...Twelfth Night is a magnificent comedy written by famous writer William Shakespeare. Twelfth Night or What you will was probably written for performance on the Twelfth Night i.e. the last night of the Christmas holiday ,January 6th in the year 1601.it is also likely that it was first presented before queen Elizabeth I in a great hall of her palace of Whitchali ,just outside London. the play would suit such an occasion since it’s a delightful ,lighthearted comedy ,full of love and laughter ,and with only a cloud or two to pass across the happy sunshine. But what about the social background of the play? For many centuries Christian communities have celebrated the feast of Epiphany-the time when the infant Jesus was first presented to the Magi (wise men) twelve days after his birth on Christmas day .in Shakespeare’s time; this whole period from 25th December to 6th January was given over to ‘Yuletide revels’-a time of feasting and celebration which probably dates back to Roman Satumalin. During this extended partying, it was traditional to play tricks on people, and it was understood that, for a while the usual master-servant relationship were turned on their heads. Twelfth Night was a period of carnival in which typically: a. People might give away to bodily pleasures of all kinds (drinking too much, indulging in sex, over eating and many more). b. Language itself seemed to run riot (with jokes, nonsense and wit). c. The traditional hierarchies (the lord and lady ‘at the top’...
Words: 1525 - Pages: 7
...Twelfth Night has several amusing love plots that many characters are caught up in. Shakespeare wrote this comedy’s love plots while not truly taking gender into consideration. A male can feel love for a male and a female can feel love for a female in this play without the characters realizing how outlandish it may be. The most conspicuous example of this is between Sebastian and Antonio. These two seem to be more than just friends and their love for each other truly offers, “what you will.” Antonio and Sebastian have somewhat of an odd relationship with each other. Antonio is infatuated by Sebastian from the beginning. He always wants Sebastian by his side and he is constantly worried about his safety. There is proof in the text that may...
Words: 381 - Pages: 2
...Ida Adibi Mrs. Osburn MYP-IB English 10 – 2nd Period 24 May 2013 “Nothing That Is So Is So” Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night focuses largely on the “nothing is as it seems” theme. This particular scene depicts a conversation between Feste and Sebastian. The fool is surprised that Sebastian is suggesting that he was not sent for Sebastian. Sebastian tells the fool to go away, calling him a “foolish fellow” (IV.i.2). Feste compliments Sebastian for holding out on him. He then sarcastically says that Olivia did not send him, that she does not want to speak with Sebastian, and that Sebastian’s name is not Master Cesario. The fool continues with a joke to emphasize the sarcasm: “nor this my nose neither” (IV.i.6). Sebastian instructs the fool to tell his nonsense to someone else and insists Feste does not know him. This fits the theme because it seems that the fool is speaking to Cesario, but that is not the case. Some words in this passage may be difficult to figure out. The fool says, “to bid you come speak with her” (IV.i.5). In this context the word “bid” may be confusing. Bid means to command or direct. Therefore, Feste is saying: to command you to come speak with her. Sebastian says, “I prithee, vent thy folly somewhere else” (IV.i.8). The words “prithee” and “folly” may be unfamiliar. Prithee means “pray thee.” It is a word that was commonly used in that time period and is frequently used in the play. Folly means the state of being foolish and lacking sense. Sebastian...
Words: 796 - Pages: 4
...Twelfth Night Coursework Introduction Q. ‘Comedy, like all drama depends on conflicts, in particular between weak and strong characters’. Explore how far you agree that Shakespeare uses conflict to create comedy in twelfth night? Shakespeare’s use of conflict to create comedy for the reader is very effective, as he makes the arguments themselves be based on misunderstandings and manipulation, providing humour for the reader because they are not really caused by any actual wrong doing by any of the characters. This shows that the characters that have been manipulated in this way, such as Sir Andrew, when Sir Toby gets him to fight Viola/Cesario, are weak characters, because as with Sir Andrew, he has allowed Sir Toby to cloud his judgment and cause him to believe that he has a good reason to fight Viola. In this situation, there is more humour because we learn that Sir Andrew dresses very well and has a respectful position, he seems at first like he should be a stronger man, but Sir Toby’s easy manipulation of him shows the reader that Sir Andrew is in fact more like an unsure, naïve child. Because of this we get the impression that Sir Andrew is one of the weaker characters, but we know that Viola is a stronger character, because although she is afraid to fight Sir Andrew when he challenges her, she tries her best, and stands up to fight despite being innocent and being a woman. This could be humorous for the reader too, because we see how Sir Andrew is afraid to fight Viola...
