Essay about Character Study of Sir Toby Belch from Twelfth...

Comedy is by far the most influential factor in deciding whether or not a story is entertaining to its audience due to its ability to create a more relaxed and pleasurable environment in the plot. From the playful awkwardness of Anne Shirley to the witty banter of detectives Tommy and Tuppence, it evident that comedic characters have always been appreciated and acknowledged in literature. Sir Toby Belch is but one of the many amusing characters found today and is by far one of the most humorous. While Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is surrounded around an issue of romantic entanglement, Sir Toby’s very presence is enough to lighten the mood and accentuate the comedic theme of the story through his creation of problems and unique personality.†¦show more content†¦In addition, while the matter of death is a very pensive matter, Sir Toby states; What a plague means my niece to take the death of her brother thus?† (1.2.1) and explains how he finds Olivia’ s commitment to seven years of mourning for her late brother unnecessary. All of these examples portray Sir Toby’s unique capability to amuse the audience no matter how intense a situation is, and trumps his unappealing and carefree attitude. Furthermore, another of the countless reasons why Sir Toby Belch is the most enjoyable character in Twelfth Night is pertaining to his whimsical and absurd personality that is like none other’s in the play. This intrigues the audience and compels them to enjoy every moment that he appears on stage, seeing as though a dull statement from Sir Toby has not yet been found in his dialogue. â€Å"Approach, Sir Andrew. Not to be abed after midnight is to be up betimes† (2.3.1-2) is one of the more acclaimed quotes by Sir Toby illustrating his hilarious logic saying that staying up late is the same as waking up early. Moreover, Toby’s alcohol consumption contributes greatly to this unique attribute (possessed by Sir Toby alo ne). After a night of drinking and as a reply to Olivia asking â€Å"How have you come so early by this lethargy† (1.5.115-116) Toby responds â€Å"Lechery, I defy lechery†. The confusion between a term meaning laziness and a term meaning sexual desire is bound to strike a comedic cord with theShow MoreRelatedWisdom in Twelfth Night Essay2738 Words   |  11 PagesBeyond Seriousness to Wisdom in Twelfth Night      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare seems preoccupied with madness and folly in Twelfth Night. The word fool and its variants (foolery, foolish, and so forth) appear eighty times in the play, and the word folly occurs seven times. There are, in addition, other means of indicating foolishness such as Marias Now, sir, thought is free (1.3.67). As Feste suggests, Foolery ... does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere (3.1.39-40). Read MoreGender Roles And Roles Of William Shakespeare s The Merchant Of Venice 1837 Words   |  8 Pagesbreaks down those stereotypes especially in his comedies. Hamlet may proclaim â€Å"Frailty thy name is woman†, but even the merest of character analyses of Portia in The Merchant of Venice, or Viola in The Twelfth Night conclusively proves that they are anything but. In this paper we begin by examining the prevailing gender stereotypes in Elizabethan England. Taking The Twelfth Night as the basis, we try to find out how much conformity or deviation Shakespeare observes in the depictions of gender to the general