Home > Twelfth Night Summary & Study Guide > FAQs > Why does Twelfth Night end on a sour note?
Twelfth Night | Why does Twelfth Night end on a sour note?
Twelfth Night end on a somewhat sour note. The final epilogue to the play is a song by the mean clown Feste who relates his life as a wastrel, unable to find a wife and reduced to sleeping with drunken tosspots. In Feste's final ditty, life is depicted as grim, "for the rain it raineth every day" (V, i., l.392). Along with the "problem of Malvolio" (see FAQ #3), there are some other disturbing aspects to Twelfth Night. There are, for example, numerous references to madness and insanity, and we are given a look at the treatment afforded to "lunatics" by society when Malvolio...
[The entire page is 142 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
- Twelfth Night: Introduction
- Twelfth Night: Summary
- Twelfth Night: William Shakespeare Biography
- Twelfth Night: Reading Shakespeare
- Twelfth Night: List of Characters
- Twelfth Night: Historical Background
-
Twelfth Night: Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 3 Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 4 Summary and Analysis
- Act I, Scene 5 Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 3 Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 4 Summary and Analysis
- Act II, Scene 5 Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 3 Summary and Analysis
- Act III, Scene 4 Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 2 Summary and Analysis
- Act IV, Scene 3 Summary and Analysis
- Act V, Scene 1 Summary and Analysis
-
Twelfth Night: Quizzes
- Act I, Scene 1 Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 2 Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 3 Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 4 Questions and Answers
- Act I, Scene 5 Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scene 1 Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scene 2 Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scene 3 Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scene 4 Questions and Answers
- Act II, Scene 5 Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 1 Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 2 Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 3 Questions and Answers
- Act III, Scene 4 Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 1 Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 2 Questions and Answers
- Act IV, Scene 3 Questions and Answers
- Act V, Scene 1 Questions and Answers
- Twelfth Night: Essential Passages
- Twelfth Night: Themes
-
Twelfth Night: Character Analysis
- Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Character Analysis)
- Sir Toby Belch (Character Analysis)
- Fabian (Character Analysis)
- Feste the Clown (Character Analysis)
- Malvolio (Character Analysis)
- Maria (Character Analysis)
- Olivia (Character Analysis)
- Orsino (Character Analysis)
- Sebastian (Character Analysis)
- Viola (Character Analysis)
- Antonio (Character Analysis)
- Other Characters (Analysis)
- Twelfth Night: Principal Topics
- Twelfth Night: Essays
- Twelfth Night: Criticism
- Twelfth Night: Selected Quotes
- Twelfth Night: Suggested Essay Topics
- Twelfth Night: Sample Essay Outlines
- Twelfth Night: Modern Connections
- Twelfth Night: FAQs
- Twelfth Night: Bibliography and Further Reading
- Twelfth Night: Pictures
- Copyright
Tell a friend about Twelfth Night at eNotes.
