Essay
A LEVEL ENGLISH ASPECTS OF COMEDY TWELFTH NIGHT SECTION B 'The ending of Twelfth Night is bittersweet' RECEIVED A*
An A*/Band 5 response to the statement 'The ending of Twelfth Night is bittersweet' To what extent do you agree?
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‘The ending of Twelfth Night is bittersweet’.At first glance it may seem that the ending of Twelfth Night is in no way
bittersweet; the typical marriage resolutions expected of a comedy allows the
audience to celebrate the restoration of order. Although, on further inspection
when we consider the superficiality of such unions, there seems to be something
bittersweet underlying the ending’s upbeat tone. Furthermore, the pessimistic
tone employed by Feste’s concluding song somewhat deflates the play’s
festivity, highlighting how comic resolutions are not destined for everyone, thus
forming the bittersweet ending of Twelfth Night.
Certainly, the deeply pessimistic tone and dark undercurrents revealed when
Feste breaks the fourth wall during his final song emphasises the bittersweet
tone of the denouement. There is something ironic about the employment of
pathetic fallacy through the repetition of ‘the wind and the rain’ during Feste’s
third main song, as such weather reflects negativity and completely juxtaposes
our expectations of a typical, jovial resolution. When we consider the events of
the play’s ending, including the three harmonious marriage resolutions for our
protagonists, traditional to comic endings, audiences may be confused by the
association of something that should be celebrated with melancholy and
negativity. Perhaps therefore, this removes some initial joy from the play’s
ending and makes it seem more bittersweet. Furthermore, potentially the
repeated references to ‘the wind and the rain’ and Feste’s claim ‘For the rain it
raineth every day’ foreshadows how the marriage resolutions have not allowed
for a restoration of order. Traditionally, marriage resolutions represent
harmonious endings, however Shakespeare uses the dangerous and dark
weather to suggest that despite the marriage resolutions, disorder and chaos will
still reign supreme in Illyria. Alternatively, though, possibly Feste’s song removes
any bitterness we may have felt at the ending, reminding us of the play’s light-
hearted, anti-serious purpose. Crucially, Feste breaks the fourth wall to deliver
the play’s concluding words ‘But that’s all one, our play is done, and we’ll strive
to please you every day.’ Despite the song suggesting that not everyone is
destined for happiness, creating a bittersweet tone as we perhaps sympathise
for characters such as Malvolio and Sir Andrew who were excluded from the
happy ending, the concluding lines challenge our perception of the ending as
bittersweet. Shakespeare reveals the dark undercurrents of comedy by
suggesting that although not all men can receive happiness, we should not dwell
on one man’s suffering since the play is over. As a result, this shapes the comedy
as it allows us to revel in the schadenfreude and exclusion of our comic villains
and their defeat, instead of allowing potential pity to cast a bitter tone over the
resolution.
On closer inspection, this suggestion that comic resolutions are not destined for
all characters perhaps relieves the comic tension of Malvolio’s threatening exit,
removing any bittersweet pity for his character. This allows the audience to revel
in his exclusion from the play’s ending and final tableau. Many critics argue that
the increasingly sadistic and dark nature of Malvolio’s gulling throughout the
play, resulting in him being locked ‘in a dark room and bound’ followed by his
isolation from the play’s happy ending characterises Twelfth Night as more of a
tragicomedy than a comedy play. Certainly, at first the physical comedy created
by Malvolio’s schadenfreude in ‘yellow stockings and cross gartered’, has a light-
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