Bits to cut out
Ensure you add in
this footnote
Possible alteration
“Twelfth Night makes fools of its wisest characters and proves its wisest
characters to be fools”(Davies). To what extent is this true?
This was OK but as you
don't explain it later I
suggest you cut it out
“The fool is a comic version of the momento mori (warning mirror of what lies
beneath pretence: a leveling device which reduces the social hierarchy to a
common, dumbfounding equality.”[1] This quote epitomizes the character of
Feste; the fool who knows all and is also a symbolic reminder of the
inevitability of death through tragedy. The juxtaposition of Feste’s actual
character with his label is representative of the anarchic anomaly of the spirit
and highlights that
that is embodied in Twelfth Night and the concept of Saturnalia where at one
appearances can be
time the roles of normal society are reversed. From the critical description of
deceptive
Feste, it is evident that Feste has a measure of supremacy over the supposedly
superior characters, and so the title agrees with Davies as they both illustrate
the same point of this opposite role and this creates a lot of the comedy in the
play. As it is a Shakespearean comedy, Shakespeare incorporates sophisticated
Shakespeare appoints
linguistic techniques with Feste such as insightful commentary, epigrammatic Feste as a 'corrupter of
and chiasmic language and stichomythia in this representation to subtly implywords' and incorporates
the intelligence of ‘the fool”. Characters such as Feste and Viola epitomize the sophisticated linguistic
into his
fact that Twelfth Night “proves it’s wisest character to be the fool” as they bothtechniques
speech such as ...
make fools of their superiors: Olivia and Orsino respectively, Feste as he is the
fool, and Viola as she conceals her womanhood and deceives through disguise.
They become the “wisest characters” as the Saturnalian influence encourages
the reversal of hierarchy.
Use a footnote to
reference this
Feste’s role is cracking jokes, singing, dancing, and manipulating everyone
around him, he is there to entertain those who want to be entertained and even
those who do not. Feste embodies the anarchic spirit of the Twelfth Night
festivities. R.P Draper claims the clever fools are “astute” and use their “insight
and imagination to expose folly”, this quotation exemplifies the role of Feste;
he is supposed to be unintelligent and purely for entertainment but the
techniques he uses to make his superiors look foolish are relentless. The key
scene in which this is evident, is Act 1 Scene 5 where he has inconvenienced
Olivia greatly with his prolonged absence, and yet manages to use “this simple
syllogism” to argue that Olivia’s grief is futile and subsequently escape
punishment: Olivia mourns for her “brother’s death”, but Feste claims his soul
would be in “hell” but Olivia retorts “his soul is in heaven” then Feste bids
“take away the fool”. This stichomythic encounter is comedic as it shows the
juxtaposed intelligence of the fool Feste; Shakespeare could have done this
intentionally as the character of Feste needs the chance to express himself
away from his songs and foolery and stichomythia and repartee is the perfect
opportunity for him to do so, as they allow him to gain the upper hand with his
superiors. To achieve this he also utilizes epigrammatic and chiasmic language
such as “better a witty fool than a foolish wit”; this shows that he can
manipulate language to put himself into a superior position. He does “wear not
motley” in his brain as “cucullus non facit monachum” (the hood makes not the
monk), proverbially meaning that his attire does not make him a fool and he
cool be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, making him able to gain superiority over
Olivia again. Another situation where we see the intelligence of Feste is in Act
3 Scene 1 where he tells with Cesario (Viola) that “who you are” and what Viola
“would is out of his welkin”. ‘Welkin’ refers to the sky and this suggests he
does not want to engage with Viola’s complicated character. Shakespeare may
have wanted to create a sense of suspicion through Feste and there is a
suggestion that he may have seen through her disguise, conforming to the
genre of dramatic comedy as roles are reversed and the fool is once again
proved to be one of the wisest characters. This is comedic and reiterates
Davies’ idea as we see the truth of the “wisest characters” playing “the fool”
and the fact that it is the fool that can see through the artifice in society.