Words: 291 - Pages: 2
...“He is the wisest character in the play”. How far do you agree with this interpretation of Feste in Twelfth Night? This essay will explore the notion that Feste is the wisest character in the play. The definition of wise is “having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgment: a wise precaution.” Feste is the epitome of irony, I think a modern day audience would the audience may believe a ‘fool’ to be purely someone to make you laugh and be an idiot. However Feste is very much the opposite; he fits the definition of wise, he speaks profoundly, questions high class characters such as Olivia and almost undermines her with his wit. He is very melancholic, especially about love whereas everybody else is almost controlled by it and the audience may see him to be wise because he avoids love to stay happy. Feste is a ‘licenced fool’ in “Twelfth Night” and this means that he is allowed to judge people whereas others would be punished for doing so therefore this gives him some power as he is allowed to speak the truth. Olivia, in Act 1, Scene 5, says “there is no slander in an allowed fool.” This suggests to me that Olivia doesn’t see him as a fool or a jester, she sees him as someone who will speak the truth because he is ‘allowed’ to judge people not to be cruel but to offer advice and this suggests that Olivia sees Feste as being wise otherwise she would not come to him to ask for his help or listen to what he says. Alan S. Downer of ‘College English’ says that ''Feste is...
Words: 1775 - Pages: 8
...To live peacefully with those closest to us requires honesty. When people try to keep secrets from their loved ones, whether about finances or health, it always ends somewhat badly because the truth comes out. In the 17th century romantic comedy Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare uses the character of Viola to develop the theme that deception leads to conflicts, which can complicate relationships and cause suffering to innocent bystanders. Deception leads to conflicts . Viola allows her lie to cause confusion and eventually build up into a violent confrontation. The audience realizes when Andrew says, “Now sir, have I met you again?/There’s for you”(IV.i.24-25) that Viola’s deceit results in strife. Shakespeare uses Viola’s fraud to highlight the importance of truth in difficult situations, because the longer a person keeps up a falsehood, the worse the repercussions become. Even those lies which begin innocently lead to suffering because confusion results in malignancy. Viola’s deception almost completely destroys her relationship with Orsino, as he becomes very angry with “Cesario” and tries to send him away with, “Farewell, and take her, but direct thy feet/Where thou and I henceforth may never meet”(V.i.177-178). Shakespeare uses this conflict to show how Viola’s deception goes beyond her control, and almost breaks apart a...
Words: 461 - Pages: 2
...People can be blinded from the truth by focusing only on appearance. In the play, Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, characters mistake other characters because they just look at their appearance. To begin with, Viola, survivor of a shipwrecked, disguises as a man and creates plenty of problems for her and for other characters as well. Moreover, Sebastian, twin brother of Viola and a survivor of a shipwrecked, is ignorant about a specific event due to his twin sister disguise. Not to mention, Feste, the clown, being disguised as a clown makes other characters think that he is a fool and cannot do anything intelligent. By looking at Viola’s disguise, Sebastian’s mistaken identity and Feste’s disguise; other characters are ignorant about the reality of these characters. First of all, Viola is ignorant about Sebastian is alive, since she thinks that he drowned. While being in the disguise, characters are going to mistake Cesario, Viola, with Sebastian, which the characters think it is Cesario since they look the same. When Antonio wants some of “Sebastian’s” money he says “I must entreat of you some of that money” (3.4.327) while Antonio is getting arrested by the officers, he asks “Sebastian” to give him some of the money he gives him earlier. Antonio sees Cesario thinks it is Sebastian, since...
