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Shakespeare comedies features
Shakespeare's twelfth night essay
Shakespeare's twelfth night essay
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Recommended: Shakespeare comedies features
Shakespeare’s comedies have always had a distinct subtext of tragedy as shown in Twelfth Night. It teeters on the brink of tragedian literature similar to his tragedies, such as Hamlet, through the ambiguity of the main characters and unfinished resolutions.
Comedies are generally morally clear- the villains and heroes are clearly defined. Twelfth Night’s characters have a layer of ambiguity stemming from their use of illusion in the form of mistaken identity. A central theme of the play is the contrast between illusion and reality and how the characters in the play manipulate their various roles for their own benefit and against each other. Shakespeare directs the audience to this theme immediately as Act 1 begins with the introduction of a shipwrecked woman, whose name we do not learn till the end of the play, is rescued and pretends to be a young man named Cesario in order to pass favor with the foreign land’s aristocracy.
Twelfth Night resembles Hamlet’s use of illusion via syntax and dramatic irony. In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet pretends to be mad in order to lower Claudius’ guard and resolve his father’s usurpation. He’s for the most part similar to Twelfth Night’s Feste as they both use wit and the illusion of inferiority, Feste with his role as fool and Hamlet with his play for madness, to try and fool their victims in spite of their obvious intelligence- both Feste and Hamlet have a talent for manipulating words and playing with puns much to the consternation of their fellow conversers.
Similarly, Prince Hal in Henry IV (Part 1) pretends to be a delinquent rebel, irresponsible and disobedient to his disappointed further. It’s soon revealed in the play that he only plays the fool so that he can ...
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.... Ironically, it is Sebastian who becomes the imitation- he now has to play Cesario, taking over Viola’s role, and with Feste’s final song foreshadowing unrest, Shakespeare may be hinting at the chaos to come from the false marriage.
The final words of the play are from Feste in the form of a song on wind and rain, “A great while ago the world begun/ With hey, ho, the wind and the rain/ but that’s all one, our play is done/ and we’ll strive to please you every day” (5.1.404-408), an allusion to thunderstorms that started the play and will likewise end it. This seems to be foreshadowing coming unrest, rendering the resolution indefinite and canceling out Orsino’s optimism in the last scene, a possible foreshadowing of the tragedy to come ending the play on a low note instead of the expected hopefulness of a comedy.
Works Cited
Twelfth Night, Shakespeare
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.
Williams Jr., Porter. “Mistakes in Twelfth Night and Their Resolution: A Study in Some Relationships of Plot and Theme.” PMLA 76.3 (1961): 193-99. Print.
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.
In stark contrast to the dark and tragic "Othello," is one of Shakespeare’s lightest and funniest comedies, "Twelfth Night." The theme of love is presented in a highly comical manner. Shakespeare, however, once again proves himself a master by interweaving serious elements into humorous situations. "Twelfth Night" consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters who are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. They are being deceived by themselves and/or the others around them.
The confusion that Sebastian creates when he returns would not occur. without Viola's disguise, in the middle of the room. Sir Andrew believes that the woman of his desires. Olivia, is spending too much time with Cesario, and challenges him to a duel. As he put it, Olivia was doing "more favors to the Count's servingman than ever.
The play opens with Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, expressing his deep love for the Countess Olivia. Meanwhile, the shipwrecked Viola disguises herself as a man and endeavors to enter the Duke’s service. Although she has rejected his suit, the Duke then employs Viola, who takes the name of Cesario, to woo Olivia for him. As the play continues, Cesario falls in love with the Duke, and Olivia falls in love with Cesario, who is really Viola disguised. Maria, Olivia’s servant woman, desires to seek revenge on Malvolio, Olivia’s steward. “To the delight of Sir Toby, Olivia’s uncle, and his friend Sir Andrew, Maria comes up with a plot to drop love letters supposedly written by Olivia in Malvolio’s path. When she does, they observe him, along with Fabian, another servant, as Malvolio falls for the bait. Believing that Olivia loves him, he makes a fool of himself” (Napierkowski 3).
How Shakespeare Explores the Theme of Deception and Self-Deception in Twelfth Night Deception is the use of deceit that deceives everyone around you including yourself. It is the fact or state of being deceived. It can be a ruse or a trick in disguise, which deludes, giving a sense of indirection. It’s a misleading falsehood. One can deceive by running away from even their true self either physically or mentally.
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.
To fully appreciate Hamlet as a tragedy it must be understood as a comedy. Throughout this paper I will demonstrate the comedic moments of Hamlet, provide a brief analysis of the humor, and finally comment on the purpose of the comedic elements.
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.
Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy which leads to romantic love being the main focus of the play. In this play, Shakespeare shows that love can cause pain. He does this by causing a love triangle which includes;
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.
The opening soliloquy of Act I Scene I, given by Duke Orsino, is another perfect example of Shakespeare using music to show the upcoming storyline of the play. At first, Orsino is using music as a metaphor that feeds the appetite of love. He speaks for a minute about his love for the music playing, and then changes abruptly by saying, “Enough; no more” (7). Already Shakespeare is foreshadowing Orsino’s fickleness when it comes to music which in turn stands for love. Of course, further into the play, it is shown that Orsino truly is fickle when it comes to love. As soon as he finds out that Cesario is in fact the woman Viola, he instantly forgets all the passion he had for Olivia and marries Viola.
...h the underlying theme of festivity in the play. Edward Cahill’s article and evidence from the play provides solid evidence to support this argument. However, what Salingar hasn’t addressed in his article is that the sub-plot also serves to illustrate the dangers of unchecked festivity. The sub-plot is absolutely necessary to the play and adds a layer of depth and insight into the themes of Twelfth Night but most of all, the subplot is what allows this play to be classed as a comedy.
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.