mparrison Of Feste And Sir AndrewDont Judge A Book By Its CoverLooks can be deceiving, and in the case of Sir Andrew and Feste the fool, thestatement certainly applies. Looking at the personalities of these two charactersthroughout Twelfth Night, no one will see that each character is the exact opposite of eachother.
Their comparison is their contrast. The first, Sir Andrew, is of foolish wit, wholooks that part he is supposed to play on the outside. He looks sophisticated and veryintelligent. Yet when actually speaking with this character, the opposite applies and hereally is just a fool. And Feste, the other character, looks the part of a fool and is used formere entertainment. Yet on the inside, he exhibits the mind of an intelligent person, maybeeven a scholar.
These two characters compare in their extreme differences. A fool must look the part as well as play the part. But does Feste do this? He doesthis quite well actually. But then how can one call him witty and intelligent? It is basicallybecause he only plays the part of a fool. The key word is plays.
He is not really a fool. He states I wear not motley in my brain. (pp. 28).
This quote reinforces that he onlywears the clothes of a fool on the outside, but his over brimming amount of intelligenceshows he is a real person, with thoughts, ideas and comments to be made. Only being afool may restrict him from doing such. Throughout the play, Feste acts as witty as amischief-maker. He does get to use his wit, just not in an ideal fashion. Unlike Sir Andrew,he does not brag about qualities he does not posses. Feste has many talents that do not gounnoticed.
He may be considered the most intelligent person in the whole cast ofcharacters. Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a lover of life and a pure fool. He looks the part of anoble man, and tries to play the part as well. Even his title, Sir, refers to a knight.
Butwhat is he really like? Hes as tall a man as anys in Illyria (pp. 14), according to SirToby Belch. Toby is very mistaken though, since Andrew is no more than a foolish drunk. The only thing that separates his personality from Sir Tobys is that he is a natural fool. Ina scene, Feste first says, Beshrew me, knights in admirable fooling:, and Andrew replies,Ay, he does well enough if he be disposed, and so do I, too.
He does it with better grace,but I do it more natural. (pp. 58). Andrew himself is stating that he is a fool by nature. Clearly he looks the part of a refined gentleman. He says he speaks another language butwhen spoken to in that language, he doesnt understand it.
And this shows to be moreproof that Andrew is a fool hidden behind a mask of a noble person. A fine comparison was made between these two crucial characters. A fool who issmart, and a nobleman who is a fool. Shakespeare really is brilliant, since he though upsuch an elaborate story that says looks can be deceiving. And that statement sticks outplain as day.
The next clown on the street that you see could be the smartest person toever walk the Earth, and the same goes with the next smart looking teacher you see. Onthe other hand he/she could be a genuine idiot. So as a final proposition, Shakespeare asksus to not judge a person by their outer wear and their fake public behavior. The onlycontradiction with this statement is that since Shakespeare lived in the 1600s, he wasbrought up to do just the opposite.
Sad, but true.English
