In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Malvolio is considered an outcast by almost everyone in the play. He doesn’t act the same way that any of the other characters act, in that he doesn’t participate in any of their activities, he enforces rules that the others could care less about, and he is just overall a socially awkward guy. Malvolio not only claims to adhere to the rules of the household himself, but uses his relations with Olivia to try and help make the others follow the rules as well. This upsets certain characters more than others. For instance Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria find his behavior particularly detestable. But Malvolio’s strict coherence to the rules allows him to have a rather high position in Olivia’s household. While Malvolio may be considered a social outcast to most of the characters in the play, Olivia considers Malvolio to be a very trusted steward of her household. For these reasons Malvolio is not only a social outcast, but an outcast that Shakespeare uses to keep people interested in his play.
One of the reasons that none of the characters seem to get along with Malvolio is because of his strict adherence to the rules. While to most this doesn’t seem like a bad trait to have, this is seen as an extraordinarily undesirable trait, for characters like Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria, who all have a blatant disregard for the rules. Nancy Lindheim agrees with this by saying, “Malvolio alone acts with a moral severity that angers most other members of the household and is inimical to comedy itself.” (Lindheim 700) In this quote she is stressing the fact that Malvolio tends to act morally while the other characters disregard their morality for a chance to have some fun. This is seen in act two scene thr...
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...itating Malvolio's Reading." Papers on Language and Literature: A Journal for Scholars and Critics of Language and Literature 45 (2009): 261-286. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 6 Nov. 2009.
Giese, Loreen L. "Malvolio's Yellow Stockings: Coding Illicit Sexuality in Early Modern London." Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England: An Annual Gathering of Research, Criticism and Reviews 19 (2006): 235-246. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 6 Nov. 2009.
Lindheim, Nancy "Rethinking Sexuality and Class in Twelfth Night." University of Toronto Quarterly: A Canadian Journal of the Humanities 76.2 (2007): 679-713. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 6 Nov. 2009.
William, Shakespeare Twelfth Night. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume B. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 1079-1139.
Joseph, Bertram. Rev. of The Twelfth Night of Shakespeare’s Audience, by John W. Draper. Review of English Studies 3.10 (1952): 170-71. Print.
William, Shakespeare Twelfth Night. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume B. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 1079-1139.
However, another sympathetic interpretation displays Malvolio as a hardworking steward, loyal to his household, creating an impression that his treatment is essentially torture and unjustifiable. This further raises the question of whether Malvolio’s ‘torture’ has darker undertones beyond the jovial nature of the play, or whether it is understandable. Malvolio can easily be seen as a victim of his own affection and loyalty towards Olivia. During her time of bereavement, he attempts to help her. The affection is clearly not unrequited as Olivia, ‘would not have him miscarry for half of my dowry’, which implies that Malvolio goes beyond his role in her eyes.
Malvolio's entrance to the scene immediately creates comedy as even before he finds the letter we find him fantasizing about being "Count Malvolio", this notion creates humor as it seems that Malvolio has forgot he is merely Olivia's steward not her social equal despite his is conceited self-righteousness. The farce is enhanced by comments made by the onlookers who insult Malvolio, "Pistol him, pistol him!" Sir Andrew makes this comment, as he himself desires Olivia's hand in marriage. Malvolio lets his imagination go wild creating further humor when he imagines that his "kinsman Toby" will approach and curtsy in front of him.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. C. Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2005. Print.
Barton, Anne. Introduction to Twelfth Night. The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974. 403-407.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, Or, What You Will. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
Since the early 1990’s, “Queer Theory”, or queer study, has emerged and become very common in influential readings throughout literature. Many scholars apply this poststructuralist theory when criticizing works within the Renaissance period, including the works of William Shakespeare. Twelfth Night continues to be a commonly reviewed work when discussing the recurring homoerotic themes throughout Shakespeare’s works. Though Twelfth Night is often used for the discussion of homosexual interaction in Shakespeare, the conclusions drawn from these possible same-sex attractions are still divided and unclear. Regardless of this division, there is a large amount of substance that supports the unquestionably present homosexual relations in the play.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night Or, What You Will. New York, New York: New American Library, 1998. Print.
Malvolio’s bitterness towards other characters is a big contributor for the reader to see his suffering as comic. For example, while Feste the Fool is talking with Olivia, Malvolio
Print. Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
"William Shakespeare, William. "Twelfth Night." Norton's Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York City: W.W. Norton & Co., 2010.
In Twelfth Night the relationships are anything but romantic. Shakespeare writes from the male point of view which implies an un-easy split between love and physical charm. In Twelfth night the romance is falsely produced by selfish desire. Duke Orsino and Viola stand out from the other relationships. By questioning the relationships between the other couples, Shakespeare highlights the true love between Viola and Orsino and the fake relationship of Malvolio and Olivia which is truly based on Malvolio’s desire of a higher status , despite his status and his personality , Malvolio tries to impress Olivia by dressing up in ridiculous clothes , which does far from his aim , and repulses Olivia.
Twelfth Night or What You Will is one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies. It has been performed hundreds of times and adapted into a number of modern films. The main plot of the play follows Viola, a girl who is rescued from a shipwreck and enters into the service of the Duke Orsino disguised as a man. Rising quickly in his estimation, Viola begins delivering messages of love on his behalf to Olivia, a noble woman who has no interest in Orsino’s advances. Over the course of the play Olivia falls in love with the disguised Viola, Viola falls in love with Orsino, and Viola’s twin brother Sebastian, who supposedly died in the shipwreck, returns. Following Sebastian’s return the twins are mistaken for each other, leading to both misunderstanding and marriage in the final scenes of the play. Alongside the main plot of Twelfth Night is an almost equally prominent subplot involving Malvolio, a servant of Olivia, who falls in love with her and who falls prey to a prank planned by the other members of the household who despise his abhorrence of fun. In the article “The Design of Twelfth Night” by L.G. Salingar, Salingar examines the plot and structure of the play and addresses the significance of the subplot. The purpose of this essay is to examine both evidence from the play and articles from other authors, with a focus on Salingar, who have written on the subject in order to determine the purpose of the subplot. In his article, Salingar comes to the conclusion that the purpose of the subplot is to provide a comic mirror of the main plot while amplifying the main themes of delusion, misrule and festivity. Salingar presents a solid argument, however he has neglected another lesser but significant element of the sub-plot which illustrate...
Similar to the inner personality that Olivia’s disguise provided, Malvolio’s disguise displays a glimpse at another side of his character out to the audience. Up until this point of the play, Malvolio is seen as a stiff and formal character who has criticism for everything. However, through this disguise, his arrogant and self-loving character is fully confirmed. After he receives a prank letter from Sir Toby and Maria, Malvolio wears a ridiculous costume in his quest for Olivia, and performs the part of a lordly wooer to secure her affections. He also references the letter and exclaims “Remember who commended thy yellow stockings / And wished to see thee cross-gartered” (3.4. 44-7), all of which Olivia knows nothing about and is a delusion of his own. The forged-letter prank causes him to wear yellow stockings that are cross-gartered (which Olivia abhors) and treat Olivia in a very inappropriate manner. By inflaming the passions of the priggish Malvolio with a well-forged love letter, Toby and Maria expose his hidden vanities and social pretensions. After all, he does not desire Olivia for herself, but for the power and status that marriage to her will bring him. Examples of his self-love and self pride can be seen in various examples throughout the play.