William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare's most famous comedies, involving
complex plots, which result in hilarious outcomes. The main plot of
Twelfth Night tells of Count Orsino's efforts to woo the Lady Olivia
who does not return his affection. Instead, Olivia is smitten with
Orsino's servant Cesario, unaware of his true identity. Cesario is
actually shipwrecked Viola who, believing her brother has drowned,
dresses up as a man to work for Orsino. Viola consequently falls in
love with Orsino who believes her to be Cesario. In addition,
Shakespeare has created an equally confusing sub-plot involving
Olivia's servant Malvolio and the other members of Olivia's household.
The main plot and subplot are linked as they both examine the
manifestations of love.
The sub-plot involves the members of Olivia's household playing a
trick on Malvolio due to his treatment of them earlier in the play. It
has long been debated whether Malvolio's treatment was justified by
his earlier behaviour or the actions of the members of Olivia's
household are unpleasant, malicious and unnecessarily drawn out. This
question forces audiences of Twelfth Night to balance Malvolio's
crimes with their sympathy for him. In order to achieve a satisfactory
conclusion, both Malvolio's behaviour and treatment must be considered
as well as the circumstances in which they occurred. The conclusion as
to whether Malvolio is 'notoriously abused' may be different and even
more complex for an Elizabethan audience. This is because Malvolio is
essentially a Puritan, which carries implications of the way he would
be viewed by an Elizabethan audien...
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...be a hardhearted member of the audience who would not feel
some sympathy and a degree of pity for the way things worked out for
him. However, an Elizabethan audience member would react differently
to Malvolio who would have an extra fault for them. As mentioned
before, Malvolio is referred to as a Puritan, a member of a popular
religious group. Puritans were responsible for the closing down of
theatres because they considered it frivolous and would be despised by
theatre audiences. This means Malvolio would be less likely to receive
sympathy from an Elizabethan audience. Although Shakespeare did not
like Puritans, he still causes both modern and Elizabethan audiences
to question whether Malvolio was treated justly, which causes the
final decision of whether Malvolio is 'notoriously abused' to be a
very complicated one.
... He speaks to Viola, before Feste, Olivia’s Jester, sings to signal the ending. “Cesario, come – For so you shall be while you are a man; But when in other habits you are seen Orsino’s mistress and his fancy’s queen.” The characters in Twelfth Night each play an important and specific role, especially when it comes to interfering or setting fate for romantic interests.
William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream In the following essay I am aiming to show how Lysander's claim that 'the course of true love never did run smooth' is supported by other events in the play. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written by William Shakespeare. No one knows the exact date it was written but we know it was between 1589 and 1595. He combines romance with comedy to produce this popular story.
upon her. She knew she had fallen in love with Duke Orsino and had the
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.
...h the idea of being in love and enjoys making a spectacle of himself. His attraction to the ostensibly male Cesario injects sexual ambiguity into his character, and reveals that genuine love does exist within his character because he allows himself for that brief scene to be exposed and vulnerable. Olivia, like Orsino likes to wallow I her own misery, and also acts absurdly by falling for Cesario within a matter of a few moments of dialogue. Olivia seems to have no difficulty transporting her affections from one love interest to the next, however, suggesting that her romantic feelings, like most emotions in the play, are not profound. In all, Shakespeare used Twelfth Night to reveal that love can be found in unlikely places; in order for love to be a genuine act it must be a selfless; and love undoubtedly requires patience and endurance through times of absurdity,.