Words: 1073 - Pages: 5
...In the opening scene of Twelfth Night, Shakespeare defines his concept of courtly love. An examination of the opening soliloquy foreshadows the author’s views on the different views of love between the nobility and peasantry classes. It is clear from Orsino’s ruminations that he that he believes in love as a pure ideal. To paraphrase, Orsino believes in love at first sight and is immediately smitten by Olivia. He states, “O, when my eyes did see Olivia first, Methought she purged the air of pestilence” (3). In many ways, this is classic Shakespeare who, as a playwright and historian, thrives on dichotomy as a literary trope. Shakespeare exemplifies this topsy turvy notion, that I brand a dichotomy, by introducing the character of Olivia’s Uncle Toby Belch. Toby, to be polite despite his name, is a drunk. However, he is the comedic figure of the play. While nonsensical, he emblemizes the fact that love is real. He is a clown, but like many, clowns in literature, he is the most grounded character, despite his obvious flaws in the play. When Toby speaks, the viewer, importantly the audience of an Elizabethan drama not a 21st century English class, understands love is real. In this manner Toby acts as a mask for the real world....
Words: 582 - Pages: 3
...In William Shakespeare’s last comedic play Twelfth Night or What You Will the concept of creativity and imagination is an essential element to the plot as it is intertwined with love and identity. Few parts of the play are not in some way affected by imagination and creativity. This Shakespearean play depicts situations of deception, love and most prominently foolery all of which are fueled by the creativity and imagination of the cast. Throughout the play the source of a character’s love for another is challenged by how creativity and imagination play a role in their devotion. Characters use creative ploys to manipulate the imaginations of their targets causing foolery and chaos to ensue. Creativity and imagination spark love, and create clouds of confusion. It is only when events caused by works of creativity and imagination are revealed to all that the play can come to a close. In the opening scene of the play Orsino, detailing the extent of his lovesickness, says “So full of shapes is fancy / That it alone is high fantastical” (1.1.14-15). Orsino speaks of fancy as meaning love and that his love creates intense...
Words: 2389 - Pages: 10
...film adaptation of Twelfth Night is faithful to Shakespeare’s play, there are differences that slightly alter the audience’s perception of the story. Nunn chooses to downplay some aspects of the play while playing up others. The relationships between the characters seems to be the emphasis of the story. He adds in new material to supplement the plot while emphasizing minute points to make a bigger impact on modern audiences. The prologue is entirely new to the story. In Shakespeare’s play, the action starts with Orsino’s dilemma with Olivia and then moves on to the aftermath of the shipwreck. Nunn’s film begins with a prologue to showcase the close relationship between Viola and Sebastian. There is an emphasis on how close these two characters are, making it a point to say that they are alone in the world together. This sets up the emotional reunion between Viola and Sebastian at the end. Their reunion is the most emotional scene in the play and including a prologue in which it is explained how close the twins are helps to create an even more powerful scene....
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...Twelfth Night Cast: Frances Barber, Christopher Ravenscroft, James Saxon, Abigail McKern, James Simmons, Anton Lesser, Caroline Langrishe, Richard Briers, Tim Barker, Christopher Hollis. Director: Kenneth Branagh Synopsis: Frances Barber starts the film as a woman who lost her brother (Christopher Hollis) and in an attempt to find money and a place to live without the inconvenience of her true identity, she uncovers herself in a man suit and prepares to work and live as a man. In this first version of the film, Branagh uses his intelligence to create a clever and funny film full of twists and mystery identities. Review: I recently saw Twelfth Night film version by Kenneth Branagh and honestly I can say I was very pleased by the outcome. It is really hard to transform one of Shakespeare’s best literary work into an interesting film version that keeps the true essence of the story and keeps you wondering and laughing at almost every scene. Shakespeare’s books were meant to be acted alive, to keep the audience intrigue by its cleverness, interesting and sometimes twisted scenes in which characters were involved in non so usual circumstances, and the fact that Kenneth managed himself to achieve that in a film version amazes me. This movie is filled with amazing actors who truly represent the characters in the book. First, Frances Barber gives a really good performance acting as Viola, a woman who lost her brother but was convinced he was still alive and Cesario...
Words: 503 - Pages: 3
...Kela Yard L6A1 English of Literatures – Drama Mr. King The Dramatic Irony in Twelfth Night Dramatic irony is a very important element of literature. The proper use of dramatic irony allows an audience to have a furthered understanding of characters, by allowing the audience to know things that the characters in the literature do not know. When used properly, this knowledge is used to create feelings of humour and suspense for an audience. Dramatic irony is therefore a very common literary element, and many famous authors and playwrights have used it to dramatize their works. Shakespeare for example, was known to use dramatic irony in many of his plays. The play “Twelfth Night” also known as what “What You Will” contains elements of dramatic irony which are used to create a very engaging and funny experience for the audience. He uses elements such as mistaken identity, separated twins, and gender crossing disguise. The afore mentioned elements therefore have a great impact on the amount of dramatic irony presented in the play. This dramatic irony contributes to the comedic effect of the play. The first example of dramatic irony disguise of Viola, who is saved after being shipwrecked by a captain who puts in to shore on Illyria. After learning that the captain knows the Duke of Illyria, Viola asks him to disguise her as a eunuch so that she may work for the Duke. In this disguise, that only the audience is aware of Viola is better able to perceive the true nature of the...
