ENGL 2100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Malvolio
Document Summary
Throughout this play, madness is a constant motif. Shakespeare"s view of artistic writing connected to the chaotic events that coincide with his comedic writing. It isn"t until the final act that all of the major deceptions of the story unravel due to the reunion of sebastian and viola. At this point, the characters all gather a sense of relief that they are not actually mad, but living in an altered reality of confusion, especially sebastian. Malvolio is forced into believing he is, in fact, mad after being locked up and told that he is surrounded by windows but all he can see is darkness. Not only is he being told this by a man he cannot see, but also a man who is conversing with him in two separate voices which only distances him from his actual reality even more.
