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[CHAPTER FOUR
THE MIDDLE COMEDIES (II)
Much Ado about Nothing, As You Like It
and
Twelfth Night]
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- - - III - - -
While the influence of Shakespeare's sources on his use of disorder, conflict and violence in As You Like It shows that he was conscious of these elements in the play, recognising the need to control them to suit his dramatic needs, the same cannot be said of Twelfth Night. Despite the various proposals that have been put forward, delineating what Shakespeare may have derived from his sources for Twelfth Night, 4.82 I cannot help but echo Quiller-Couch's sentiments, given the diversity of the sources which have been proposed:
But when, as with Twelfth Night, the story is a primal one, and we have a dozen sixteenth-century versions capable of providing a hint here or a phrase there, the quest [for sources] may easily turn to a folly of delusion. 4.83
I quote these words as being relevant to the particular context of my thesis; that is, that in the case of Twelfth Night, we cannot say that Shakespeare was indebted to his sources for his treatment of disorder, conflict and violence.
The title of the play was Shakespeare's own, and it has been widely associated with traditional Christmas celebrations, what Barber calls 'holiday misrule', 4.84 pagan in origin, having been superimposed on the Roman Saturnalia. 4.85 Zucker records the existence of a customary 'Feast of Fools' celebrated 'from the twelfth to the seventeenth century in many cathedral churches of northwestern Europe'; 4.86 during this festival the younger clergy, disguised as clowns, drove their superiors from the church and performed a devil's mass, sometimes bringing in an ass 'as an incarnation of the Lord of Disorder'. 4.87 This extreme form of celebration has as its underlying principle a disregard of the normal order and rules observed in daily living; but the imposing of order on a community induces, by way of reaction, a state of inner conflict and disorder within the community, and holiday celebrations are a ritual way of expressing and purging the induced conflict and disorder. Twelfth Night, or the Day of Epiphany, was the day on which Christmas festivities came
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to an end, and therefore it marked the stage at which the reign of disorder ceased, and order was re-established. An important aspect of the social function of 'holiday misrule' is the conflict of the spirit of Carnival with that of Lent, noted by Bristol, who distinguishes between
... sinful and foolish absorption in the pleasures of the flesh, as reported by Carnival, and penitential renunciation of those pleasures in favor of the needs of the spirit, as represented by Lent. 4.88
These aspects must be borne in mind when assessing Shakespeare's use of disorder, conflict and violence in Twelfth Night.
The play opens with a beautiful speech in which the disordered state of Illyria is reflected in the unnatural passion of Orsino:
If Musicke be the food of Loue, play on,
Giue me excesse of it: that surfetting,
The appetite may sicken, and so dye.
(I.i.1-3)
It is a commonplace of criticism to observe that Orsino is in love with Love, rather than in love with Olivia, 4.89 but what is not commonly noted is that this preoccupation with the passion itself rather than its object must be at least partly the cause of the impasse between Orsino and Olivia. He indulges his passion for love, not approaching Olivia directly, but sending messengers to tell her of his love; and when his suit is denied, he takes no positive steps to improve his chances of gaining her, but merely rhapsodises her virtues and repeats the futile exercise, sending further messages. There is thus a conflict established between Olivia and Orsino, as seen in her initial hostile reaction to Viola when she first visits Olivia as Cesario:
... If it be a suit from the Count, I am sicke, or not at home. What you will, to dismisse it.
(I.v.108-110)
There are several indications in the opening scene that Orsino's passion is unnatural, a departure from order. His first speech deals in extremes themselves not normal: he wishes to surfeit love's appetite for music, and this is soon done: 4.90
Enough, no more,
'Tis not so sweet now, as it was before.
(I.i.7-8)
The effect of this excess is not a diminution of the passion for love
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itself, however; music is the food of love, and Orsino is interested in it only while it intensifies his pleasure in love-melancholy. As it stands, Orsino's love is sterile, for it will never lead to a fruitful union with Olivia, and this sterility is ironically encompassed by the first of the play's many watery images:
O spirit of Loue, how quicke and fresh art thou,
That notwithstanding thy capacitie,
Receiueth as the Sea. Nought enters there,
Of what validity, and pitch so ere,
But falles into abatement, and low price
Euen in a minute ....
(I.i.9-14)
The irony here is two-fold: firstly, Orsino does not recognise the sterility of his passion as being abnormal, and the image of the hungry sea aptly expresses what he sees as the normal course of love, consuming, but unproductive; 4.91 and secondly, the sea image depicts not only sterility and death, as Orsino intends it here, but their opposites, fecundity and life, in which case it is as apt an image for normal productive love as it is for Orsino's sterile passion.
The sterility and violence of Orsino's love find further expression in a conventional hunting metaphor taken from Ovid, and already encountered in The Merry Wives of Windsor: Orsino says,
O when mine eyes did see Oliuia first,
Me thought she purg'd the ayre of pestilence;
That instant was I turn'd into a Hart,
And my desires like fell and cruell hounds,
Ere since pursue me.