Words: 1330 - Pages: 6
...The last act of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is where the play brings all the subplots together and the play comes to a “resolution”, a typical convention in Shakespearian comedies usually signified by a wedding, in this case there are two marriages, one between Viola and Orsino and one between Olivia and Sebastien. One of the comedic aspects of the final act of the play is the ever present theme of false appearances and how that creates confusion and ambiguity amongst the characters but the audience as well. In the last scene, it is used by Shakespeare to bring the characters the together and it is very ironic that the source of confusion in the first place is the very thing that ends the confusion in the play. The false appearance of Cesario causes confusion once again as it introduces the theme of homosexuality in the final scene. Viola expresses her love for Orsino through Cesario saying that “more by all mores than e’er I shall love wife” despite the fact that no one knows that Cesario is in fact a women. The fact that Orsino does not deny this love, shows that he has similar feelings, especially because he says that he Cesario is someone that he tenders “dearly”. This is comedic because it shows the reversal of feelings that Orsino has in a very short space of time. Throughout the play he has been infatuated with the concept of a relationship with Olivia, yet now that he is rejected yet again, he turns to his more homosexual side and accepts Cesario’s love for him. This...
Words: 1166 - Pages: 5
...* Many thing’s make this the pivotal scene in the play, firstly the transition from the green world back toward reality, this is shown through a skeptical Aguecheek as he says “all is done”, but Toby insists that he and Aguecheek are not only awake at an "early" morning hour, but they also go to bed after midnight, which means they also go to bed "early”. This may link to the green world of carnival were no sleep and all night parties are part of the celebration however sir Andrew may be signaling the turning pointy and the end of carnival is near as he says “to be up late is to be up late” showing his rejection of the timelessly fun green world acknowlging natures bringing to an end the timeless fun. * Sir Andrew pipes up that all he and Toby ever really do is eat and drink, so Toby calls for another round of booze. Then Feste turns up and they greet each other by saying things like "Youths stuff will not endure”, feste always has a somber tone to his songs and this one has a element of foreshadowing of the future in the new world and the marriage were growing up has to occur and “youth” in the green world comes to an end. * Toby and Aguecheek give Feste a few more coins and demand a love song, which Feste obliges. The trio continue to fool around, singing and talking, much of it nonsense when Maria enters and tells them to pipe down before Olivia kicks them out. * Maria's chiding doesn't do any good, so Malvolio runs in to lecture them. Don't they have any sense...
Words: 662 - Pages: 3
...What is the tone of the opening 3 scenes of ‘Twelfth Night’? In the first 3 acts of Twelfth Night Shakespeare skillfully uses three very different characters to illustrate three types of behaviour in relation to emotional pain and suffering. Within the first two scenes of the play, the audience is introduced to two of the main themes of different types of love as well as mistaken identity/uncertainty of gender. Destructive and painful love is portrayed within Orsino character (and to an extent Olivia’s), whilst mistaken identity can be seen in Viola’s decision to disguise herself as a man. The third scene contrasts with this and the first real comedic tone is portrayed with the characters Maria, Toby Belch and Andrew Aguecheek. Scene 1’s main focus is the idea of Orsino suffering out of his perceived love-sickness. The first line “if music be the food of love, play on” suggests that love has completely conquered Orsino and is vital to his survival. He goes on to mention ‘surfeiting’ which illustrates the idea of Orsino being so infatuated and reliant upon love that he desires to overdose, and consequently acquire so much love that it ceases to exist. This idea portrays the image of love as being something unwanted and suggests that love comes up on people unexpectedly and isn’t something that can be avoided. The idea of love being a cause of suffering is also reflected upon in the way that Orsino plans to hunt hart’s. The word hart is used as a pun to imply that it’s in...
Words: 1093 - Pages: 5
