How does William Shakespeare use gender confusion and the art of disguise in ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Twelfth Night or What You Will’?

1486 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Nature of shakespeare comedies

Many of Shakespeare’s plays involve some form of disguise as a plot device and in my opinion the two which use this to the greatest effect are ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘As You Like It’. In addition, of all of Shakespeare’s works these two plays are two of most significant with regards to relying on gender confusion for comic effect. In this essay I will explore both the similarities and differences that can be found within these plays and the significance of their uses.
Firstly, it is important to put the play into context. At the time when Shakespeare wrote both plays women were not allowed to perform on stage, thus every character was played by a man. The use of male actors for every part contributes greatly to the confusion of the audience and also for many of the actors on stage. It brings about the idea of uncertainty of gender, also illustrating that gender is something that can be ‘performed’ and impersonated through the means of costumes, voices, mannerisms; in other words, disguises. Gender is something that can be influenced, with regards to how you act, as appose to something that you are, referring to the more physical aspects that are associated with the different genders.
The relationship between performance and gender is even more complex in both ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘As You Like It’, more so than most of Shakespeare’s other plays. These complications are expressed well by Andrew Normington, the director of a recent production of ‘As You Like It’ by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, who continue to perform Shakespeare’s works as they were originally presented, with all the characters represented by men. He writes, “A boy plays a girl, who disguises herself as a boy, and pretends to be a girl in order to woo a boy, who doesn’t k...

... middle of paper ...

... be. Here it is “greatness” that is referred to as the guise that we take on, but it is highlighted that sometimes we must undertake roles that we do not necessarily want and that are forced upon us. This quote has much significance not only with regards to actors on a stage, who are sometimes given roles they do not want, but also to real life, when we find ourselves in situations not to our liking. But, as with many roles, we must step up to face the challenge in order to meet with our desired goals.
The plots of both plays represent confusion on the highest level, which is not helped by the fact that, especially in Shakespeare’s day, many actors played more than one character. This reflects both the lack of money that was in the theatre at the time and also, despite theatre being such a large source of entertainment, it was not a popular tradition to enter in to.

Show More
Related

  • Gender Casting In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night By William Shakespeare

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play Twelfth Night, or What You Will by William Shakespeare is a 1601 comedy that has proven to be the source of experimentation in gender casting in the early twenty-first century due to its portrayal of gender in love and identity. The play centrally revolves around the love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola. However, Olivia and Orsino both believe Viola is a boy named Cesario. Ironically, only male actors were on the stage in Shakespeare’s time. This means that Olivia, Viola, and other female characters were played by young boys who still had voices at higher pitches than older males.

    Read More

  • The Taming of the Shrew and Henry V by Shakespeare

    2326 Words  | 5 Pages

    Upon reading Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and Henry V, I have noticed that the issue of gender ideology and identity has been an intriguing study in both Shakespearean comedies and histories. These traditional Western views have, in a sense deemed which roles are appropriate and socially acceptable, in regards to both males and females. This practice of ‘social typecasting’ has given men and women certain socially acceptable characteristics, which has influenced how they should think and act. In this essay I take an in-depth look regarding how Shakespeare dealt with gender identity, and if certain characters in The Taming of the Shrew and Henry V accepted their socially predetermined gender identity or if they rejected it.

    Read More

  • Gender Identity And Alternative Sexualities In Twelfth Night, By William Shakespeare

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    This paper will look at the different conceptions highlighted by Bulman in his article through the use of different methods used by the actors in the play. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare captures the different conceptions of gender identity and different sexualities within the Elizabethan period.

    Read More

  • Much Ado About Nothing - A Feminist Perspective

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    The characters in the comedy are not realistic, and those that could have been were transformed throughout the course of events depicted. The most trouble with the play, however, seems to come from the representation of the female characters, particularly in comparison with the males. It seems almost that the female characters are written off, rather than merely written out. The male characters of the play are given higher roles, and their characters are followed more faithfully, further proving its chauvinistic composition. The title of the play even suggests a sexist nature in its possible Elizabethan reference to the female genitalia. The play seems to reflect the common thought of its era concerning the social stat...

    Read More

  • The Roaring Girl

    3981 Words  | 8 Pages

    Though its primary function is usually plot driven--as a source of humor and a means to effect changes in characters through disguise and deception—cross dressing is also a sociological motif involving gendered play. My earlier essay on the use of the motif in Shakespeare's plays pointed out that cross dressing has been discussed as a symptom of "a radical discontinuity in the meaning of the family" (Belsey 178), as cul-tural anxiety over the destabilization of the social hierarchy (Baker, Howard, Garber), as the means for a woman to be assertive without arousing hostility (Claiborne Park), and as homoerotic arousal (Jardine). This variety of interpretations suggests the multivoiced character of the motif, but before approaching the subject of this essay, three clarifica- tions are necessary at the outset.

