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Twelfth Night Essays

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William Shakespeare is deemed to be the greatest dramatist of all time. As Ben Jonson, one of his closest friends once said, “Shakespeare is not of an age but for all time”. Many of his plays continue to be studied in our modern era and are a staple to any English curriculum. He has many famous plays that have been performed for more than four hundred years and to this day, we still believe that analyzing Shakespearian plays is a...
2 Pages 991 Words
Two of Shakespeare’s plays which focus heavily on the theme of gender are The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night. In both plays, Shakespeare simultaneously supports and poses challenges to early-modern understandings of gender. In The Taming of the Shrew, the misogynistic treatment of Kate reflects the patriarchal values which were standard of the period, whilst subtle mocking and satire directed at her abuser, Petruchio, challenge the notion of male superiority. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s indication of homoerotic feelings...
4 Pages 1885 Words
The play, Twelfth Night, written by William Shakespeare is a playful comedy which explores the construction of class, gender, sexual identity, and the tensions between the external and internal dimensions of each. Many on-screen and rendition adaptations of the play have been created, with the movie, She’s the man directed in 2002 by Andy Flickmen, being beloved by many. Although both works share the same plot and characters; Viola, who is a female twin seeking to flourish in the role...
2 Pages 963 Words
Twelfth Night, or What You Will is one of the most challenging Shakespeare’s plays, as it explores issues of gender identity and sexual orientation, interrogates traditional representation of gender roles and suggests same-sex love and attraction between most of the characters, issues, which unfortunately, nowadays, almost 400 years later, are little debated or even considered taboo topics. Twelfth Night is with no doubt a play ahead of it is time. The innovative Elizabethan play, disturbs heteronormativity, which is the belief...
3 Pages 1200 Words
William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night and John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, challenge the traditional conservative views of women. Twelfth Night demonstrates a radical and powerful presentation of women as they control and dominate the actions of the characters and plot line. Paradise Lost provides an interpretation of the Biblical text of the fall of man, as the poem presents Eve as a heroic figure willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good. However, Twelfth Night and Paradise Lost fail...
8 Pages 3518 Words
The essay title I have chosen to discuss for this final essay is ‘The Suddenness of Love’. I intend to discuss this title with reference to material covered over the course of the Shakespearean Comedies module. The suddenness of love is a theme used by William Shakespeare in several of the comedies he wrote such as Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It. For this essay I will discuss the suddenness of love in relation to...
2 Pages 1030 Words
Disorientation is often the cause of much anxiety. The human inability to control the breakdown of social or personal order can be the source for significant panic and disarray; that which is many times mentally jarring. This element of confusion for characters within literary works often times becomes their downfall, as they are placed in situations in which reality is unknown. Confusion can cause individuals to become blindsided, and while it is usually a cause for concern, this inability to...
5 Pages 2234 Words
The two plays that I will explore in depth to answer this question includes ‘Twelfth Night’ by William Shakespeare, written around 1602. As well as ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’ by Luigi, written in 1921. For the sake of this essay, it is important to decode some key words within the question. Society means that we are looking at the most acknowledged people and behavior during which each individual play was written. Represents means an accurate portrayal of...
2 Pages 801 Words
The play ' Twelfth night' by Shakespeare, makes us question ourselves, is gender really matters? Is gender defining who am I? many questions and ideas spins in my mind while reading this play. Gender ambiguity is one of these ideas. First, I'm going to define what gender ambiguity is, 'It applies to a person that looks both male and female, in other words u can't tell which they are. It most commonly occurs when someone is wearing clothing that would...
5 Pages 2307 Words
Introduction Appearing in many of Shakespeare's plays, the clown or fool figure is one of the most intriguing stage characters in the Shakespearean oeuvre and continues to capture the interest of modern-day critics and contemporary audiences. Although unique to each play, the character of the Shakespearean fool can generally be divided into two categories: the clown and the jester. The term 'clown' didn't emerge until the sixteenth century, and it was formerly intended to designate an ignorant and fairly uneducated...
