Twelfth Night
William Shakespeare
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Character Analysis: Sir Andrew Aguecheek
Sir Andrew is supposedly staying at Olivia’s house in order to woo her, but he does very little wooing during the play and instead spends most of his time as Sir Toby’s drinking buddy.
Like Sir Toby, Shakespeare has given Sir Andrew an aptronym, as ‘Ague’ refers to illnesses involving fever and shivering like malaria. This name is apt because it reflects Sir Andrew’s feebleness of character (as opposed to physical feebleness in the face of disease), being an idiot and a coward. It also refers literally to the hollowness of his cheeks which is picked on by Sir Toby throughout the text (“Agueface” and “thin-faced knave”), probably making fun of the original actor.
His love of singing, drinking, and dancing helps to fuel the play’s festive atmosphere, and his gullibility allows Sir Toby to manipulate him out of his money and his dignity (if he ever had any). Thus, Shakespeare presents Sir Andrew as a character designed to entertain the audience by virtue of schadenfreude.
However, he’s not just a character to laugh at; believe it or not there is a little more depth of meaning here. In his sword fight with ‘Cesario,’ Sir Andrew pretends to be full of bravado and swagger, but abandons this pretence as soon as he thinks that Cesario has called his bluff. With this moment Shakespeare comments on the ambiguity of masculinity, reinforcing the idea that ‘manliness’ can be faked – just like with Viola’s disguise – and so challenges the validity of gender roles. His impotence also challenges the class system, as it shows that just because you have a noble title like ‘Sir’ doesn’t implicitly make you better than anyone else.
His failure to achieve his goal (Olivia’s hand in marriage) by the play’s end reflects his failure to uphold societal expectations of men and the bourgeoisie during the crucible of misrule. Thus, Shakespeare uses Sir Andrew’s character not only to make the audience laugh, but to indict the challenge he embodied to the prejudices of society.
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Twelfth Night
Sample Essay
Count Orsino is infatuated with the Countess Olivia, who refuses his suit.
Viola is washed ashore after a shipwreck, her twin brother presumed drowned. She disguises herself as a man in order to serve in Orsino’s court. As ‘Cesario’, Viola quickly gains favour and is sent by Orsino to woo Olivia on his behalf. Viola does so reluctantly, having fallen in love with Orsino herself.
Olivia then falls in love with ‘Cesario’, forming a classic love triangle. Viola’s twin brother, Sebastian, is alive! A Captain called Antonio rescued him from the shipwreck. Sebastion looks exactly like his sister, who he assumes has drowned. Antonio cannot walk openly as he is a wanted man, so they arrange to meet up later.
Olivia’s uncle Sir Toby Belch and the incompetent knight Sir Andrew Ague, a suitor to Olivia, spend their days in drunken rowdiness at her court, sometimes joined by Olivia’s gentlewoman Maria, to the disdain of the steward Malvolio. He rebukes all three for some late-night revelry. In revenge, Maria forges a letter which convinces Malvolio that Olivia loves him, and that he should carry out various ridiculous actions if he loves her in return.
Viola/Cesario is sent again to Olivia, where the Countess confesses her love. Upset that Olivia shows more favour to Cesario than to himself, Sir Andrew challenges Viola/Cesario to a duel. Antonio, mistaking Viola for her brother, steps in to fight on ‘Sebastian’s’ behalf. As he is dragged away by police, Antonio is upset that Viola does not recognise him. Viola begins to suspect that her brother is alive and leaves. Spurred on by Sir Toby, Sir Andrew follows to continue the fight.
Malvolio approaches Olivia, enacting the absurd instructions of Maria’s forged love-letter. Olivia assumes he has gone mad and leaves him with Maria and Sir Toby, who delight in pretending he is possessed by Satan, and lock him up.
Sir Andrew fights Sebastian, believing him to be Cesario, and Olivia rushes to intervene. She begs forgiveness from Sebastian, also taking him for Cesario, who is at once confused and delighted by her tenderness, and agrees to marry her.
Finally, Orsino decides to visit Olivia himself, with Cesario/Viola tagging along. When Olivia rejects him again Orsino threatens to kill Cesario, despite his own strong affections for the page, suspecting her to be in love with ‘him’. Dismayed at Viola/Cesario’s willingness to die for the Count, Olivia reveals that they are married, to Viola’s bafflement.
Sebastian enters. Everyone is amazed to see the identical Viola and Sebastion together, and they are overjoyed to have found one another. Orsino realises that Viola loves him, and agrees to marry her.
Malvolio arrives with the letter, which Olivia reveals was written by Maria (now married to Sir Toby), and he vows to be revenged.
The play is riddled with appearances from the fool Feste, who ends the play with a song about growing through life’s stages, the chaos of human experience, and the hope that the audience enjoyed the play.
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