Twelfth Night Shakespeare Analysis

931 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: analysis of shakespeares twelfth night

Jordan Hickam
Prof. Anthony
Gender Theatre
2/20/2014

Dramatic Analysis

During the Elizabethan era when playwrights strictly casted male actors, William Shakespeare presented the play Twelfth Night which examined gender and love in a new light. With an all male cast, the play presents the character of Viola, a shipwrecked young lady who is mourning over her twin brother who she believes has died. She then decides to dress as a man and change her name to Cesario to create her new journey through life with the last member of her family supposedly dead. Essentially the production is having a man portray a shipwrecked young lady disguised as a young male.

An interesting and sensitive concept Shakespeare brings to life is the idea of homosexuality during the Elizabethan era when traditional male-female relationships were social expectations. He approaches this idea with the use of humor, comedy, and disguise to leave it up to audience interpretation. Shakespeare poses the idea of homosexual love using "Cesario" to avoid making audiences uncomfortable by blatantly stating the issue.

Young Viola disguises herself as a young man by wearing men attire and acquires the name Cesario. The disguise is very convincing to all characters in the play until the last scene. This cover-up creates chaos not only for Viola, but for the other characters. The fact that Viola plays both a man and a woman allows
Shakespeare to test the boundaries of the female role in romance. Viola is described as having beautiful features that are typically associated with females. The largest disturbance to the traditional structure was the chance that Olivia could possibly be in love with a woman. Shakespeare is able to cover up this unfavorable idea b...

... middle of paper ...

...in order to encourage heterosexual marriage, but includes the relationship of Antonio and Sebastian to show his sympathy for those individuals who are homosexual.

In conclusion, it is uncertain whether or not Shakespeare was poking fun of the social structure involving marriage, with the creation of Twelfth Night. Perhaps he was asserting that when women or men cross traditional boundary roles that the results would end in failure. He could also suggest that the importance of the demonstrated unintended homosexual implications does not institute homosexuality as a social norm, but to toss around the idea of gender identity and sexuality as a whole. Whether he intended to appoint one claim or all, the message Shakespeare intended to send served as an important lesson, and becomes all too clear that he was beyond his time in regards to gender struggles.

Show More
Related

  • Examining Viola's Character in Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Viola's situation is precarious due to the liminality she has experienced throughout the play . She could live freely away from the society's authority behind her transformation, but the liminality she faced caused her troubles in expressing her true feelings. She is in between her femininity and her twin brother adopted masculinity. But soon as her disguised is discarded, she returns to her proper situation voluntarily accepting the role that the society imposes on her: the role of a wife.

    Read More

  • Laura Jastrem's Romance And Gender Positions In Twelfth Night

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Laura Jastrem’s essay “Romance and Gender Positions in Twelfth Night” focuses on the attraction that Olivia formed for another woman, Viola, who masquerades as Cesario throughout the play. The audience is aware of the fraud male persona that Viola has mislead the others to believe. Given that the play was written in 1601, there are diverse critical responses regarding the concept of love between two people of the same sex based on their time period. Jastrem’s critique was composed in 1999, when same sex marriage was still a notion that was not heavily accepted by the vast majority. Being 2016, with same sex marriage now legalized, it is clear that perspectives will differ concerning this view. Jastrem’s sexist critique focuses on the lesbian attraction between Olivia and Viola but fails to mention

    Read More

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

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the weeks leading up to matrimony, Olivia fell madly in love with Cesario, who though looks and sounds just like Sebastian, is truly Viola dressed as a man. Sebastian does not realize this as he meets Olivia for the first time. He is amazed that a woman of her statue and beauty would feel so strong for him and he wastes no time.... ... middle of paper ...

    Read More

  • The Chains of Social Hierarchy and Gender Roles

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, the use of mistaken identity and role reversal communicates that gender roles and social class are constructed illusions that trick people into having unrealistic expectations about how they are supposed behave.Viola crossdressing as Cesario in the play challenges traditional views of how a woman of her status should act.The differences between the accepted clothing for an individual emphasizes gender roles and social hierarchy in society. During the Renaissance, “ the idea of two genders, one subordinate to the other, provided a key element in its hierarchical view of the social order and to buttress its gendered division of labor” (Howard 423).

    Read More

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream - Battle of the Sexes

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine being a woman in sixteenth century Europe. Females were raised to believe that they were subservient and that men knew better on any subject. Basically, women had no rights. They were considered property, first “owned” by their fathers and then control was “transferred” to the husband chosen for them. Marriage was not about love, but in most cases, it was a business deal that was mutually beneficial to both families – an interesting fact is that like young women, most young men had no choice in the selection of their future betrothed. These traditions and the gender roles assumed by men and women at that time had an impact on Shakespeare’s writing and performances and a great example of this is evident in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

    Read More

  • Twelfth Night, As You Like It by William Shakespeare

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, there are many instances when Shakespeare expressed his way of viewing his thoughts. Antonio who rescues Sebastian, whose ship has wrecked becomes attached to him and pleads “If you will not murder me for my love, let me be your servant” (Act II, scene 1, lines 33–34). Shakespeare leads the audience to feel a sort of homosexual feeling of passion between these characters. This was Shakespeare’s way of exploring his mind and sexuality. Since h...

