William Shakespeare s Twelfth Night - 1155 Words

People tend to judge others based on many aspects. Sometimes they may try to force people to act upon certain rules that define their place in society. They often try to meet expectations that society has made for them based on gender and social status. William Shakespeare reinforces these ideas in his play Twelfth Night, which introduces many meaningful messages about situations that still occur in society today. He clearly develops important themes worthy of analysis. A few of these strong themes are about stereotypes and society’s expectations and rules, which he proves to be irrelevant most of the time. Many situations in the play falsify commonly held stereotypes about gender and social status by showing how they are sometimes invalid. He also shows how these stereotypes can affect the way people behave towards and judge others. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare contradicts vapid stereotypes about gender. Through Viola’s disguise as Cesario, he is able to prove that a woman is able to fulfill a man s role in society. She is able to fool the other characters and is even able to woo another woman. This reinforces ideas about how invalid the rules and regulations society has made since Viola easily broke through them. Later on in the story, Sir Andrew challenges Viola to a duel. Viola expects Sir Andrew to be a great fighter, and he expects the same from her. This creates a comedic situation since they both are too afraid of each other to engage in the fight. (3.4, 223-298)Show MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night2005 Words   |  9 Pagesrole that gender plays in Shakespeare’s work. Focus on Twelfth Night or King Lear—or discuss both plays together. Do you see these patterns repeated? Or do you see them being challenged and somehow undermined (implicitly or explicitly) in the plots and language of the play s)?† wants to know if Shakespeare wanted to break the pattern of women being passive objects to men in the lit erature. In the story Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare all of the roles are played by men. In the fifteenth centuryRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night1967 Words   |  8 Pages William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Twelfth Night† or â€Å"What You Will† was written around 1601-1602 with the primary performance being in February 1602. It is known to be a high point of Shakespearian comedy as it is one of Shakespeare’s finest works. Twelfth night was written to commemorate the close of the Christmas season being possibly one of the first ever holiday specials, kind of like the Middle Ages version of â€Å"Love Actually†. The play centres on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated duringRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night Essay2147 Words   |  9 Pagesaffection for another person,† love takes on many forms throughout life and literature (Merriam-Webster). Through its passionate drama and witty repartee, Twelfth Night , by William Shakespeare, explores the intricate, and often complicated, realm of interpersonal love. By tracing the intertwining storylines of four unique characters, Shakespeare communicates the futility of self-love, the desperation of hopeless love, and the immeasurable virtue of selfless love. An after-effect of human’s sinfulRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night947 Words   |  4 PagesLove affection Recently, I’ve been reading an intriguing play, Twelfth Night, which was written by William Shakespeare. What interests me in this play most is the fact that there are a lot of love interests. Duke Orsino is greatly attracted to a gentlewoman called Olivia. However, despite his attempts to court her, she rejects his approaches as she claims to be in a period of mourning for her dead brother which has been going on for seven years. Olivia forms a tight friendship with Viola, a womanRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night1436 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare is perhaps one of the most famous writers of English literature. His writings and plays have touched the lives of many people. At some point in our lives, whether we are aware of it or not, we have all come across a poem, play or perhaps even an old adage that was written by William Shakespeare that has captured our attention. I still remember the very first time I read Romeo and Juliet in high school. The st ory was one of the most memorable pieces of literature that I recallRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night1502 Words   |  7 PagesThe very ï ¬ rst word following the dramatis personae in the text of William Shakespeare s comedy, Twelfth Night, or What You Will, is Music. The first thing that playgoers hear at the beginning is music. This music is being played for a duke, a powerful lord residing over the setting of all the characters. He is surrounded by other lords and his attendant, Curio. The duke, Orsino, cannot help but comment: If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of itRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night1218 Words   |  5 PagesTwelfth Night, a romantic piece by William Shakespeare expresses a complex love triangle in the village of Illyria. One of the primary protagonists, Viola is washed up onto the shores during violent storms that separate her and her biological twin brother Sebastian. Viola is uncertain if her brother Sebastian survived. It is a coincidence, that the tragic shipwreck carried Viola to the enemy state (Illyria). Unfortunately, this forces the character to go into disguise in order to survive on the maleRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night1979 Words   |  8 Pageshas died. This is extremely emotionally tolling both on the nurses and the patients and lying seems like a kinder option. A situation such as this one would be deception to gain something but is helping the person being lied to. In William Shakespeare s Twelfth Night, one main characters, Viola, wakes up on the shores of Illyri a after a shipwreck in which her brother has presumably died. She formulates a plan to work for the Duke, Orsino who is hopelessly in love with the sought-after Olivia. ThisRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night1106 Words   |  5 Pagescharacters. Before movies, people learned about love in literature. Even in the old literature, love was a common theme. In Shakespeare’s play â€Å"Twelfth Night†, different types of love between the characters are investigated. Each of the characters’ relationships play a role in the development of the story. The first and main type of love in â€Å"Twelfth Night is true love. The story’s plot is driven by the complicated love triangle between Orsino, Viola, and Olivia. However, Viola’s love is the only trueRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Twelfth Night1162 Words   |  5 PagesShakespeare, the favorite dramatist of all time fascinates himself with the usage of the language of Elizabethan poetic drama. His plays were lived to a full appreciation and pleasure. One of his most common plays full of comedies, twelfth night published in 1623, was written with a well hatched plot where the analysis on love is brought in both comic and tragic situation. The reader will note the three very different story lines within these paragraphs. The following prognostications will outline