Despite what many may think, being called a Puritan is an insult. Malvolio is the head servant in Lady Olivia’s house; he represents the Puritans in the play Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is a comedic play about a girl name Viola, who pretends to be a guy named Cesario, and the love triangle that she is involved in. Malvolio represents the Puritans in the play Twelfth Night because of his need for power, his attitude, and his opinions. The Puritans beliefs are very similar to Malvolio’s. According to Christine Heyrman a professor at the University of Delaware, the puritans want to prohibit all vices. Of these vices include gambling, being drunk, swearing, dressing very showy, and Sabbath-breaking. Sabbath-breaking is when you stop saying the daily prayer. The puritans believed in getting rid of the corrupt and sinful practices that has taken …show more content…
“Marry, sir, sometimes he is kind of puritan” (Shakespeare). Maria said this to Sir Toby and Andrews after Malvolio interrupted their get-together. Malvolio has many characteristics and similar beliefs to the puritans. They both want power. “Just think, I could be Count Malvolio!” (Shakespeare, Twelfth Night) This is part of a little rant that Malvolio had about Sir Toby and how he would love to marry Lady Olivia so he could be the Count of the house. Malvolio is a very self-righteous guy, who wants to climb the social ladder. He does not like the class he is in now because he wants to be in control. This is just like the puritans because they wanted to be in control of the churches and have the power over what was being taught about the word of God. Malvolio hates Sir Toby because he is a drunk. This is similar to how to the puritans want to prohibit all the vices, which include being drunk, along with other things. Malvolio is also a killjoy which is similar to the puritans because they follow the word of God very
To begin with, Puritans were colonists who wanted to seek religious strength. It was a sin and against the law to not attend a church mass. It was also against the law to pursue any type of witchcraft because the was known to correlate
The Puritans were a group of people with strong beliefs, ideas and values in the 1630’s to the 1660’s. Their ideas influenced society in multiple ways during this time including politically, economically, and socially. Politically, they believed in having a theocratic government , economically, they used the value of hard work to run the economy and stimulate prosperity and also, socially the influence of the religion and the need for a tight knit communtiy influenced New England in many more ways than one. All of these influences were part of the ideological belief of the Puritans to attain a “City Upon a Hill” society where they would have the perfect community and established ethos for other communities to later follow in their footsteps.
The puritans go create the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They didn’t have strict rules like England, people were not forced to go to church, it all seems great. However, there were many issues. Puritans believed in Calvinism, or predestination. This was the idea that everything is preset by God and nothing you do can change your fate. “Nothing a person did in his or her lifetime could alter God’s choice or provide assurance that the person was predestined for salvation with the elect or damned to hell with the doomed multitude.” (The American
Most Americans know of Puritans and Pilgrims but don't recognize differences in their beliefs, how they came about and why they are often confused with one another. Many think they are the same, for good reason, though this isn't the complete truth. There are also stereotypes placed on the two groups like the Pilgrims, formally known as Separatists, being gentle, truth-seekers, and they Puritans being harsh, and outlawing any and everything deemed un-Godly. They had opposite agendas, and didn’t get along most of the time in England as well as the New World.
In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Malvolio is considered an outcast by almost everyone in the play. He doesn’t act the same way that any of the other characters act, in that he doesn’t participate in any of their activities, he enforces rules that the others could care less about, and he is just overall a socially awkward guy. Malvolio not only claims to adhere to the rules of the household himself, but uses his relations with Olivia to try and help make the others follow the rules as well. This upsets certain characters more than others. For instance Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria find his behavior particularly detestable. But Malvolio’s strict coherence to the rules allows him to have a rather high position in Olivia’s household.
