Charles Lamb states that Malvolio “becomes comic by accident”. His criticism portrays Malvolio as a tragic character. Lamb describes Malvolio’s dialect as “that of a gentleman, and a man of education.” Predisposed with Malvolio’s dialect and seemingly noble manner is hubris which leads to his downfall in the play. In Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, Malvolio is not a tragic character but, the fool of the play in that he is a scapegoat for mockery and entertainment. Aristotle in ‘Poetics’ defined comedy as “an imitation of inferior people-not, however, with respect to every kind of defect; the laughable species of what is disgraceful.
Shakespeare transformed the character of Malvolio into several different personas as the play progresses, displaying the different emotional and mental levels within the character. Twelfth Night begins with introducing Malvolio as a very simple person- a puritan, a stiff and proper servant who likes nothing better than to spoil other people’s fun. He has a poor opinion of drinking, singing, and recreational amusement, which becomes annoying and highly irritating to some characters. “My masters, are you mad? Or what are you/ Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty but to gabble/ like tinkers at this time of night?
The seriousness of their love results from the lovers’ disrepudance (?) of artificial language of ‘love’ and superficial code they had tired by at the beginning of the play. This is seen through the development of language form beginning with rhyme (Levin- “Comedy set the pattern of courtship embodied in dance (rhyme)) heavily used in the first act to its replacement of Blank verse which representative of a for more logical and realistic tone. This also reflects a common Shakespearean comment on Appearance versus Reality which is often a deeper theme discussed in tragedy. Tragedy is said to be further represented in Shakespeare’s use of opposites or antithesis.
Trincelo and Stefano seem most obviously to be buffoonery , and to have the sole purpose of providing comic relief following the intensity of act ii scene I. indeed We meet Tricelo as he attempts to seek shelter from a brewing storm which may be interpreted as pathetic fallacy reflective of the growing dramatic tensions of the play . However for large marjority of a jacabein audience these two charcters are not only comedic but the most relatable. Trincelo sees Caliban and is both repulsed as well as curios of him unsure weather he is “ a man or a fish” . For modern critics who debate the role of Caliban tricelos reaction provides light into how Caliban may have been prevised at the time. This is becoue Tincelo and steffano are to put it simply ordinary people with ordinary views yet within extrodinary circumstances .
Early on in the play (Act 2 Scene 3) the audience enjoys the jovial atmosphere alongside the characters until Malvolio abruptly ruins the mood. “Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night?” Malvolio seems to relish scolding Sir Toby and the others as he includes the simile “gabble like tinkers” which proves he has taken the time to select the right words to insult them with. The audience dislikes him for disrupting the fun of the scene whilst it provides a specific motive for the conspirators to plot his deception. Shakespeare uses one detail about Malvolio to instantly turn the audience against him: Malvolio is a puritan. At the time the play was written, puritans were not popular with the general public because of their miserable rules against most forms of entertaintment.
Dorine, the servant, whose sarcastic wit is a delight, and Elmire, Orgon’s wife, whose logical plan guides him out of the fog, both step into the role at different times. In an ironic twist toward the end of the play the author uses Orgon as a voice of reason to deal with Madame Pernelle’s obsessive belief in Tartuffe. The comedic interaction between these two characters within this scene again shines the spotlight onto the inability of obsession to hear reason. In Tartuffe, Moliere portrays the battle between obsession and reason, insanity and sanity, in a comedic but very truthful way. As the audience laughs and enjoys the wit of the lines, they can also acknowledge the truth of them: obsessed human beings are deaf to reason and will not be able to hear until the obsession
This is also shown with Polonius’s un-trust worthiness for Hamlet. As to with Laertes who feels the exact same way as his father. Paolo Feliciano Mr. McCarthy A.P. Lit Examination Act 2 Open Ended Questions 1. After the slow transition from Hamlet’s mournful state, to his ever growing state of madness, does his madness itself become his primary mode of communication with the other characters?
Hamlet portrays falsity when using rage against Ophelia after discovering she has been apart of a plot of revenge. He uses this as an opportunity to deny his love for her and degrade her until she felt horrible about her self. “I did love you once but you should have not belived me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I loved you not.”(3.1.114-119). It becomes clear that Hamlet did truly love Ophelia, yet hid it because he was a coward.
This corresponds to the tragedy of Othello, the noble hero who falls from grace. The villain Napoleon is left somewhat unknown as we don’t necessarily find out what happens to him, such as the similarity to Iago last words “I will never speak for this day forth”. Contrasting to the unclear resolution of the play Othello, Orwell did mention at the end that the farm was now better off than it had ever been, leaving the conclusions somewhat peaceful and content for the viewers. Through the play Othello by Shakespeare and the novel Animal farm by Orwell, both composers have successfully achieve their corresponding purpose in relevant to the construction of the villain archetype. The novel and play have explored the recurring motifs of our human condition that causes us to reflect on menacing thoughts such as revenge, greed and
Being gullible and immature, Dorian’s efforts to follow Lord Henry’s teaching causes Dorian to lose his way, and his soul. With these characters, Wilde’s novel explores the ideas of art, beauty, and pleasure, but the main theme is of their consequences. In particular, there are two passages that exemplify this theme, indicate the plot of the novel, and strike the reader. The first important passage is the when Gray strikes the Faustian bargain for his soul. Basil is finishing his painting of Dorian while Dorian and Lord Henry are in the garden.