Twelfth Night Class Quotes

She’ll none o’ the Count. She’ll not match above her degree, neither in estate, years, nor wit. I have heard her swear ‘t. Tut, there’s life in ‘t, man.

– William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 3. Sir Toby Belch to Sir Andrew Aguecheek. When Andrew announces that he is going home tomorrow, as Lady Olivia will have none of him and Duke Orsino is wooing her, Toby is not convinced. Preoccupied with marrying Andrew to his niece Olivia, Toby doesn’t believe she will marry someone above her social rank like Orsino. He tells Andrew he is still in with a chance.

Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night?

– William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Act 2, Scene 3. When merrymakers Sir Toby and Sir Andrew get rowdy in Olivia’s house, her stewart Malvolio asks them if they are mad and admonishes them. And he compares them to tinkers, suggesting they are acting like bad-mannered commoners instead of noble men. Later Sir Toby turns the tables and gets revenge on Malvolio by making him appear mad in the company of Olivia.

But be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

– William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Act 2, Scene 5. Malvolio reads from the love letter he thinks is from Olivia. In reality it was written by one of Olivia’s servant’s Maria to trick the unpopular steward. As well as hinting that Olivia loves him, the letter also excites Malvolio’s ambition to become great and move up in the world. The only love that Malvolio is going to have is his own self-love.

Daylight and champaign discovers not more. This is open. I will be proud, I will read politic authors, I will baffle Sir Toby, I will wash off gross acquaintance, I will be point-device the very man. I do not now fool myself, to let imagination jade me; for every reason excites to this, that my lady loves me. She did commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise my leg, being cross-gartered, and in this she manifests herself to my love, and with a kind of injunction drives to these habits of her liking. I thank my stars, I am happy.

– William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Act 2, Scene 5. A puffed-up Malvolio, having read the fake love letter from his employer Olivia, seems to lose his puritanical reserve and throw caution to the wind to further his ambition. Which is to rise in the world from servant to nobleman and rid himself of lower-class acquaintances. He is convinced that he is not fooling himself that Olivia loves him! Oh it’s definitely love, but love of self, for the only one that loves Malvolvio is Malvolio. So much so that he cannot separate appearance from reality.

Go, hang yourselves all! you are idle shallow things: I am not of your element.

– William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Act 3, Scene 4. Malvolio’s bitter response to the mocking concerns of Maria, Fabian and Sir Toby for him, after the Lady Olivia thinks he has gone mad. He talks down to them like they are fools of a lower intellectual class, when he is the one who looks a fool dressed in his yellow stockings and believing he could marry his employer Olivia. His ego and foolish ambition have brought him only ridicule.

Fear not, Cesario. Take thy fortunes up.
Be that thou know’st thou art, and then thou art
As great as that thou fear’st.

– William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, Act 5, Scene 1. Olivia speaks to Cesario (Viola in male disguise), believing him to be Sebastian, whom she has just married. She thinks Cesario is afraid of admitting the two of them have secretly married. She urges him to take up his new fortune and elevated social status. Oh what a tangled web these confounded disguises and gender mix-ups weave.
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