Feste belongs to the court of Olivia, a supposedly strong‐minded, powerful
character. We see this strong‐mindedness in her complete rejection of Orsino;
when Viola arrives to court Olivia, she claims “it is heresy” after all she has
“read it”, this shows a manner of control and strength about her. `However this
is comical is because in a short space of time she completely contradicts
herself, making herself the fool. Olivia falls in love with Cesario and will do
almost anything to gain his affection, Olivia claims she “would you were” as she
“would have you be”, this implies that she wishes that Cesario would just be
her lover and stop playing with her emotions; this is excellently portrayed in
the 2012 Globe production as it is dramatically conveyed as funny through the
incredibly desperate nature of Olivia in this scene and how she is on her knees
and screaming for him to stay; showing the real melodrama of love and again
the Saturnalian role reversal, that supports Davies’ idea that Twelfth Night
makes “fools of it’s wisest characters”, and that love can drive you to make
yourself look like a complete fool.
Moreover, the prime example of this is Count Orsino: throughout the whole
play he cannot keep himself feeling the same emotions. This concept is evident
from the beginning as his soliloquy shows his contradictory nature; he claims
that “if music be the food of love” they should “play on”. He also claims his
heart is “as hungry as the sea”. These metaphors imply he shall never have
enough of these emotions as they are all‐consuming, however like the tide
receding, he quickly orders it to “stop”, immediately contradicting himself as
his urge is “surfeiting”; suggesting he has received more than enough love.
The audience would find this comedic as it makes Orsino look as if he cannot
comprehend love realistically, mocking Elizabethan ideas on love. This is
illustrated by the denouement where Orsino discovers Cesario to actually be
Viola and within a split second he falls madly in love with her; “give me thy
hand” he exclaims as Viola did say she “never should’st” love women “like to
me”, this is humorous as it again reiterates the contradictory and fickle nature
of Orsino, mirroring the rapid change of mind he seems to have, as moments
ago he threatened to violently “sacrifice the lamb” that he “loves”, thus
creating a structural parallel and proving the point by Davies that Twelfth
Night “makes fools of its wisest characters”.
Viola’s role in the play is very complicated as she is the daughter of a wealthy
man. However she has to play a lesser character so her status and situation are
both reduced in an attempt to get close to the Count Orsino. Viola perhaps,
would have been thought a foolish woman, who cannot grasp anything
intellectually, however Viola proves herself to be a very insightful character as
she realizes she must make herself a “eunuch” and must “never tell her love”
to thrive in Orsino’s court and to beguile the Count. Some might argue that
To allow Viola to
Feste and Viola are the most insightful in the play: their meeting in Act 3
heighten the audience's
Scene 1 is evidence of this intelligence, as Viola claims Feste’s coins are “well awareness of Feste's wit.
begged” and during her soliloquy explains how he “craves” some sort of “wit”.
Shakespeare uses this soliloquy to allow the characters to directly address the
audience and here heightens the awareness of Feste’s wit as Viola who is
another intelligent character can recognize how intelligent he is and the direct
communication with the audience demonstrates how intelligent Feste really is,
as Viola attempts to emphasize this intelligence. However, Feste is more
dismissive of her showing he understands his position as the intelligent
character is under threat. The competition between the two supposedly lesser
characters emphasizes the fact that the “wisest characters” are the “fools”.
Penny Gay stated Feste is “a satirical commentator” on what the “higher folks”
do, and that he acts as a “bridge” linking “stage and audience”, an example of
this is when he claims he may not be a “fox” but Malvolio would not pass for
“no fool”; this creates the satirical intelligence of the fool being more
intelligent than his superiors, and shines a light on some of the flaws in
Elizabethan society but with enough subtlety that is does not create an uproar.
Again we see the emphasis on the “wisest characters” being “fools” and the
way it “makes fools of its wisest characters”. Also Feste and Cesario are both
temporary characters; they have no fixed place in Illyria. This could parallel
how the inversion of roles is temporary, as it allows us the view society from
different angles to see how it might be improved. Feste is the main way in
which Shakespeare can show the overall anarchic spirit of the Twelfth Night
festival, and so the title is very true as the whole concept of Twelfth Night, is to
reverse all society’s regular roles.