Twelfth Night’s Inspiration and Consequenting Inspiration Stranded on the island of Illyria, Shakespeare’s Viola puts her hope in a plan to become the boy Cesario.
Viola “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid For such disguise as haply shall become The form of my intent.” (Shakespeare Act I, scene ii, line 53)
Disguise, masquerade, opposite of intention; in many ways, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is the authority on concealment. At the turn of the 16th century, the distinguished comedy depicts twins Viola and Sebastian lost at sea. Viola cross-dresses as a man, attaining a job with Duke Orsino. Romantic turmoil, plot entanglement, mistaken identities, and confusion ensue concluding with love as the victor (Shakespeare). Despite the play’s
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These elements and at times the exact plot are felt throughout history both before and after the conception of the comedy. Shakespeare’s own observations of preceding literary works, whether consciously or unconsciously, provided a basis. Following this, Twelfth Night serves as the basis for modern works. The idea of structuralism is that “the true nature of things may be said to lie not in the things themselves, but in the relationships which we construct and then perceive between them” (Hawkes). Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is significant because it has made a contribution to what Foster refers to as the one story of literature. It was contributed to by preceding authors, contributed by Shakespeare, and is still contributing to new readers and authors. Twelfth Night has a structure that is a replication of the same story, but it is that story that will be continuously replicated. Twelfth Night is a wave, that has been built by in the wake of others, and is still contributing to the motion of the literary expanse. In examining Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night under a structuralist lens, the play’s relational significance becomes evident through texts that both inspired and have been inspired by the
Twelfth Night, written by Shakespeare between the years of 1599 and 1601 (“Shakespeare-Online”), is easily one of his most well-known plays. A year after the assumed date of publication, on February the 2nd of 1602, Twelfth Night was performed for the first time (“William-Shakespeare)”. The location of the production is thought to have taken place in the Middle Temple, which was one of four law schools within London that were known as the Inns of Court (“Shakespeare-Online”). Though some would classify Twelfth Night as generic, it is laced with a sharp sense of humor and controversial concerns that can easily be applied to the issues of present day. Many of these issues, such as marriage, gender identity, gender, homosexuality, and social ambition, are relevant in today’s society, making them easy to relate to.
are even made in the same way and from the same fabrics that were used
In William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, the use of mistaken identity and role reversal communicates that gender roles and social class are constructed illusions that trick people into having unrealistic expectations about how they are supposed behave.Viola crossdressing as Cesario in the play challenges traditional views of how a woman of her status should act.The differences between the accepted clothing for an individual emphasizes gender roles and social hierarchy in society. During the Renaissance, “ the idea of two genders, one subordinate to the other, provided a key element in its hierarchical view of the social order and to buttress its gendered division of labor” (Howard 423).
In Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, gender identity and alternative sexualities are highlighted through the depiction of different characters and personalities. In the play, Viola disguises herself as a man thereby raising a merry-go-around of relationships that are actually based on a lie rather than actual fact. Viola attracts the attention of Olivia since she thinks that Viola is a man but even more fascinating is the fact that Orsino is attracted to Viola although he thinks that she is a man. In another twist Viola is attracted to Orsino and has fell in love with him although their love cannot exist since Orsino thinks that Viola is a man.
upon her. She knew she had fallen in love with Duke Orsino and had the
Andrew is funny, it is not intentional. His faults include a lack of wit, a
Cesario is actually shipwrecked Viola, believing her brother had drowned. dressed up as a man to work for Orsino. Viola consequently falls in. love with Orsino, who believes her to be Cesario. In addition, the adage is a remark.
Orsino’s view of love is that he is in love with love itself and he
William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night In the last act of the play the plot entanglements and confusions are not only sorted out but, also reach their climax. To do this all the plots that have been occurring throughout the play are brought together in one final conclusion. The various plot entanglements are sorted out in what is generally thought to be a happy ending, for instance:- Viola, who is under the mistaken identity of Caesario, finally reveals her true identity because Sebastian has appeared therefore everyone else thinks they are seeing two Ceasario's. By Viola doing this, she can finally reveal to Orsino that she loves him.
Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night revolves around a love triangle that continually makes twists and turns like a rollercoaster, throwing emotions here and there. The characters love each another, but the common love is absent throughout the play. Then, another character enters the scene and not only confuses everyone, bringing with him chaos that presents many different themes throughout the play. Along, with the emotional turmoil, each character has their own issues and difficulties that they must take care of, but that also affect other characters at same time. Richard Henze refers to the play as a “vindication of romance, a depreciation of romance…a ‘subtle portrayal of the psychology of love,’ a play about ‘unrequital in love’…a moral comedy about the surfeiting of the appetite…” (Henze 4) On the other hand, L. G. Salingar questions all of the remarks about Twelfth Night, asking if the remarks about the play are actually true. Shakespeare touches on the theme of love, but emphases the pain and suffering it causes a person, showing a dark and dismal side to a usually happy thought.
Shakespeare uses a play on words and symbols. that the jester is smarter than the rich and educated people he works with for. Twelfth Night, like all Shakespearean comedies, is largely about social concerns. The social messages on Twelfth Night are largely about that no one should be judged on appearance as they can be deceptive and the importance of self awareness or the humour in lack of.
The liminality in performing Twelfth Night lies in sexual ambiguity on the stage. It enables a boy actor to play viola's role and disguised as a boy who is wooing another boy who plays a female role . The audience sees no more than a p...
Twelfth Night or What You Will is one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies. It has been performed hundreds of times and adapted into a number of modern films. The main plot of the play follows Viola, a girl who is rescued from a shipwreck and enters into the service of the Duke Orsino disguised as a man. Rising quickly in his estimation, Viola begins delivering messages of love on his behalf to Olivia, a noble woman who has no interest in Orsino’s advances. Over the course of the play Olivia falls in love with the disguised Viola, Viola falls in love with Orsino, and Viola’s twin brother Sebastian, who supposedly died in the shipwreck, returns. Following Sebastian’s return the twins are mistaken for each other, leading to both misunderstanding and marriage in the final scenes of the play. Alongside the main plot of Twelfth Night is an almost equally prominent subplot involving Malvolio, a servant of Olivia, who falls in love with her and who falls prey to a prank planned by the other members of the household who despise his abhorrence of fun. In the article “The Design of Twelfth Night” by L.G. Salingar, Salingar examines the plot and structure of the play and addresses the significance of the subplot. The purpose of this essay is to examine both evidence from the play and articles from other authors, with a focus on Salingar, who have written on the subject in order to determine the purpose of the subplot. In his article, Salingar comes to the conclusion that the purpose of the subplot is to provide a comic mirror of the main plot while amplifying the main themes of delusion, misrule and festivity. Salingar presents a solid argument, however he has neglected another lesser but significant element of the sub-plot which illustrate...
Throughout Twelfth Night, disguise and mistaken identity works as a catalyst for confusion and disorder which consistently contributes towards the dramatic comic genre of the play. Many characters in Twelfth Night assume disguises, beginning with Viola, who disguises herself as a man in order to serve Orsino, the Duke. By dressing his protagonist in male garments, Shakespeare creates ongoing sexual confusion with characters, which include Olivia, Viola and Orsino, who create a ‘love triangle’ between them. Implicitly, there is homoerotic subtext here: Olivia is in love with a woman, despite believing her to be a man, and Orsino often comments on Cesario’s beauty, which implies that he is attracted to Viola even before her male disguise is removed. However, even subsequent to the revealing of Viola’s true identity, Orsino’s declares his love to Viola implying that he enjoys lengthening the pretence of Vio...
I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you. Disguise is the main plot in Twelfth Night and without it the storyline would not have been possible as disguise was needed in order to create the Orsino, Viola, Olivia love triangle.