The Dramatic Importance of Act 1 Scenes 1 and 2 of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
The title 'Twelfth Night' seems to suggest that Shakespeare, who wrote
the play around 1602, wanted it to be performed on the twelfth day
after Christmas; the festival of the Epiphany. This day formally
marked the end of the Christmas season, which at the time was
celebrated as a special festival. In addition to eating, drinking and
generally over indulging, the performance of plays was a common
feature on this day. He may have written this romantic comedy whilst
keeping this festive spirit in mind. The title therefore may have had
some bearing on the actual plot or characters. The secondary title
'What You Will', suggests that the play has something of interest for
everyone and it also reflects the theme of excess. This title is
appropriate, as this theme is apparent in some of the characters,
particularly in terms of their longings and desires.
'Twelfth Night' was the last of Shakespeare's 'mature comedies', the
other two being 'Much Ado About Nothing' and 'As you like it'. Like
most of Shakespeare's other plays, this play does not have an original
plot. It has many elements that were common to Elizabethan romantic
comedy, including the devices of mistaken identity, separated twins
and cross-dressing disguises. The plot revolves around overcoming
obstacles to true love. It also features a sub-plot, which deals with
how a self inflated and arrogant character is humiliated and brought
to his knees. Unlike his earlier comedies, Shakespeare looks at the
concept of love and themes such as insanity and madness of love, which
were not parts of the conv...
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...ods were not
possible.
From a dramatic viewpoint, I think that the two scenes analysed here
are pivotal to the play and generally seem to achieve their objectives
well. As well as identifying the main theme of the play of how
complications of love often arise from disguises, which may hide one's
true intentions, these scenes also provide the means of how these
difficulties get resolved in the play. Although the atmosphere in the
scenes is quite melancholic, the audience can clearly sense the
potential for comedy. The title 'Twelfth Night' perhaps also relates
to this, as there would have been some sorrow as it was the last day
of the Christmas festivities. However the subsequent scenes of the
play establish its comical aspects, particularly through the use of
the sub plot and the introduction of other characters.
William, Shakespeare Twelfth Night. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume B. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 1079-1139.
The Dramatic Effectiveness of Act III Scene I of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet In this climatic central scene of the play Tybalt kills Mercutio (a close friend to Romeo.) Romeo kills Tybalt (his cousin in-law.) and is banished forever from Verona (where his wife- Juliet lives.). The audience are aware that Romeo and Juliet had fallen in love at the Capulet ball and have been married by the Friar Lawrence in the previous scene.
are even made in the same way and from the same fabrics that were used
play just in the opening, so we know what is going to happen from the
William, Shakespeare Twelfth Night. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume B. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 1079-1139.
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
Act 3 Scene 1, as well as Act 2 Scene 3. The reasons why I have chosen
Barton, Anne. Introduction to Twelfth Night. The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974. 403-407.
Andrew is funny, it is not intentional. His faults include a lack of wit, a
Logan, Thad Jenkins. "Twelfth Night: The Limits of Festivity." Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama. N.p.: Rice University, 1982. 223-38. Vol. 22 of Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. Rpt. in Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night, Or, What You Will. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.
make him think he is mad and they also make Olivia think he is mad
The theme of deception runs very strong in Act One. Almost all the characters seem to either be deceiving someone, or being deceived themselves.
Humor in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night In Twelfth Night we see different types of humour. There is the witty
...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.