Analyse and show how Shakespeare shapes the audience's perception of Olivia's steward, Malvolio.

Analyse and show how Shakespeare shapes the audience’s perception of Olivia’s steward, Malvolio.

Twelfth Night was a play written by William Shakespeare, first performed in 1602, February 2nd.

In comedies Shakespeare loved to use mistaken identity and tricks, and in Twelfth Night he uses a lot of it.

The key figure un the comic subplot is Malvolio, Olivia's steward, who strongly disapproves of the other members of her household - her uncle Sir Toby Belch, his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek and the jester Feste. Together with Maria, Olivia's waiting-woman, these three plot Malvolio's downfall.

The content of this essay is about how Shakespeare shapes the audience’s response to Malvolio as the target of the joke and how this changes as the trick progresses. I will also discuss the techniques that Shakespeare uses to get these responses.

In Malvolio's first scene the audience dislike him before he speaks because he is a Puritan. Many directors therefore will dress him in black, and will have him with black hair. Later on Maria reinforces this in Act II, Scene III, Line 119;

“Marry, sir, sometimes he is a kind of puritan”

Puritan was the name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the principles and structure of the church; they wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence.

Shakespeare knew this would mean that the audience would have already decided that they did not like this character.

This would be because in the Elizabethan period, Puritans were opposed to ostentatious display, dress, finery and jewellery along with other colourful displays. The were looked upon with distain by theatre-goers because of their attempts to shut down the theatre, as they believed it was a “sinful place”.

Shakespeare also sets the audience against us in the very first scene Malvolio appears in when accompanies his mistress, Olivia to go and see Feste, the jester who has recently been away. This is in Act I, Scene V.

Shakespeare shows the audience of Malvolio’s contempt and bitterness when he is talking to Feste. He tells Olivia that he is surprised she takes joy in being in the company of such a “barren rascal”.

“ I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a barren rascal.

I saw him put down the other day with an ordinary fool that has

no more brain than a stone.” Line 67-69

Just before Maria tells us Malvolio is a puritan we get another taste of Malvolio’s character. When Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek return to Olivia’s house after being out drinking Malvolio greets them with great contempt. Act II, Scene III, Line 75-79

“My masters, are you mad? Or what are you? … Is there no respect of place, persons, nor time in you?”

This shows how Malvolio feels towards Sir Toby and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

I saw him put down the other day with an ordinary fool that has

no more brain than a stone.” Line 67-69

“My masters, are you mad? Or what are you? … Is there no respect of place, persons, nor time in you?”

This shows how Malvolio feels towards Sir Toby and lets it show in his language, which is explained later. Malvolio feels that Sir Toby is not taking his position in the house seriously enough and feels it is his place to reprimand him. But this will make the audience and Sir Toby dislike him even more as he is just a steward and has no place to order or tell off members of Olivia’s family, e.g. Sir Toby, Olivia’s cousin.

To start the conversation Malvolio begins with the words “My masters…” This shows how Malvolio is being apparently respectful towards his employer’s cousin, yet he really is nothing of the sort.

In this speech Malvolio also calls Sir Toby “ye”. This instantly makes Sir Toby fume as to call someone “ye” in the Elizabethan time was to say you were either on very close personal terms as a term of endearment or to say you were of a higher status than them. This obviously is not true as Malvolio is a mere steward while Sir Toby is a baronet.

The audience will easily pick up on this as Sir Toby then begins to sing a popular song greatly disliked by all Puritans to aggravate Malvolio further and show he will not take orders from Malvolio.

At this point the audience is very much on Sir Toby’s side as they still disapprove of Malvolio, but now not only because he is a puritan but also because of his arrogant, self-inflated and pompous manner.

It is precisely this character’s personality that makes him vulnerable to the joke set up by Sir Toby, Maria and the other light-hearted figures of the play.

At the end of Act II, Scene III Sir Toby, Maria and Sir Andrew Aguecheek are discussing how they should deal with Malvolio.

Maria comes up with the idea of slipping him a note signed by his lady (though really written by Maria and which Olivia knows nothing about) proclaiming her love for him Act II, Scene III, Lines 131-136;

I will drop in his way some obscure epistles of
love; wherein, by the colour of his beard, the shape
of his leg, the manner of his gait, the expressure
of his eye, forehead, and complexion, he shall find
himself most feelingly personated. I can write very
like my lady your niece: on a forgotten matter we

can hardly make distinction of our hands.

This tells us of the plot. I think at the moment the audience won’t yet feel sorry for Malvolio, as Shakespeare has not yet developed on the consequences of this trick and the audience may feel that Malvolio deserves this little trick to bring his confidence down and put him in his rightful place.

I think in this scene Shakespeare has given the audience a lot of reasons to laugh at Malvolio.

Firstly when Sir Toby obviously ignores him and is rude to him in the beginning when Malvolio insults him, and later when Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria are talking about the plot.

In Act II, Scene V Maria drops the letter and Malvolio finds it. He instantly thinks that it is for him, and as he is so self-inflated he instantly believes that his lady loves him. With this Shakespeare shows the significance of Malvolio fantasy at the beginning of this scene.