The beliefs of the puritans were simple and straightforward. They believed that the Bible was God 's true law and it provided the blueprints for a righteous life. People who did not agree with the Puritans theological views were advised to disperse from the area or convert to the popular beliefs of the majority. In fact, those who deviated from the socially acceptable way of living were strictly disciplined. The Puritans
Puritanism was a major belief during the 1500s-1700s, Puritans believed that you are required to devote your whole life to the Lord. In order to be a Puritan you had to glorify God by attending church, report sinners, and show God’s grace through your own actions. In
Other characters in the play strongly dislike Malvolio. When Olivia isn’t around he thinks and acts like he’s the king and that Olivia is his lady. Malvolio had stated, “ My lady bade me tell you, that… she’s nothing allied to your disorder” about Sir Toby (W.S 23). Even when he comes into the scene with other characters, he decides to say, “Besides, she uses me with a more exalted respect than any one else that follows her”(W.S 30).With that he’s saying that Olivia treats him like a king and puts him over top of everyone. The only reason why Olivia had to deal with him is because he is her steward. A reason why I think she only puts up with Malvolio is that he will do anything the she commands. For when Cesario was outside she had said to Malvolio “ Go you, Malvolio: if it be a suit from the count, iam sick, or not at home; what you
In William Shakespeare's comedic play, Twelfth Night, a recurring theme is deception. The characters in the play used deception for a variety of purposes. Viola's use of deception involves her disguising herself as a man in order to obtain a job with the Duke of Illyria, Orsino. On the other hand, Maria, Olivia's servant, writes a letter to Malvolio in Olivia's handwriting to make Malvolio act foolishly because of his love for Olivia. While some use deception as a means of survival, others use deception to trick others and make them act foolishly.
While some may think that Malvolio is essentially a moral and just person, this can be disproved by shedding more light on his less-honourable practices, like his abuse of power. Essentially, like it is pointed out even by her mistress (INSERT QUOTE), Malvolio is just an extensively pompous person. Personality-wise, his narcistic and patronizing ways are made to recall those of a nobleman. These traits fit in easily with his character, as he obviously aspires to be part Illyria’s nobility one day (INSERT QUOTE). The essence of Malvolio’s personality is ascertained by Maria when she describes him as a Puritan (INSERT QUOTE). In the Elizabethan era, Puritans were stereotypically associated with being kill-joys and an excessive hatred of theatre.
Another example is the way in which Olivia adopts the pretence of mourning and the puritanical Malvolio is tricked into the role of Olivia's suitor and becomes a smiling courtier.
In the later part of the play a different side of him is exposed. Malvolio is Olivia’s steward and his job is to manage Olivia’s house; he is her chief servant. It’s a very responsible job that he takes very seriously. He enjoys telling people what to do.
Maria and the conspirators decide to mislead Malvolio into thinking that Olivia is in love with him. Maria decides to lead him on by writing a letter, but means to be from Olivia. This love letter is meant to instruct Malvolio to do actions that Olivia despises. Maria is able to mislead Malvolio because she has the same print and seal as Olivia. Shakespeare is able to trick the characters and create many portrayals of them.
Deception and disguise are two key themes in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'. As in most comedies, Twelfth Night celebrates different forms of disguise and deception in order to make the play more entertaining. It also develops a strong connection between the main plot (with Viola, Orsino, Olivia, and the others) and the sub-plot (involving Sir Andrew, Sir Toby, Malvolio, and Maria). Disguise and deception appear in many different ways throughout the story.
himself just to suit his outlook on the situation. For example, the play he twists Olivia's words around to make it seem like she likes his yellow cross-gartered tights when in reality she dislikes them. Sir Toby just considers himself and no one else, not even his companions. He ignores Maria's notification about drinking into the night, and he continues to push Sir Andrew and Olivia to court. Even though he believes that Sir Andrew doesn't have a chance. Olivia considers the all-inclusive community around her, yet she furthermore assumes that no man is meriting her brilliance. She assumes that she is "all that," and that no one can organize her. For Shakespeare to incorporate this sort of just a single was most likely to demonstrate that Malvolio who thinks excessively of himself isn't right about Olivia cherishing him.