Twelfth Night

     Of all of Shakespeare's plays, "Twelfth Night" is surely the weirdest I have read.  However, I believe it is the best written and one of the most interesting.  What I find most interesting in the play is the contrast of funny to serious characters and how they really affect the plot and end result.

   It's sort of weird how despite the plays genre, comedy, the main characters but for Toby and Andrew are very serious.  Even the fool in the play is not very funny.  I found myself waiting for Sir Toby and Andrew's lines.  For much of the play, Toby and Andrew provide humor, but the straight characters provide the plot.  Some of the stuff coming out of Sir Andrew's mouth is just extremely weird, but for some reason it is funny.  Shakespeare combines Toby and Andrew's sub plots with the main, slower plot.  

   Feste the fool and Orsino would seem like funny characters, but they aren't.  This makes the story even more interesting.  Most comedy's have the straight guy, however very rarely are they as ridiculous and colorful characters and Feste and Orsino.  Orsino is a lovesick rich man and Feste is a dry, clever fool.  I wanted to chuckle at these characters but I didn't.  I think Shakespeare didn't give them funny lines for a reason. I think it was to add texture to the play.  He succeeded if that was what he was trying to do.