never wanting to cause anyone any harm. This is a fault because it may hold her back from
doing a something that she should. I think that Shakespeare has given the characters faults to
make them more interesting and realistic.
Malvolio tries to impress Olivia but it does not work. Although she respects him she
does not favour him, as he thinks, for having a good job. He is good at his job but should
enjoy himself instead of thinking himself all the time. This is one thing that makes him an
unlikeable character also he considers himself to be superior to other characters but no one
really likes him and he does not know what they really think of him. Although he mostly
cares about himself some of his love goes to Olivia. I think that he wants to be romantic but
has a hard time expressing his feelings or does not want people to know what he’s really like.
His character does not really develop throughout the play, and I disliked him as much at the
end as I did at the start of the play.
Sir Toby is a likeable character because he does not care what anyone thinks of him, if
they do not like him, they will just have to put up with it. People think he should be a
respectable gentleman and act his age but he finds acting like everyone else stuffy and
claustrophobic. Sir Toby is certainly not a model gentleman but when he drinks his
behaviour is even worse. He does not have a lot of money. He may have had more but living
a life of pleasure has changed that. He is criticised for living a life of pleasure but at least,
unlike some other characters, he is genuine, he does not try to be anything he is not, and this
is one of the reasons why Maria loves him. Although Sir Toby is a likeable Character his
practical jokes do tend to get tiresome as the play wears on. Olivia, Sir Toby’s niece, is not
like him at all. She is a well off countess who is respectable and acts the way she should.
Olivia receives a lot of sympathy because she has lost her father and her brother, but Sir Toby
does not think that her grieving is genuine. Olivia is quite a likeable character but I think that
she is taking it a bit too far, saying she will never love another man again. It is likely that she
enjoys all of the attention and sympathy that she is getting.
Viola, the sister of Sebastian, has a lot going for her; she is intelligent, tactful, honest
and well educated and able to deal with people better than the other characters. She is a
caring character who likes to get things done, she isn’t one to just sit back and do nothing or
let others do things for her. Being caring is one of Viola’s main features. She does not like to
upset or hurt people and she would not mock people or make fun of them behind their
backs. She carried out her commands and even though she was put in an awkward position she did not refuse for fear of upsetting someone. Some of Viola’s lines are
the most poetic of the entire play and therefore, perhaps, are the ones which will be
remembered the most.
Duke Orsino does not seem to have much character or personality. He seems not to do
very much, he has an almost useless existence; he just sits about moping about love. He is
rich and has a comfortable existence with lots of servants. He seems young and immature,
and does not have the same wisdom or knowledge as Viola and Sir Toby do. He is not an
imposing figure, but it is possible that there is more to him than meets the eye. Orsino has
tried with Maria but has not succeeded because she is in love with Sir Toby. It is too hard to
form an opinion of him because he isn’t a very noticeable character.
I think that Viola emerges with credit at the end of the play because her only fault is
that she is too nice so she could not be criticised for anything. Two characters who I think
come out of the play badly are Sir Toby and Malvolio. Both of these characters can be
annoying at times, and although Toby may have started off well he does end up quite boring,
whereas Malvolio, on the other hand, was never a likeable character.