(I.i.19-23)
Johnson observed that 'This image evidently alludes to the story of Acteon, by which Shakespeare seems to think men cautioned against too great familiarity with forbidden beauty'. 4.92 Once again, Orsino's choice of metaphor is ironical, for he uses it to express only the violence of his emotions, while its larger meaning must include the inaccessibility of Olivia, which he chooses to ignore. That 'she purg'd the ayre of pestilence' is also ironical, for she must share with Orsino the responsibility for the conflict between them, the root cause of his malady. Her rejection of his advances is, like Orsino's barren love, depicted as contrary to natural order:
... like a Cloystresse she will vailed walke,
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And water once a day her Chambers round
With eye-offending brine: all this to season
A brothers dead loue ....
(I.i.28-31)
This expression of Olivia's grief amounts to a barren ritual, its sterility emphasised by the unexpected apposition of 'dead' to 'love' rather than 'brother'. The description contains the second of the play's watery images, the 'eye-offending brine', once again associating the sea with infertility and death. The aspect of sterility is what gives offence here, pointed by the comparison with a 'Cloystresse'; and later it is revealed that her seal is an image of Lucretia, seen by Dover Wilson as 'the classical type of chastity'. 4.93 Lucrece is mentioned twice in II.v, once in connection with Olivia's seal, and then again in Maria's verse:
I may command where I adore,
but silence like a Lucresse knife:
With bloodless stroke my heart doth gore,
M.O.A.I. doth sway my life.
(II.v.106-109)
The allusion is to Lucretia's taking of her own life after being raped by Sextus, 4.94 and ought to refer to Olivia's reluctance to surrender her virginity, but here it has been comically inverted, the violence of the knife being associated with the keeping of virginity rather than its loss. A further indication of Olivia's inaccessibility is the veil she wears, 4.95 mentioned here in close association with the 'Cloystresse' image, and again when Viola is first admitted to her presence, where it signifies a rejection of Orsino: the veil is put in place just before Viola enters, and its subsequent removal marks the turning point in Olivia's attitude to love - her falling in love with Cesario. It is not only in Orsino's court that Olivia's self-imposed isolation is seen as a breach of natural order: our introduction to Olivia's household shows it in Sir Toby's first words:
What a plague means my Neece to take the death of her brother thus? I am sure care's an enemie to life.
(I.iii.1-3)
This nicely juxtaposes death and life, implying that Olivia's mourning is counter-productive. Feste, too, shows his disapproval, firstly in his catechism proving Olivia a fool for mourning her brother (I.v.55-70), and secondly in his song, 'O Mistris mine' (II.iii.40-53), in which he warns
that 'In delay there lies no plentie' (II.iii.51), a reference to the sterility of isolation.
Another feature of Twelfth Night which lends to the disordered state of Illyria is the involvement of Orsino himself in the romantic plot. In Shakespeare's romantic comedies the action is usually presided over by figure of authority - a king, a duke, or perhaps merely a father - and this person, often opposing the course of true love, should be relatively detached from the romantic complications of the main plot. 4.96 Lothian and Craik observe that 'Orsino is in the unique position of being both the head of the state (with the power of life and death over enemy aliens like Antonio) and a young man in love'. 4.97 In this position he is not capable of governing Illyria objectively, and indeed we do not see him exercising his authority in this capacity until the final act, where he encounters Antonio. We must remark, with Hayles, that 'a vacuum exists at the top of the hierarchy', 4.98 and this means that disorder of any sort will have the freer rein.
Viola arrives in Illyria having escaped death by drowning in the sea, and once again the sea has a double significance: it has spared Viola, but has probably claimed her brother as one of its victims, and is thus a destructive force. However, it is Viola and Sebastian who ultimately are responsible for the restoration of order, and since they emerged from the sea, it must also be associated with regeneration and life. Even in this there is some ambiguity - a point made by Lawry, who sees the storm which brought Viola and Sebastian to Illyria as 'a principle of seeming disorder ... which radically confuses the accustomed orders of place and time'. 4.99 To Viola and Sebastian, Illyria is a place of disorder and confusion, with Viola's sexual role being made equivocal by her disguise, and Sebastian being mistaken for Cesario. Their arrivals in Illyria do not immediately pave the way for the restoration of order, but on the contrary, only heighten the state of disorder. However, there is an indication that Viola will establish order by means of her relationship with Orsino when she proposes to enter his service:
... for I can sing,
And speake to him in many shorts of Musicke,
That will allow me very worth his seruice.
(I.ii.57-59)
The harmony of music has already been associated with love by Orsino, albeit in a perverse way, and this reference to Viola's singing presages
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her falling in love with him and her subsequent restoring of order to Illyria.
As I have observed in earlier comedies, the sub-plots in Shakespeare's comedies often reflect the principal romantic action, sometimes at several different levels. In Twelfth Night the disorder of Olivia's conduct in the main plot induces (or so we may take it) disorder in the lower ranks of her household. Sir Toby's first words in the play are his criticism of Olivia's isolation which I have already quoted, and, to emphasise the connection between the two disordered states, Maria replies, not by defending Olivia, but by attacking Sir Toby's disorderly behaviour:
Ma.
... you must confine your selfe within the modest limits of order.
