Foolishness is at the heart of Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'; the play uses this in the form of comedy to expose the folly of man and to criticise certain stereotypes within Shakespeare's era. We can draw this from the context of the play's very title 'Twelfth Night, or what you will', referencing a festival celebrated on the twelfth night after Christmas, known as the Twelfth Night holiday, or The Feast of Epiphany. The traditions of this were revelry, foolishness, and the pursuit of romance. Shakespeare wrote the play for a party of this manner held at one of the Inns of Court in 1602, an event notable for its frivolity. The name "what you will" is debatably taken from the playwright's idea that that the audience can take "what [they] will" from the play, it is a comedy and the title is insignificant, the holiday itself is an exhibition of the ways in which the foolishness of man can create conflict. In this manner, one can present the argument that Feste's iconic expression "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit" sums up a large proportion of the comedy within 'Twelfth Night', particularly through Viola's disguise, Malvolio's humiliation, Feste's wisdom, and Sir Toby's hedonistic revelry.
Viola is presented as a 'witty fool' as she cleverly disguises herself as 'Cesario', earning herself a position as the trusted confidant of Duke Orsino and earning the affections of Olivia, both of whom believe her to be a man. As a consequence of this initial complication, comedic circumstances unfold. This foolery is further characterised by the way in which Viola would have been played by a male actor, as no female actors were allowed on an Elizabethan stage, thus the contemporary audience may have found this further cross-dressing quite disconcerting. As a result, Orsino - unbeknownst to himself - falls in love with Viola, seeing through to 'Cesario's feminine features. Orsino here is fooled, evident as he says "Diana's lip/ Is not more smooth and rubious; thy small pipe/ Is as the maiden's organ, shrill and sound,/ And all is semblative of a woman's part." [I.IV]. The physical humour of Viola's transient disguise is a result of Orsino's behaviour; in this scene, Orsino is both a fool and a wit, seeing beyond 'Cesario' but not quite seeing Viola. Before this however, one could present the argument that it is ironic that Viola plays the love messenger for Orsino as she is in love with him, and this foolish role is a source of humour to the audience. Parallels can be drawn to one of Shakespeare's early and most farcical comedies, 'The Comedy of Errors', in which a series of complications caused by mistaken identity create comedy.
Another key theme in the play is madness. Linked with love, this often causes foolishness. This is evident in the way that Olivia removes her veil at the sight of 'Cesario' in Act I Scene V, forgetting her obsessive and prolonged grief over her brother's death. Similarly, when Malvolio falls for Maria's plan in Act II, Scene V, he forgets his position as Olivia's steward and speaks in prose. Unlike his usual blank verse, this manner of speech is informal, conveying Malvolio's excessive delight, and also begins his transition into exhibiting signs of madness. Likewise, Antonio falls in love with Sebastian. Although 'normal' to a modern audience, Antonio's intimate feelings towards another man may have been seen as unusual and potentially mad to Elizabethan viewers, his feelings are made apparent in his short soliloquy, in which he says "I do adore thee so" (II.I) This implied homoeroticism is foolish as Sebastian does not even seem to be aware of Antonio's feelings, yet he still displays consistent self-sacrificial and religiously intense love.
Moreover, in the alternate narrative thread of 'What you Will', Maria's plot to humiliate Malvolio unfolds in Act II, Scene V; once again Shakespeare utilises disguise as a hoax for comedy. In Olivia's garden, Malvolio stumbles across a letter forged by Maria to appear as though written by Olivia, professing her 'secret love' for him. In this, Malvolio's private desires are given spotlight. Prior to finding the letter, it is made apparent that his mind tends towards fantasies of sex ('having come from a day-bed where I have left Olivia sleeping'), material possessions ('wind up my watch or play with my - some rich jewel.'), and power ('quenching my familiar smile with an austere regard of control'). Shakespeare's original audience would have found this highly amusing; Malvolio is portrayed as a hypocrite, and not as puritanical as he was initially illustrated to be. Puritans in the Elizabethan age did not agree with theatre, so their mockery in a play alongside the irony here is particularly amusing. In the letter, 'Olivia' promises Malvolio his three fantasies, so long as he should appear to her smiling in yellow stockings and cross-garters. Malvolio, a 'foolish wit', is subjected to the revellers' ploy. The comedy that ensues in Act III Scene IV is ironic, bawdy, and physical. The entrance of Malvolio dressed in yellow stockings uses the physical comedy of costume as an example of foolishness drifting into madness; this considerably darkens the events of Act IV Scene II wherein Malvolio is imprisoned as a madman. Despite his characterisation, some viewers may feel sympathy for him and believe that the trick has gone too far; it is no longer used for comedy, but is employed by Shakespeare to reflect upon deeper themes such as madness and torment.
