Twelfth Night Fool Essay

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In Shakespeare’s comedy, Twelfth Night, many characters are behave foolishly or fool one another. The character Feste is a professional fool, a jester for Olivia’s household. Feste’s occupation involves singing, joking, and dancing. Many of the jesters in Shakespeare’s plays offer comedic relief. Though Feste is an excellent jester and has a great way with words, he quickly reveals that he isn’t a fool. As Feste interacts with many of the characters in the play he offers commentary and intelligent insight. He travels between all the characters in the play, speaking with all of them. Feste acts as a mediator between the audience and the play itself, as he reveals the true personality of the characters he speaks to. Feste isn’t introduced until act 1 scene 5, in Olivia’s household. He has returned to work as her entertainer after an absence. Olivia’s servant Maria warns Feste that Olivia will be unhappy with him for being gone. Oliva enters and receives Feste rather coldly, asking for him to be taken away. Her mood slowly changes as she seems amused when Feste jokes that it is she who is…show more content…
Feste dresses up as fictional priest, by the name of Sir Topas. Sir Toby and Maria send Feste in to speak like a priest to Malvolio who is locked in a dark room. Feste claims to have come to determine if Malvolio is mad or not, and then deliberately misleads him through his questioning to make him appear mad. Malvolio is humiliated but Feste is comically trying to amuse the audience as well as his accomplices. Though Feste also attempts to entertain through the great songs he sings throughout the play, this scene displays him behaving more like a traditional jester. Feste later goes back to his typical role of speaking the truth when he tells Olivia of the prank played on Malvolio and delivers the letter he wrote. Once again, Feste attempts to restore

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