The Role of the Fool in Twelfth Night by William...

The Role of the Fool in Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare In English Literature, a fool is a person professionally counterfeits folly for the entertainment of others. They are always regarded as comic figures, which provide mediation under tensional circumstances. As Twelfth Night is an atypical romantic comedy, the jester is not the only fool who is subject to foolery, many other characters are subject to foolery by their silly acts as well. There are two types of fool in the play, namely Feste the professional jester who is in fact quite intelligent, and the non-jester fools, who are not fools but act like fools. Since Feste is the only designed fool in the play, the role of Feste will be†¦show more content†¦Although Feste does not make any profound remarks, he seems to be the wisest person among all the characters in the comedy. Viola remarks this by saying This fellows wise enough to play the fool. Feste contributes to the comedy in the play. Despite the humour of the comedy, Feste dresses up as Sir Topaz, the preist and visits the imprisoned Malvolio with Maria and Sir Toby. Sir Topaz uses his humour to abuse Malvolio, who is still unaware that he is actually talking to the Feste than to the real Sir Topas. Feste calls Malvolio a lunatic, satan and confuses him by wittingly making him a fool, â€Å"Then you are mad indeed, if you be no better in your wits than a fool† Feste plays on Malvolio’s words and triumphs over him by twisting his words to make him look foolish. Enraged by his poor treatment he says he will revenge on the all, â€Å"I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you† which is again amusing as the audience would know that Malvolio is even more egotistical since then. Feste is not only a jester, but also a corrupter of language. As Viola says, â€Å"this fellow is more than just a clown†, â€Å"he must know the humour of whom he jests†, Feste knows how to make fun of people based on theirShow MoreRelatedThe Fools in Twelfth Night Essay1098 Words   |  5 PagesThe Fools of Twelfth Night  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not unusual that the fool should be a prominent figure and make an important contribution in forming the confusion and the humor in an Elizabethan drama. In William Shakespeares comedy, Twelfth Night, Feste the clown is not the only fool who is subject to foolery. He and many other characters combine their silly acts and wits to invade other characters that either escape reality or live a dream. In Twelfth Night, Feste, Maria and Sir Toby are the foolsRead MoreThe Impervious Perception of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night1631 Words   |  7 PagesIn the kingdom of Illyria (fantasy world), Twelfth Night was supposedly originally written for the entertainment of Queen Elizabeth I. 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