The Fools in Twelfth Night Essay

In studying William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will, it becomes clear that the theme of “Inside/Outside” is visible at many different levels. One of the comedic methods applied is the mistaken identity of Viola and Sebastian. Another case is Malvolio’s sudden change of character and clothes. Furthermore, Feste, who acts as a professional fool in the play, turns out to be a bright and wise character, against the expectations of the readers. Without these important elements where the characters show to be entirely different on the outside than on the inside, the play would be less intriguing, and moreover, they are essential to develop major scenes.

-Ironically, Lear truly is the fool in this story, and even more ironically the Fool is one of the wisest characters.

   In most Shakespearean romantic comedies, there is a character that plays the part of a truth-teller.  And in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night it is no different. Feste, a clown, through his mixed up words and songs enlightens the other characters whilst playing the role of the truth-teller.  Through aiding the Duke with his patience, helping Viola with her love problems, and having a major role in Malvolio's downfall, Feste holds one of the primary parts of the play.

Feste’s character in this scene. Feste breaks the stereotypes set for him as a fool and proves

In Twelfth Night, the fools are the ones that control the comedy and humor in the play. They assist in the make believe game and fool around with characters who "evade reality or rather realize a dream". In Twelfth Night, Feste, Maria and Sir Toby are the fools that make the comedy work in many senses. They create the confusion through humor and it all works out in the end to make William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night a comical play of his time and today. In Twelfth Night, the clown and the fools are the ones who combine humor and wit to make the comedy work, just like in many comical plays in today’s society. Modern audiences would laugh from the foolery caused by these characters while the comic truth is unwinding to build up this comedy.

Malvolio’s lack of self-criticism or self-awareness makes him vulnerable to Maria's plan to ridicule him.

There is a certain degree of expectation with the genre of comedy that despite whatever difficulties appear within the play, by the end these will be resolved and the play will have a traditional happy-ending with a marriage or a celebration in the final scene. The “Twelfth Night” is no exception to this rule. Despite problems of confused identities and sexualities, the play ends with marriage for the major characters because they “have learned enough about their own foolishness to accept it wisely, and their reward, as it should be, is marriage.”(Schwartz 5140). There is a resolution of harmony to a certain extent and an endorsement of romantic love yet despite the happiness evident in the last scene, there are many elements in the play

Fools. What does this mean? As the interviews were conducted, many people interpreted what they believe the definition of fools was to them. In the play, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” written by William Shakespeare, a famous line was spoken by Robin in Act III: “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” This quote was read by twelve different people in different age groups. They were also asked to give their opinion on the quote by agreeing or disagreeing . These interviewees taught the interviewer how there are more definitions towards the word fool and the reasons behind calling someone a fool with amazing real life stories and people.

Twelfth Night features a great variety of messages sent from one character to another—sometimes as letters and other times in the form of tokens. Such messages are used both for purposes of communication and miscommunication—sometimes deliberate and sometimes accidental. Maria’s letter to Malvolio, which purports to be from Olivia, is a deliberate (and successful) attempt to trick the steward. Sir Andrew’s letter demanding a duel with Cesario, meanwhile, is meant

Finally, the Fool provides humor. First, the "nothing" jokes in 1.4 provide much humor. In addition, the Fool's songs are humorous and informative. Moreover, one can find humor in the way the Fool treats the King. When the Fool disappears in 3.6, most of the humor of the play dies with him.

In Elizabethan times, fools were used as entertainment in royal courts, with a specific role to entertain the king. However, in “King Lear”, the fool plays a much more significant role than comedic relief, as he, ironically, is able to provide insight into human nature and draw correlations between the play and everyday life. This is most evident when he talks to King Lear about what he has done wrong or what he has overlooked.

In William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, it is ironic how many times the fool is said to be dishonest, when, in fact, his role proves entirely opposite. Though sometimes the characters do not realize his hidden messages, the reader can instantly comprehend Feste's figurative language, which is evident in every scene in which the fool appears. Whether he is singing to Orsino, arguing with Malvolio, or playing around with Viola, Feste always manages to sneak in a few symbolic foretokens before his exit. His keen eye and fast wit help him to actively partake in the portrayal of the story, however, the fool is merely present to express that which cannot be fully expressed through the

Shakespeare used dirty and witty humour in most of his plays but it is perhaps most obvious in Twelfth Night. He used different types of humour to please all of the people who flocked to see his plays. There was always an array of people, and they all needed to be kept interested. There were the peasants that he could entertain with the dirty jokes and humour. An example of this is ‘this is my lady's hand these be her very C's,

William Shakespeare, in his well-known comedy Twelfth Night, creates a plot that revolves around mistaken identity and deception. Mistaken identity, along with disguises, rules the play and affects the lives of several of the characters. Shakespeare's techniques involve mistaken identity to bring humor, mystery, and complication to the play. Many characters in Twelfth Night assume disguises, beginning with Viola who is disguised as a eunuch, Maria who writes a letter to Malvolio as Olivia, and then the mix-up between Sebastian and Viola are revealed.

An Exploration of the Contribution of Disguise and Deceit to the Humour of Twelfth Night