Twelfth Night: Ring, Letter, and Mary Queen of Scots
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night , there is a curious exchange of a message with a ring, spread over multiple scenes: 1.5: Olivia sends Malvolio with a ring (of her own) and a message, claiming (falsely) that Cesario (Viola in disguise) had delivered it for Duke Orsino [1]. But it was not actually Orsino's ring as Olivia claims to Malvolio; it was Olivia's ring, so this lie to Malvolio is like a kind of forgery. - Malvolio is to "return" the ring to Cesario - who never actually gave it in the first place - and who (Olivia says) should return it to Orsino. - Actually, Olivia wants an excuse for Cesario to return, since Oliva enjoys Cesario’s company. - Malvolio is to tell Cesario only to come back if it is to report how Duke Orsino received the ring. The rest of this unfolds in 2.2 (ring delivered to a dumbfounded Cesario) and 3.1 (Olivia apologizes for any confusion or dishonor caused by the ring conceit) [2]. In October of 2020, Alicia Hughes of the University of Gl...