In II.iii.170, Maria calls her manipulation of Malvolio, "Sport royal...". I think she means that her manipulation of him is like a game, that of which she can obtain the highest honor: royalty. What I mean by this, is not literally that she can obtain royalty, but that she can obtain the essence of royalty in her manipulation of royalty. In the context of the play, royalty is considered the best thing you can be. While Maria cannot obtain royalty itself, she can obtain something great;the essence of royalty, if you will.
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"Sport" as in a competition? "Royal" as in aristocratic? What more do you make of the combination of these terms? Is Maria desperate to entertain these drunken noblemen? Why?
ReplyDeleteFor this quotation you spent a lot of time going into the meaning of the word "royal", and brought up some very interesting points but you never went into any of the other aspects of the quotation. What does this quotation show us about Maria's personality? Why did Shakespeare choose a woman to mastermind the plan to take down Malvolio?
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