    Read More

  • Gender In Macbeth Essay

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity suggests that there is a distinction between “sex, as a biological facticity, and gender, as the cultural interpretation or signification of that facticity” (Butler, 522). Performing certain actions that society associates with a specific gender marks you as that gender. In this way, gender is socially constructed. Alfar defines the societal expectation of women as the “constant and unquestioning feminine compliance with the desires of the masculine” (114). Considering Macbeth from a modern perspective and taking this distinction into account, it is necessary to determine if the play is concerned with sex or with gender. Before the action of the play even begins, the audience is warned that “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1.11). The first scene of the play casts the world of Macbeth as a land where everything is opposite or disordered. This line at the very start of the play cautions audiences to not take the play at face value because things are not always as they appear to be. Because of this, “all the binaries become complicated, divisions blurred. Thus the binary nature of gender identities, male/female, is eliminated” (Reaves 14). In the world of Macbeth, the typical gender constructions are manipulated and atypical. If the play does not deal with sex, the qualities of Lady Macbeth cannot be applied to all women but rather, representative of society’s construction of gender, “the patriarch, and the limited, restrictive roles of women” (Reaves 11). Within this reading of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s examination and questioning of gender construction allows modern day readers to recognize the enduring relevance of

    Read More

  • Status, Gender, and Social Roles in William Shakespeare's Plays

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    The nexus of status, gender, and societal roles are consistently topics of interest among people, and can be found throughout the plays of William Shakespeare. More evident in their original production, however, through modern renditions and personal interpretation of readings these topics reoccur often His work dictated specific roles for men and women. Through analyzing said roles one can derive insights regarding the esteem of women and how the relative devaluing of women shaped normal gender roles. However, Shakespeare provides conflicting interpretations, dependent upon the light in which his work is read. Among the possible differing interpretations of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” stands a reoccurring argument throughout history of, men vs. women in a battle of status/power. After reading the play one could make the argument that women are inferior to their counterparts, however, at the same time, the argument could be made that women have more power than men, and both positions be considered accurate.

    Read More

  • The Portaryal of Gender in Othello by William Shakespeare

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Gender on Shakespeare's Othello

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Impact of Gender on Shakespeare’s Othello. In the book “Gender Trouble” (1990), feminist theorist Judith Butler explains “gender is not only a social construct, but also a kind of performance such as a show we put on, a costume or disguise we wear” (Butler). In other words, gender is a performance, an act, and costumes, not the main aspect of essential identity. By understanding this theory of gender as an act, performance, we can see how gender has greatly impacted the outcome of the play in William Shakespeare’s Othello.

    Read More

  • Explore the ways in which Hamlet makes use of the idea or motif of theatrical performance

    1420 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hamlet makes use of the idea of theatrical performance through characters presenting themselves falsely to others – from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spying on Hamlet to gain favor with the King, to Hamlet himself playing the part of a madman – and through the play within the play, The Mousetrap. This essay will discuss the ways in which Hamlet explores the idea of theatrical performance, ‘acting’, through analysis of the characters and the ‘roles’ they adopt, specifically that of Hamlet and Claudius. The idea, or the theme of theatrical performance is not an uncommon literary element of Shakespearean works, the most famous of which to encompass this idea being As You Like It. This essay will also briefly explore the ways in which Hamlet reminds its audience of the stark difference between daily life and dramatization of life in the theatre.

    Read More

  • Sexuality in Shakespeare's As You Like It

    2612 Words  | 6 Pages

    Brown, Steve. 'The Boyhood of Shakespeare's Heroines: Notes on Gender Ambiguity in The Sixteenth Century.' Studies In English Literature 30 (Spring 1990): 243-264.

    Read More

  • Gender in Shakespeare's As You Like It

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most intriguing aspects of the treatment of love in As You Like It concerns the issue of gender. And this issue, for obvious reasons, has generated a special interest in recent times. The principal reason for such a thematic concern in the play is the cross dressing and role playing. The central love interest between Rosalind and Orlando calls into question the conventional wisdom about men's and women's gender roles and challenges our preconceptions about these roles in courtship, erotic love, and beyond.

    Read More

  • Gender and Politics in Shakespeare's As You Like It

    1815 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gender issues and social commentary are especially relevant in published criticism of Shakespeare's As You Like It since the beginning of the 1990's, as evidenced by the number of articles published in scholarly journals during the past twelve years.   Janet Gupton's review in Theatre Journal, published in 2001as well as Louise Schleiner's article in the Shakespeare Quarterly in the fall of 1999, both deal with the treatment of gender-subjectivity.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Shakespeare

    1889 Words  | 4 Pages

    As the roles were essentially cemented into the culture, manipulations such as crossovers provide a source of conflict and intrigue into the narrative of the plays. Two of Shakespea...

    Read More

  • Disguises and Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mistaken identity and disguise are important aspects of comedy in Twelfth Night that stand at the forefront of the play’s comedy. Not only are mistaken identities and disguise evident within the main plot of the play but also in various other situations. Sexual confusion amongst characters, subversion of gender roles and farcical elements through stagecraft all effectively contribute to the dramatic comedy genre. However, it can be suggested that certain elements of Twelfth Night are not interpreted to be purely comedic; Shakespeare has incorporated serious and controversial subjects such as the idea of genuine love, the patriarchy of the time and the cruel gulling of Malvolio. Therefore, disguise and mistaken identity are not solely for the purpose of comedy and it could be inferred that it even borders on the genre of tragedy.

    Read More

More about How does William Shakespeare use gender confusion and the art of disguise in ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Twelfth Night or What You Will’?

Open Document