Twelfth Night Essay Johnson
In the Elizabethan play Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare suggests that deception and mistaken identity can be used to intensify the use of dramatic irony for comedic effect. By using the art of disguise as a basis for dramatic irony; where the audience is aware of something that the characters in the play do not, Shakespeare creates tension and irony in the play where characters make comments that take on double meanings. Tim Carroll also utilises visual aspects to add an extra layer of comedic effect when exaggerating certain action. Act 2 Scene 5 highlights this aspect as Maria, Sir Andrew, Sir Toby and Fabian play a prank on Malvolio by leaving a letter for him that is supposedly written by Olivia, saying she loves him and making Malvolio a fool of himself.
Shakespeare sets the foundations for dramatic irony in Act 2 Scene 5 by first letting the audience know about the prank conducted by Maria and the other conspirers. Shakespeare does this by providing an extra scene at the beginning, where Maria comments about how the “letter will make a contemplative idiot (Malvolio) out of him.” Shakespeare further adds onto this by referring to the letter as ‘bait’ and Malvolio as ‘fish’, commenting “here comes the trout that must be caught with tickling”; hook, line and sinker. The comedy of appearance is created when Malvolio falls for the joke that is being played on him. Blinded by his ego and arrogance, Malvolio agrees to what the letter is telling him to do, “I will be strange, stout, in yellow stockings and cross-gartered.” This increases the eagerness of the audience wanting to see how foolish Malvolio will look. To add salt to the wound, Maria tells Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Fabian that “he will come to her in yellow stockings, and ‘tis a colour she abhors; and cross-gartered, a fashion she detests” which in turn makes the audience have comical thoughts about Malvolio coming onto stage wearing yellow stockings. The deception prevalent in this scene causes the audience to be in on the joke, which makes them feel as if they are part of the prank which serves to intensify the comedic effect when Malvolio faces his humiliation.
Act 2 Scene 5 also reveals more about Malvolio’s true character when he is in the garden talking to himself. Malvolio is seen to be quite vain and thinks of himself as more important than others, even “practising his behaviour to his own shadow.” Malvolio also jumps to conclusions as to when he finds the letter, he immediately thinks that it is for himself: “M – Malvolio. ‘M’ – why that begins my name!”. This effectively enhances dramatic irony as the audience now knows that Malvolio has fallen into the trap however, it makes the audience think that Malvolio is arrogant and egoistic. Malvolio also says “To be Count Malvolio” which solidifies the idea that Malvolio is full of himself making the audience further dislike him. Carroll also dramatizes this scene by making Malvolio’s action exaggerated, such as leaving long pauses in between lines when Malvolio is reading the letter or making his voice more gleeful as he progresses reading. Dramatic irony also contributes to this scene as the audience knows that Malvolio being tricked. They also enjoy watching Malvolio build up false hope as they know that none of what Malvolio is saying is true. Adding to the fact that the audience already dislikes Malvolio due to his arrogant attitude, this scene creates tension and a comedic atmosphere as the audience becomes eager for Malvolio to make a fool of himself.
Shakespeare aims to use farcical comedy to generate humour and tension through the stage arrangement. The stage arrangement in Carroll’s production serves to heighten the dramatic irony in the scene as Malvolio takes the forefront of the scene while Sir Andrew, Sir Toby and Fabian hide inside a bush. This adds to the tense atmosphere as the audience knows that the other characters are there hidden, and they can see everything that Malvolio is doing. As Malvolio pretends to order Sir Toby around, the audience can see and hear the angry side comments that Toby is saying such as, “shall this fellow live?” or “Out, scab!”, which progressively gets louder and louder. This builds tension and suspense as the audience wonders whether or not they are going to blow their cover. Paired up with Fabian whispering to Sir Toby to keep quiet: “Nay, patience, or we break the sinews of our plot”, It creates a very exaggerated and comedic scene to which the audience becomes amused.
In conclusion, Shakespeare has managed to use deception and mistaken identity as a basis for dramatic irony to create comedy. By using the audience’s dislike for Malvolio, Shakespeare has used satire to mock Malvolio’s puritanism by making him the centre of the prank. He has used the stage arrangement and the use of a farcical situation to provide an extra layer of comedy to the scene while also building tension in the audience to keep them excited throughout the scene. Shakespeare’s use of stage arrangement, dramatic irony and exaggeration on certain parts has created a build-up of tension which in turn, has created a very comedic atmosphere within the play.