This inkshedding activity is focused on a quote from Sir Toby in Act II, Scene 3, Line 5. They are discussing the hour and whether or not it is wise to retire for the night/early morning.
Sir Toby: "A false conclusion. I hate it as an unfilled can. To be 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. Does not our lives consist of the four elements?"
Prior to this quote, Sir Andrew is explaining to Sir Toby that they are up too late at night. Sir Toby is explaining in this quote that they are not up too late, but in fact, they are up early in the morning. The quote "A false conclusion. I hate it as an unfilled can" refers to Sir Toby hating Sir Andrew's logic as much as he hates an empty drinking glass. This proves his infatuation with all things food and alcohol-related. Sir Toby goes on to say, "To be 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." He believes it unnecessary for them to go to bed because the day is already in full swing. They wouldn't be going to bed late; they would be going to bed early. Sir Toby's quick chat about the four elements at the end serves as a justification of his statement. Everyone is made up of the four elements, meaning, staying up really late/early doesn't change. The earth goes on with all of its elements despite what people have to say about it. Therefore, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew should just remain awake according to Sir Toby. His philosophical outburst does not last long, for Sir Andrew goes on to say that life is solely made up of food and alcohol. They agree and continue on with their boisterous behavior.
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I do not fully undertand the four elements part of this quote because Toby and Andrew seem too dopey to think so philosophically. However, this quote was analyzed perfectly and Julie did a great job of tying it together with what it means.
ReplyDeleteSir Toby trys to twist and justify for his wanting to be a party boy he just wants to just keep drinking and eating. He wishes not to be bothered by the seriousness of anything, he just wants to do what he wants to do, and when he wants to do it.
ReplyDeleteI often find myself trying to answer the same question that Sir Toby and Sir Andrew were trying to answer. I'll be up at 3 am trying to decide if I should go to sleep because it's so late, or stay up because I have class in only a couple hours.
ReplyDeleteI was told once that even if its after midnight, if you haven't gone to sleep the previous day has not ended and a new day cannot start. It can be a huge personal battle to decide when to sleep and/or to just stay awake. Even though we are made up of "the four elements", in order to prevent depletion of any or all of these elements, we have to be considerate and ration how much and how often we use them up. Sleeping can serve as a way to help conserve our elements.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with this description of thw quote. I think I infact did comment on this quote yesterday in class and shed some light on the going to bed early/late scenario. Its kind of interesting to see your ideas up there influencing someone else's work. One thing that I had no idea about was the "four elements" part of the quote. I think it's kind of interesting how you see it as his philosophical view on it. I had absolutely no idea how to take that part of the quote.
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