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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Act 4, Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of the play is zany and chaotic, full of scenes of confusion and mistaken identity. In one comedic scene, for example, the paranoid cloth-merchant Kitely misinterprets the innocent words of his wife, Dame Kitely, suspecting her of making various sexual double entendres:
DAME KITELY
Indeed, he seemed to be a gentleman of an exceeding fair disposition, and of very excellent good parts!KITELY
Her love, by heaven! My wife's minion!
Fair disposition? Excellent good parts?
Death, these phrases are intolerable!
Good parts? How should she know his parts?
His parts? Well, well, well, well, well, well!
It is too plain, too clear. Thomas, come hither.
What, are they gone?
Dame Kitely praises the young gentleman Edward Knowell, acknowledging his “excellent good parts,” or in other words, his positive attributes. Kitely, however, has become increasingly suspicious that his wife is conducting an affair, or even multiple affairs, with other men. In his paranoid state, he hears “excellent good parts” and interprets this as a complimentary reference to the size of his “private parts” or genitals. Immediately, he begins to wonder how she should know anything about "his parts" and insists that it is “too plain, too clear” that she is sleeping with him, despite having no evidence of this claim. This is just one of the many scenes of confusion and misinterpretation that contribute to the zany and chaotic tone of the play, in which characters reach absurd conclusions based upon their own exaggerated personalities.
Related Themes:
