Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover
Looks can be deceiving, and in the case of Sir Andrew and Feste the fool, the statement certainly applies. Looking at the personalities of these two characters throughout Twelfth Night, no one will see that each character is the exact opposite of each other. Their comparison is their contrast. The first, Sir Andrew, is of “foolish wit”, who looks that part he is supposed to play on the outside. He looks sophisticated and very intelligent. Yet when actually speaking with this character, the opposite applies and he really is just a fool. And Feste, the other character, looks the part of a fool and is used for mere entertainment. Yet on the inside, he exhibits the mind of an intelligent person, maybe even a scholar. These two characters compare in their extreme differences.
A fool must look the part as well as play the part. But does Feste do this? He does this quite well actually. But then how can one call him witty and intelligent? It is basically because he only plays the part of a fool. The key word is “plays”. He is not really a fool.
He states “I wear not motley in my brain.”(pp.28). This quote reinforces that he only wears the clothes of a fool on the outside, but his over brimming amount of intelligence shows he is a real person, with thoughts, ideas and comments to be made. Only being a fool may restrict him from doing such. Throughout the play, Feste acts as witty as a
mischi...
There is a tremendous difference between a fool and a jester. Fools are regarded as light-hearted, dim-witted, and absent-minded people whose outrageous stupidity amused the rest of the population. These jovial folk represented the lowest in society: too carefree to get ahead in society and too stupid to care. Many people believed that Jan Steen, a prominent and well-educated artist of the Dutch Golden Age, was a fool. It is not a far-fetched assumption to make since he donned the appearance of a fool in his own paintings. However Steen was no fool. Much like the history of jesters, Jan Steen’s unsavory appearances in his own work is often misunderstood and taken at face value. To look into Steen’s own depictions of his life in his paintings one might completely agree that he is a foolish drunkard who happened to be blessed with the ability to paint. It is interesting, then, to realize that Steen is more jester than fool, especially in his self portraits. In medieval times the only person who could get away with insulting the king and royal family was the court jester. Jesters would use their quick wit, silver tongues, and superior intellect to insult or comment on the presiding royalty and would often be received with thunderous laughter and applause. Steen, much like the jester, used a foolish appearance to give social commentary on the world around him. One of the best examples of this is in Steen’s “The Continence of Scipio” (see Figure 1). A goofy cast of characters replace the traditionally serious and dignified roles of the figures in the classic story but none so ridiculous as the narcissistic husband, Aluccius (who looks suspiciously like Stee...
Sending Andrew and William to work for James Selby, owner of a local tailor shop, turned out to benefit Andrew quite well. While working as an apprentice Andrew would listen to the local patrons discussing politics, this peaked his curiosity, and sent him on a quest for self-improvement. After about five years working as an apprentice Andrew and his brother William, ran away from Selby’s shop.(3)
are letting know-nothingism thrive in todays cultures. With this in mind he sets out to disprove
And they were taken as prisoners of war but before they left a British officer told Andrew to clean his boots and Andrew proceeded to spit on them, and to this the officer retaliated by swinging his sword at Andrew but he was able to catch the blade with his hand and knocked his head. which served as a living reminder of how he hated the British. But i mean can you blame him for it, after they were taken they were put in a POW camp in which was rampant with disease which Andrew and his Brother ( Robert ) got sick and only Andrew was the only one to recover from the
His attempts to flirt with Maria by showing how clever he is fail when Sir
In stark contrast to the dark and tragic "Othello," is one of Shakespeare’s lightest and funniest comedies, "Twelfth Night." The theme of love is presented in a highly comical manner. Shakespeare, however, once again proves himself a master by interweaving serious elements into humorous situations. "Twelfth Night" consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters who are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. They are being deceived by themselves and/or the others around them.
In conclusion, Charles Dickens, a social critic of humble origins himself, has conveyed his conception of a true gentleman, which is such a good conception that it is commonly used in our society today. He shows that you can only be a true gentleman at heart and if you are not it will be revealed. Matthew Pocket’s metaphor that ‘No varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself’ very successfully delivers and summarises Dickens’ message, that no matter how much you try to, your true identity will always be revealed. It also effectively reinforces Dickens’ treatment of the Victorian preconception of a gentleman as misconstrued and mistakenly engrossed with social status, wealth, birth, and apparel.
In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the Fool is a source of chaos and disruption in King Lear’s tumultuous life. The Fool causes the King distress by insulting him, making light of his problems, and telling him the truth. On the road to Regan’s, the Fool says “If thou wert my Fool, nuncle, I’d have thee / beaten for being old before thy time.” (1.5.40-41). He denies the king the respect due to him as an aged King, causing the King to wonder at his worthiness. The fool also makes light of Lear’s qualms making snide remarks in response to Lear’s ruminations. When Lear asks Edgar cryptically, “wouldst thou give ‘em all?” the Fool responds, “Nay, he reserved a blanket, else we had been all shamed” (3.4.69-72). The Fool’s snide remarks do little to maintain Lear’s fragile control of his faculties. However, the Fool speaks to the king candidly, a rare occasion in Lear’s life. Even Kent acknowledges the truth of the Fool’s statements, saying, “This is not altogether fool, my lord” (1.4.155).
And yet, if we do not place our sympathies with Alceste, we search this play in vain for another character worthy of them. The silly marquises do not command much respect. Arsinoé is conniving, spiteful, and a critic of everyone else's morals. Oronte is not only as vain a...
Feste is a jester her serves Olivia and is brought into this scene to cheer her up, but from this quotes it shows proof she is mourning her brother.
...w this, though, his insanity tricks everyone, including himself. The consequences due to this are great, including the death of Hamlet, himself.
The fool is one of the first character archetypes that any student of literature learns how to analyze. Despite his seemingly light or even pointless chatter, the fool usually manages to say some fairly important things. Upon further study, the student may perceive that it is because of his penchant for silliness that the fool is given leave to express even offensive truths about the other characters. What happens, though, when one fool encounters another? Fools are not used to being subject to one another’s wit; this experience of being held up to a sort of mirror is generally reserved for the characters who must undergo some change to further the plot. Touchstone and Jaques manage to break that rule, and merely by coexisting seem to compete. Both live up to some part of our expectation of the fool, but neither manages to fill the role entirely. Which one comes closer is a matter worthy of some debate.
he does not put people in the order of their social rank, "My wit is
Shakespeare is a famous writer of many plays, such as Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy that takes place in Illyria and incorporates several songs throughout the play. Shakespeare normally assigns the singing roles to characters of lower class and minor personalities, such as servants, clowns, rogues and fools. Major characters never usually sing unless they are in disguise or in distracted mental states. In Twelfth Night, the Fool, who is also known as Feste, is in charge of all the songs and he uses music to effectively portray the truth and reality beneath all the acting in the play.
Twelfth Night is a play written by William Shakespeare and illustrates themes of love and truth. In Shakespeare’s playwright of “Twelfth Night”, characters imply truths to show their love. Many characters love differently and give subtle hints to show their love. Malvolio &Olivia, Sir Andrew & Olivia, and Viola & Duke Orsino are all characters who imply their love, for their significant other. To be completely mad is never possible when you have the wits to stay out of trouble.