Wit and Humor in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare is a romantic comedy set in Illyria during the Christmas season. The article analysis is a critique on the elements of folly and foolery in Shakespeare’s twelfth night. As defined in the critique, a fool can be “a silly or foolish person” or “one who professionally counterfeits folly for the entertainment of others, a jester, a clown”. In the analysis of the subject in twelfth night, the writer highlights that although Feste is the only professional fool in the play, many others are also subject to foolery. He then goes on to discuss the importance of Feste as a figure of comedic truth in the play and his relationships with the other characters such as: Malvolio who is seen as his antagonist, Maria who is described as his companion and Sir Toby Belch like Feste has a tendency to encourage mischief.
The writer’s intention in the piece was to evaluate the idea of there being more than one fool in Shakespeare’s twelfth night. It is as a result of their combined humour and wit why the play works. He sees that during the festive season in Illyria most of the main characters are subject to foolery. Critic Stephanie Chidester in her article Twelfth Night: Motley Medley agrees with the critic as she says that “The actions and words of almost all the play’s characters fit the recognized behavior of a fool”. In my opinion the author makes a logical deduction as using his definitions of a fool I could classify all the main characters as being foolish or subjects to folly. Other than the four characters highlighted by the writer in the analysis Orsino, Viola, Olivia and Sir Andrew are all fools in some way or another. For example Orsino is foolish in his pursuit of Olivia appearing to be more in love with love itself than the woman he claims to be in love with. He does not know her, has never met her yet he declares his deep love for her. He is in love with the idea of her. Viola is foolish because of the situation her cross dressing has
The writer’s intention in the piece was to evaluate the idea of there being more than one fool in Shakespeare’s twelfth night. It is as a result of their combined humour and wit why the play works. He sees that during the festive season in Illyria most of the main characters are subject to foolery. Critic Stephanie Chidester in her article Twelfth Night: Motley Medley agrees with the critic as she says that “The actions and words of almost all the play’s characters fit the recognized behavior of a fool”. In my opinion the author makes a logical deduction as using his definitions of a fool I could classify all the main characters as being foolish or subjects to folly. Other than the four characters highlighted by the writer in the analysis Orsino, Viola, Olivia and Sir Andrew are all fools in some way or another. For example Orsino is foolish in his pursuit of Olivia appearing to be more in love with love itself than the woman he claims to be in love with. He does not know her, has never met her yet he declares his deep love for her. He is in love with the idea of her. Viola is foolish because of the situation her cross dressing has