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Scene III

Olivia's house

[Enter Sir Toby and Sir Andrew.]

SIR TOBY:

Approach, Sir Andrew: not to be abed after midnight
is to be up betimes; and ‘diluculo surgere,’ thou know'st.

SIR ANDREW:

Nay; by my troth, I know not: but I know, to be
up late is to be up late.

SIR TOBY:

A false conclusion: I hate it as an unfilled can. To be(5)
up after midnight and to go to bed then, is early: so that to
go to bed after midnight is to go to bed betimes. Do not our
lives consist of the four elements?

SIR ANDREW:

Faith, so they say; but I think it rather consists of
eating and drinking.(10)

SIR TOBY:

Thou'rt a scholar; let us therefore eat and drink.
Marian, I say! a stoup of wine!

[Enter Clown]

SIR ANDREW:

Here comes the fool, i' faith.

CLOWN:

How now, my hearts. Did you never see the picture
of ‘we three’?(15)

SIR TOBY:

Welcome, ass. Now let's have a catch.

SIR ANDREW:

By my troth, the fool has an excellent breast.
I had rather than forty shillings I had such a leg, and so
sweet a breath to sing, as the fool has. In sooth, thou wast
in very gracious fooling last night, when thou spokest of(20)
Pigrogromitus, of the Vapians passing the equinoctial of
Queubus; 'twas very good, i' faith. I sent thee sixpence
for thy leman: hadst it?

CLOWN:

I did impeticos thy gratillity; for Malvolio's nose is no
whipstock: my lady has a white hand, and the Myrmidons(25)
are no bottle-ale houses.

SIR ANDREW:

Excellent! why, this is the best fooling, when all
is done. Now, a song.

SIR TOBY:

Come on; there is sixpence for you: let's have a
song.(30)

SIR ANDREW:

There's a testril of me too: if one knight give
a—

CLOWN:

Would you have a love-song, or a song of good life?

SIR TOBY:

A love-song, a love-song.

SIR ANDREW:

Ay, ay: I care not for good life.(35)

CLOWN:

[sings]

O, mistress mine, where are you roaming?
O, stay and hear; your true love's coming,
That can sing both high and low:
Trip no further, pretty sweeting;(40)
Journeys end in lovers meeting,
Every wise man's son doth know.

SIR ANDREW:

Excellent good, i' faith.

SIR TOBY:

Good, good.

CLOWN:

What is love? 'tis not hereafter;(45)
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What's to come is still unsure:
In delay there lies no plenty;
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty,(50)
Youth's a stuff will not endure.

SIR ANDREW:

A mellifluous voice, as I am true knight.

SIR TOBY:

A contagious breath.

SIR ANDREW:

Very sweet and contagious, i' faith.

SIR TOBY:

To hear by the nose, it is dulcet in contagion. But(55)
shall we make the welkin dance indeed? Shall we rouse
the night-owl in a catch that will draw three souls out of one
weaver?shall we do that?

SIR ANDREW:

An you love me, let's do't: I am dog at a catch.

CLOWN:

By'r lady, sir, and some dogs will catch well.(60)

SIR ANDREW:

Most certain. Let our catch be, ‘Thou knave.’

CLOWN:

‘Hold thy peace, thou knave’ knight? I shall be constrained
in't to call thee knave, knight.

SIR ANDREW:

'Tis not the first time I have constrained one to call
me knave. Begin, fool; it begins ‘Hold thy peace.’(65)

CLOWN:

I shall never begin if I hold my peace.

SIR ANDREW:

Good, i' faith! Come, begin.

[They sing a catch.]

[Enter Maria.]

MARIA:

What a caterwauling do you keep here! If my lady have
not called up her steward Malvolio and bid him turn you out
of doors, never trust me.(70)

SIR TOBY:

My lady's a Cataian, we are politicians; Malvolio's a
Peg-a-Ramsey, and [Singing.] ‘Three merry men be we.’Am
not I consanguineous? am I not of her blood? Tillyvalley,
Lady! [sings] ‘There dwelt a man in Babylon, lady, lady.’

CLOWN:

Beshrew me, the knight's in admirable fooling.(75)

SIR ANDREW:

Ay, he does well enough if he be disposed, and
so do I too; he does it with a better grace, but I do it more
natural.

SIR TOBY:

[Sings]

‘O, the twelfth day of December,’—

MARIA:

For the love o' God, peace!(80)

[Enter Malvolio.]

MALVOLIO:

My masters, are you mad? or what are you? Have ye
no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers
at this time of night? Do ye make an alehouse of my lady's
house, that ye squeak out your coziers' catches without
any mitigation or remorse of voice? Is there no respect of(85)
place, persons, nor time in you?

SIR TOBY:

We did keep time, sir, in our catches. Sneck up!

MALVOLIO:

Sir Toby, I must be round with you. My lady
bade me tell you, that, though she harbours you as her
kinsman, she's nothing allied to your disorders. If you can(90)
separate yourself and your misdemeanors, you are welcome
to the house; if not, an it would please you to take
leave of her, she is very willing to bid you farewell.

