Julie Tagg| Think and Write for CSEC English A and B

The role of the Clown

In Shakespeare’s time, it was customary for a clown or ‘fool’ to be part of the household. His job was to provide entertainment, similar to a paid comedian, and his wise comments on the folly of others were received in the spirit of comedy. When the Clown says, “I wear not motley in my brain”, he is claiming that although he is dressed in a clown’s traditional clothing (motley), his brain is that of a wise man.

Feste, Olivia’s clown, sings all the songs in the play and uses them to put sense into his listeners’ heads. He tries to tease Olivia into seeing sense, telling her that it is she and not he who is the fool; otherwise, why would she be mourning when her brother is in heaven? He provides much of the play’s humor: he matches wits with Maria and Cesario; he mockingly imitates Sir Andrew with nonsense words (“I did impeticos thy gratillity”); and is a delighted participant in the gulling of Malvolio, dressing up as a clergyman and pretending to cast out the spirit that afflicts the steward. Even then, there is wisdom in his folly when he says, for instance, about his clerical outfit: “I would I were the first that ever dissembled in such a gown”.

Other fools in the play

When Feste insists that he does not wear ‘motley’ in his brain, we realize that there are others who cannot say the same. We could see Olivia as a fool for mourning her brother for such an inordinate time; Orsino might be a fool for wasting his life chasing a woman who does not want him; Malvolio could be seen as a fool for thinking too highly of himself.

Sir Andrew can be seen as a different kind of fool in the sense that he is mentally challenged! Shakespeare is certainly satirizing his society when he presents one knight as an irresponsible drunkard and the other as a stupid, cowardly fellow, who deceives himself into thinking that Olivia would look at him twice, as well as allowing Sir Toby to fleece him of his money. Clearly, Shakespeare is taking a sly dig at society’s aristocrats.

One theme of the play is that happiness comes when people are willing to turn away from their folly. Orsino and Olivia abandon their posturing and claim their happiness. However, we notice that Sir Andrew and Malvolio are incapable of change.

Donning a disguise/wearing a false face

In Shakespeare’s time, a strict religious group known as Puritans launched an attack on the theatre: they wanted theatres closed down because, they argued, any fiction is a lie. Malvolio, remember, is disliked because he is a Puritan. Disguise features prominently in the play, and to the Puritan, putting on a disguise and acting a part is wicked.

It’s most important to notice, though, that the play distinguishes between putting on a disguise to achieve something good (as Viola does) and putting on a false face to deceive others (as Orsino, Olivia, and Malvolio do). Shakespeare seems to be making the point that acting is fine when there is no intention to deceive. Viola would prefer to reveal her true identity – and does so as soon as she can. Malvolio, in contrast, does not want his true identity to be known. At the outset, Orsino and Olivia are self-deceived, and they also try to deceive others, but they are willing to change: they relinquish the folly of posturing and are liberated to be themselves. Even when the Clown disguises himself as Sir Topas, his aim (within the context of the joke) is to free Malvolio from the false posturing that makes him so obnoxious. Feste is not trying to pass himself off as a clergyman; indeed, he jokes about those men who don a clergyman’s vestments but are false in their hearts.