Laughter In Twelfth Night Analysis

Twelfth Night: To what extent does laughter rely on the misery of others? - Edward Braddock

Twelfth Night has been one of Shakespeare 's more noteworthy plays for various reasons, containing timeless comedy, "down-to-earth characters" and "complexities of plot" which satisfy all social classes of all time periods, even the "aristocrats among the audience" . Many aspects of his work come into questions, such as the purpose of specific characters such as Malvolio who 's misery appears to be just cannon fodder for the other characters to create laughter from, and how the misery of others is the chief method of creating laughter in the play.

One of the earliest moments in Twelfth Night which constitutes laughter is the introduction of the knights-

Malvolio is locked in a dark room (in many interpretations of the play, including the popularized cinema adaption of the play) where most commonly only his face is visible. When approached by Feste (as Sir Topaz), Malvolio is adamant that the room he is in is dark, yet Feste unyieldingly pursues the point that the room is not dark, notifying Malvolio that the room "hath bay windows transparent as barricadoes" and "clearstores" are as "lustrous as ebony". To reinforce his façade, Feste uses a strong simile between Malvolio 's "Ignorance" and the "Egyptians in their fog", which would likely force him to reconsider his reality; his perception of the darkness is shattered by Feste who confuses him constantly, misleading him into believing the room is light. The laughter caused by these contradictory statements is also created by Malvolio 's condition- he is being tricked into thinking what is right is wrong, and thus he becomes more confused. He appears to become more depressed, he was thrown into a cell wrongfully, then mentally tortured, yet still creates laughter in the audience aligning with the theories of superiority and incongruity. Some people believe that Malvolio is a purely artificial character which contributes to a comedic trope of characters intended to be arrogant and have their downfall, and believe his misery is fabricated to provide