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Twelfth Night Lenses

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Submitted By treehugger1234
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Lens 1: Using the reader response lens, I picture Illyria being a small coastal town, with extravagant houses and people. However in the story the town is described as “rough and unhospitable” to any unguided stranger who stepped foot in Illyria (III, III, 10-11). This is shown in the scene where Antonio is explaining to Sebastian why he shouldn’t travel alone. Antonio informs Sebastian about how unfriendly and unwelcoming the people of Illyria are to a stranger like him. This revealed to me, that at first glance all I saw was a bunch of upper class people, but when I looked a little deeper I saw that the town actually had many underlying problems of its own. Also the presence of a town within Illyria is displayed in the text when Antonio is discussing with Sebastian his lodging situation. Sebastian asks Antonio if before they went looking for lodging they could “go see the reliques of the town” (III, III, 19).

Lens 3: The lens of Class studies is shown throughout the story by depicting the difference between the upper and lower classes. One way this is shown is through Malvolio’s feelings toward Olivia. These feelings are brought up in the story when he receives a letter from “Olivia”. In the letter it explains how if they were to have a relationship Malvolio’s lower class status would be raised. The letter tells Malvolio to “cast thy humble slough and appear fresh”, and to “Be opposite with a kinsman surly with servants” (II, V, 133-135). This is saying that if they were to have a relationship he would need to be prepared to leave the low class life he lives and trade it for the upscale lifestyle she will provide him. The letter also points out how unorthodox it would be for her to have an intimate relationship with lower classman. It goes to lengths show how Malvolio must hide his relationship because he is a steward and is therefore of a lower standing than

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