10 Pages 4540 Words
Sexuality, gender, and patriarchy are all common themes in many of Shakespeare’s plays. Both gender ambiguity and sexual stereotypes are used as a means of character manipulation and plot development in several of his plays. During the Elizabethan Era, Shakespeare was influenced by social norms regarding gender, sexuality, status, etc. Both men and women accepted their roles according to the society that they lived in; which is why many of Shakespeare’s references to gender and sex were admissible in the...
3 Pages 1400 Words
Today, our society is accustomed to vast changes in perspective of sexuality and new challenges of sexual norms. It appears these perspectives are new, but these changing perspectives can be traced back to the Middle Ages. These topics are illustrated through many works of literature. Two texts that best exemplify topics of sexual politics are Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Both works were transformative of perspectives on these topics in their respective publication periods. Their...
2 Pages 937 Words
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, King Lear, and Hamlet, there is a theme of loyalty between a central character and another. This loyalty transcends what the other characters belief; they help them no matter the burden it bears on them. It also reveals itself in many different forms, through love, service, and friendship. As seen throughout countless Shakespeare plays, women are typically depicted as disloyal, but characters such as Viola and Cordelia stick out amongst the rest because of the loyalty...
4 Pages 1850 Words
Throughout William Shakespeare’s time during the Elizabethan Era in the late 1500s, societal standards and gender roles were not like how they are in most of the world today. Women in the Elizabethan Era were raised to believe that they were inferior to men. The Church enforced this, quoting from the bible to ensure that this principle was widely followed. Women were to obey not only their parents but any other male relatives of their family. Disobedience was seen as...
3 Pages 1207 Words
Shakespeare endeavors to make a dreary distress inside twelfth night, accentuating the torment got by the detested characters, while additionally including a detailed storyline that finishes in the traditional Elizabethan manner; marriage. Be that as it may, Trevor Nunn, with the additional component of visuals, weakens the play's content by utilizing stage activities and camera developments. In Nunn's 1996 adjustment of twelfth night, the adventure to rejoin couples is made more comedic and pleasant, as opposed to discouraging. This is...
2 Pages 956 Words
Disguise has played a major role in society and England during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. The role of disguise was an extremely important concept in Shakespearean theatre, as it is used in to conceal the identity of one or more characters from other person in the play (Kreider 168). Often disguise within Shakespearean plays either exceeded the “boundary of any unitary image of subjectivity or resists what verisimilar role construction, emplotment of desire, and passion in relationships” (Weimann 798)....
6 Pages 2795 Words
The word appropriation means moving a text from one context to another, but keeping particular elements like the setting and character similar. An example of appropriation from both the film and the play is the quote ‘some are born great, some achieve greatness’ this quote is said in both the film and the play and it's just one of the many similarities between ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘She’s the Man’. A writer might choose to appropriate a text because it can...
1 Page 582 Words
This essay will discuss the theme of relationships reflected in the characters of Viola and Duke Orsino in the film Twelfth Night and She’s The Man. Both depict a love triangle where the female lead fallsin love with the main male character,who is in love with someone else.In She’s the Man, Viola, who pretends to be Sebastian, falls in love with Duke who is in love with Olivia. The irony is that Duke uses Viola to send his love messages...
2 Pages 970 Words
In the play Twelfth Night, or What you will, written by William Shakespeare in (1601), the main theme of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night play is mainly about love. Shakespeare describes three types of emotions of love in his play which are; ture love, self love and friendship. Viola’s love for Osorio is the first example Shakespeares describes as a true love although she is pretending to be a man and is virtually unknown in Illyria, she hopes to win the Duke’s...
2 Pages 746 Words
Comedies treat usually the joyful aspects of human life. Shakespeare’s comic works deal with love’s lighter side and often marriages. Twelfth Night is a very unlikely comedy written by Shakespeare because many of its characters seem out of place and the comedy seems to be coming out of this very fact itself. While focusing upon serious issue like construction of gender roles, the play is outrightly a festive and romantic comedy. Twelfth Night’s title reminds us of the Christian festival...
