In William Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night” the alleged Puritan Malvolio is the unpopular rigidity, hypocritical and gullible steward made to look a fool by those he has humiliated (Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria, Fabian and Feste) which appeals to the audience. Malvolio is more the victim of his own psychic propensities than he is Maria’s gull, as his own beliefs appear to engineer his downfall. In Suzann Collins trilogy the “Hunger Games” the down to earth “pure” President Snow obtains those exact qualities of Malvolio. He appears to be on the people’s side but we soon learn that he overwhelms himself with power and takes himself down.
Malvolio’s dislikeable rigidity nature is shown immediately in his first entrance in the play, in his rude humiliation of Feste, “I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a barren rascal … unless you laugh and minister occasion to him, he is gagged” (McEachern, 2007). The disapproval towards his rigid humorless attitude immediately follows with Olivia reprimanding her steward’s habit for making a big deal out of everything, “O you are sick of self-love, Malvolio, and taste with a distempered appetite” (McEachern, 2007). Malvolio further manifests his rigid and fun despising personality as he, depicted as a killjoy, spoils the revelry of Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Feste late in the night “My masters, are you mad? Or what are you? Have you no wit, manner, nor honestly, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night” (McEachern, 2007). It is exactly this fun despising side, depicted as Malvolio’s “stubborn and uncourteous parts” that earns him the enmity of the revelers. As he thinks, with excellences, that it is his grounds of faith that look on him love him.” Because of Malvolio’s dispositio...
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...is a symbol. Their Mockingjay. They think she's one of them” (Collins, 2008). President Snow thinks that he is playing Plutarch, but Plutarch is actually playing him. We learn at the end of the book that Plutarch and Katniss are more alike than we thought; the mockingjay is what drives them both. President Snow doesn’t know that he is silently being defeated from within his own arena.
In conclusion, in the play “Twelfth Night”, from the author William Shakespeare and the trilogy of the “The Hunger Games”, from the author Suzanne Collins both expresses views on the rigid, hypocritical, and gullible attitudes of Malvolio and President Snow. Both of these characters used other individuals to get what wanted to better themselves. But in there blindness they were defeated by righteousness, decency and morality which was all the more mind appealing to the audience.
Dunn, George A., Nicolas Michaud, and Dereck Coatney. The Hunger games and philosophy: A critique of pure treason. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012. page 179.
Both parties in Catching Fire and Fahrenheit 451 aim at asserting their power through manipulation and intimidation but take different methods to accomplish their goal. Instead of language censorship held in Fahrenheit 451, the party in Panem concentrates in distorting reality and misinformation since some of them contain undesirable social traits like rebellion, sign of freedom. Katniss is obliged by President Snow to pretend that she is in love with Peeta when Haymitch alerts her “Snow is watching us. If he wants you to pacify the districts, I 'm promise you, he 's not happy. Instead of being love you two sound like you 're reciting from a drilling manual.” (Lawrence, 2013) Under President Snow’s tyranny, Katniss is restrained to express her thoughts and live the life she desires. Similarly, citizens in Panem conceal their opposing voices but show devotion to the party for survival. It shows verbal irony when Haymitch says President Snow is trying to “pacify” the public. However in reality, President Snow abuses his power by allocating brute Peacekeepers to destroy all forms of authorities and retain his authority. The way how the government eradicates rebellion reflects its self-deception and silliness. In addition, the party’s predatory power is demonstrated through “hunger game” to weaken objection and inspire fear. “But they were games. Would you like to be in a real war? Thousands of your people dead.” (Lawrence, 2013) The government exposes its selfishness and unjustified cruelty through isolating tributes and risking innocents’ lives to entertain themselves rather than promoting domestic tranquility. By difference, citizens in Fahrenheit 451 feel fine to follow what the Capital asks them to do. Whereas people in Panem dislike the dictatorship of President Snow and his idea of Hunger game. Owing to more uprising, the
William Shakespeare was a Stratford Grammar School boy, who was a member of the Church of England, similar to just about everyone else in Stratford. However, due to some events that occurred in the Shakespeare family home, there is some evidence that could prove that the family may have had some Roman Catholic connections. When William Shakespeare was 10 years old, legal issues and debt took a toll on his family’s life. Shakespeare’s father’s stopped attending alderman meetings which resulted in the removal of his name to become an alderman, and he was also forced to sell his beautiful home. The cause of this crisis is unknown, however the records can be used to throw together the idea that there were peculiar religious events going on (Fox). Due to these mishaps, William Shakespeare’s religion is a bit of a mystery. The play, Hamlet, was written by William Shakespeare during the Elizabethan era, which happened to be a time when religious conflicts were a big deal (Alsaif). The protagonist in the story, Hamlet, is a character who seems to make his choices through his religious beliefs. Hamlet is a very indecisive person, but his thoughts on religion tend to persuade him. In the play Hamlet, William Shakespeare uses the character of Hamlet to show the flaws in all religions. Hamlet does his best to follow the rules of Christianity, but he often questions the morality involved. Although Shakespeare belonged to the Church of England, he didn’t find any particular religion to be perfect.