To.
Confine? Ile confine my selfe no finer then I am.
(I.iii.8-10)
This open defiance of an appeal for moderation identifies Sir Toby as a major disruptive influence in the play, not only because of his drunkenness and 'ill houres' (I.iii.6), but also because of the company he keeps, and his reasons for keeping it. The quality of his friendship with Sir Andrew is revealed in this comic confrontation with Maria:
To.
He's as tall a man as any's in Illyria.
Ma.
What's that to th' purpose?
To.
Why he ha's three thousand ducates a yeare.
Ma.
I. but hee'l haue but a yeare in all these ducates: He's a very foole, and a prodigall.
To.
Fie, that you'l say so: he playes o'th Viol-de-gamboys, and speaks three or four languages word for word without a booke, & hath all the good gifts of nature.
Ma.
He hath indeed, almost naturall: for besides that he's a foole, he's a great quarreller: and but that hee hath the gift of a Coward, to allay the gust he hath in quarrelling, 'tis thought among the prudent, he would quickly haue the gift of a graue.
(I.iii.20-33)
Several important details should be noted here. Sir Toby is brought quickly to the point by Maria - the real reason for his interest in Sir Andrew is his 'three thousand ducates a yeare', and to gain ready access to this money Sir Toby will go so far as to set Sir Andrew up in Olivia's household 'to be hir woer' (I.iii.16-17). This probably explains the frustration with which he condemns Olivia's vow, 'What a plague meanes my Neece ...' - her reluctance to see suitors thwarts his plan. He does not see Orsino as an impediment at present, and he tries to persuade Sir Andrew to continue his courtship, ironically citing degree as his
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argument for promoting chaos:
Shee'l none o'th Count, she'l not match aboue hir degree, neither in estate, yeares, nor wit: I haue heard her swear t.
(I.iii.106-108)
To what lengths Sir Toby will go to achieve his ends may be assessed from the comically extravagant praise he bestows on Sir Andrew, exemplified by the assertions that he 'playes o'th Viol-de-gamboys, and speaks three or four languages word for word without booke' - all of this simply to justify his friendship when challenged by Maria. These claims are both proved embarrassingly false (but fortunately after Maria has left the stage) when Sir Andrew laments,
What is purquoy? Do, or not do? I would I had bestowed that time in the tongues, that I haue in fencing dancing, and beare-bayting: O had I but followed the Arts.
(I.iii.90-93)
None of Sir Toby's lies deceives Maria, and her steadfast opposition to his riotous behaviour places her squarely on the side of order, while also showing her loyalty to Olivia. Furthermore, her assessment of Sir Andrew as being 'a great quarreller' with 'the gift of a Coward' prepares us for later developments when he is tricked into fighting Viola (as Cesario), and then Sebastian. This shows that Maria is an astute judge of character, and the high principles she displays in her conflict with Sir Toby, although presented in a light-hearted vein, distance her from him, for the present.
The final scenes of the first act return us to the main action, developing the potential for conflict and disorder. We see that Viola in her disguise as Cesario has won great favour with Orsino, so much so that he can say
Thou knowst no lesse, but all: I haue vnclasp'd
To thee the booke euen of my secret soule.
(I.iv.13-14)
His observations about Viola's lips and voice, both 'semblatiue a womans part' (I.iv.34), heighten the tension, particularly when she discovers she is in love with him:
Ile do my best
To woe your Lady: yet a barrefull strife,
Who ere I woe, my selfe would be his wife.
(I.iv.40-42)
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Viola's disguise becomes a threat to her own happiness, for she is now placed in the position whereby she is not only Orsino's spokesman in his suit for Olivia, but also his confidante, both of which conflict with her secret love. Like Julia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona she must conceal her emotions when carrying messages and love tokens to her rival, and in both plays Shakespeare uses the inner conflicts of the messengers to intensify and point the dramatic irony. In Twelfth Night matters are made even worse when Olivia falls in love with Cesario, increasing the potential for disorder, and Viola is forced to dissemble in an attempt to subdue Olivia's advances. Well may she say
Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness,
Wherein the pregnant enemie does much.
(II.ii.26-27)
It is possible to attribute Olivia's change of heart in abandoning her sterile ritual of mourning and falling in love with Cesario to Feste's influence. At his first appearance we see that, like Sir Toby, he represents unrepentant disorder: he has taken leave of Olivia's household without permission, and despite Maria's threats of hanging or dismissal, Feste refuses to explain his absence, relying instead on his privileged position as 'an allow'd foole' (I.v.93) to earn his forgiveness by means of his jesting - hence his prayer as Olivia enters, 'Wit, and't be thy will, put me into good fooling' (I.v.30). This was accepted practice in such cases, as can be seen from Armin's anecdote concerning Jack Oates, who, less successfully than Feste, used the same technique:
... by he comes, and knowing he had offended, tels a iest (for it was the manner so to do) how a young man brake his Codpiece-point and let all bee seene that God sent him, or such fooleries, but that was not enough .... 4.100
At first things go badly for Feste, his jests meeting with a cold response from Olivia; but, significantly, what finally wins her forgiveness is his catechism which proves her a fool for mourning her dead brother, since his soul is in heaven. The point has been made, and later in the same scene Olivia reveals her love for Cesario.
