The roles of Malvolio and Sir Toby in Twelfth Night In Twelfth Night, the contrasting roles of Malvolio and Sir Toby Belch help the play develop to the fullest possible extent. In one respect, the two characters work as purely comedic players, bringing joy to the audience in the form of drunkenness and pranks. But beyond the lighter surface of the play lies a deeper meaning: Toby and Malvolio have very different views of life. The divergent appearance of these two figures gives the viewer of the play a standard by which to judge the other characters, and in so doing makes the play easier to follow. Malvolio embodies the complex side of an average person, while Sir Toby represents the simple, easily amused side of humanity. Malvolio's role in this respect is more difficult to comprehend; he deceives himself into thinking that Olivia is in love with him, thereby contributing to his own misery.
English: Scene from "Twelfth Night," Act III IV, w...
Malvolio and the Countess
Toby asleepThese aspects of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night contribute to the realistic portrayal of each character, while at the same time bringing out the play's comedic overtones.
Malvolio brings a powerful presence to the play when he is forced to play the fool. He who at one point defined the word puritan now finds himself in a new role: that of a cross-gartered lover. In this way, he shows himself to be a hypocrite: he "lowers himself" to the level of Toby when he becomes a player himself. Maurice Charney describes the role of Malvolio quite well, saying: "The most obvious effect of this structure is to focus attention upon Malvolio and to make him a central figure at every stage."(Charney, 160) He tries to step into an entirely different realm, one of mastership over servantry. He is socially inferior to Olivia, causing his hopes to...