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Literary criticism and analysis of twelfth night
Literary criticism and analysis of twelfth night
Literary criticism and analysis of twelfth night
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William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which is commonly believed to criticize society’s romanticized idea of love, demonstrates that even though love may seem unachievable, it is still possible to find it even in the most unlikely places. Shakespeare illustrates this idea in Twelfth Night through the characters Antonio and Sebastian by subtly suggesting that Antonio and Sebastian are more than just friends. It is Sebastian’s physical beauty that attracts Antonio to him, which leads him to devote himself to Sebastian as a sign of love. Antonio’s love for Sebastian grows to obsession; however Sebastian considers their friendship to be completely plutonic. In addition Sebastian generally tries to save Antonio from his own desire; however he does a bad job by leading him on unintentionally due to his passive nature. Antonio is so mesmerized by Sebastian’s beauty that he states, “If you will not murder me for my love, let me be your servant” (2.1.35).Antonio is becoming obsessed with Sebastian and cannot stand the idea of not spending time with him, that he begs him to let him be his servant so he can accompany Sebastian and serve him in any way possible. His desire to serve Sebastian comes from his obsession with him. Antonio extreme obsession for Sebastian stems from the Elizabethan connection between good looks and a good soul. Sebastian tries to prevent this firm devotion but pleads with Antonio: “Crave[s] of [his] leave, that [he] may bear [his] evils alone”(2.1.5-6).(Insert Analysis for the previous quote). Sebastian advises Antonio to “Fare ye well at once”(2.1.39) in an effort to prevent him any injury that Sebastian’s venture might bring. After hearing this Antonio is still adamant about attending Orsino’s court as well; “B...
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...d offers to fight for Cesario, mistaking him for Sebastian. When caught by the Count’s officers, he asks Cesario for the return of some money he lent Sebastian, but of course Cesario has no idea who he is. Believing himself betrayed he soon hates who he used to love.
It is hard to determine between love and lust and how it still is not evident if Antonio was meant to be gay or if he was simply in love with Sebastian's beauty, his feminine beauty as was Orsino with Cesario beauty. In conclusion the character Sebastian had female qualities such as his passive nature that attracts Antonio to him. Passiveness that attracted Antonio to him ,but it was these qualities that Antonio loved that caused him to get his heart broken.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night Or, What You Will. New York, New York: New American Library, 1998. Print.
First, and probably most important are the three sources of understanding for Antonio. First, there is Ultima, who serves as a neutral source of understanding and comforter for Antonio. The next source of understanding for Antonio is God. Antonio constantly struggles to understand good and evil through the eyes of the Catholic God. The final source of understanding for Antonio is the golden carp. The golden carp seems to be the alternative to believing in God throughout this novel. Antonio is constantly conflicted between God and the golden carp. When this conflict gets to be too much for Antonio, he goes to see Ultima. "I felt more attached to Ultima than to my own mother. Ultima told me the stories and legends of my ancestors. From her I learned the glory and the tragedy of the history of my people, and I came to understand how that history stirred in my blood" (128). This quote illustrates the point that Ultima serves as a crucial part of Antonio's learning and understanding experiences. Antonio feels closer to Ultima than to his own mother, so naturally she is going to have a key hand in influencing him. Just as she serves to mediate his conflicts between the golden carp and God, she mediates between his Luna and Márez blood.
events in his life. And Antonio acknowledge this, that he asks the same questions and looks to
In Antonio’s first dream, Ultima states that “[she] pulled this baby into the light of life, so [she] will bury the afterbirth and the cord that once linked him to eternity. Only [she] will know his destiny”(Anaya 6). In his dream, Antonio is left wondering what his destiny holds. He only worries about what path he will eventually chose and whether or not it is right. He asks questions only related to himself. Later on in the book, in Antonio’s dream about God and the Virgin Mary, God declares that he will forgive Narciso “if [Antonio] also [asks him] to forgive Tenorio.” Virgin Mary states that “[she] will forgive Tenorio”(Anaya 172). Because God punishes all and Virgin Mary forgives all, Antonio begins to question their morality. Antonio is concerned why Tenorio continues to do evil without being punished and he feels responsible to beg for forgiveness for Narciso. Antonie struggles with understanding how God and Virgin Mary do not forgive and punish based on what is morally correct. His conflicts are no longer about himself but are rather about issues with morality. Since his first dream, one can tell that Antonio has matured greatly based on the conflicts of his
Barton, Anne. Introduction to Twelfth Night. The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974. 403-407.
