If the previous scene provided a glimpse of the dour nature of Malvolio, this scene establishes him as a spoilsport, as well as something of a tyrant. He rudely interrupts the merrymaking activities of Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Feste the clown, and Maria. Interestingly, before Malvolio joins them, Maria, too, has asked the three men to quiet down so as not to disturb her sleeping mistress. But her rebuke does not raise tempers as Malvolio’s does. He is said to overstep his boundaries (he is a servant of Olivia, after all) when he chastises them all for being rowdy. They never call Maria on that; she’s a woman, of lower class, but an equal. She is able to hold her own. To compound the unattractiveness of this character, Malvolio is described as a Puritan. Puritans were the archenemies of dramatists, including Shakespeare. Play acting, and indeed drama in general, were regarded by Puritans as sinful, essentially a lie. Thus, their desire to close the theatres threatened Shakespeare’s very livelihood.

Although Sir Toby is content to openly show his contempt for Malvolio’s orders, Maria thinks of a better way to get back at him, in the process endearing himself to both Sir Toby and the audience.

Shakespeare throws an interesting question to the audience via Feste, the clown. Feste is often the voice of reason and wisdom, although no character in the play takes him seriously. As the scene begins, Feste asks the two gentlemen what kind of a song they would like to hear him sing.

(Lines 36-39)

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

Toby: A love song, a love song.

Andrew: Ay, ay, I care not for good life.

These lines are interesting to note for their commentary on love: Feste asks whether the men would like to hear a song about love or about “good life,” which could mean morality or happiness. Either way, Shakespeare seems to be suggesting that love is antithetical to those ideas.

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