Despite being forgiven and accepted by Olivia, Feste cannot escape clashing with Malvolio, whose opposition to riotous behaviour automatically puts him on the side of order, 4.101 where we have placed Maria; but she is so radically different in conduct and temperament from the steward that conflict between them is almost inevitable. Maria deals
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with Sir Toby and Feste sympathetically, and the impression is that she understands them; Malvolio, on the other hand, voices his opposition to Sir Toby and Feste with disdain, as one of superior status, and there is no common ground between them. Walter Darell wrote a treatise on servingmen which was published in 1578, and part of it, 'A Pretie and Shorte Discourse of the Duetie of a Seruingman', is of particular relevance to Malvolio. 4.102 Four qualities are listed by Darell, 'Godlinesse, Clenlinesse, Audacitie, and Diligence, which are the chiefest ornamentes that garnish' the person of a servingman, 4.103 while he must avoid at all costs what Sir Toby most relishes, 'lewd gouernment, as riott in apparell, dronkennesse, quarelling in the streetes, playing vnthifty at dice and cardes their substance, swearing most detestable and horrible othes'. 4.104 Also of significance is Darell's observation that the industrious servingman will probably 'be accompted ridiculous' by 'those which wante gouernement', 4.105 as happens in Malvolio's case. The austere, puritanical life recommended by Darell, and followed by Malvolio, sets the servingman apart, but also engenders hostility in his less than perfect peers. Malvolio's insistence on sobriety and order within Olivia's household is, ironically, motivated by a desire to avoid conflict: it is only when all members behave as he does that Malvolio will be secure, safe from the taunts of those he opposes. This, of course, never comes about, and Malvolio is not included in the final harmony at the close of the play.
Seiden views Sir Toby and Sir Andrew as 'aristocracy at its worst', 4.106 and suggests that a 'degenerate, of whatever rank, threatens the whole of the great chain of being'. 4.107 It is quite correct to see the debauched knights as degenerate aristocracy, fostering disorder; but the prime cause of disorder is found at the top of the hierarchy, and until the affairs of Orsino and Olivia are brought to order, confusion will permeate all levels of society. 4.108 That Sir Toby is a fallen nobleman may be observed in the language he uses, a language described perceptively by Yearling:
Sir Toby's speech mixes impressive vocabulary and mannered syntax with colloquial words. It reflects his disorder but at the same time a certain openness to experience. Malvolio's language indicates constraint. He introduces fewer new words than either Orsino or Sir Toby, but his mouth is full of pompous phrases and long words without the poetry of Orsino or the colloquialism of Sir Toby. 4.109
Sir Toby's introduction of colloquial words to a vocabulary which otherwise reflects his aristocratic background is indicative of an
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inversion of order; what is not so obvious in Malvolio's language is that he, too, upsets natural order. His remonstrances with Sir Toby should be seen as nothing less than an impertinent breach of etiquette: in view of the fact that Sir Toby is his superior, Olivia's guest, and her uncle, Malvolio should show more respect in the language he chooses when trying to restore order. His appeal for peace is therefore ironical in its breaching of order, while still insisting on the observance of degree in place, person and time:
My masters are you mad? Or what are you? Haue you no wit, manners, nor honestie, but to gabble like Tinkers at this time of night? ... Is there no respect of place, persons, nor time in you?
(II.iii.87-89 and 92-93)
It is here that Malvolio's opposition to festivity is most marked, and he is reminiscent of the figure of Mercy in the morality Mankind: Mercy is a supporter of Lent, and is mocked by the lighter characters of Carnival, Mischief, New-gyse, Now-a-days and Nought. Mercy will not join in their revels:
Nought.
I be-schrew ye all! her ys a schrewde sorte!
Haue ther att them with a mery chere!
Her thei dance. Mercy seyth:
Do wey! Do wey this reuell, sers! Do wey!
(Mankind 80-82) 4.110
In Twelfth Night Malvolio claims to have Olivia's authority for his hostility to Carnival, saying 'she's nothing ally'd to your disorders' (II.iii.97), but we may safely deduce that the authority, if indeed it were ever given, has been expressed more bluntly than Olivia might have wished. The inversion of order implied in Malvolio's actions here, and even worse, in his quest for Olivia's hand, has been brought out in performance by the presence of Cockney vowels beneath the veneer of sophistication in Malvolio's diction. 4.111 It is Malvolio's disregard for order which induces the hostile reaction he gets from Sir Toby, for we should remember that prior to Malvolio's entry, Maria had already arrived to try to restore peace, and her forthright approach was met with a good-humoured response. It is their common disliking of Malvolio's ascendancy that eventually unites Feste, Sir Toby and Maria in their quest for revenge; it also accounts for Maria's abandoning of her position as an agent of order to join the disruptive forces led by Sir Toby.