Likewise, in Act III Scene II, Malvolio is referred to by Maria as "yond gull Malvolio", 'gull' meaning a credulous person - a fool. The term is one that Shakespeare seldom used, but is more often associated with villainy in his histories and tragedies than with comedy, notably in 'Othello' and 'Richard III'. However, five of the eleven instances in which Shakespeare uses the term are within 'Twelfth Night', and four of them concern Malvolio*. This is significant as his character is presented as a fool to juxtapose a romantic 'main plot' with a satirical gulling plot, which one might regard to be Shakespeare's attempt to reconcile his old style of comedy with something new. In addition, Shakespeare's insistence of Malvolio as a 'gull' constructs a direct contrast to the character of Feste, specifically in the quotation "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." [I.V]. In this way, Malvolio's severity is placed next to the revellers who embody the play's festive energy; this juxtaposition oft results in comedy through conflict. In the play, Malvolio's folly - his hypocritical narcissism - is exposed by the cruel trickery of his antithesis, Sir Toby Belch, resulting in Malvolio's exit in Act 5 Scene 1 as an unresolved character. This reflects Feste's choric commentary that being a "foolish wit" does not bode well for any character in 'Twelfth Night', drawing the conclusion that one of Malvolio's character purposes is to create comedy through the satirical role of a Puritan. His pretension and righteousness are not fitting with the foolery at the centre of the comedy, and so Malvolio fails to reconcile with the other characters, and is forced to exit the play as his presence challenges Shakespeare's typical comedic structure. He does this on a hostile threat of revenge.
The character of Feste is a licensed fool, a stock character employed by Shakespeare customarily to speak wisdom and truth. The irony within 'Twelfth Night' is that the actual 'fool' is probably the most intelligent character in the play; his function as a commentator allows him to speak through his sagacious 'foolosophy' and thus use his unattached observation to uncover truths about other characters. This is noted by Viola in the quotation "This fellow's wise enough to play the fool." [Act III Scene I]. This, like in the last line of Feste's final song, is a reference to metatheatre which reminds the audience that foolishness is a part of reality and human nature. His position as a "witty fool" creates comedy, as when he points out that Olivia is actually the fool in the house for grieving over her brother whose soul is in heaven, as in the lines "The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother's soul being in heaven. Take away the fool, gentlemen." [I.V]. Nevertheless, Feste plays a key role in fooling Malvolio in his disguise as Sir Topas; his previous encounters with Malvolio, his polar opposite, return to him as he cruelly punishes him and convicts him of madness. The humour in this moment is extremely dark, unlike other comedic scenes in 'Twelfth Night', but once more stems from the idea that it is 'better [to be] a witty fool than a foolish wit.'
Although much comedy emanates from the foolishness of specific characters, some of the comedy does not. A noteworthy fraction of the comedy in 'Twelfth Night, or what you will' can be summed up in the quotation 'Better a witty fool than a foolish wit', but there are some exceptions, such as the confusion of gender, ribald humour, and intentional use of staging for physical comedy. Also, the central plot of the play is a comedic love story. Nonetheless, Shakespeare unmasks the foolishness which drives the actions of us all in a way that humours his audience, whilst simultaneously making a very critical point about society as a whole.
Liz Smith, to the question "How far does the quotation "better a witty fool than a foolish wit" sum up the comedy in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'?
*According to a study of the gulling in 'Twelfth Night' by Andrew Shouler in The English Review (February 2014)
