‘Twelfth Night or What You Will’ Act Three – “ In nature there's no blemish but the mind; None can be call'd deform'd but the unkind…”

‘Twelfth Night or What You Will’ Act Three – “ In nature there's no blemish but the mind; None can be call'd deform'd but the unkind…”

In the 10 to 12 years since Shakespeare wrote ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ he had read and learnt a lot about comedy and particularly the Italian forms of comedy. The references that he makes in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘As You Like It’ to comedy make it seem likely that he saw one of the two or three commedia dell’arte troupes that were invited to play in England between 1595 and 1600. It is also likely that he had bought one or two of the translations of Plautus and Terence (reproduced in again in English translation around 1580) or a translation of a commedia erudite (the learned comedy) play such as those by Giambattista della Porta or Niccolo Machiavelli’s ‘La Mandragola’. Act Three of ‘Twelfth Night’ shows the mastery that Shakespeare has developed by this point in his career to weave comic conventions, with complex characters and rich plotlines.

In Act Three, Cesario (Viola still in men’s garb) is delivering another message of love from Duke Orsino to Olivia’s house and meets the fool Feste outside the house and besides commenting on the fluidity of Feste’s allegiances and appearances, they pun and jest like professionals until Feste goes to get Olivia. Then Sir Toby and Sir Andrew enter and encounter Cesario for the first time. Suddenly their conversation is broken by the arrival of Olivia who dismisses everyone so that she can talk to Cesario alone.

Olivia’s requests that Cesario does not deliver any more messages of love from Orsino and then she reveals how much she loves Cesario. Cesario rejects her but Olivia seems to embrace this rejection and state that maybe Cesario can convince her to love Orsino if he returns again and this is after Cesario emphatically states:

“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 mistress be of it, save I alone.

And so adieu, good madam: never more

Will I my master's tears to you deplore. “

Soon after this, we are brought into Olivia’s house, where Sir Andrew has announced that he will leave since he saw the interactions between Olivia and Cesario and believes his own suit is lost. Sir Toby (who wants Sir Andrew to stay since his drinking and carousing is being funded by Sir Andrew’s purse) insists that Sir Andrew stays because Olivia does love him and is only using Cesario to fuel Sir Andrew’s passion through jealousy. Sir Toby suggests that the solution is that Sir Andrew challenge Cesario to a duel. Suddenly, Maria enters to tell them all that Malvolio has followed the letter to the letter and is smiling like a fool while wearing yellow stockings and crossed garters. They all go to see the fun of Malvolio making a fool of himself.

We swap back to the Duke Orsino’s territory in the streets of Illyria, where we catch up with Sebastian and Antonio (who up until now have been subsidiary to the main plot) who have arrived in town. We learn more about why Antonio is not welcome in Illyria and it involves some battle at sea where Antonio seems to have beaten Orsino or at least caused him shame. Antonio says he will carefully find them somewhere to stay while Sebastian will look around and Antonio fortuitously (or unfortunately depending on the view taken of this act) gives Sebastian his purse and they decide to meet in an hour or so in a local tavern.

Back at Olivia’s house, Olivia is feeling melancholic and is trying to work out a way to make Cesario love her. She calls for Malvolio who turns up grinning like fool and dressed cross-gartered and wearing yellow stockings. He starts to quote from the letter that he thinks that Olivia has written to him. Olivia thinks that Malvolio has gone over the edge and when she hears that Cesario has returned she goes off to see him while asking Maria and Sir Toby to look to the obviously mad Malvolio.

Whether it is vanity or delusion, Malvolio seems to think that Olivia confirmed her affections for him. Maria, Sir Toby and Fabian take advantage of the situation and act as if Malvolio is possessed by the devil and they lock Malvolio away in a dark room. Then Sir Andrew enters having written a letter to Cesario which challenges him to a duel which he shows to Sir Toby. In true commedia dell arte style, Sir Toby does not give the letter to Cesario but decides to become an intermediary between Sir Andrew and Cesario convincing each one that the other is a fierce opponent out to demolish the other.

“… I will deliver his challenge by

word of mouth; set upon Aguecheek a notable report

of valour; and drive the gentleman, as I know his

youth will aptly receive it, into a most hideous

opinion of his rage, skill, fury and impetuosity.

This will so fright them both that they will kill

one another by the look, like cockatrices.”

When Cesario returns with Olivia, she insists that he comes the next day and she gives him a love locket with a portrait of her in it as a sign of her love and then she leaves. Sir Toby approaches Cesario and verbally delivers Sir Andrew’s challenge. Cesario declares he does not wish to fight and goes to leave but then Sir Toby comes back with Sir Andrew after having told Sir Andrew that Cesario is a great swordsman who is very keen to fight him. Sir Andrew and Cesario face each other in apprehension and draw swords and just when they are about to fight, Antonio enters. Shakespeare is brilliant at making what seem like separate plot lines join at the most absurd and tense moments. Antonio mistakes Cesario for his friend Sebastian (in fact since Cesario is really Viola who is the twin sister of Sebastian this is not so absurd) and offers to fight Sir Andrew in his friend’s place.

Suddenly the illustrious Illyrian officers enter and instantly recognize Antonio as the man Orsino has deemed a wanted man. Antonio, knowing that he will need to post bail, asks Cesario who he thinks is Sebastian (but who is really Viola), to return his purse which he gave him. Cesario denies having received such a purse. Antonio is devastated to think that his friend is refusing to acknowledge him and vents his disappointment while the guards take him away thinking that he is mad:

“But O how vile an idol proves this god

Thou hast, Sebastian, done good feature shame.

In nature there's no blemish but the mind;

None can be call'd deform'd but the unkind:

Virtue is beauty, but the beauteous evil

Are empty trunks o'erflourish'd by the devil.”

Viola (still disguised as Cesario) hears Antonio mention her brother’s name Sebastian and is now filled with hope that her brother is alive and that he survived the shipwreck after all. Viola runs off to look for Sebastian leaving Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Fabian confused and bewildered while exclaiming:

“I my brother know

Yet living in my glass; even such and so

In favour was my brother, and he went

Still in this fashion, colour, ornament,

For him I imitate: O, if it prove, confusion

Tempests are kind and salt waves fresh in love.”

So Act Three of ‘Twelfth Night’ ends with an absurdly dramatic complexity due to miscommunications, disguises, secret identities and gender and love confusions. Malvolio has been locked up as a madman, Antonio is arrested, Orsino loves Olivia who loves Cesario who is really a woman called Viola who loves Orsino and has now been mistaken for her brother Sebastian whose friend Antonio thinks that he has denied and deceived him. This is the storm before the calm that Shakespeare had perfected by this time in his career.