Malvolio's contempt for order in aspiring to Olivia's hand is emphasised when the subject is first introduced, in II.v; until this
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point it is Malvolio's self-interested regard for order within the household that has been stressed, but now an underlying motive for his protective attitude to Olivia is revealed. Maria had noted his vanity earlier - 'it is his grounds of faith, that all that looke on him, loue him' (II.iii.151-152) - and it is his confidence in his own attractiveness which leads him to think Olivia cares for him. This in itself is comic, because in reality he has a singularly unalluring personality. Throughout Malvolio's reverie attention is drawn to degree, and it is evident that both he and Sir Toby are aware of the disruption of order implied, as indicated at various points in the dialogue: 'she vses me with a more exalted respect, then any one else that followes her' (II.v.26-28); 'ouer-weening rogue' (II.v.29); 'how he iets vnder his aduanc'd plumes' (II.v.31-32); 'There is example for't: The Lady of the Strachy, married the yeoman of the wardrobe' (II.v.39-40); 'sitting in my state' (II.v.44-45); 'Calling my Officers about me' (II.v.47); 'telling them I knowe my place, as I would they should doe theirs' (II.v.53-54). When Malvolio finally reads the letter, we see that Maria, too, was aware of the implications of degree when she wrote it:
In my stars I am aboue thee, but be not afraid of greatnesse: Some are [born] great, some atcheeues greatnesse, and some haue greatnesse thrust vppon em. ... cast thy humble slough, and appeare fresh. ... If not, let me see thee a steward still, the fellow of seruants, and not woorthie to touch Fortunes fingers.
(II.v.143-157) 4.112
Ironically, when Maria arranges the gulling of Malvolio, she is making use of disorder to correct the disorder of the steward's improper aspirations. Malvolio's pride blinds him to the trick that is played upon him, and when he next meets with Olivia, smiling, in yellow stockings and cross-gartered, there is a complete breakdown in communication between the two, so that, with a few proddings form Maria, Olivia is soon convinced that Malvolio is mad. His outlandish behaviour and his disorderly aspirations mean that, despite his adherence to Darell's principles of conduct, he has failed in his duty as a steward.
In The Comedy of Errors Shakespeare used apparent madness as a means of heightening the degree of disorder, but this end was achieved without any serious consideration of the implications of madness. Clark suggests that the Elizabethans found madness funny, 4.113 and its treatment in The Comedy of Errors and Twelfth Night could be cited as evidence for this, although in the later play we are brought uncomfortably close to
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the horror and torment associated with the condition during Feste's interrogation of Malvolio, bound and kept in darkness. There can be no doubt that the scene is meant to be comic, with Feste's quick changes of character between himself and Sir Topas, and his convoluted, self-defeating arguments designed to convince Malvolio of his madness: for example, he says of the dungeon that
... it hath bay Windowes transparent as barricadoes, and the cleere stores toward the South north, are as lustrous as Ebony: and yet complainest thou of obstruction?
(IV.ii.37-40)
Such humour does not, however, completely obscure the mental suffering of Malvolio, best conveyed in his own words:
I say this house is as darke as Ignorance, thogh Ignorance were as darke as hell.
(IV.ii.46-47)
This colours our enjoyment of Malvolio's chastisement, although we do realise that he has only himself to blame for provoking the celebrants of Carnival by trying to curtail their festivity. The obvious delight of Malvolio's captors points to an element of sadism in their punishment, but their use of violence is, nevertheless, an attempt at bringing him to recognise his folly: the darkness of his prison reflects the inner darkness, or ignorance, of the man himself. Two points are made by Feste, the first in the snatch of conversational song he sings:
Hey Robin, iolly Robin,
tell me how thy Lady does.
My Lady is vnkind, perdie.
Alas why is she so?
She loues another.
(IV.ii.75-82)
This parallels Malvolio's case (or so Feste would have him believe) - Olivia is unkind to him because she loves another. 4.114 Malvolio is too distressed to notice the broad hint offered here, but Feste has more success in the next point he makes, that Malvolio is no better than anyone else, for we hear the victim himself say, 'I am as well in my wits (foole) as thou art' (IV.ii.91), words which recall their first encounter, where Malvolio insinuated that Feste lacked wit. However, the concessions made by Malvolio when he is being tormented in the dungeon do not necessarily indicate a change of heart: to what extent he learns from his experience may be gauged from his final appearance. When he returns,
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moments before the close of the play, he can have no further doubts about his relationship with Olivia, but despite this he leaves the stage threatening revenge, which suggests that his old pride is still with him. Malvolio's hostility here is reminiscent of that of Caius at the close of The Merry Wives of Windsor, and their threats are intended by Shakespeare to provoke laughter rather than concern for any future disorder.
