Twelfth Night 3 Essay, Research Paper
William Shakespeare ’ s “ Twelfth Night ” is a comedy in which customary patterns are subverted and misgovernment is soverign. Within this comedy there exsists five characters who exemplify this upside down universe and fuel one of Shakespeares most humourous subplots. These characters are Sir Toby Belch, Maria, Feste Fabian and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. As persons these characters are alone but when put together they make up the unruliest pack of cut-ups of all time to come in Illyria.
Sir Toby Belch, uncle to number Olivia is the most vocal of the knaves. He is a rummy, and frequently takes advantage of his kindship to Olivia. He is the frequent trouble-maker, ever doing some scene or disturbance. He is supposed to hold responsibilities within the tribunal but seldom does he transport them out and his greatest concern is with imbibing and holding merriment. Sir toby besides refuses to take Olivia ’ s mouring for her dead brother seriously. ” What a pestilence means my niece to take the decease of her brother therefore? ” ( 1.2 ) He wants his friend, Sir Aguecheek, to woe her. This is out of the inquiry, nevertheless. The chief predicament of Sir Belch is to acquire rid of Malvolio, Olivia ’ s pompass steward. Toby hates him and is ill of his tattling and pretentious nature. So being the gangleader of the other four, he gets everyone involved in his program.
Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a comrade of Belch. he is non really intellegent and frequently times rather farcical. He is decidedly non person to Olivia ’ s liking, and his hopeless chase of her, subjects him to many indignities. Becuae of his nature, Sir Toby finds it really easy to take advantage of Sir Andrew and does so whenever it suits him. A perfect illustration of this type of folly occurs in Act 3, Scene 2. In this scene Sir Andrew is beginnig to recognize that Olivia is out of his range and in love with Cesario but Sir Toby wants him to see the image otherwise. He and Fabian, a member of Olivia ’ s family, really easy alter the narrative around to confound Andrew.
Sir Toby: … .Challenge me the Count ’ s young person to contend with him, hurt him in 11 topographic points. My niece shall take note of it ; and guarantee thyself, there is no love-broker in the universe can more prevail in adult male ’ s comdemnation with adult female than study of heroism. :
Fabian: There is no manner but this Sir Andrew.
Sir Andrew: Will either of you bear me a challenge
to him?
Sir Toby: Go, write it in a matrimonial manus, be cursed and brief.
Andrew believes Sir Toby and Fabian and goes after what he thinks is the immature page. It is this type of behaviour that makes Sir andrew Aguecheek supply a amusing contrast to the webs of the more believable lovers. He besides helps in the design of the predicament against Malvolio, helping Belch in doing the steward into a complete jeer.
As merely mentioned, there is besides the character of Fabian, who enters this amusing subplot later in the drama. He is a member of Olivia ’ s family and it is ill-defined as to how he comes into the drama. He seems to be another friend of Sir Toby, who desires to hold a small spot of merriment at the disbursal of other people.
The lone adult female in this pack of knaves is Maria. She is a dame to Olivia and is besides fond of Belch. Though being rather sly in nature, Maria appears to be an honest individual compared to the other members of the family. Because of her doublesided character, Maria is able to engineer behind much of the hocus-pocus but still look faithful to her responsibilities. She figures chiefly in the subplot against Malvolio. She is much softer than Toby but her thoughts are more complicated and intellegent.
The most intellegent character is this drama is feste, the tribunal sap. Feste has many endowments. he is the fantastic ability to do others look stupid by utilizing pun, and by utilizing music he has the ability to touch the psyche of everyone he sings to. He besides hates Malvolio nevertheless, and in the terminal uses his humor and endowment to wholly mortify him.
The actual action of these characters, in footings of their function in the drama, is to transport out the amusing subplot. As a group they all execute Sir Toby ’ s hopes of ostracizing Malvolio from Olivia ’ s tribunal. But the actual action of these characters is rather different from their significance. Belch, Aguecheek, Fabian, Feste and Maria represent the lunacy that non merely exsisted in Illyria, within the drama, but besides the lunacy of Renaissance England. These five characters represent all those who were looked down upon in society. And most likely were the characters that Shakespeare ’ s audience best related to.
Besides in footings of significance within the drama, the five characters I ’ ve been discoursing, aid to analyze the category system that exsisted in Europe during this clip.