SIR TOBY:

‘Farewell, dear heart, since I must needs be gone.’

MARIA:

Nay, good Sir Toby.(95)

CLOWN:

‘His eyes do show his days are almost done.’

MALVOLIO:

Is't even so?

SIR TOBY:

‘But I will never die.’

CLOWN:

Sir Toby, there you lie.

MALVOLIO:

This is much credit to you.(100)

SIR TOBY:

‘Shall I bid him go?’

CLOWN:

‘What an if you do?’

SIR TOBY:

‘Shall I bid him go, and spare not?’

CLOWN:

‘O, no, no, no, no, you dare not.’

SIR TOBY:

Out o' tune, sir: ye lie. Art any more than a steward?(105)
Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there
shall be no more cakes and ale?

CLOWN:

Yes, by Saint Anne, and ginger shall be hot i' the
mouth too.

SIR TOBY:

Thou'rt i' the right. Go, sir, rub your chain with
crumbs. A stoup of wine, Maria!

MALVOLIO:

Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady's favour
at anything more than contempt, you would not give
means for this uncivil rule: she shall know of it, by
this hand.(115)

• early
• [Latin] “to get up at dawn”; the full phrase is diluculo surgere saluberrimum est, which means “to get up at dawn is most healthful”
• truly
• empty drinking cup
• earth, air, fire, and water
• cup, drinking vessel
• dear ones
• Feste is referring to a popular sign that was seen in front of Elizabethan taverns. The phrase “We three loggerheads be” was painted underneath a picture of two fools. (Loggerhead refers to a dolt or a fool.) The person reading the sign became the third fool.
• idiot
• song sung in the manner of a round
• singing ability
• referring to the line that marks the midway point between the northern and southern poles
• These are all terms made up by Sir Andrew, which are intended to sound like astrological terms.
• lover, sweetheart
• have you received it?
• Critics do not entirely agree on what Feste means to say, although it is most likely a bit of nonsense he is using in order to amuse Sir Andrew and Sir Toby. Aguecheek, in his response, pretends to understand the words completely, so the wordplay has worked. It might be translated to something like this: “I did pocket the tip you gave me, for Malvolio's nose is not a whip handle; my lady is pure, and the Myrmidons aren't cheap taverns.” In ancient Greek mythology, Myrmidons were the faithful followers of Achilles. However, in this context, it seems that Myrmidons refers to the name of a tavern.
• sixpence (unit of money)
• smoothly flowing
• sweet sounding to the point of sickness
• sky
• Since weavers were well known to be good singers, Sir Toby means that the men should sing as loudly and enthusiastically as weavers.
• expert, well-versed
• By our lady (meaning the Virgin Mary)
• a rogue or villain
• obliged, compelled
• loud shrieking; unpleasant noise making
• Cataian was a derogatory term for a Chinese person. Peg-a-Ramsey refers to a song titled Bonny Peggy Ramsey in which the heroine is a pretty girl who is also quite crude and immoral. It appears that Sir Toby is speaking ironically of Malvolio, since Malvolio's character is completely opposite that of the song's heroine. Three merry men be we refers to a song, which was popular during the time in which the play was written.
• of the same blood
• Nonsense
• a reference to an old English ballad titled The Constancy of Susanna
• Curse me
• willing, inclined
• menders of broken objects (used derogatorily)
• cobblers
• alleviation; lessening of intensity or severity
• an exclamation which literally means “go get hanged”
• plain, honest
• a reference to another old English ballad titled Corydon's Farewell to Phyllis; Sir Toby and Feste sing the song back and forth to each other for the next several lines.
• you are lying
• a household manager
• “You're nothing more than a server. Do you think that simply because you're virtuous, no one else should be able to enjoy any more food?” Sir Toby speaks these lines to Malvolio. This passage illuminates the character of Malvolio and the fact that, throughout the play, Malvolio is the prudish antagonist who always tries to ruin everyone's fun.
• Ginger was thought to reduce the effects of alcohol when it was used to flavor drinks.
• In his duty of household steward, Malvolio carries a set of keys on a chain with him. Sir Toby is insulting Malvolio by proposing that Malvolio rub his chain with crumbs. Since crumbs are bits of wasted bread, Sir Toby is essentially reminding Malvolio of his lower class status.
• resources opportunities
• disorderly conduct
• a mild oath, like “I pledge”

1. Strategies for Understanding Shakespeare's Language
2. Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights
3. Dramatis Personæ
4. Act I
   1. Scene I
   2. Scene II
   3. Scene III
   4. Scene IV
   5. Scene V
5. Act II
   1. Scene I
   2. Scene II
   3. Scene III
   4. Scene IV
   5. Scene V
6. Act III
   1. Scene I
   2. Scene II
   3. Scene III
   4. Scene IV
7. Act IV
   1. Scene I
   2. Scene II
   3. Scene III
8. Act V
   1. Scene I
9. Copyright

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