In some respects Malvolio could be seen as an obstacle to Sir Andrew's wooing of Olivia: not only does he oppose the riotous behaviour of the two knights, indicating his disapproval to Olivia, but he also falls in love with her himself, However, a more serious threat to Sir Toby's plans is Orsino, represented by Cesario, and in order to keep Sir Andrew's interest in Olivia alive (as well as for his own amusement) Sir Toby engineers a duel between Cesario and Sir Andrew, establishing an important link between the main plot and the sub-plot. Shakespeare uses the duel to initiate the action which leads to the denouement - as Weiss says, it is 'through the duel that reality at last asserts itself'. 4.115 Viola's disguise hides reality, and is already a complicating factor in the main action where Cesario has become an intimate friend of Orsino and is loved by Olivia. To the conflicts and tensions associated with the disguise is now added what for Viola must be very frightening - the prospect of a duel with an accomplished swordsman. There is no indication in the text as to how far the duel proceeds, but the audience has been anticipating a comic display of timidity and Shakespeare probably intended a few faint-hearted thrusts to be made. Swords must, at least, be drawn, for when Antonio enters to rescue Sebastian (as he supposes), his first words are 'Put vp your sword' (III.iv.319), and at this point real violence threatens to break out, as there is an immediate clash between Antonio and Sir Toby.
This episode of mistaken identity prepares the way for Sebastian's entry into the conflict, which heralds the increasingly urgent revelation of Viola's true identity. Feste, then Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, and finally even Olivia all mistake Sebastian for Cesario, and, inevitably, violence threatens to break out again when swords are drawn in order for Sir Andrew to continue his fight with Sebastian, the man he supposes is Cesario. Madness and folly become increasingly important issues here, preparing the way for Malvolio's tormenting in the dungeon which follows. Obviously a contrast is intended between the violence and darkness which accompany the purging of Malvolio, and Sebastian's lines in the next scene:
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This is the ayre, that is the glorious Sunne,
This pearle she gaue me, I do feel't, and see't,
And though tis wonder that enwraps me thus,
Yet 'tis not madnesse.
(IV.iii.1-4)
Malvolio's suit comes to an end in folly and darkness, while the new relationship between Olivia and Sebastian has as its guiding influence the 'glorious Sunne', sustainer of life and emblem of fecundity.
The final scene of the play clarifies all confusions, but not without a further intensification of conflict and violence. There is a confrontation between Antonio and Viola, in Orsino's presence: it becomes vital now that Antonio be recognised by Sebastian, for Orsino identifies him as one of his old enemies in a sea fight. Tension is heightened when this matter is brushed aside at Olivia's entry, and the three-cornered conflict between Orsino, Olivia and Viola is brought to a climax: in a paroxysm of rage and jealousy Orsino threatens to kill Cesario. The violence of this sensational moment is crowned by the complete submission of Viola to her fate at Orsino's hands:
And I most iocund, apt, and willinglie,
To do you rest, a thousand deaths would dye.
(V.i.130-131)
This confuses Olivia, who is forced into revealing her secret marriage to (she thinks) Cesario; but more importantly, the threat of death gives Viola an opportunity to reveal the quality of her devotion to Orsino: her courage and resolution here contrast strongly with the real fear she displayed when confronted with the duel earlier. Krieger notes this aspect of Viola's bravery, while also seeing a sexual pun in 'To do you rest, a thousand deaths would dye', 4.116 an interpretation which finds support in Viola's next speech, a declaration of the intensity of her love:
After him I loue,
More then I loue these eyes, more then my life,
More by all mores, then ere I shall loue wife.
(V.i.132-134)
Orsino, angered by what he sees as Cesario's duplicity, and also Olivia's rude and public rejection of his suit, washes his hands of the affair, resolving the conflict by effectively pronouncing banishment. The need for Viola to reveal her true identity is now more pressing than ever.
Here the action is again interrupted, this time by the arrival of Sir
Andrew and Sir Toby, who have been violently chastised by Sebastian, whom, to increase confusion, they think they see among the gathering in the person of Viola. Sebastian's beating of the two knights serves to purge them of their folly, and ensures that the unproductive, disorderly friendship between them is terminated. Evidence of reform is seen in Sir Toby's hostile response to Sir Andrew's offer of help, signifying an end to their friendship:
Will you helpe [-] an Asse-head, and a coxcombe, & a knaue: a thin fac'd knaue, a gull?
(V.i.204-205)
At this moment of maximum confusion Sebastian enters, and for the first time he is seen with his sister, so making all things plain. Johnson criticised the whole denouement, from Olivia's marriage through 'the succeeding perplexity', because 'it exhibits no just picture of life'; 4.117 this may well be so, but why start only at the denouement? The play is fantastic form its opening lines, but nevertheless deals with the problems we encounter in real human relationships (and is, therefore, in a sense, a 'just picture of life'), and is no less instructive or enjoyable for this. Fantasy is left behind, and reality makes its first unequivocal appearance in the epilogue, a song depicting the passage of man from childhood, through the violence of young adulthood, marriage and generation, to drunken oblivion. During this catalogue 'the winde and the raine' (V.i.389), the hardships of life, are ever present; but we should remember that rain, the last of the play's watery images, is essential for life and fecundity, and so, like the sea, it has both positive and negative connotations: 'Tempests are kinde, and salt waues fresh in loue' (III.iv.394). The marriage of Maria to Sir Toby, like the removal of Viola's disguise, is an affirmation of the end of Carnival, and the founding of new order and harmony. With this established, Olivia can abandon her sterile vow of mourning to wed Sebastian, while Orsino, no longer suffering from the melancholic ennui of unrequited love, is happily married to Viola; and implicit in both unions is the promise of fertility, not only for the couples concerned, but for Illyria in general.