“Daylight and champaign discovers not more: this is
open. I will be proud, I will read politic authors,
I will baffle Sir Toby, I will wash off gross
acquaintance, I will be point-devise the very man.
I do not now fool myself, to let imagination jade
me; for every reason excites to this, that my lady
loves me.” Act II, Scene V, Line 133-137

I think Shakespeare uses this soliloquy to show how Malvolio really believes everything said in the letter. It is not signed to him or from Olivia exactly but he instantly takes it to be so.

This gives the audience another reason to laugh at his pompousness.

So far Shakespeare has only shown Malvolio in a bad light, showing his foolish side but as yet there has not been a scene that shows Malvolio to be a reasonable person.

In Act III, Scene IV, Malvolio goes to visit Olivia dressed in cross-garters wearing a smile.

Shakespeare used this image of him to create laughter because Malvolio claims to be a puritan. This would have meant that he would always wear dark colours and almost never smiled. So to see him in bright stockings and a large smile on his face would have been very comical to the audience. It also would show that he was perhaps not a pure puritan, and has an element of hypocrisy.

He is making a fool of himself and revealing his secret ambitions to be Count Malvolio to everybody.

After a little talk with Malvolio Olivia is convinced that he is mad.

The audience was sure to laugh at Malvolio in lines 27 and 28.

Olivia: Wilt thou go to bed, Malvolio?

Malvolio: To bed! ay, sweet-heart, and I'll come to thee.

Here Shakespeare uses dramatic irony. The audience is in the know and realise Malvolio is saying this as he believes that the letter is truly from Olivia, while Olivia herself is completely bewildered by his words. But when Olivia answers Malvolio like she doesn’t understand what he means (which she doesn’t) he takes it as if is Olivia wished to keep their “relationship” a secret from her court. Shakespeare is again playing a trick with misunderstanding.

Yet, I think in this scene Shakespeare first adds the hint of pity to the audiences perception of Malvolio. We feel it is unfair that Malvolio should be taken from his work and locked up under suspicion of madness, when it is all just a thoughtless trick played by Sir Toby, Maria and Sir Andrew. Olivia orders for

“Good Maria, let this fellow be looked to. Where’s my cousin Toby?

Let some of my people have a special care of him; I would not have him miscarry for the half of my dowry.”

In Act IV, Scene II we see Shakespeare developing on a modern audiences feeling of pity for Malvolio by putting Malvolio in a different light (whether an Elizabethan audience would pity him is debateable as the Elizabethans practised crueller sports than we do). This is because we see him reduced to begging Feste to let him out or for a pen and paper to write a letter to Olivia on. This is a large difference from how Malvolio spoke to Feste in Act I. It is much more respectful.

Some quotes that support this statement are the following:

“Good fool, as ever thou wilt deserve well at my hand, help

me to a candle and pen, ink, and paper. As I am a gentleman, I will live to be thankful to thee for’t.”

and

“By this hand, I am! Good fool, some ink, paper and light, and convey what I will set down to my lady. It shall advantage thee more than ever the bearing of letter did.”

Also he is ready to believe that Sir Topas, a priest is here to see him when it is really just the household jester Feste dressed in a robe and beard.

“Malvolio Who calls there?

Feste Sir Topas the curate, who comes to visit Malvolio the lunatic.”

In the end he manages to convince Feste , who is now talking as himself again to bring him a pen and paper, Act IV, Scene II Line 96

“ I will help you to't.”

Shakespeare uses this to show how far Malvolio has fallen. This now means that Malvolio and Sir Toby’s roles have been reversed. The audience is now on Malvolio’s side and see’s Sir Toby as the abuser.

It is not until Act V, Scene I after the main plot has resolved itself that Malvolio is actually freed from his prison that we see him again.

This time he is in a furious rage. Here the audience no longer feels sorry for him, but neither do they laugh at him. It shows that even after this public humiliation he has not changed. Shakespeare has created this moment to show Malvolio feels after his imprisonment, not to make a fool of him.

He is very hurt and angry at Olivia as he still thinks that she played the trick on him, yet she knows nothing about it so says so. This enrages him further. Act V, Scene I, Line 306-307

“Madam, you have done me wrong,

Notorious wrong.”

Malvolio’s last line leaves the audience feeling a little sorry for him, but can sense his anger. Act V, Scene I, Line 355

“I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you !”

But this is unfair to Olivia as she has done no wrong. She did not know of the plot or of anything to do with the trick played by her cousin and his friends. She genuinely thought he was mad. This is another pointer that shows just how angry Malvolio really is.

During the play, a modern audience’s perception and feelings towards Malvolio change dramatically.

For the first two acts, the audience sees Malvolio as a pompous, self-centred man who claims to be a puritan and Shakespeare does this so that they can laugh at him.

Yet during the third act we start to feel a little sorry for Malvolio as he is pushed down to supposed “madness”. This continues throughout the play until the last scene, Act 5, Scene 1 when he escapes. In this scene the audience feels mixed emotions for him. At some points he is almost comical, yet it would not feel right to laugh at him.

But I can see that if the trick had never been played on Malvolio then we never would have seen the other side to him.

This shows that Malvolio is a man that cannot be judged at first sight.