II.ii, Maria comes on laughing about what Malvolio is like. She says 'if you desire the spleen and will laugh yourself into stitches, follow me; yond gull Malvolio is turned into a heathen' which shows the reader Malvolio looks stupid and is the type of character to be laughed at.
             When Malvolio finds the letter in II.v, it shows dramatic irony, as we know that the letter is from Maria not Olivia. This can be compared to III.iv, when Maria says 'why appear you with this ridiculous boldness before my lady?' She pretends as if she doesn't know what's going on when really it was her cunning plan and tricks to begin with. In II.iii, Malvolio
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