Raleigh Rumley
Imagery Analysis: Twelfth Night
10-13-10
1. Many of the metaphors used in Twelfth Night concern nature. Several examples, along with
their act and scene number, are as follows:
a. Act 1
i. Scene 1
1. Duke: That instant was I turn’d into a hart, and my desires, like fell and
cruel hounds, e’er since pursue me.
a. Concerning his desires and his inability to escape them
ii. Scene 3
1. Sir Toby: Excellent; it hangs like flax on a distaff.
a. Comparing the color of Sir Andrew’s hair to flax
iii. Scene 5
1. Malvolio: Not yet old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy; as
a squash is before ‘tis a peascod, or a codling when ‘tis almost an apple;
a. Said to Olivia about how young Cesario appears to be
b. Act 2
i. Scene 4
1. Duke: For women are as roses, whose fair flow’r being once display’d
doth fall that very hour.
a. Viola: And so they are; alas, that they are so! To die, even
when they to perfection grow!
ii. Scene 5
1. Maria: …Lie thou there; for here comes the trout that must be caught
with tickling.
a. Said to Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian about tricking Malvolio
2. Sir Toby: O, ay, make up that! He is now at a cold scent.
a. Fabian: Sowter will cry upon’t for all this, though it be rank as a
fox.
b. Comparing Malvolio to a dog because he is having trouble
taking the bait in their trick
c. Act 3
i. Scene 1
1. Clown: Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun—it shines
everywhere.
a. Said to Viola, indicating that foolishness is everywhere
d. Act 5
i. Scene 1
1. Antonio: How have you made division of yourself? An apple cleft in
two is not more twin than these two creatures.
a. Said concerning Sebastian and Cesario
2. I believe that Shakespeare used the natural imagery to emphasize the roles of females and
males. Although the natural roles were switch in the beginning, by the end of the play nature
was restored, resulting in the happiness of two marriages. The males are the main characters
that use imagery and most of them do so at some point in the play. Viola uses imagery, but it is
only a continuation of a metaphor started by the Duke. Maria uses imagery before she tricks
Malvolio; Shakespeare used metaphors frequently throughout his plays during times of trickery,
a trait that can also be observed in Much Ado About Nothing. The characters mainly use
Raleigh Rumley
Imagery Analysis: Twelfth Night
10-13-10
imagery to describe love or appearances, but it is also used to describe foolishness and during
times of trickery. I did not notice much of a change throughout the play in the use of imagery,
at least in terms of nature.
3. Shakespeare used several balanced pairs in Twelfth Night. Several examples, along with their
act and scene numbers, are as follows:
a. Act 1
i. Scene 2
1. Captain: Be you his eunuch and your mute I’ll be;
when my tongue blabs, then let mine eyes not see.
ii. Scene 5
1. Clown: I think his soul is in hell, Madonna.
a. Olivia: I know his soul is in heaven, fool.
b. Act 2
i. Scene 5
1. Malvolio: Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have
greatness thrust upon ‘em.
c. Act 3
i. Scene 4
1. Malvolio: Not black in my mind, though yellow in my legs.
d. Act 4
i. Scene 2
1. Clown: Why, it hath bay windows transparent as barricades, and the
clerestories toward the south north are as lustrous as ebony;
e. Act 5
i. Scene 1
1. Duke: One face, one voice, one habit, and two persons! A natural
perspective, that is and is not.
4. Shakespeare uses a lot of puns, riddles, language games, satire, and irony throughout Twelfth
Night. Several examples, along with act and scene numbers, are as follows:
a. Act 1
i. Scene 3
1. Sir Andrew: Fair lady, do you think you have fools in hand?
a. Maria: Sir, I have not you by th’ hand.
b. Sir Andrew: Marry, but you shall have; and here’s my hand
c. …
d. Sir Andrew: …But what’s your jest?
e. Maria: A dry jest, sir.
f. Sir Andrew: Are you full of them?
g. Maria: Ay, sir, I have them at my fingers’ ends; marry, now I let
go your hand, I am barren.
ii. Scene 5
1. Olivia:
a. Olivia: A comfortable doctrine, and much may be said of it.
Where lies your text?
b. Viola: In Orsino’s bosom.
c. Olivia: In his bosom! What chapter of his bosom?
Raleigh Rumley
Imagery Analysis: Twelfth Night
10-13-10
d. Viola: To answer by the method: in the first of his heart.
e. Olivia: O, I have read it; it is heresy.
b. Act 2
i. Scene 3
1. Clown: How now, my hearts! Did you never see the picture of ‘we
three’?
2. Sir Andrew: Begin, fool: it begins ‘Hold thy peace’.
a. Clown: I shall never begin if I hold my peace.
ii. Scene 4
1. Duke: What kind of woman is’t?
a. Viola: Of your complexion.
b. Duke: She is not worth thee, then. What years, i’ faith?
c. Viola: About your years, my lord.
2. Viola: My father had a daughter lov’d a man, as it might be perhaps,
were I a woman, I should your lordship.
iii. Scene 5
1. Malvolio: By my life, this is my lady’s hand: these be her very C’s, her
U’s, and her T’s; and thus makes she her great P’s.
2. Malvolio: M—but then there is no consonancy in the sequel; that
suffers under probation: A should follow, but O does.
a. Fabian: And O shall end, I hope.
b. Sir Toby: Ay, or I’ll cudgel him, and make him cry ‘O!’
c. Malvolio: And then I comes behind.
d. Fabian: Ay, an you had any eye behind you, you might see more
detraction at your heels than fortunes before you.
c. Act 3
i. Scene 1
1. Viola: Save thee, friend, and they music! Dost thou live by thy tabor?
a. Clown: No,sir, I live by the church.
b. Viola: Art thou a churchman?
c. Clown: No such matter, sir: I do live by the church; for I do live
at my house, and my house doth stand by the church.
2. Clown: Not so, sir; I do care for something; but in my conscience, sir, I
do not care for you. If that be to care for nothing, sir, I would it would
make you invisible.
3. Clown: Now Jove, in his next commodity of hair, send thee a beard!
a. Viola: By my troth, I’ll tell thee, I am almost sick for one; though
I would not have it grow on my chin.
4. Viola: By innocence I swear, and by my youth, I have one heart, one
bosom, and one truth, and that no woman has; nor never none shall be
mistress be of it, save I alone.
d. Act 5
i. Scene 1
1. Clown: Truly, sir, the better for my foes and the worse for my friends.
a. Duke: Just the contrary: the better for thy friends.
b. Clown: No, sir, the worse.
Raleigh Rumley
Imagery Analysis: Twelfth Night
10-13-10
c. Duke: How can that be?
d. Clown: Marry, sir, they praise me and make an ass of me. Now
my foes tell me plainly that I am an ass; so that by my foes, sir, I
profit in the knowledge of myself, and by my friends I am
abused; so that, conclusions to be as kisses, if your four
negatives make your two affirmatives, why then, the worse for
my friends and the better for my foes.
2. Sir Toby: Then he is a rogue and a passy measures pavin. I hate a
drunken rogue.
5. The language games are mainly used by Viola and the Clown, but other characters, such as
Maria, Olivia, Fabian, and Sir Toby, use them as well. While most of the characters seem to
understand the language, Sir Andrew and Malvolio do not. Malvolio doesn’t even recognize
when he uses the word games himself. Sir Toby often abused his power and used his words to
manipulate others. Some would argue that Feste also abuses his power, since he is more
intelligent than some of the others, but his lower class makes his language games more
acceptable. Viola often used her words to give hints that she wasn’t who they thought she was.