Another day off work because of rain, tell me what could be better than reading a Shakespearean Comedy on revelry. This is my second read. The first was disjointed and sporadic at best. Shakespearean plays are truly best read in their entirity, as if one was watching it with a brief intermission for lunch or dinner if you are a fellow nocturnal creature.
Sir Toby and Sir Andrew were much better and more amusing this time. I think old Bill really caught a fleshy chunk of humanity with these two. They are a royal pair of drunks, Toby being the Prince and Andrew Aguecheek, the first knight if you will. They are supreme bullshit artists from the beginning in a much more sincere kind of bullshitting than Feste, the proclaimed fool, who sees people and actions with a keen ironic vision, that leaves more in an amused trance than a thoughtless chuckle. Unfortunately, the two bs artists decay from a royal pair of buffoons into a fearful pair continually hiding behind one another before the great Sebastian who cannot appear to be much more masculine than his cross-dressing sister. No doubt their romantic drunken life was sure to leave them defenseless in the midst of a man who has fought to survive for the past three monthes, and when confronted with a question of seriuos love (between Aguecheek and Olivia).
Although Toby acquires a bride at the end of the story, the reader has no reason to admire him or think it will last beyond his hangover after a certain amount of revelry. Maria, who accepts him as a husband for no good reason, is obviously a bit self-conscious about her future marriage life if she is to put up with cleaning after this jackass and serve as his personal jester. Toby accepts her, apparently seriously by the world of Twelfth Night, because she made a good joke, which we all hope is just a show for his little sidekick Andy, who also stops laughing by the end of the play probably because he is left alone like Malvolio but has no one to rant about because its his own damn fault.
The most admirable character in this play would have to be Viola who seems to tell the most truth despite living the lie of Cesario. She connects with Feste, “This fellow’s wise enough to play the fool, And to do that well craves a kind of wit.” (III.1). And is the only one to recognize his wisdom. Toby and Andrew only laugh at swear words and the equivalent to the “your mama” jokes. Feste under whose direction we ultimately end in sadness, does not have the poignancy of the fools of “As You Like It”. He is content taking coins and playing with light-hearted puns. He is never angered or upset by anything, which makes his character hard to take seriously. He is almost like the sedated fool. Viola, however, moves beyond him in admirability as well as her brother who is missing most of the play only to arrive to take a hot babe, which is reminiscent of the mindset of Aguecheek and Tobmeister.
Orsino and Olivia lose points in the category of “self-love”. They are older Romeos and Juliets who want but one and do not realize the immaturity behind their obstinacy, but opposites attract, so they both fall for the brave, selfless Sebastian/Viola combo. Olivia recognizes Malvolio’s pride immediately in the play with her one line of good sense.
Malvolio is a boob and a ninny, an unbelievable extreme. I have always been an advocate for Shakespearean minority characters such as Othello and Shylock. I beleive that these other plays show the cruelty of the society towards the minority character and while it does or it doesn’t is supposed left to the readers interpretive powers, it is easier to believe that Shakespeare would attack Puritanism than a Jew or a Black perhaps because of their hatred for the theatre or perhaps because the Queen was protestant. Nonetheless, Malvolio is a boob, a supreme idiot who has no excuse. He really has no excuse. It is somewhat apparent that Shakespeare cripples his intellect with stupidity and annoyance and targets him by act II as the puritan target. He misses obvious pranks that Polonious would get, and he is abused in the end without resolve. One would only hope he did get some vengeance on those who wronged him, but they will get exactly what they deserve if they marry for jokes. His apparent match in Act I might be Maria until she sides with the dynamic duo. Malvolio’s best move would probably be getting out of Illyria and finding himself a nice little puritanette.
The last character to deal with is Antonio who is the Antonio of The Merchant of Venice. He is more believable than Malvolio. Because I don’t believe in homoerotic Shakespeare, I will concede to the older man who admires the younger even though I do not believe this happens too often outside of family relations, except in Shakespearean drama and sonnets.

So that’s my word, another bus of paragraphs to drive down the lonely alley that is my 43things account. Peace and remember, “for the rain it raineth everyday.”