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The three plays dealt with in this chapter represent the acme of Shakespeare's romantic comedies, and although they are highly individual works, each incorporates various aspects of disorder, conflict and violence within its framework. There is a perceptible mellowing, a softening of mood, from The Merchant of Venice, through Much Ado about Nothing, As You Like It, and on to Twelfth Night. The first two of these plays have to carry a significant proportion of serious matter in their comic actions, the presence of which mars the conclusion of The Merchant of Venice, but is so modified in Much Ado about Nothing as to ensure that the denouement is truly comic, with conflicts resolved and a contented future ahead for the romantic couples. Despite this, in all four plays there remain at the end figures who are not accommodated into the final state of harmony and order. The extreme case is The Merchant of Venice, in which Shylock troubles our conscience, and Antonio and possibly Jessica remain on the periphery of the concluding happiness. In the three later comedies we have Don John, Jaques and Malvolio, all of whom are anti-romantic spirits, dampening festivity and remaining isolated from the rejoicing of the central community at the close of the play, voluntarily, rejecting the offer of accommodation extended to him. Don John and Malvolio have deeply offended the spirit of Carnival, which demands retribution. Don John's punishment lies outside the limits of the play, but Malvolio's forms an important part of the action, and so angers him that he cannot accept reconciliation, but leaves the stage threatening revenge. Nevertheless, we still feel that Malvolio wants to be accepted by the community (on his own puritanical terms), whereas Jaques is happy at a distance, enjoying the position from which he can best pronounce his misanthropic criticisms.
The conflict between appearance and reality continues to be of fascination in the present comedies, particularly in Much Ado about Nothing, where the action hinges on a large number of deceptions, the most important of which are the convincing of Don Pedro and Claudio by Don John that Hero is false, and the tricking of Beatrice and Benedick into believing that each is loved by the other - an ironic deception because it happens to be true. In As You Like It and Twelfth Night the conflicts resulting from the heroine's disguise as a man are a point of interest: both Rosalind and Viola employ this stratagem, which gives rise
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to much humour as well as dramatic tension in their relationships with the men they love. Their sexually ambiguous roles not only help to define the emotions of the men they would like to woo, but also attract the attention of women in need of sexual fulfilment - Phebe and Olivia. This in itself is amusing, and we watch with interest to see how the disguised heroine deals with the unnatural attraction of woman for woman, redirecting the libidinous drive without giving permanent hurt or offence.
Disorder is a prominent concern in these plays, where disturbances at the head of a state may be held responsible for conflicts and disorder lower down. Don Pedro is at odds with Don John; Duke Frederick with Duke Senior; and Orsino, instead of actively governing his state, languidly revels in an unproductive love-melancholy. Until these matters are put to rights, harmony cannot be established. Disorder manifests itself in various conflicts, such as that between Oliver and Orlando, or that between the puritanical Malvolio and the riotous Sir Toby; but apart from these clashes, we find in As You Like It that the characters are under stress from the different demands of sophisticated court life and the simple life of the forest, close to Nature.
In all three plays conflicts threaten to give way to violence as a means of resolution. In Much Ado about Nothing Benedick confirms his loyalty to Beatrice by undertaking to challenge Claudio to a duel in defence of the slandered Hero's name: the potential for violence creates tension which is relieved only once Don John's evil schemes have been brought to light. As You Like It opens in conflict, with Oliver and Orlando at odds over the administration of their father's estate. Here, the wrestling match is an emblem of not only the disagreement between Oliver and Orlando, but also that between the two dukes. The real dangers of the match are emphasised by Shakespeare, but in the event all are resolved only once the central characters come under the benign influence of the forest of Arden. The duels in Twelfth Night provide the opportunity for farce as Viola and Sir Andrew vie with each other in timidity, and Sir Andrew and Sir Tony are comically beaten. In addition to this they are the means whereby Sebastian is brought into the main action and Viola's disguise is finally revealed, precipitating the denouement.
Apart from the duels, there are many other types of violence in these comedies, serving diverse functions. Much Ado about Nothing opens with a
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violent quarrel apparently newly settled in a full-scale war, but we soon learn that the underlying cause of the conflict has not been removed, and persists in making itself felt through the action - this being Don John's general misanthropy, and in particular his hatred for Don Pedro. An important motif in As You Like It is the recurring paradox that death must be accepted as a part of life, and this makes itself felt most notably in the violence associated with hunting for the provision of food. This gives rise to considerable debate and conflict among those who have taken refuge in the forest, but all except Jaques finally come to terms with the cycle of birth, growth and dissolution, seeing their salvation in regeneration through the fertility of marriage. In Twelfth Night the most important aspect of violence concerns the punishment of Malvolio which provides the comic release of tensions and conflicts in the chaotic atmosphere of Carnival. Also of note is the violence of the sea-separation of Viola and Sebastian, in which the sea is initially a hostile force, but finally proves benevolent. In Twelfth Night, too, there is a need to recognise life's bounty and fecundity, present in the watery associations which run through the play. Feste's song, which serves as an epilogue, contains an admirable image in 'the winde and the raine', signifying not only that life has hardships to be overcome, but also that Nature is beneficent, its cycles regenerating what it has brought to dissolution. This idea looks forward to one of the central concern of Pericles, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, where Nature provides not only the hostile forces which try the central characters, but also the fecundity and regeneration on which they rely for the establishment of peace and harmony.