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast She's The Man And Twelfth Night

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie She's the Man shows much of the general idea of the original Shakespearean book, the twelfth night. It also, illustrates the change in feminine roles in the community and society at large, the main theme of the movie being feminism. In Shakespearean era and time, the important, recognizable and powerful positions in the society were taken by men and therefore Viola in the twelfth night disguises herself as a eunuch in order to get close to the Olivia, the countess and the

    Read More

  • Homosexuality in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    With every great story line comes a theme. William Shakespeare created an art of intertwining often unrecognizable themes within his plays. In Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, one hidden theme is the idea of homosexuality. This theme might not have even been noticed until modern Shakespeare fans discovered them. According to Alan Bray’s book, Homosexuality in Renaissance England, “the modern image of ‘the homosexual’ cannot be applied to the early modern period, when homosexual behavior was viewed in terms of the sexual act and not an individual's broader identity.” (Columbia University Press). This difference between homosexuality as a “sexual act” and an “identity” proves why, during Renaissance England, this theme in Shakespeare’s play was almost invisible. The actual merchant of Venice, Antonio, displays this homosexual identity that might only be recognizable to the modern day reader. Through a close reading of a speech given by Antonio, one can begin to understand the significance of Shakespeare’s word choice and how it plays into this idea of homosexuality.

    Read More

  • How Shakespeare Explores the Theme of Deception and Self-Deception in Twelfth Night

    2530 Words  | 6 Pages

    It is also one of the themes in Twelfth Night that the play revolves around as Shakespeare makes it out to be by presenting the character of ‘Caesario’. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare presents the obvious deception of the play that is Viola. Viola’s role in the play is purely based on the ideas of disguise and deception. She initially deceives everyone by disguising herself as a man, ‘Cesario’, in order to serve Orsino. We can see this from the quote, “For such disguise as haply shall become: The form of my intent”.

    Read More

  • Male Identity And Sexuality In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    2046 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night the great bard uses humor and mistaken identity not only to poke fun at romantic stories of “perfect love” and the foolish behavior of the aristocrats, but also to reveal man’s anxieties surrounding courtship, gender performance, and love as a whole. The portion of the play I have chosen to analyze are lines 188-256 in Act 5 scene one when Sebastian enters the stage and discovers Viola alive. The siblings give information about themselves to determine each other’s identity before Viola finally reveals herself to be female, allowing the farce to come to an end and the characters to return to their normal roles. Viola then declares her love for Orsino and he accepts her affections. While this scene is certainly

    Read More

  • True Love in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    1979 Words  | 4 Pages

    Viola, alone in a strange land, disguises herself as a man in order to gain access to Duke Orsino's palace. She plays the role of Orsino's servant, Cesario, to be near him for she knows that he is the man who can help her in Illyria. On first hearing Orsino's name, Viola says: "Orsino! I have heard my father name him: He was a bachelor then." This reaction suggests that Viola already respects Orsino as a ruler before she begins to love him.

    Read More

  • Sexuality in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    “...So long as men can breathe or eyes can see/So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” So ends the famous Sonnet 18, possibly Shakespeare’s best-loved sonnet of all. Shakespeare’s fame today comes almost exclusively for his writing that deals with feelings of love. Sonnet 18. Romeo and Juliet. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hamlet and Ophelia and Antipholus and Luciana and Beatrice and Benedick and Antony and Cleopatra. All these examples of the guy falling in love with the girl and skipping off into the sunset with her. However, new evidence shows that he wrote almost half of his sonnets to a man, including that oft-quoted “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” sonnet. As we look closer and closer at his cross-dressing, male-centric, “fabulous” plays, Shakespeare scholars argue that it’s very possible he swung the other way, or at least been an ally for those who did. Fast forward about four hundred years and we live in a thoroughly(though not yet quite totally) accepting society, with multiple organizations dedicated only to making LGBT kids feel safe in their own community, universally legal gay marriage undoubtedly coming up on the horizon, and non-gender-binary people winning major beauty-centric competitions. The very reason that so much research has been done on Shakespeare’s sexuality is that we accept so many in today’s modern, free spoken society. The majority of today’s society opens and accepts all, and I like to believe that the bard himself strove for a world like this. There are still a few people who still believe that their love-thy-neighbor religion does not apply to those who do not fit within the societal construct of a book written thousands of years ago, but people who have grown to love far overpowe...

    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

  • Analysis Of Twelfth Night In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shakespeare 's well known play Twelfth Night, which takes place somewhere in Illyria, Lady Olivia is an independent, powerful, wealthy but single woman; the sudden deaths of her father and brother has left her in sadness alone in a big castle to herself. She has her relative Sir Toby Belch who was still around and visited her. Orsino, a duke, has a huge crush on her and is trying to have her to himself. Meanwhile, the jealous steward Malvolio who also has a crush on Lady Olivia, is a guy who is full of himself and acts like he 's king, he forgets where his place is sometimes. In Olivia 's house there is the weak and foolish Sir Andrew who has a crush on Olivia and is wishing one day he would get a chance with her. are also these twins,Viola and Sebastian. They have been shipwrecked and isolated from each other, so Viola thinks Sebastian is dead, and Sebastian thinks viola is dead. Later Viola decides to disguise herself as a messenger and call herself Cesario so she can work for Orsino. Since Viola was so pretty and the way she used her words were great, she won Orsino’s trust. Orsino tells Cesario

    Read More

  • Disguises and Mistaken Identity in Twelfth Night

    1368 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Twelfth Night Shakespeare Analysis

Open Document