Comment and Quote on madness in Twelfth Night

Madness and confusion are some of the main ingredients used by Shakespeare to make the plot of Twelfth Night more complicated and interesting. Throughout the play we see madness conducted by the characters of the play. The play starts out with dialogue about Orsino declaring his mad infatuation with Olivia. Despite all of Olivia s rejections He still persists on sending messages of love and his proposals.Orsino describes his affection as: Even in a minute: so full of shape is fancy, That is alone, is highly fantastical. Olivia also hasa mad attraction to Cesario/Viola, who is really a girl. It is this madness that makes us feel sorry for her and causes such turmoil in the lives of the characters. She is deeply infatuated by a woman she thinks is a man: With an invisible eye and subtle stealth To creep at mine eyes, we ll let it be. The emotions portrayed by these characters are of such extremity and intensity they border on madness. As can be seen by Viola s love for Orsino, sheis willing to do anything for him for him and does not consider how much it might affect her:

Too woo your lady: yet a bartful strife, Whoe er I will woo, myself would be his wife. She proposes Olivia on Orsino s behalf even though she herself is in love with him. Viola is even willing to let him kill her, whenOrsino threatened to punish her for her betrayal: And I must jocund, apt and willingly To do you rest, a thousand deaths would I due. One of the most important incidents of the play is the cruel trick played on Malvolio to teach him a lesson.Maria, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew send him a letter so he could think that Olivia loved him, they got him to wear crossstitchedstockings. He was so blinded by his mad ambition that he actually believed his mistress was in love with him and was willing to do anything foolish she said. All of them confined in a dark room and try to prove that he was mad and possessed: La you and speak ill of the devil, how he takes it to heart, Pray god he not bewitched. This incident is the cruelest incident in the play and leads us to feel sorry for a man who is self-righteous and egotistic. We could see more madness in the people playing the trick than Malvolio himself. A small joke turned into something cold, heartless and mad.

Shakespeare s imagery emphasizes this madness, he helps the reader imagine Malvolio an uptight and conservative character smiling foolishly and wearing yellow colored cross stitched stockings. The sacrifice Antonio makes for Sebastian, a boy he only knew for a short, is crazy and fantastic. He knew that if he went to Illyria that he could get arrested or killed but he went anyway: One sir that for his love dares yet do more than you will have heard him brag you he will. Another visual impression that we are given is the wild charades of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. They are drunk and singing in the middle of the night. They provide an element of madness in a household run by the strict and egotistic Malvolio.They behave ridiculously and constantly flirt with Maria. Sir Toby does anything he could so that Sir Andrew doesn t leave even if that means giving us false hope. He keeps the house in continuous chaos. Feste s language throughout the play is often chaotic, he talks in riddles and in his words are hidden truths and wise lessons about the characters. In a world of chaos it is actually the fool who is the most objective bystander and a contrast to the over emotional and often maddening characters. Madness is at its peak at the plays climax, theimprobability of the ending and reactions of characters is astonishing.

Thefact that Sebastian hurriedly agrees to marry a woman that he just met is incredulous. He knows that he is never met this woman and thus declaration of love was not for him but the only response to Olivia s decision to get married right there was: I ll follow this good man and go with you, And having sworn truth ever will be. The madness of Orsino can be seen with his sudden complete change of mind. When he thought that Cesario/Viola married Olivia tried to kill her, but once he found out that she was a girl he suddenly was in love with her.Even though throughout the play he continuously perused Olivia and was about to kill the man she married.Orsino replay to knowing that Viola loved him was: Madam I am most apt t embrace your offer Your master quits you:and for your service done him So much against the mettle of your sex, So far beneath your soft tender breeding And since you cal d me master for so long Here is my hand,you shall from this time be Your master s mistress.

This is hardly like the poetic and romantic declarations he made while confessing his love for Olivia. Shakespeare used madness in emotions, characters and incidents to heighten the excitement and comedy of the play. The entire love story s themselves were unusual and mad woman falling in love with women, men being in love with love and others are in love with power and money. The extremes in their personalities lead to bringing about movement of the play.