A Consideration of the Role of Feste in Twelfth Night

Shakespe ar portrays Feste as a well-drawn, wise, fraud, adaptable character. His character is employ in Twelfth Night to reflect on the actions and emotions of the others by tutelage himself at a distance from the other characters and non becoming emotionally involved in any of the plots at the beginning of the run across. Feste subtly conveys his messages and thoughts by means of his breeds to the audience about the other characters in the play. He reveals in his songs that Orsino is roaming later on the wrong love in his pursuit of Olivia.Feste somewhat becomes the narrator of the play by commenting on actions that occur encephalonhin the play and foreshadowing events. When Feste head start enters into the play he has been absent from Olivias court a long m and must now return into her favour. He does non want to hear to what Maria says to him and using his quick wit homophileages to answer her. Feste demonstrates his quick wit and ability to juggle words effective ly when he says Let her touch me he that is well hanged in this world mother to fear no colours.This remark reveals that Feste does not fear Marias threats and as well reveals his intelligence and his philosophical spot for he would rather be hanged than be in a war, needs fear no colours. Shakespeare portrays him as a wise man although the Elizabethan audience might con lookr him a coward and unpatriotic for not wanting to protect and defend his country. Feste carries the stigma of stupidity, which previous fools in publications make inflicted upon all fools but Shakespeare haved Feste as an intelligent fool who would transmit the audiences perception of the government agency of fools.Shakespeare displays Festes skill at beguile words as an example of the differences between Feste and other fools as traditionally fools are considered to be ignorant buffoons who are there to entertain using jokes and juggling objects to create amusement. However, Feste displays his insigh t about the people surrounding him instead date also offering his thoughts about which ruinous condition he would rather be in, many another(prenominal) a good hanging prevents a bad brotherhood.Here he hints that a bad marriage may take place and that death is better than to be unhappy in life. Feste is not loyal to his mistress like Malvolio is to Olivia and Viola is to Orsino for he wanders through the opposite courts al counsels in search of favour and money. In Orsinos court he sings of love and how it can kill, I am slain by a fair cruel maid mans folly and mans deceitful nature while in Olivias court he sings to Sir toby fillpot jug and Sir Andrew he sings much dexterous and careless songs but still reflecting on the characters actions.When he sings the type of song Sir Toby selected he adds on to it when he sees they like it and makes the song relevant to what is happening and sings about what he has seen as an outsider watching the scenes that are happening. Even whe n he uses music he acts in his capacity as the fool for the house and is secretly wording the advice he would give to definite other characters in the play should he be allowed to tell them. This illustrates his taste sensation and ability to adapt to any situation no matter what he is supposed to do.Festes perceptiveness is used as a device to call in what has happened in Twelfth Night without becoming too involved in the play and not seeing the bigger perspective. Sir Andrew is revealed as even more ignorant than Sir Toby has already portrayed him as Feste uses his skills at juggling words to make up new words, which seem real and received to Sir Andrew. Feste uses his role as the fool to poke fun at Sir Andrew and sets him up for further humiliation later on because Sir Andrew stores the words Feste uses in his computer storage and later uses them in any context to try and convince everyone of his intelligence.As Twelfth Night is a play all about humoring and based on the F east of Fools it is fitting that Feste should make fun of the lesser characters of the play, which somehow make the audience laugh at them as well. Feste is the concentrate of amusement and merriment in every situation, providing the entertainment for the others and he does this in many ways. Sir Toby enjoys Feste making fun of Sir Andrew and Feste knows this so he does it to satisfy Sir Toby and Sir Andrew world the person he is doesnt realise this and pays Feste as well.Feste demonstrates his cunning in managing to get money out of two people for various reasons. In Act 4 Feste reveals he is ready to become parting of the play and take an active role. The others have tricked Malvolio agrees to dress up as Sir Topas, a curate. He thoroughly enjoys his new role as he is making Malvolio madder and without Malvolio in the way he is more beta to his mistress, Olivia. In his role as Sir Topas he is more appealing to Sir Toby as Sir Toby hates Malvolio for his puritan-like ways.Fes tes disguise convinces Malvolio that Feste is a real curate and Feste undermines his avouch character being reluctant to join in and always being himself he is now pretending to be something he is not although he is adapting to this new role he is putting on a diametric face, which he has never done before. Feste reveals one of his flaws through his disguise when he does not know where is a safe place to stop dun Malvolio and juggling words. In this way he goes over the top with his role and needs someone to keep him in check but has no one to do this for him.Festes final song seems to be a perfective ending to Twelfth Night. While this song contains many silly words and phrases designed to make people laugh, it does have a serious side to it that suggest that love and marriage are not the only things in life and that there is not always a happy ending. The song goes through the life cycle from a little tiny son and reverts all the way back around again to when the world begun. It seems to be about Festes life in particular and his choice to become a fool.He is saying that becoming a fool was his only way to survive because he could not have succeeded any other way. Shakespeare uses Feste as someone to reflect and a way to end the play fittingly. In Twelfth Night, the fools are the ones that control the comedy and humour in the play. They swear out in the make believe game and fool around with characters who block reality or rather realize a dream. This makes Feste a pivotal character in Twelfth Night as without him many other things could have happened and a lot less humour and jokes would have occurred.