sir Andrew’s and Maria’s fun but they took a bit too far. He was only doing his…

    • 304 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare uses a uses a large range of dynamic methods to portray the different layers to Feste’s temperament. At the commence of the scene, we are lulled into a false sense of security about the fool. However, as the body of text continues we see that he has many other traits to his personality, for example; his intellect, his endearing nature, state of mind and his ability to read other characters and what love entails.…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics