Who Is Sir Toby Belch

Sir Toby Belch is somewhat of a complex character. In the scenes that Toby is present in, he shows many different sides of himself. He can be very childish at times and doesn't follow anyone’s rules but his own. Sir Toby can be intelligent and he shows this through his wit and humor throughout the entire play. Lastly, he is a drunk that uses Sir Andrew for his wealth to get him into certain events so he can enjoy excessive amounts of alcohol. Sir Toby Belch is a character with many different personality traits such as being a drunk, having the ability to be obnoxious but witty, and acting rebellious.

Sir Toby enjoys alcohol immensely. In the very first scene that we are introduced to Toby he is indisposed and throughout most of the play, he is drunk. “With drinking health to my niece. I’ll drink to her as long as there is a passage in my throat and drink in Illyria.” (1.3 17) In this passage Sir Toby reveals one of the main reasons that he drinks. He doesn’t want Olivia to undergo the same disastrous fate that most of her family has had. Although drinking is a main part of Sir Toby’s life at the end of the play he reveals that he has stopped his abysmal drinking habits due to his recent marriage to Maria. This proves that he has the ability to change for the people he cares for, which proves the complexity of his character. …show more content…
Even when Toby is under the influence of alcohol he can still be very sharp. During the whole play he is portrayed as loud, disrespectful, and very funny at times. “... I hope to see a huswife take thee between her legs and spin it off.” (1.3 21) In this quote Toby is using his wit to poke fun at Sir Andrew. He is essentially telling Sir Andrew that he hopes he gets syphilis and goes bald. This quote demonstrates just how witty and rude that Sir Toby can