Twelfth Night – from Act 2 Scene 3, lines 142 to 172
In this extract, Maria, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew are talking about Malvolio.
MARIA
The devil a puritan that he is, or anything
constantly, but a time-pleaser; an affectioned ass,
that cons state without book, and utters it by
great swarths; the best persuaded of himself; so 145
crammed, as he thinks, with excellences, that it is
his grounds of faith that all that look on him love
him; and on that vice in him will my revenge find
notable cause to work.
SIR TOBY
What wilt thou do? 150
MARIA
I will drop in his way some obscure epistles of
love; wherein, by the colour of his beard, the
shape of his leg, the manner of his gait, the
expressure of his eye, forehead, and complexion,
he shall find himself most feelingly personated. I 155
can write very like my lady your niece; on a
forgotten matter we can hardly make distinction
of our hands.
SIR TOBY
Excellent! I smell a device.
SIR ANDREW
I have’t in my nose, too. 160
SIR TOBY
He shall think, by the letters that thou wilt drop,
that they come from my niece, and that she’s in
love with him.
MARIA
My purpose is, indeed, a horse of that colour.
SIR ANDREW
And your horse now would make him an ass. 165
MARIA
Ass, I doubt not.
SIR ANDREW
O! ’t will be admirable.
MARIA
Sport royal, I warrant you; I know my physic will
work with him. I will plant you two, and let the
fool make a third, where he shall find the letter; 170
observe his construction of it. For this night, to
bed, and dream on the event. Farewell.

In this extract, Maria is planning to play a joke on Malvolio.
Explain the importance of humour elsewhere in the play.
In your answer, you must consider:

• where humour occurs within the play
• how humour is presented.
  You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, is filled with humorous situations, witty wordplay, and ridiculous characters. The play explores themes of love, disguise, mistaken identity, and gender roles, all while keeping the audience entertained with its humor. In this essay, I will discuss the importance of humor in Twelfth Night, looking at where it occurs within the play and how it is presented.

Humor is used throughout Twelfth Night to create a lighthearted atmosphere and to provide comic relief to the audience. The play opens with Duke Orsino pining for the love of the countess Olivia, who is in mourning for her dead brother. The audience is introduced to the theme of unrequited love, which is then quickly turned on its head when Viola, disguised as a man named Cesario, enters the scene. Viola is immediately caught up in the love triangle between Orsino and Olivia, creating a situation ripe for comedic misunderstandings.