Malvolio’s humiliation mentioned above can be viewed as a subplot in the play. As we discover the few epiphany moments that Malvolio experienced, his character becomes more interesting. Malvolio is first introduced to us as a puritan, more of the simple type. He was known to ruin others fun. In the play, Sir Toby and Maria both play major parts in the disposition of Malvolio. It is because of his need to be strict, he received hostile and opp...
The reading of the letter creates comedy the requests are outrageous. Malvolio is told to wear yellow cross-gartered stockings "to be opposite with kinsman, surly with servants" and to constantly smile. The thought of this is hilarious considering that Malvolio is a strict puritan and is very malice towards others.
The first evidence of Malvolio’s undesirable disposition comes with his own first appearance in the play during which he makes a point of insulting the wit and intelligence of Feste “I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a barren rascal”. Through doing this he shows himself to be man who condescends to those that he believes to be lower than him in any way, by acting on his own personal belief of superiority, and this later becomes a major player in his downfall.
... mad man, after his very odd and confusing words show ‘madness’. This supplements the comedy as Malvolio has now made himself seem crazy and delusional, being something completely different to what he wants Olivia to see him as, which is someone to be loved by her. Also, by saying this Olivia is unknowingly mocking Malvolio’s human endeavour- to woo Olivia, making it very funny to the audience when Malvolio’s failing attempts to flatter her are causing himself to be mocked instead. This is not dramatic irony as such, but definitely irony, as Malvolio’s words have not won her over, but made any chance of him doing so seem very doubtful. Malvolio’s deception causes his own self-deception, which as a result creates more humour for the audience and in particular the Shakespearean audience, as they found most of the comedy in Shakespeare’s plays through dramatic irony.
Never risk your heart to a fool, for if you do you will surely become one. Love can be found in many different ways, but the idea of true love is one’s opinion. Love can be foolish or amazing depending on who you are. Love is a dark and intangible feeling that often exposes its targets to danger, pain and suffering. Love is set out to be full of happiness, yet it works to weaken us, and drives us to depend on and to be sensitive of others. Love is built on a foundation of trust which can be broken at any time, a thin barrier between formality and chaos. Foolishness is defined as lack of good sense or judgment, putting yourself through all that seems foolish, doesn’t it? True love doesn’t exist in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. 3 major relationships that are perceived to be true love, that are just plain foolish are Oberon and Titania, Theseus and Hippolyta, Demetrius and Helena.
Looking to the character of Malvolio, and his overlaying personality, Shakespeare presents a censorious individual ‘so crammed that he things, with excellencies--/ that it is grounds of fath that all that look on
Being that A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a Shakespearian comedy where passion is a significant theme. It is perceived in a variety of ways such as passion for revenge, recognition, and for love, which have the potential to blur the lines between the levels of social hierarchy. Shakespeare uses a variety of characters such as Helena, Nick Bottom, and Oberon to express the theme of passion and its significance in the play.
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, although Hamlet is the prince of Denmark, he has little control over the situation of his mother country. His father is dead and his mother marries his uncle, Claudius, who succeeds his father. When Hamlet is still in grief, the ghost of his father comes to tell him that he was killed by Claudius. Young Hamlet, being called to take vengeance, is confined to the land of Denmark and fails to act. Throughout the play, Hamlet feels increasingly trapped by the confinement set by King Claudius, by his father's command to take revenge, and by his own thoughts; only when Hamlet is able to free from his own mind, is he able to take action and escape from these confines.
In conclusion, the violence in the treatment of Malvolio in Twelfth Night is equally comical as it is cruel. However the play did not end in a resolution for the unlucky character and although the festive and comic spirit of Twelfth Night is noted throughout the play, the distress and the inconceivable persecution, Malvolio receives is a disturbing reminder of reality and the way that his ‘insanity’ and egotistical behavior was unjustly treated. Shakespeare criticizes puritans through his character and in order for the audience to take a disliking to the character of Malvolio, However by the end of the play audiences pity and sympathize with his unfortunate character. Ultimately the play has tragic potential, but the Malvolio subplot also makes comedy possible for the main plot.
The audience are first introduced to the contrast of seriousness and pleasure in Act 2, Scene 3 through the dialogue between Malvolio and Belch. The two characters are complete opposites of each other and ultimately their two personality’s clash which is amusing. Even though Belch is of a higher status in society, Malvolio still finds it is in his nature to tell him off for doing wrong even though Malvolio is a servant. Eventually, Belch snaps at Malvolio for being a puritan and “interrupting the early morning revels” - “Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” Belch’s words highlight the two different lifestyles of the characters. Malvolio is pure and strict whereas Belch lives the pleasure lifestyle. The audience would laugh at Malvolio for thinking that Belch is beneath him and also at his pompous attitude. As a...
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.
For my essay, my question is “what is William Shakespeare saying about love”. I think he is saying that people will go any lengths to be with who they love. No matter what your parents say or what they think, love can make you want to be with who I ever they want. So going forward I will explain what Shakespeare did to say about love.