Character Analysis of Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare´s Twelfth Night

Comedy is by far the most influential factor in deciding whether or not a story is entertaining to its audience, due to its ability to create a more relaxed and pleasurable environment in the plot. From the playful awkwardness of Anne Shirley, to the witty banter of detectives Tommy and Tuppence, it is evident that comedic characters have always been appreciated and acknowledged in literature. Sir Toby Belch is but one of many amusing characters, and is by far one of the most humorous. While Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is surrounded around an issue of romantic entanglement, Sir Toby’s very presence is enough to lighten the mood and accentuate the comedic theme of the story through his creation of problems and unique personality. Therefore, Sir Toby Belch is undeniably the most enjoyable character in the entire play.
Admittedly, it might be argued that Sir Toby has a very irresponsible and apathetic nature, which may come across as an unattractive aspect of his character. As he returns home at unearthly hours without care for his niece, and makes no attempt at making money to compensate for her generosity, it is clear that Sir Toby feels the right to live at her estate simply because of their blood relation. This portrays his insensitive personality because he feels no sympathy for Olivia who has just lost her brother and father. Furthermore, it is plain to see that the only reason Sir Toby had befriended Sir Andrew was for his wealth and wanted him to wed Olivia for the same reason. “Why he has three thousand ducats a year” (I iii 20) says
Belch with clear intentions and tainted virtue, once again illustrating his immoral conduct. Be that as it may, Sir Toby alone has the ability to alter the audience’s attention ...

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...o say that Sir Toby’s funny personality has an enormous impact of why he is the most amusing character in the play.
For these reasons, Sir Toby Belch’s comedic manner has allowed him to become the most enjoyable character in Twelfth Night. He has the ability to divert attention back to the funny parts of the play by creating confusion within characters and lowering the intensity of the problem with unintelligible logic. However, the primary reason for why Sir Toby is able to be the most enjoyable character is due to his laughable personality. All of these aspects of Sir
Toby Belch lead audiences to find him entertaining and amusing, seeing as though Twelfth
Night is one of Shakespeare’s funniest plays. A comedic character is only appropriate for the context compared to other characters who were absorbed in melancholy throughout the length of the story.