Act 1 Scene 5
Olivia
Maria
Viola
Malvolio
Enter Lady Olivia in black
O, you are sick of self love, Malvolio, and taste with a distempered appetite.
from the count Orsino is it?
what gentleman
tell him he shall not speak with me
what kind o man is he? what manner of man
of what personage and years is he?
let him approach
are you a comedian?
i cannot love him
what is your parentage
he left this ring behind him
Feste
Madam there is at the gate a young gentleman much desires to speak with you
where, good mistress mary?
many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage
like a drowned man, a fool, the second mads him, and third drowns him.
Madam, yon young fellow swears he will speak with you. I told him you were sick
why of mankind
of very ill manner
not yet old enough for a an, nor young enough for a by; A SQUASH IS BEFORE TIS PEASCOD, OR A CODLING WHEN TIS ALMOST AN APPLE TIS WITHY HIM in standing water, between boy and man
here madam at your service
the honourable lady of the house, which is she?
with adorations, fertile tears
make me a willow cabin at your gate
cry out 'Olivia'
I am a gentleman
Lady, you are the cruel’st she alive / If you will lead these graces to the grave / And leave the world no copy
Let him send no more— / Unless perchance you come to me again
Methinks I feel this youth’s perfections / With an invisible and subtle stealth / To creep in at mine eyes
Lady, cucullus non facit monachum; that’s as much
to say as I wear not motley in my brain
foolishness
Orsino
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Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm,
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn,
Than women’s are
Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
Maria and Feste the fool have just finished speaking with each other. He pokes fun at her, and she calls him a troublemaker and exits. Feste is left alone on stage and tries to think up more funny, witty things to say. He then reflects on the made-up philosopher Quinapulus, saying that it is better to be witty and a fool than to simply be a foolish person.
Feste is a crucial character in Twelfth Night. As the fool in the court, he has privileged information about and access toboth the masters and the servants. He is allowed to poke fun at those in higher social ranks without punishment, making him an important source of information and even a voice of reason throughout the play (as "fools" often are in Shakespeare's plays).Here he touches on the notion of the maddening aspects of love. Throughout the play, we will see the lovers behave foolishly in the name of love. In Feste's perspective, he would much rather be the Fool than be the foolish lover.
class, masters, servants
He is very well-favored and he speaks very shrewishly; one would think his mother's milk were scarce out of him.
gender and sexualiy
Disguised as a man (Cesario), Viola visits Olivia in order to woo her for Duke Orsino. Olivia's steward, Malvolio, tells Olivia that there is a young man at the door. Olivia asks Malvolio to describe him and he responds with this quote. Here, he tells Olivia that her visitor (Viola) is "well-favored" or attractive, and speaks in a high-pitched voice ("shrewishly") as if he were a child.
In this moment, Malvolio notes the gender ambiguity of Cesario without realizing he is in fact a woman. He writes off Cesario's femininity as a product of youth. This is a comedic moment for the audience; we know Cesario is actually Viola but no one else does.
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love and desire
Viola enters Olivia's home dressed as Cesario, in order to attempt to woo her for Duke Orsino. The two begin a playful tete-a-tete. Here, Viola tries to appeal to Olivia by telling her how beautiful she is—so beautiful that it would be a disservice to the world not to produce an heir (and thus a new "copy" of her beauty). In a grand performance, Viola compliments Olivia's physical beautify in order to gain her trust and influence her to fall for Orsino. She also speaks in the convention of "poetic blazon," a form often used in sonnets, where the speaker itemizes and examines different parts of the body. Her speech mimics that of Shakespeare's own sonnets, revealing the poetic and hyperbolic nature of love and lust. Furthermore, in doing so, Viola-as-Cesario demonstrates a certain level of mystery and intelligence to Olivia that Orsino doesn't possess. She speaks in a genuine and advanced poetic way, whereas Orsino is often cliched.