Biblical Allusion

Act 1 Scene 5 Line 22

“Apt, in good faith, very apt. Well go thy way. If Sir Toby would leave drinking, thou wert be as
witty a piece of Eve’s flesh as any in Illyria.”

Feste referred to Maria as witty for a remark she made. He downplayed this by saying that she
would be the wittiest person in Illyria if Sir Toby were to stop drinking, which is something very
unlikely to occur since Sir Toby was portrayed as a drunkard in the play.

He alluded to Eve from the Bible. Eve was witty as she was able to persuade Adam to eat the
apple in the Garden of Eden.

He described Eve’s wit to be so much that even a piece of her flesh would be witty. He
compared this to Maria’s wit. Meaning that although Maria may have wit, it cannot compare with
Eve’s. Maria would be lucky to be as witty as a piece of Eve’s flesh if Sir Toby stopped drinking.
Allusion to Greek Mythology (Keiara and Adya)

“Jove knows I love, But who? Lips, do not move. No man must know.” (Act 2, Scene 5)

Malvolio believes that the God of Jupiter, Jove, is responsible for his success in love since, in
the garden, he received a letter, supposedly from Olivia, who confessed her ‘love’ for him.
However, the letter was actually written by Maria, with the help of the rest of the pranksters.

Significance at that point in the play:

This contributed to the richness of the play’s imagery since the audience, the Elizabethans,
were familiar with such references. This line allowed the audience to gain a better
understanding of Malvolio’s positive response to the prank played by: Maria, Sir Toby and Sir
Andrew

Significance to the plot and the character/ speaker (Malvolio):

The letter contributed to the subsequent torture of Malvolio when he was sent to a dark cell by
Olivia after she saw him in yellow cross-gartered stockings. This disposition was out of the
ordinary for a steward. Although he thanked God (Jove) for the letter, the letter actually was the
rising action to a series of unfortunate events for Malvolio himself.