Capítulo 17 de 25 · 3'44"
Malvolio turns up cross-gartered in yellow stockings, exactly as the letter asked, and quotes it at Olivia as if it proved he is chosen. She reads the performance as illness: "Why, why this is very midsummer madness." The joke is that the man who prides himself on being sensible is the only one who cannot see the trick.
Olivia Calls It Midsummer Madness
❝ Monólogo · 6 frases Malvolio's self-delusion
He reads every stare as a hint and grows more certain with each wrong guess.
Malvolio arrives before Olivia cross-gartered in yellow stockings, smiling and kissing his hand, exactly as the forged letter instructed. Olivia asks if he should go to bed, but he insists he is sane and quotes the letter's lines about greatness. Convinced he has lost his wits, she calls it 'midsummer madness,' orders her people to look after him, and goes to see the returning Cesario.
The scene is the payoff of the letter trick, and its comedy is all about self-image. Malvolio believes the letter proves Olivia loves him, so he does exactly what it says: yellow stockings, cross-gartered, a smirk, and quoted maxims about greatness. His line 'Not black in my mind, though yellow in my legs' is funny because he is defending his sanity with the very costume that proves he has none. Olivia, meanwhile, reads him as sick rather than lovestruck — 'this is very midsummer madness' — and her practical concern for him makes the humiliation gentler than it could be. The trick works because Malvolio's vanity supplies the performance the plotters hoped for; he is punished for wanting to rise above his place, and the audience is invited to laugh at a man who only wanted to be thought worthy.
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
“Not black in my mind, though yellow in my legs.”
He answers a question about his mind with the colour of his stockings, splitting mood from outfit.
literary
“"And some have greatness thrust upon them."”
The third way to greatness, being handed it without asking, is the one Malvolio quietly claims.
literary
“Why, why this is very midsummer madness.”
She names the madness after a season of mischief, turning one man's delusion into a carnival.
literary
“I think we do know the sweet Roman hand, hm?”
We do know turns a private joke into shared knowledge, and the hm savours the reveal.
Informal
“Why appear you with this ridiculous boldness before my lady?”
Appear and ridiculous boldness dress up a rebuke in archaic weight.
literary
Oh, oh, ho. Do you come near me now? No worse man than Sir Toby to look to me. Why this concurs directly with the letter. She sends for him on purpose, that I may appear stubborn with him. For she incites me to that in the letter.
Siguiente · 18improbable fictionLa escena: Sir Andrew's Challenge Is Read AloudHe found the forged letter that told him Olivia wants him in yellow stockings, cross-gartered. Believing it, he follows the instructions to win her favour.
He appears in ridiculous clothes, grins, kisses his hand, and keeps quoting lines about greatness. She takes it as a sign of illness, calling it 'midsummer madness.'
It means wild, absurd behaviour, as if the midsummer season had driven everyone insane. Olivia uses it to describe Malvolio's bizarre performance.
Malvolio prides himself on being sensible, yet he is the one who cannot see he is being tricked. His vanity makes him perform exactly what the plotters wanted.
She tells Maria to have him looked after and says she would not have him come to harm for half her dowry. Then she leaves to meet the returning Cesario.