Antonio begins to question the authenticity of religion and wonders, if God is always watching, “Why does he allow evil to go unpunished? Why does he allow evil to exist?” Regardless, he defends God when asked, “You mean I can go out and sin, do bad things… do a million bad things and then when I’m about to die I just have to go to confession and make communion, and I go to Heaven?” Antonio sees the flaws in this, and deems it unfair, but he still defends God and the Catholic Church and its beliefs.
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Antonio originally requests to accompany Sebastian, but Sebastian declines on the grounds that his ill fate might negatively affect his companions. Sebastian regards himself as cursed by the shipwreck itself and the assumed loss of his sister – he wishes to have died alongside her, and he indicates that his voyage is “mere extravagancy (2.1.11)” without having a particular destination in mind. “She is drowned already, sir, with salt water, though I seem to drown her remembrance again with more (2.1.26-27)” provides the second example of a direct comparison being made between tears and salt water – for Sebastian, the sea represents the misfortune of loss, and perhaps, a representation of his cursed fate. For Viola, the sea represents uncertainty and hope – despite all evidence pointing towards her brother’s demise, she appears willing to at least entertain the notion that her brother remains
Although many arguments could take place over the blame of Othello’s fate, the one murderer no one doubts is jealousy. Although Othello’s insecurities and “blindness” along with one of the most duplicitous villains in all of literature definitely catalyze the deaths at the conclusion of the play, in the end Othello must suffer the consequences manipulated or not. Despite the number of uninteresting characters in the play, Othello, the Moor of Venice contains one of the most intricate characters in any of Shakespeare’s plays, and will be discussed and intensely argued forever.
Portia play’s a major role in trying to persuade Shylock to be merciful to Antonio, as the story continues. Basannio, the loyal friend of Antonio also tries to persuade Shylock to show some sympathy towards Antonio, but is not shown.
It is true that Antonio seized power from his older brother, Prospero, and that this usurpation is viewed as wrong by the dominant values of the time and by the text. This viewpoint is constructed by presenting Antonio as a treacherous, evil character who is willing to murder Alonso and Gonzalo. This is the view foregrounded by the play, but little is mentioned about why this state of affairs arose. The silences of the story, involving Antonio being ...
Antonio 's remorseless and unforgiving nature upon the arrival of the harpy in Act 3 Scene 3 is ultimately what results in despair. Had Antonio merely admitted he was wrong, he would have reaped a significantly better ending to his tale from the merciful Prospero. Sebastian stubborn and easily manipulated personality also meets the same fate as Antonio. On the other hand, many characters are rewarded for their forgiveness. Alonso gets his son back as a reward for his remorseful mentality towards what he did to Prospero, something that definitely reflects the good people receive for forgiving or asking to be forgiven. Another great example of this is Ferdinand, who is threatened with enslavement in Act 1, Scene 2 but remains content. Ferdinand simply proclaims "“Might I but through my prison once a day behold this maid: all corners else o ' the earth let liberty make use of; space enough have I in such a prison,” (1.2.495-499) thus forgiving Prospero for enslaving him merely out of love for Miranda. This shows huge love and compassion and a great sense of goodness. Appropriately, this goodness does reap its rewards, as Ferdinand
Print. Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
"William Shakespeare, William. "Twelfth Night." Norton's Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York City: W.W. Norton & Co., 2010.
Rodrigo’s character serves as an example of true jealousy over love, rather as a facade to cover-up another motivation, as seen with Othello and Iago. He displays a decline in power once wrought with jealousy, rather than the upshot seen in the other two. Iago and Othello take matters into their own
In life, there are various types of love. Two are shown in The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, written in 1589. He focuses on friendship and romance. The motif of friendship is evident with many characters throughout the play. Depending on the character, the idea of love over friendship is a controversial matter. In many instances, Bassanio and Antonio believe that friendship is more important than love. Therefore, the following theme is proven: friendship is a bond stronger than a vow of love. In the beginning of the play, Antonio is willing to sacrifice his credit to ensure Bassanio’s happiness. In the middle of the play, friendship and romance conflict, as Antonio is willing to give up his flesh to fulfill the bond that he makes with Shylock, and Bassanio departs to Venice without his newly-wedded wife. At the end of the play, Antonio persuades Bassanio to break his promise to his wife, fully proving the bond of friendship is stronger than a vow of love. Within this instance, Bassanio neglects his wife to support his friend in Venice. Throughout the play, Antonio and Bassanio’s friendship is highly valued over Portia and Bassanio’s marriage.