I AM THE MAN. (II.II.25)
Viola says this when she discovers that Olivia loves her. Viola is shocked by this because, obviously, she is not a man. This is ironic because Viola, dressed as a man, is able to woo Orsino’s love, instead of Orsino himself.
…AND YET TO CRUSH IT A LITTLE, IT WOULD BOW TO ME… (II.V.143-145)
Here, Malvolio is reciting the fake letter that Maria wrote to him, pretending to be Olivia. Maria does this to put Malvolio In his place. She believe that he thinks too highly of his position, and needs to be punished for it. In the letter, Maria asks him to wear yellow stockings and cross garters, both of which Olivia hates.
VIOLA: THEN THINK YOU ARE RIGHT. I AM NOT WHAT I AM
OLIVIA: I WOULD YOU WERE AS I WOULD HAVE YOU BE.
Like the quote above, it is ironic because Olivia has no idea of what “I would you were as I would have you be.”, means. She doesn’t know that having Viola/Cesario be what she truly is would ruin her love for Cesario. Viola is desperately trying to tell Olivia that she is not a man, but Olivia is so caught up in Cesario’s illusion, she can’t see it.
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I think all your thoughts are dead on! You definitely could add on though. You could talk about how Malvolio is "sick of self love" and that is why it so easy to fool him. There are a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Meghan, all your points are spot on, but there is definitely room for elaboration. But you definitely have a very clear understanding of what is going on in the play.
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