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- - - NOTES: CHAPTER FOUR - - -
4.82 See, for example, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, ed. J.M. Lothian and T.W. Craik (London: Methuen, 1975), pp.xxxv-l. (Line numbers to quotations are taken from this edition.) return
4.83 William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, ed. Arthur Quiller-Couch and John Dover Wilson, 2nd ed. (London: Cambridge University Press, 1968), p.xiv. return
4.84 Ibid., p.xviii; Barber, p.241; Porter Williams, 'Mistakes in Twelfth Night and Their Resolution: A Study in Some Relationships of Plot and Theme', Publications of the Modern Language Association, 76 (1961), 193; Dover Wilson, Comedies, p.178; Barbara K. Lewalski, 'Thematic Patterns in Twelfth Night', Shakespeare Studies, 1 (1965), 168-169; R. Berry, Comedies, p.196. The significance of the play's title has not always been grasped, however: Pepys commented after seeing a performance on Twelfth Night in 1663, that it had been 'acted well, though it be but a silly play, and not related at all to the name or day'. (The edition cited is John Warrington, ed., The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Edited from Mynors Bright, rev. ed. (London: Dent, 1953), I, 339.) return
4.85 Wolfgang M. Zucker, 'The Clown as the Lord of Disorder', Theology Today, 24 (1967 - 1968), 313-314. return
4.88 Bristol, p.73. This conflict is aptly likened by Bristol to a war between butchers
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and fishmongers (pp.72-87), as suggested by a passage in Nashe's Lenten Stuff:
... if it were not for this Huniades of the liquid element [red herrings], that word Quadragesima, or Lent, might be clean sponged out of the calendar ... and fishmongers might keep Christmas all the year ... and their bloody adversaries, the butchers, would never leave cleaving it out in the whole chines ....
(The edition cited is J.B. Steane, ed., Thomas Nashe: 'The Unfortunate Traveller' and Other Works (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1978), p.411.) return
4.89 Quiller-Couch and Dover Wilson, p.xxii; Chambers, p.174-175; Dover Wilson, Comedies, p.169; Lothian and Craik, p.lii. return
4.90 Professor Ferguson observes that Orsino does not even pause to listen to the music. This would support my reading of the opening speech, but the matter of pauses would, of course, be decided between actor and producer. return
4.91 Quiller-Couch and Dover Wilson, pp.106-107, have noted that the words 'quick and fresh' in this context mean 'keen and hungry'. return
4.93 Dover Wilson, Comedies, p.172. return
4.95 Lothian and Craik, p.lxv. return
4.96 The only exceptions to this formula in Shakespeare's comedies and romances are Love's Labour's Lost, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Twelfth Night, and the comments I make here about the enhancing of a sense of disorder apply equally to all three. [return to note 5.81] return
4.97 Lothian and Craik, p.xxii; obviously Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost has been overlooked. return
4.99 Jon S. Lawry, 'Twelfth Night and "Salt waves fresh in love"', Shakespeare Studies, 6 (1970), 90. return
4.100 Fool upon Fool, B3r. Bristol remarks that 'Laughter is ... an important element in the strategies of social appeasement used by servants in respect of their masters. Self-abjection and self-ridicule are significant elements in an elaborate system of deferential gesture and compliment' (p.126). return
4.101 Dover Wilson, Comedies, p.176. return
4.102 The 'Pretie and Shorte Discourse' is reproduced in full by Louis B. Wright, 'A Conduct Book for Malvolio', Studies in Philology, 31 (1934), 122-132. return
4.106 Melvin Seiden, 'Malvolio Reconsidered', University of Kansas City Review, 28 (1961), 108. return
4.108 Hayles, p.94, makes a similar point, but does not extend the argument beyond Olivia's household. return
4.109 Elizabeth M. Yearling, 'Language, Theme and Character in Twelfth Night', Shakespeare Survey, 34 (1981), 83. return
4.110 The edition cited is that of Adams. return
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4.111 Lothian and Craik, p.xcii, cite three productions in which this has been the practice. return
4.112 Folio has 'become' instead of 'born'; the Douai manuscript has 'born', and internal evidence at III.iv.40 and V.i.369 supports this reading; see Lothian and Craik, p.70 col. and n. return
4.113 Cumberland Clark, Shakespeare and Psychology (London: Williams and Norgate, 1936), p.52. return
4.115 Weiss, p.327. This is true in the context of the plot; Weiss does not, of course, include in his remark the final return to reality when Feste sings of the wind and the rain in his epilogue song. return
4.116 Elliot Krieger, A Marxist Study of Shakespeare's Comedies (London: Macmillan, 1979), pp.108-109. return
Proceed to Chapter Five