This one was another fairly typical Shakespeare comedy, at least in my probably misinformed estimation. It had all of the elements seen before: mistaken identities, gender-bending disguise, foolishness from Fools, and the like. I found the play enigmatic on many levels, most notably in the treatment of the pompous character Malvolio, who is positively tortured in the later Acts, to apparent comic effect. To me, not so much. I had a hard time connecting with the comedy involved in locking a guy in a dark room with the ultimate goal of driving him mad. It must be said that this probably would have played very well in 15th century London, the harsh take down of a pompous lower-class character acting high-class. Apparently, audiences back then had little patience for such arrogance and would have eaten this sort of thing up. As for me, I guess I’m a bit soft, but it just came across as harsh and mean. But hey, who am I to say?
Concerning the play in general, I will freely admit that I had a problem engaging in this one and am puzzled as to why. It is highly regarded and still performed quite frequently (indeed, I was able to take a trip down to DC to see a live production). Something about it just did not grab me, and I have a sneaking suspicion it may have to do with a bit of burn out on The Bard (God forbid!), for which there is only one remedy: a break. So, as notification to the meager lot that is my audience, I am taking a few weeks off before starting Troilus and Cressida. Call it a summer vacation. Something tells me this so-called “problem play” will need extra attention and it just feels wrong to jump into it in my present state of mind. Also, I really want to focus on another entirely different (or is it?) book: the most excellent, best-of-the-series third book in Rick Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy. This one deserves full attention. One thing I fully guarantee you is that I will be back in a few weeks, or maybe even before then, perhaps to post on some Shakespeare-related things not specifically about “the next play” in the list. So check back often. I’m sure you can hardly wait.
