Twelfth Night is a transvestite and romantic play written by William Shakespeare around 1601. In the given extract from Act 1, Scene 5 from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the characters Olivia, Feste and Malvolio are introduced to the readers. This extract contains an abundance of figurative language in order to describe and construct these characters. This extracts also shows the lambasted conversation between the characters, which later opens up pathways to create more drama and gives reason for characters to take certain actions later in the story. In the extract Shakespeare uses language to represent and construct the characters of Olivia, Feste and Malvolio. Shakespeare makes Feste use figurative language by saying ‘Better be a witty fool, …show more content…
This perception is bought to the readers once again by figurative language. Olivia calls Feste a fool by saying ‘Go to, you’re a dry fool. I’ll no more of you. Besides, you grow dishonest.’ Feste tackles this insult by saying ‘Two faults, madonna, that drink and good counsel will amend. For give the dry fool drink, then is the fool not dry. Bid the dishonest man mend himself. If he mend, he is no longer dishonest. If he cannot, let the botcher mend him. Anything that’s mended is but patched. Virtue that transgresses is but patched with sin, and sin that amends is but patched with virtue. If that this simple syllogism will serve, so. If it will not, what remedy? As there is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty’s a flower. The lady bade take away the fool. Therefore, I say again, take her away.’ The above quote clearly shows that Feste is canny. Eventually the scene continues and Feste goes on to prove that Olivia is a fool, since Olivia was sorrow about her brother’s death, even though he went to heaven. From the extract, the readers also learn about Olivia’s character. In contempt of, Feste is calling Olivia a fool inside Olivia’s own home, Olivia still doesn’t