Shakespeare’s play ‘Twelfth night’ offers insight into the universal folly of humankind, as the theme of folly is prevalent throughout the play. Humans are shown to be foolish in both their love and their grief, which can be seen throughout the character of Olivia.
The majority of the characters fulfil the traditional role of a fool, with their speech and actions causing them to have the recognised behaviour patterns that have been attributed to fools throughout history.
Twelfth night can be seen as inspired by Robert Armin’s interest in fools; David Wiles highlighted that ‘Armin’s interest in fools allowed Shakespeare to tap one of the richest veins in the medieval dramatic tradition: the idea that the vice