Why is feste significant to twelfth night. Feste, The Decisive Fool Of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night Essay 2023-01-06
Why is feste significant to twelfth night Rating:
7,6/10
807
reviews
In Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, Feste the fool is a significant character for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, Feste serves as a commentator on the events of the play. As a fool, he is able to speak the truth without fear of reprisal, and his wit and intelligence allow him to offer astute observations on the actions and motivations of the other characters. For example, he points out the hypocrisy of Malvolio when he pretends to be someone he is not in order to win the favor of Olivia. Feste also serves as a foil to the pompous and self-important characters like Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, poking fun at their pretensions and highlighting their ridiculous behavior.
In addition to serving as a commentator, Feste also functions as a catalyst for change in the play. Through his interactions with the other characters, he helps to reveal their true identities and motivations, and ultimately helps to bring about resolution to the various plotlines. For example, his conversations with Olivia and Viola (disguised as Cesario) help to reveal their feelings for each other and ultimately lead to the resolution of the love triangle between them and Orsino.
Feste's role as a fool also serves to add an element of humor and levity to the play, providing a contrast to the more serious and dramatic elements. His jokes and antics help to lighten the mood and provide relief from the tensions of the plot.
Overall, Feste is a significant character in Twelfth Night due to his ability to comment on the events of the play, serve as a catalyst for change, and add an element of humor. His wit and intelligence make him an important and memorable character, and his role helps to add depth and complexity to the play.
Feste, The Decisive Fool Of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night Essay
This also makes the audience wonder if Feste can indeed see through Viola's disguise as Cesario, and knows her true identity as it is once hinted he does: 'Now Jove, in his next commodity of hair, send thee a beard! It is communication between the two that reveals the two types of fool in the play; the witting and conscious fool of Feste, and the unwitting and unconscious fool of Sir Andrew and almost every other person in the play. He is a jester, employed by Olivia, a wealthy lady of Illyria. A foolish thing was but a toy," meaning that he naively thought of foolishness as a play thing, just like Maria and Sirs Toby and Andrew V. In 1943, Erich Korngold also set the songs "Adieu, Good Man Devil" Act IV, Scene 2 , "Hey, Robin" Act IV, Scene 2 , and "For the Rain, It Raineth Every Day" Act V, Scene 1 as a song cycle entitled Narrenlieder, Op. First, he is a clown -- one who keeps things funny. Olivia believes she has found happiness Act 4, Scene 3 Olivia meets Sebastian and, believing him to be Cesario, is delighted when he agrees to marry her immediately. Therefore, it is possible that Feste was the voice of Shakespeare, and if Shakespeare wanted to make the audience happy, for dramatic effect or other, then he might use Feste to sing a song, When Feste says lines 359-354 in Act 5:i, he quotes the things that Malvolio has said, and a feeling of 'what goes around comes around' is created.
Feste, Twelfth Night: An Overview Of Feste Characters
. Hence, as a court jester, one of Feste's roles is to represent the merriment and foolery characteristic of the holiday. Shakespeare wrote the play Epiphany celebration, and the entire play is essentially a festival. Olivia is the fool, as she has fallen in love with a woman, Orisino is seen the fool, because Viola has tricked him into thinking she is a man. Viola dressed as Cesario meets Olivia and declares Orsino's love for her. In Orsino's court he sings of love and how it can kill, "I am slain by a fair cruel maid" man's folly and man's deceitful nature while in Olivia's court he sings to Sir Toby and Sir Andrew he sings more joyful and careless songs but still reflecting on the characters' actions. Feste's most significant song comes at the end.
This makes Feste a pivotal character in Twelfth Night as without him many other things could have happened and a lot less humour and jokes would have occurred. In 'Twelfth Night' the actual comedy of the play is provided by the unwitting fools, while Feste, the recognized fool, adds an insight and meaning to the actions of others. Malvolio and Sir Toby from William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night', Act II, scene iii , Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria plan revenge on Malvolio. Olivia arrives and announces that she and 'Cesario' are newly married. .
What Is The Purpose Of Feste In Twelfth Night? Two of the dogs in the film Twelfth Night. The Illyria features a high school production of Twelfth Night, containing many references to the play, especially Feste's song. The play ends with Viola and Orsino and Sebastian and Olivia happily paired off. He is able to see through their disguises and knows the truth about them. But when I came to man's estate, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 'Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate, For the rain, it raineth every day. At the end of the play, Shakespeare provides an epilogue, like other plays, such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and All's Well That Ends Well. Your true love's coming, That can sing both high and low.
He is left alone on stage to sing it- that seems unusual as he's always sung for people. . Retrieved 30 November 2020. . This is one example of the role of Feste; do we value what he says or laugh at what he says? While in disguise, Feste uses humour to abuse Malvolio, who does not know he is talking to a clown. With his irony, puns, soliloquy, his songs and criticisms- he directs the play in a moving omniscient manner.
Like a mad lad, "Pare thy nails, dad. Feste reveals one of his flaws through his disguise when he does not know where is a safe place to stop teasing Malvolio and juggling words. He stands above the foolery and wisely critiques it in his witty way. So, logically, someone who is already dead can't fear. Plus, even Feste, the fool or court jester, ronically proves to be the only one who is not foolish.
Malvolio swears revenge on his tormentors and stalks off, but Orsino sends Fabian to placate him. However, Twelfth Night goes further with its gender confusion than As You Like It. Feste has an almost omniscient role in the play, revealing the foolishness of those around him. Top Feste Quotes Better a witty fool than a foolish wit. With his dramatic role in the play, and his conventional fool role, where he looks in at the action, he is both inside and outside the play, which makes him a marked innovation in drama, anticipating the postmodern plays of the 20th century. A Winter Entertainment Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, or What You Will, was written around 1601-1602 as entertainment for a feast in celebration of Twelfth Night, the traditional end of the Christmas season on January 5. And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenge.
A Short Analysis of Feste’s Song from Twelfth Night: ‘The rain it raineth every day’
Membership includes a 10% discount on all editingorders. A Shakespeare Companion 1564—1964 Firsted. However, Feste displays his insight about the people surrounding him instead while also offering his thoughts about which ruinous condition he would rather be in, "many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage". Causing a melancholy atmosphere in the scene. The reiterating it: 'four negatives makes your two affirmatives'. Lesson Summary Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, originally written to celebrate the holiday of the same name, is a play about the world turned upside down, as normal gender and class roles get inverted. In delay there lies no plenty, Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty.
