An Unusual Perspective of Hierarchies in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

574 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Similarities of tragedy and comedy in plays

‘Twelfth Night’ or ‘What You Will’ falls into the subgenre of festive comedy as the spirit of the festival turns the normal hierarchies of the social sphere upside down and unacceptable behaviour becomes acceptable (as established by Barber in 'Shakespeare's Festive Comedy'). The character Feste attacks authoritative figures during the days of the Christmas period. As Feste can be seen as a mock mayor he often makes absurd declarations aimed at Olivia and Orsino as he points out that Olivia's excessive mourning is over-indulgent and ‘fool[ish]’ and notes Duke Orsino's extreme moodiness when he compares Orsino's mind to an ‘opal’ that changes colour. However, as this play takes place in the festive period it lacks seriousness which also reflects the decisions that Orsino and Olivia make in the dénouement. But as love is a motivating force, Olivia and Orsino carry out foolish acts in the final scene which convey the many serious social messages that arise in the play. On the other hand, characters such as Malvolio face difficult situations through the use of mockery which cause ...

Show More
Related

  • As the World Turns, So Do the Days of Our Lives

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • A Midsummer's Night Dream Essay

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Precise definition of a festive comedy is best outlined in the distinctive depictions if merry in the tone, exhibition of Elizabethan holidays, satire depiction in the composition to mockery which is to a greater extent natural. The same is resonated in depictions of comic faith wherein what matter most is the rather satirical and happy depiction of events in the hope of a greater cause such as religion and love. In structuring up the play ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream,’ there is clear mapped outline that makes reference to the ideal of it being regarded as a festive comedy but notions of the same are heavily transcended in the different sections of the play coupled with the ideal of comic faith as well. What is followed

    Read More

  • The Chains of Social Hierarchy and Gender Roles

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    Logan, Jenkins. “Twelfth Night: The Limits of Festivity.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 22.2 (1982): 223-38. Print.

    Read More

  • Outer Identity Doesn’t Always Match Inner Perception in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    People are not always whom they appear to be. Whether it’s that fierce tattooed muscle man or that sweet elderly lady smiling from a few seats away, what is perceived is not always what is true. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night portrays many a character whose identities do not align with their inner character. Olivia’s polite ladylike demeanour, Sir Toby’s guise of nobility, and Feste’s job as a fool all demonstrate how social identities don’t always align with inner character.

    Read More

  • The Fool as a Playwright in Twelfth Night

    2845 Words  | 6 Pages

    Feste, the fool character in Twelfth Night, in many ways represents a playwright figure, and embodies the reach and tools of the theater. He criticizes, manipulates and entertains the other characters while causing them to reflect on their life situations, which is similar to the way a playwright such as Shakespeare interacts with his audience. Furthermore, more so than the other characters in the play he accomplishes this in a highly performative way, involving song and clever wordplay that must be decoded, and is thus particularly reflective of the mechanisms at the command of the playwright. Feste is a representation of the medieval fool figure, who is empowered by his low status and able to speak the truth of the kingdom. A playwright speaks the truth by using actors and fictional characters, who are in a parallel low status in comparison to the audience, as they lack the dimensionality of real people. Thus, the role Feste plays in the lives of the characters in the play resembles the role the play itself plays in the lives of the audience watching the performance. This essay will explore this comparison first by analyzing similarities between the way in which Feste interacts with other characters and the way the playwright interact with the audience, and then focus on the similarities between the aims and content of these interactions.

    Read More

  • The Foolishness in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    Andrew is funny, it is not intentional. His faults include a lack of wit, a

    Read More

  • How Does Shakespeare Present The Social Hierarchy In Hamlet

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shakespeare’s Hamlet presents not only the tragic story of murder and corruption, but also a story about the state of the social hierarchy in early modern England. The corruption that is prevalent throughout the aristocracy supports the concepts of a class structure that is often over dramatized and abused, in Shakespeare's plays. Overall, the class structure presented in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a reflection of society in the 14th century which Hamlet discovers, throughout the play, the irrelevance of the social hierarchy that he has lived under in which everything he can and cannot do is dictated by his position, and may be seen as essentially meaningless. Shakespeare shows this with Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia, the grave digger, and Laertes.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The Sea In Twelfth Night

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    As prescient and insightful as this evaluation may seem after considering the outcome of Twelfth Night’s romantic pairings, it reads as a very shallow perspective rather than any sort of wisdom – to the Duke, love is never permanent, lasting, or constant (just like the nature of the tides, it always changes). Duke Orsino has no concern whatsoever for Olivia’s feelings of grief after the loss of her brother – she is merely an object of his desires at the moment, and as his eventual courtship with Viola proves, he is extremely fickle in his affections. (Even before Viola’s disguise became apparent, Orsino showed some signs of attraction to the male Cesario – this raises a few questions about exactly how far his romantic indecisiveness

    Read More

  • Disguise And Self Delusion In Twelfth Night

    165 Words  | 1 Pages

    Disguise and self delusion are important elements of the comedy Twelfth night, Or what you will: that stand at the forefront of the plays. The use of disguise and self delusion throughout Shakespeare's comedy proves that the town of Illyria is dysfunctional. As a result of the disorientation and anarchy caused by these elements, the members of Illyria are unable to fulfill their obligations. Olivia neglecting of her responsibilities as a citizen of the town Illyria and the corrupt Leaders contribute to dysfunction created. Shakespeare has used the comedy to integrate serious issues into the plays including the ideas of genuine love, the uncertainty of gender and the corrupt leaders in the town of Illyria. Disguise and self delusion are catalysts

    Read More

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

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Historically speaking, the cultural limitations of women in the sixteenth century were very strong. Publicly, women had no life, and characteristics within the home were expected to mirror that of a servant: patience, silence, and obedience, to name a few. However, this essay will rely solely on evidence from the text, Twelfth Night, to examine the ways the female characters, specifically Olivia, both abides by, and defies the gender roles presented.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Importance of Feste in Twelfth Night

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    With Feste's help, we are able to attain a better understanding of the other characters in the play- revealing their true personalities, which are sometimes unseen, not only by us, the audience, but also by the characters themselves. He shows Olivia how unrealistic and excessive her mourning for her brother's death has been, he tells Orsino how foolish he is for languishing in a mood of love-sick melancholy for Olivia and points out how mercurial his personality is, and he makes a fool out of the pompous Malvolio. "Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun- it shines everywhere" says Feste.

    Read More

  • The Pain and Suffering of "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Twelfth Night Essay: Appearance vs. Reality

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare's, Twelfth Night has many themes, but appearance vs. reality is the theme that illustrates a different picture from two perspectives, there are many characters behind their masks and disguises. Some are hiding love behind these disguises and some are trying to show their love through a different disguise. They both still being servants are using disguise differently. Malvolio, servant of Olivia, falls in love with the trap (the letter) thinking his lady likes him, and to show his love he uses a different appearance to express it. Viola, servant of Orsino, falls in love with him, but secretly, not wanting to express her love for him, because of her disguise as her barrier for that case. Viola/Ceasario is wearing a disguise and secretly loves Orsino. Malvolio, on the other hand, is also a servant but still changes his appearance to express love for the great lady Olivia. This essay will prove that disguises and appearances are symbolic of the characters named Viola and Malvolio and are differently used for both.

    Read More

  • The Purpose of the Sub-plot in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

    2034 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    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 An Unusual Perspective of Hierarchies in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

Open Document