In the play Twelfth Night Shakespeare characterizes Viola as resourceful and wise which helps her realize one of the central themes of the play, the dangers of deception. As a shipwrecked orphan with no guidance or protection, Viola knows that being an unattended women alone in the setting of this Shakespearean masterpiece can be very dangerous. Therefore, she makes the decision to disguise herself as a man by the name of Cesario to enable herself to have a man's freedom. “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid for such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent. I'll serve this duke thou shall present me as an eunuch to him.” Her resourcefulness comes in play as she is able to recognise the captains integrity, as well practical enough to gather the resources and carry out her disguise. …show more content…
She does this by serving Orsino, The Duke of Illyria. She resolves, “I'll serve this duke. Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him…” She choses to serve the Duke over Olivia because she feels that she can keep a better disguise with the Duke by being his personal musician because of her feminine voice. Viola also states that she can sing and play several instruments “It may be worth thy pains, for I can sing, And speak to him in many sorts of music, that will allow me very worth his service.” Orsino quickly comes to bond with Viola to such a point that he entrusts her to be his messenger to his beloved Olivia, the reclusive noble women who has so far rejected the duke’s plentiful advances. She has only just arrived and already she is in the inner circle. Viola performs this duty well, playing her role as Cesario so convincingly that Olivia falls in love with her, demonstrating a profound sense of dramatic irony for the
Theme of Disguise in Twelfth Night The notion of disguise is very important theme within Twelfth Night. From my point of view I feel that the crux of the play is primarily based on this concept. Indeed "there's something in it that is deceivable" summarizes this point precisely. Disguise runs like a thread through the play from start to end and holds it all together just as tightly as thread would fabric. Yet, paradoxically as the plot progresses there are many problems, deceptions and
William Shakespeare has written a number of romantic comedies. Twelfth Night is one of the finest comedies of the author. Shakespeare is driven by Viola’s decision to voluntarily conceal her identity and go to work as a servant for the lovesick Orsino.This disguise and gender confusion are there in the beginning of the play and finishes with happy ending. This paper tries to ascertain how Viola in Twelfth Night perform her disguise and become an ideal woman of Shakespeare’s own concept. There may
In the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, the relationship between genders is often used to highlight common themes. For example, Orsino attempts to dismiss the possibility that a women could have the ability to love as strongly as he does, therefore stereotyping that women do not love as strong as men. In addition, Olivia’s love for Cesario relates to having high hopes for unattainable love as well as issues revolving around gender and sexuality. Furthermore, Viola takes on stereotypical
With Viola being able to hold on to such a great task as the one she is put in being a woman and pretending to be a man. The fact that she is able to put her emotions aside to still be able to find her brother. Shows Viola as being one of the greatest actors to ever be presented. I agree with Bloom, from Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, on how he feels about Viola, as a character. He is concept along with how I feel Viola not only takes on the costume, but speaks in such a way that demands
Twelfth Night is a play with a very supporting and complex cast. Each role is played differently, but ultimately, has the same goal. Of all the characters in Twelfth Night, Viola dressed as Cesario and Feste the fool are two of the most diverse characters with conflicting roles throughout the acts. The focus of both characters is to be seen by everyone else as someone they are not. The disguise of both Viola and Feste accommodates the other characters to provide support, advice and even corruptness
question: ‘Does it matter who plays who in Twelfth Night (or what you will)'. By attempting to answer this question I will be exploring the original context of how Twelfth Night was performed and why men in drag are important Twelfth Night. I will also be looking at how the text is muddled with gender confusion, the confusion of identity so the actor can be ‘what you will'. And lastly, I will talk about how theatrical productions have interpreted Twelfth Night. I will be using the example of Viola to demonstrate
Through out Shakespeare’s entire Twelfths Night Act there were various roles of mistaken identities. “Shakespeare often uses mistaken identity to create confusion and tangled, love triangles. This keeps his plays fresh and serves to add humor to the entertainment.” (D, Jill) Viola is one of the main characters of the Twelfths Night Act we can easily reduce the amorality or her decision to dress like a young man. Her character is the center the entire plot. She seems to be the only character to truly
William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night as a Feminist Play The play Twelfth Night was written in the Elizabethan days, near the end of the ruling of Queen Elizabeth I. It was also during The Renaissance, which is also the rebirth of learning, which this play was born. It was a period of change, questioning and vitality. People no longer believed everything they were told, but tried to find things out for themselves. As to whether Twelfth Night is a feminist play, would have
In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the female characters have a strong constitution specifically Olivia and Viola. The play begins with a shipwrecked Viola who decides to disguise herself and go under the assumed name of 'Cesario'. Viola 'Cesario' falls in love with Duke Orsino who is in love with Olivia. The Duke asks for Cesario to woo Olivia for him however Olivia begins to fall for Cesario. Later, Viola's twin brother reappears, and Olivia mistakes him for Cesario proposes to him. In the
William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night vs 2006 film She’s the Man Twelfth Night , also known as What You Will ,is a play written by William Shakespeare in the 1600s and is known to be the inspiration of a 2006 film titled She’s the Man. The director of this film most likely sought to deliver Shakespeare’s message to modern day. The film also seems to target a youthful audience as it involves comedy and relatable topics that teenagers would enjoy. Though the film and play display the story differently
Gender Roles in Twelfth Night and As you Like It Much of the comedy in Twelfth Night and As you Like It emerges from Shakespeare’s distortion of traditional gender roles, as both plays contain strong female leads who disguise themselves as males. Though both Viola and Rosalind help their less-than-ideal beloveds woo their own objects of desire, and both disguises emerge party from the loss of a male familial figure, the women inhabit their male facades in drastically different ways. In both plays
1.148., Twelfth Night). One of the important themes in William’s Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will, is ‘identity.’ Throughout the play, the use of the topic evolves the storyline of the romantic comedy. Nevertheless, how is this essential matter employed in the piece? Through symbolism and imagery, the subject uses disguises, indistinct gender roles all through Twelfth Night. Moreover, it suggests that males played female roles—a male actor would play a female character (Viola) who disguises
Brendalyn D. Henderson 7 March 2016 EH 215.106 Dr. D. Frye Short Essay Response 2 Word Count: 504 Twelfth Night In Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” Shakespeare explains how people go through disguises to impress other people, to be in a higher class, or be seen as better than everyone else. Although people always try to impress other people, their disguises causes identity and gender difficulties. Shakespeare is trying to explain that people tend to hide who they really are behind an invisible mask
In Volpone and Twelfth Night both Shakespeare and Jonson use disguise to make the audience laugh, but also to explore more serious themes. Such as gender issues within Shakespeare and Jonson with exploring greed and how it can destroy you. The playwrights make the audience laugh by using a range of different methods such as interaction with the audience throughout the plays. The writers’ purposes right at the beginning are to explore the theme of greed through humour, and explore the roles people
Blindness of Love in Twelfth Night by Shakespeare In the play "Twelfth Night" Shakespeare shows how anyone can be blinded by love and act so impulsively to satisfy their appetite for love, that often they fall in love with a façade rather then the person behind the disguise. Also Shakespeare also shows how people are apt to ignore the evidence that disproves the disguise they have fallen in love with. Almost all of the characters in "Twelfth Night" fell in love with a disguise; I will detail the