Shakespeare wrote his acclaimed comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream more than a thousand years after Apuleius’ Roman novel, The Golden Ass. Although separated by thousands of years and different in terms of plot and setting, these works share the common theme of a confused and vulnerable man finding direction by relying on a supernatural female. One of A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s many subplots is the story of Bottom, a comical figure determined to be taken seriously in his production of a Pyramus and Thisbe. As Bottom becomes caught up in a quarrel between the king and queen of the fairies, the commanders of the enchanted forest where Bottom and his players practice, the “shrewd and knavish sprite” Puck transforms his head into an ass’ s and leads him to be enthralled in a one night stand with the queen, Titania. (2.1.33) Apuleius’s protagonist Lucius endures a similar transformation, after his mistress’s slave girl accidentally bewitches him into a donkey, leaving him even without the ability to speak. Although Lucius’ transformation lasts longer and is more severe, he and Bottom both undergo similar experiences resulting from their animal forms. Lucius’ suffering ultimately leads him to salvation through devotion the cult of Isis, and Bottom’s affair with Titania grants him clarity and a glimpse into similar divine beauty. Ultimately, both asinine characters are saved through their surrender to the goddesses.
After Duke Orsino asks Cesario (disguised Viola) to make Olivia love him, although she had stated that she would not marry for seven years due to her sadness from her brother’s death, Cesario tells him “I’ll do my best to woo your lady.” Then Viola tells the audience “(Aside) yet, a barful strife—Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife,” meaning that she has to convince another woman to love the man she loves. The exchange of words in this scene exemplifies dramatic irony since the reader now knows that a love road that connects Duke Orsino, Viola, and Olivia has formed while Orsino is clueless about the situation. Situational irony can also be withdrawn from this conversation because it is shocking that Viola is in love with Orsino. Viola’s sudden love for Orsino illustrates a universal truth about life that sometimes people fall in love too quickly without thinking far ahead.
In the play, the characters play a critical role in showing the theme as the ones inflicted with the pain and suffering of love that Shakespeare highlighted. Attacked with pain from the rejection of the one they love, each of the characters suffers from the rejection, linking the characters to the theme that Shakespeare presented in the play. These links to the theme also link the characters to one another at the same time. Characters, like Duke Orsino, Lady Olivia, and Viola/Cesario, along with the minor characters of the play, were the main victims, but also the culprits, of the pain and suffering that Shakespeare stressed.
The protagonist of Twelfth Night is Viola, the central character in the play, a likeable, resourceful and attractive young woman. At the beginning of the story, Viola is shipwrecked with her brother Sabatian. Fearing that Sebastian is dead, she decides to dress like a man in order to get a job with Duke Orsino. Viola, in love with Orsino, is asked by Orsino to court a woman for him. She finds herself in an unusual love triangle.
As in most comedies, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night extensively. uses disguises, masks and mistaken identities to add to the comical nature of. the play. Viola's disguise as Orsino's page, Cesario, becomes crucial to the action in the play. Without this important element, the action in the play would slow down dramatically, making the story much less intriguing.
Shakespeare was intending to represent several different groups of people in society through his plays and “The Tempest” was no exception to the rule. I aim to show how the “human” relationships in the play reflect real life relationships within Shakespeare’s own society (as well as his future audience), for which his plays were written and performed.
In Twelfth Night the relationships are anything but romantic. Shakespeare writes from the male point of view which implies an un-easy split between love and physical charm. In Twelfth night the romance is falsely produced by selfish desire. Duke Orsino and Viola stand out from the other relationships. By questioning the relationships between the other couples, Shakespeare highlights the true love between Viola and Orsino and the fake relationship of Malvolio and Olivia which is truly based on Malvolio’s desire of a higher status , despite his status and his personality , Malvolio tries to impress Olivia by dressing up in ridiculous clothes , which does far from his aim , and repulses Olivia.
would have to dress and be as a man. She was known as Cesario. Orsino,
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...
Viola disguises herself as Cesario, a male eunuch, and goes to work for the Duke Orsino. Unaware that Cesario is not what he seems, the Duke Orsino becomes very friendly with Cesario after just three of having known each other. Unsuccessful in his pursuit of Olivia, Orsino sends Cesario to gain her affection for him because he thinks she will be taken in by Cesario's youth. Viola, dressed as Cesario, falls in love with the duke Orsino but ... ... middle of paper ... ...was but a toy, For the rain it raineth every day' There are other songs sung by Feste which reveal a darker side to the plot such as songs with lines: 'Come away, come away death, And in sad cypress let me be laid'.