The Bittersweet Comedy of Twelfth Night
Twelfth night is a name commonly given to the Christian feast of the
Epiphany which is celebrated on the 6th of January. On this day we
remember the coming of the Magi and the taking down of decorations
which is a sad occasion for many but also a happy occasion as new
times are beginning.
Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy, and romantic love is the play’s
main focus. Despite the fact that the play offers a happy ending, in
which the various lovers find one another and achieve wedded bliss,
Shakespeare shows that love can cause pain. Many of the characters
seem to view love as a kind of curse, a feeling that attacks its
victims suddenly and disruptively. Various characters claim to suffer
painfully from being in love, or, rather, from the pangs of unrequited
love. At one point, Orsino depicts love dolefully as an “appetite”
that he wants to satisfy and cannot at another point, he calls his
desires “fell and cruel hounds” Olivia more bluntly describes love as
a “plague” from which she suffers terribly. These metaphors contain an
element of violence. Even the less melodramatic Viola sighs unhappily
that “My state is desperate for my master’s love” This desperation has
the potential to result in violence—as in Act V, scene i, when Orsino
threatens to kill Cesario because he thinks that -Cesario has forsaken
him to become Olivia’s lover. Some people achieve romantic happiness,
while others do not. At the end of the play, as the happy lovers
rejoice, both Malvolio and Antonio are prevented from having the
objects of their desire. Malvolio, who has pursued Olivia, must
ultimately face the realisa...
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...ine in the play reflects
this ‘I’ll be reveng’d on the whole pack of you!’.
Along with the indictment of Malvolio are other happy endings in the
form of marriages. Although these events are delightfully optimistic,
Feste's final song lessens the hope of a completely happy ending. The
refrain of this song, which states "the rain it raineth every day,"
imply that at any time the happiness that now occupies the characters
in Illyria could at any time be swept away. The song as a whole seems
to show maturation from innocence to experience and through this
development was a range of "the wind and the rain." With this song,
Feste seems to suggest that even as a person goes through life, with
its ups and downs, he or she must remember that at any time one can
end up in an unfamiliar place with a completely different life.
...volio declares revenge on the lot before exiting, giving the floor to Orsino. 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.”
Twelfth Night was written in 1601 by William Shakespeare. Another meaning to Twelfth Night was the coming of Wise Men. This also called “Epiphany”. Epiphany means sudden stroke of insight, a sudden understanding of the “reality of things.” A seeing beyond appearances. Often consider moments of Epiphany to be crucial events in our intellectual, spiritual lives. At Epiphany of Christ, first who saw the powers that child stood for. For centuries Twelfth Night had been celebrated with plays; one of the most theatrical nights of the year. Audience would become involved in action, plays would spill over into streets, halls of houses where performance taking place.
In one of William Shakespeare’s most renowned and celebrated plays, the story of a General named Othello unravels in tragic form as he falls victim to the lies created by Iago. Once revered as a war hero and wed to the beautiful Desdemona, Othello’s life spirals downward with the untimely death of his beloved in his own hands, ultimately ending with his own demise. Love is the force behind this tragedy. Tragedy is the main driving force that brings happiness and tragedy to the characters within the play. But even as such a prominent force, it lacks clear definition. Love has a different meaning to the characters in the play. Characters like Othello, Desdemona, and Iago all have different perspectives on love, which informs their behavior in different ways.
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and in Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid, two ladies are presented, that are not necessarily the leading protagonist, but they help unravel the plays’ plots into something amazing. Twelfth Night features Maria, the lady in waiting to Olivia. At first Maria comes off as a dilettante, later on we find out that’s not the case at all. Meanwhile, in The Imaginary Invalid, there is the disputatious Toinette, who is the maidservant and nurse to the imaginary invalid himself, Argan. Maria and Toinette are two strong women characters, their strength and wit is depicted through Maria and Toinette’s deceiving schemes to make their plays more stimulating as well as their objectivity throughout all the chaos in their respective play.
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.
Orsino’s view of love is that he is in love with love itself and he
There is much to find in the play to makes us smile with lots of songs
William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night In 'Twelfth Night' Olivia's trusted steward Malvolio, like Sir Andrew, is the 'butt of comedy'. His very name suggests 'ill-will', which echoes his role in the play. Malvolio is an egotistical, "overweening rogue", who is a straight laced, puritanical, social climbing rebuker of others for their anti-social and often sinful behaviour, or as he put it, "misdemeanours". Malvolio's character is summarised excellently by Maria in Act II Scene III: The devil a puritan that he is, or anything, constantly, but a time-pleaser, an affectioned ass that cons state without book and utters it by great swarths; the best persuaded of himself, so crammed, as he thinks with excellencies, that if is his grounds of faith that all that look on him love him.
Love is a wonderful curse that forces us to do unexplainable things. Romeo and Juliet is a famous play written by William Shakespeare, who does an exceptional job in showing the readers what hate, mercy, death, courage, and most importantly, what love looks like. This play is about two star-crossed lovers who are both willing to sacrifice their lives just to be with one another. Unfortunately tragedy falls upon the unconditional love Romeo and Juliet have for each other, but along the way they experience immeasurable forgiveness and extraordinary bravery just to be with one another. Sadly enough, love is a cause of violence in the end.
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.
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 is a young man.... ... middle of paper ... ... Feste also helps to reveal this throughout with songs about sadness. and sorrows.
The reading of the letter creates comedy the requests are outrageous. Malvolio is told to wear yellow cross-gartered stockings "to be opposite with kinsman, surly with servants" and to constantly smile. The thought of this is hilarious considering that Malvolio is a strict puritan and is very malice towards others.
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.
Critics call Twelfth Night one of William Shakespeare’s most poetic and musical plays. Shakespeare writes poetic lines for the major characters, Viola, Orsino, and Olivia, and gives the Fool, and other minor characters, songs to sing throughout the play. The particularly romantic lines of the play make it seem as if the characters are professional poets themselves. Shakespeare also uses the music and poetry in Twelfth Night to foreshadow what is going to happen for the rest of the performance and to reveal major themes in the play. Music and poetry become major characters in the play themselves.
...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.