1 Page 479 Words
Not Another Teen Movie Girl dresses like a guy; she falls in love with a guy, but all while a girl falls in love with her dressed as a guy. It's a story we have all heard before, that is if you have read the Twelfth Night. Recently I saw a film entitled She’s the Man and a friend told me it was an adaption of a Shakespeare play called Twelfth Night. Since I have had to go to Shakespeare...
4 Pages 1670 Words
Twelfth Night Questions What is the most important theme in your play and explain how the author communicates the theme throughout the play? (Remember the theme is a main message of the play - the lesson, or observation about human nature the author makes - it should take a stand not just be a topic or one word like “love”) In his play Twelfth Night is a romantic comedy, William Shakespeare develops the theme of love is pain and the...
3 Pages 1445 Words
She’s The Man may be a beautiful and uproarious comedy recorded within the us. it had been directed in 2002 by Andy Fickman and relies on the play the Twelfth night written and composed by poet. within the film She’s The Man the main character, Viola Hastings, disguises herself as a person and takes her brother’s place within the boys’ football game team. Her intentions are to prove that women are capable of doing what boys do and during a...
2 Pages 855 Words
Recently I’ve been learning about William Shakespeare and his works in English. He was an incredible playwright who was born in (approximately) 1564 and died in 1616. He has been credited for adding (approximately) 3000 words to the English language. He wrote some amazing renowned plays which I have been studying like Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night, to name a few. These plays usually fall into three genres History, tragedy and comedy. These plays...
2 Pages 919 Words
Love. it is such an interesting thing to think about, and it is very complicated. But we have to remember that people see it differently to others, they may see it as a curse, or as fate, but in the same sense, it means similar things. To show you what I mean, there are two sources that I will be talking to you about today, Shes the man directed by andy Fickman, and Twelfth night, the play by William Shakespeare....
2 Pages 1010 Words
William Shakespeare enriches his plays with comedies by adding mistaken identities and treating them like witty and familiar themes. He adds deception to the plays to lure the audience into the world. Trevor Nunn follows a parallel path but additionally invites the idea of mistaken identities into play. The play enriches physical deception when Viola chooses to 'conceal me what I am' (1.2.), entrusting just the Captain with her mystery. Shakespeare dresses Viola up as a boy so she could...
2 Pages 867 Words
‘Twelfth Night’ or ‘What You Will’ is a Shakespearean play that includes many comedic conventions like disguise, trickery and love interests. It is these conventions that make modern audiences enjoy and laugh at ‘Twelfth Night’, contrary to Sir Richard Eyre’s comment, 'It's true that a lot of Shakespeare's jokes aren't very good, because they're topical, you know. Comedy dates very, very quickly.”, on the Telegraph UK. Though Sir Richard Eyre was the former head of the Royal National Theatre and...
1 Page 643 Words
What is the value of Shakespeare’s work in modern society? William Shakespeare, just the mention of that name is enough to excite a chorus of groans around any classroom. We’ve all heard of him, but the name incites a level of fear because we expect to not understand the difficult language or gain anything from someone who lived over 400 years ago. However, if we take the time to study his works in Modern English, we come to understand that...
2 Pages 933 Words
Gender from Then to Today The societal role of women within british literature is a recurring theme seen across the centuries. Whether it be Guinevere in a lustrous affair with Sir Lancelot, to the Wife of Bath battling gender norms, to Viola fighting for work in a man’s world we see the importance of gender identity. In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night we see how the main character Viola, undercover as Cesairo, experiences the nature of being both a woman and...
1 Page 651 Words
By effectively manipulating comedy and the satirical use of jokes and humour, Shakespeare successfully managed to comment on certain aspects of Elizabethan society in his play 'Twelfth night'. Through his use of puns, irony, double entendres and satire, Shakespeare manages to entertain his Elizabethan audience whilst commenting on many ideas and values that revolve around their society. Twelfth Night contains many classic aspects of dramatic comedy. Central to its design is a series of tangled love interests (Orsino loves Olivia,...
2 Pages 727 Words
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