Malvolio | |
---|---|
Twelfth Night character | |
First appearance |
|
Created by | William Shakespeare |
Based on | Thomas Posthumous Hoby (possibly) |
Portrayed by | Richard Burbage Vasili Merkuryev Donald McDonald Alec Guinness Alec McCowen Peter Cummins Richard Briers Gerald James Nigel Hawthorne Tamsin Greig Stephen Fry Les Dennis |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Steward |
Significant other | Olivia |
Religion | Puritan (Protestant) |
Nationality | Illyria |
Malvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, or What You Will . His name means "ill will" in Italian, referencing his disagreeable nature. [1] He is the vain, pompous, authoritarian steward of Olivia's household.
In the play, Malvolio is defined as "a kind of Puritan". He despises all manner of fun and games, and wishes his world to be completely free of human sin, yet he behaves very foolishly against his stoic nature when he believes that Olivia loves him. This leads to major conflicts with characters such as Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Maria, mistress of the household.
Much of the play's humour comes from Maria, Feste, Toby Belch, and Andrew Aguecheek tormenting Malvolio with drinking, joking, and singing. After Malvolio interrupts their party and chastises them for their lewdness, Maria devises a way to gain revenge on the steward, which she proposes to Sir Toby and the others. Maria composes a love letter in Olivia's handwriting, and leaves it so Malvolio will find it. Beforehand, Malvolio had been wishing to marry Olivia. The letter convinces Malvolio that Olivia loves him, and leads Malvolio to think that Olivia wishes him to smile, wear yellow stockings and cross garters. Olivia is in mourning for her brother's death, and finds smiling offensive; yellow is "a colour she abhors, and cross garters a fashion she detests", according to Maria. When Malvolio is imprisoned for being a supposed lunatic after acting out the instructions in the letter, Feste visits him both as himself and in the disguise of "Sir Topas the curate", and proceeds to torment Malvolio by refusing to think him sane no matter what he says. In his guise as the latter, he insists that Malvolio must follow the Pythagorean doctrine of reincarnation, something the steward claims to disapprove of. At the end of the play, Malvolio vows, "I’ll be reveng’d on the whole pack of you" for his public humiliation, and Olivia acknowledges that he has "been most notoriously abused."
The role was first played by Richard Burbage at the Globe Theatre. John Marston observed that the actors of his time often played the role with "contemptuous superiority"; by contrast his favourite Malvolio, William Ferrin, performed it with "lofty condescension". Other actors known for their performance of Malvolio include Sir Alec Guinness, Henry Irving, E. H. Sothern, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Henry Ainley, Sir John Gielgud, Simon Russell Beale, Maurice Evans, Ken Dodd, Richard Briers, Sir Nigel Hawthorne and Sir Derek Jacobi. [2] Richard Wilson took on the role for the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2009 production. In 2012, Stephen Fry assumed the role at Shakespeare's Globe. In 2017, actress Tamsin Greig portrayed a female version of the character (renamed Malvolia) in Simon Godwin's revival of the play at the National Theatre. [3] He will be played by Les Dennis in 2024 at the Shakespeare North Playhouse.
Some Shakespearean scholars hypothesize that the character Malvolio was inspired by Puritan landowner Sir Thomas Posthumous Hoby, who was involved in a well known court case against many of his Yorkshire neighbours in the 1600s. Hoby sued his neighbours when they came uninvited to his house, drank, played cards, mocked his religion, and threatened to rape his wife. Hoby won damages in the case, which may have influenced the scene in Twelfth Night when Malvolio interrupts Sir Toby's late-night reveling. [4]
The lines would later be repeated, with a slight alteration, by Feste in the final scene of the play as he mocks Malvolio, who afterward storms off.
Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Viola falls in love with the Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her thinking she is a man.
Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night, or What You Will. One of the supporting characters, Sir Andrew is a stereotypical fool, who is goaded into unwisely duelling with Cesario and who is slowly having his money pilfered by Sir Toby Belch. He is dim-witted, vain and clownish. His role in the play not only provides comedy through his pathetic situation and his long speech, but also by his distinct, long-faced appearance and garish dress sense. The role has been a favourite for actors and has been performed by Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer, Paul Scofield and Roger Rees.
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Sir Thomas Posthumus Hoby, also spelt Hobie, Hobbie and Hobby, Posthumous and Postumus, was an English gentleman and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1629. A Puritan, he has been claimed as the inspiration for Shakespeare's character Malvolio in Twelfth Night.
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