"Twelfth Night's MOAI: Le Solution pour Maria's 'Fustian Riddle'"
https://www.worldshakesbib.org/entry/bbbo213/
Author:
	Jones, Brett.
Type:
	Journal Article
Year:
	2023
Publication Information:
	Notes and Queries 70, no. 3 (2023): 170–74.
DOI:
	10.1093/notesj/gjad043
Annotation:
	Contends that Maria's letter in Twelfth Night that reads "M.O.A.I doth sway my life" can be deciphered when considered in French, where "A" sounds like "et" ("and") and so would mean "M, O, and I," that is, "moi" ("me"). Notes that "Her c’s, her u’s, and her t’s" likewise includes "a pun on the penultimate letter and a conjunction." Suggests that Twelfth Night's characters can be divided into "two groups: those who can understand these linguistic games (Sir Toby and Fabian) and those who are defeated (Malvolio and Sir Andrew)."
Language:
	English
Keywords:
	riddle
Tags:
	Scholarship, Criticism, History of Criticism, Twelfth Night
WSB Update:
	Summer 2025
WSB Record Number:
	bbbo213