Fool
"I did impeticos thy gratillity, for Malvolio’s nose is no whipstock. My lady has a white hand, and the Myrmidons are no bottle-ale houses."
Act II, sc. III, i. 27
The Fool is talking nonsense to Sir Andrew. Sir Andrew is completely amused by his use of silly words and phrases such as "impeticos thy gratillity" in which gratillity sounds like "gratuity." In this line, the Fool is thanking Sir Andrew for the money he sent him for his girlfriend. He gave the money as a present to his girlfriend. The Fool asserts that Sir Andrew would not be able to grip Malvolio's nose to whip his horse with it. The Fool continues saying his girlfriend has white hands and great warriors (the Myrmidions) are not bottle-ale houses. The word "white" was then synonymous with "beautiful." This is word nonsense in order to amuse Sir Andrew. The Fool is doing what he is best at. In his drunken state, Sir Andrew cannot get enought of the Fool's singing voice and implores the Fool to sing. Sir Andrew even claims in the line before that he would give forty shillings to have the Fool's legs and voice. He could say anything to Sir Andrew and he would think it is funny. The Fool is the smartest one in this play. He secretly holds all the wisdom while all the other characters are the real fools.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think there is more to this quote than just nonsense. The fool is doing more here than just being humorous, there is more meaning to what he said. He is not only trying to get a good response out of Sir Andrew but he is also hinting at something more significant regarding Malvolio and his relationship to Olivia. By whipstock, the fool was comparing Malvolio to the "butt end of a whip." I think that with this reference to the whip he is directly discussing the feelings Malvolio secretely has for Olivia. I agree the Fool is the smartest and probably the most insightful character in the play and everytime he speaks his nonsense, he does so with meaning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rob that this quote is more than just nonsense. Does the fool even have a real girlfriend? Probably not. I think he is using his "girlfriend" as a symbol for Olivia. However, I do not agree that he is hinting about Mavolio's love for Olivia. I think he is suggesting that Mavolio is NO "butt end of a whip." Although we know he later gets fooled by the letter, I think the fool is referring to Mavolio in the sense that he knows Olivia is beautiful and Sir Andrew never has a chance. The fool is making fun of how ignorant and stupid Sir Andrew is. When he says, "the Myrmidons are no bottle-ale houses" I think he is saying how Olivia is as beautiful as a god and no followers of hers are going to be drunks spending all their time in taverns. Basically, the fool is flat out telling Sir Andrew that he is just a sloppy drunk and that Mavolio was right about him.
ReplyDeleteThis was the quote that I had chosen. Reading classmate's interpretation of this quote shines a new light on the fool for me. He is seen as an enteratiner by the character's in the play. However, as readers we see that he truly is the only wise and omniscient character within the play. What is even more interesting is how he gets away with saying what he knows and feels about the events taking place in the play. He is a fool and his wisdom lies in his "foolishness." To the characters, such as Andrew, he is hilarious. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete