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How does Shakespeare make Act II scene V of the play particularly dramatic?
William Shakespeare was one of the greatest play writes ever to live. Born in Stratford in the 1500's he wrote many great plays during his life, including the highly acclaimed comedy, "The Twelfth Night" written in 1600. It is a play that has a fantastic plot with twists and turns throughout. Shakespeare makes Act II scene V particularly dramatic by keeping the audience emotionally involved with all the characters throughout, cleverly arranging the stage, using dramatic irony, effective language and a final speech by Maria, one of the main characters in the play.
First of all one of the reasons Act II scene V is dramatic is Shakespeare makes the audience dislike Countess Olivia's steward, Malvolio in Act II scene III. The audience would immediately dislike Malvolio when we find out "sometimes he is kind of Puritan." The Puritans were a religious group who were opposed to any form of personal pleasure and therefore were against theatres where the audience would be watching the play. Another reason the audience would dislike him is, he is a snitch. When Sir Toby and Sir Andrew come home drunk one night and begin to have fun with Maria and Feste he spoils their entertainment by threatening to tell Olivia about their antics, "she [Olivia] shall know of it, by this hand." He threatens them further by informing them that Olivia is, "very willing to bid you farewell." The audience would have felt that this was outrageous because Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, two noblemen and Malvolio was merely a servant working for Olivia. Finally towards the end of Act II scene III Maria comes up with a plan to get revenge on Malvolio for his threats. This is a very significant point in Shakespeare's play because it is at the end of a scene. This is where there would have been a short break in the play while the stage was re-arranged. Shakespeare very cleverly uses the plan at this point because it makes the audience want to carry on watching in the next scene to see what happens to Malvolio.
In addition Shakespeare builds up the drama around the plot to fool Malvolio by letting the audience find out more about his real personality. In Act II scene V we find out some new things about Malvolio. We now know that he really is in love with Olivia and imagines himself, "having been three months married to her." This makes the audience think two things about Malvolio he is a silly old fool because he really thinks that he has a chance with Olivia. In Shakespeare's time this would have been very unlikely because of the difference of class between a Countess and a servant. He thinks there is precedence for it however because, "the lady of the Strachy married the yeoman of the wardrobe." We also now think that he is not a very good Puritan. Strictly speaking the idea of marriage would not have been against the Puritan beliefs but it would have been improper to lust after Olivia and fantasise about being married to her. This would cause the audience to dislike him even more because not only is he a Puritan, but also he is not a very good one. He acts like it because he thinks he will be liked. This however is not the only clue that tells us he is a bad Puritan, he also dreams of being, "Count Malvolio" and having, "some rich jewel" to play with. He also begins to dress fancily and follow fashion by wearing yellow stockings and being cross gartered as it tells him to do so in the "epistle of love" which Maria has written to fool him. Another thing, which would have infuriated the Shakespearian audience, is the fact that Malvolio follows the instruction in the epistle of love to boss around Sir Toby and Andrew. This would have been unheard of because of the difference in rank.
Another important point, which makes the scene particularly dramatic, is the arrangement of the stage. There would not have been many props in Shakespeare's time and so language was the key to setting a scene. Act II scene V is set outside in the gardens of Countess Olivia's house, however, on stage there would probably only have been one prop and Fabian, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew would have had to get into, "the box-tree" to hide from Malvolio whilst they watched their plan unfold. The box-tree would have probably been a hedge positioned to one side of the stage. The characters spying on Malvolio would have been crouching behind it to hide, whilst Malvolio himself would have been performing on the centre of the stage. This arrangement creates three important ingredients of a dramatic scene. It create dramatic irony, tension because there is always a sense of danger that Malvolio will catch the three spying on him and the plan will not work, and it also creates humour. As Malvolio's fantasies unravel along with the contents of the love letter it begins to annoy and frustrate the three who are spying watching and they each throw their own insults and sarcastic comments at him while they calm and restrain each other. Particularly at the point when Malvolio fantasises about calling his kinsman Toby and extending his, "hand to him thus." This angers Toby immensely and would make the audience dislike him even more because he is fantasising about being Count Malvolio and making Toby get down on one knee to kiss his hand. Shakespeare very cleverly uses the insults because it maintains the tension of the audience while they are left wondering whether the three will get caught. Furthermore, humour is created when Malvolio practises his behaviour for Olivia in front of his own shadow. This would have shown have vain he was which was improper for a Puritan.
Moreover dramatic irony plays a big part in making the scene more dramatic. During this scene Shakespeare very cleverly involves the audience to create humour and tension. One of the major uses of dramatic irony is when Malvolio is being spied on whilst reading the fake love letter. He thinks that he is alone but the audience knows that Fabian, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are watching him. This creates tension because the audience do not know whether they will get caught. We also know that Malvolio truly loves Olivia and thinks he has a chance with her since, "Maria once told me [Malvolio] she [Olivia] did affect me". This is where dramatic irony plays its biggest role. Shakespeare cleverly creates humour by allowing the audience in on the plot unfolding. They all know that the love letter is fake, but enjoy watching Malvolio come unstuck for the way he lives his life and treats the other characters. Not only do they know that Olivia does not love him back, they also know that Olivia is really in love with Cesario who in turn they know is really Viola in disguise. These uses of dramatic irony all create tension and humour because the audience know something the characters do not. This gives them an insight into what might happen and makes them want to watch more.
Another important point is that Shakespeare uses language effectively to create humour and to remind the audience of the trick being played on Malvolio. The whole play is full of jokes, puns, insults and metaphors, which constantly humour the audience and remind them of Maria's revenge plot. The animal metaphors throughout Act II scene V are especially important because they all refer to trapping an animal. This is significant because it is really insulting Malvolio as he gets lured into Maria's trap. "Hang thee Brock" is just one of the many animal metaphors which refers to a badger [Malvolio] being caught in a trap [the letter]. Another is, "The Woodcock is near the gin" which refers to trapping a bird with the gin being a metaphor for the love letter. Most of the animals in these metaphors were known for being scavenging creatures which is how the other characters and audience see Malvolio, scavenging for power and popularity. Puns are also used to create humour and the Elizabethan audiences enjoyed hearing creative uses of language, which is why Shakespeare was so successful. One of the puns comes when Malvolio reads, "and then comes the I behind" Fabian then replies, "Ay, and if you had an eye behind you would see more detraction at your heels than good fortunes before you." This means that if Malvolio wasn't so wrapped up in himself then he might see that he was falling into a trap. Furthermore, Shakespeare also uses jokes which Malvolio say but do not understand. This makes him seem more dim-witted to the audience and makes them anticipate the outcome of the plan.
Finally, one of the most important parts of Act II scene V is Maria's final speech. Shakespeare uses this as a chance to tell the audience and the other characters why he put what he did in Maria's letter from Olivia to Malvolio. The letter tells Malvolio to wear yellow stockings, which Maria now tells us is "a colour she [Olivia] abhors", to "see thee ever cross gartered." Which is "a fashion she [Olivia detests" and finally the letter tells him to smile to show his love for Olivia but this would be very inappropriate for Olivia's disposition since she is in mourning for her brother. This speech creates humour when the audience find out why everything was in the letter and it also creates a lot of anticipation as the audience waits to see Malvolio make a fool of himself.
In conclusion William Shakespeare wrote "The Twelfth Night" as a great comedy with all the ingredients for a very dramatic plot. He effectively uses the audience, stage arrangement, dramatic irony, language and Maria's final speech to make Act II scene V particularly dramatic.
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