Literary Analysis Essay on Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Introduction

Twelfth Night is a play written by William Shakespeare one of the prominent pioneers of modern-day literature. The play was supposed to be performed on the twelfth feast day mainly referred to as the joyous climax of the Renaissance Christmas season. On the contrary, the feast day had nothing to do with the substance of the play. However, Shakespeare has written the play earlier and later decide to revise it for the Christmas season for the story had several signs of revision. The tone of the play is consistently appropriate to the high merriment created by Shakespeare. With about nine comedy plays written before writing the Twelfth Night Shakespeare was really at an elevated mood and at the height of his comic powers which he never returned.

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The play the Twelfth Night combines other critical elements from other plays by Shakespeare plays such as The Comedy of Errors and The Two Gentlemen of Verona into a new unsurpassed and triumph in the deft of its execution. Moreover, it is an excellent irony how Shakespeare's most happy story is compounded from a perspective of sadness from its principal characters. Nevertheless, the sadness in the story is mainly from Elizabethans savored. For, instance Orsino, in the play reveals in a sweet melancholy reminiscent of affects Antonio at the start of The Marchant of Venice. In his speech, he confesses the longings of love and the bittersweet satiety of his own romantic indulgence. Primarily, this means he is in love with love.

On the other side of the town happens to be the household of Olivia that balance Orsino together with his building. Although the sadness of Olivia about the death of her beloved brother is immense, it seems more substantial that Orsino's romantic fantasies. Moreover, she can be argued to be a Renaissance melancholic exacting the last ounce of the enjoyment from her grief. Importantly, her main plan is to isolate herself for seven years of mourning, but that gives her the counterbalance necessary to Orsino's fancy. This mainly set the plot the plot for the play in motion because Orsino's love-longing is mostly frustrated by Olivia's act of being a recluse. Moreover, the point of contact between the two is Viola as they keep ferrying back and forth. Similarly, Cesario is also sad, but her sadness is more human and direct.

Primarily, the beauty that mainly is expressed through her male disguise is more expressed and elevated beyond the vulgar joke made by Olivia's immediate response to her appeal. However, the grief of Viola is not stylized, and her love falls for human being rather than abstraction. Moreover, in the play, she seems to like the person to unite the two dreamers but the play makes a different accomplishment in that Viola in her alter ego and her person, her brother, she becomes a member of the two households. The primary outcome of the situation is the excellent resolution. Primarily, it immaterial for Orsino's to get Viola instead of Olivia. For Orsino, the romantic emotion was essential that the specific individual. On the other hand, Olivia had already been drawn out of the seclusion by the disguised Viola, but he goes on with her life and gets what even seemed to better for her, Sebastian.

The excellent plot is mainly reinforced by Shakespeare some most delicate and best dramatic poetry. The drama is blended with some idyllic setting in Illyria blend language, bittersweet music, and imagery that creates one of the most delightful atmospheres. This is appropriate for the enjoyment of the world and celebration of love that is evident in nearly the whole story. Moreover, one of the most notable briars of the play's rose garden is Malvolio. He mainly plays one of the central and exciting characters. He is referred to as Puritan, and he does not betray the characteristics that are associated with the austere Anglican sect. Primarily, he is a serious-minded and self-important person who has high ideals and cannot bear the thought of other people being happy.

Moreover, Malvolio suffers in a joyous world and it was against his will that he became part of fun in the play as he was made ridiculous and duped. Primarily, as a character in the play he represents growing power, historical group whose earnestness indicate competition to take the joy out of life. The interesting thing about Shakespeare on the character Puritanism is that he does not indulge on satire. He mainly uses that critical powers of the comedy in various ways to bring out the character.

Moreover, in the play Malvolio is ridiculous and so are the individuals surrounding him. The usually drunken Sir Toby Blech and the absurd Andrew Aguecheek are representative in the political level. These characters in the story might be flawed but they are more energetic and engaging that the inflated Malvolio. Primarily, in the play Shakespeare does not bring the contrast as political allegory with the wrong on one side and the right on the other. Shakespeare presents Malvolio as an intrusion into the idyllic world that the play is in. Malvolio cannot love, he cannot celebrate, and mainly in the paly does that is important except to butt a joke. It is widely accepted by some critics that Malvolio is treated unfairly, but for a Renaissance audience sit would be easy for them to understand how indecorous and ludicrous for a man of his class think even to the point of courting Countess Olivia. Importantly, his blustery and pompous language is the main sign how alien he is to the festive context of the novel. This is evident with Olivia language and believe on his actions. When Malvolio does his thing, Olivia occasionally that maybe he is put upon, but her comments ate sympathetic gesture he only gets from her. Primarily, he is force that is a threat to the of the celebrations, refined, and joyful in the Elizabethan society.

The play develops its themes from two level. Primarily, the main plot that is written in the blank verse and it show nobility in the pursuit of love. Moreover, the subplot features of the story mainly lower the characters, who purse mischief and drunkenness and speak in prose. Nevertheless, the main plot the twins Sebastian and Viola who are shipwrecked on the Illyrian coast and get separated from each other and each one presumes the other dead. Viola disguised as a man he decides to join the court of Orsino and fall in love with him but Orsino has his eye on Olivia who rejects his attention as she is mourning her dead brother. Orsino decides to Viola to try and woo Olivia for him but Olivia fall for Viola.

Double Dating in Twelfth Night

Coincidence and simultaneity are the main features that connect Sebastian and Viola in Twelfth Night. After all, twins coincide un one womb and are born at the same time. Moreover, Sebastian refers himself as Viola's twin instead of her brother. However, Viola does not indicate that Sebastian is her twin until the point she is mistaken form him. Sebastian starts the play as a twin importantly as a displaced twin. Moreover, for the twin's time is a crucial deciding element. Viola commits herself to time and Sebastian regrets the failure of the simultaneity of his experience when viola discovers the situation her male disguise has evoked. Though rescuing Sebastian, Antonio from has disrupted the simultaneity of the twins according to Sebastian thinking which started from their birth and was reflected on their similarity in feature. Moreover, their life becomes a center of coincidences in the play, they both are rescued and befriended by ship's captain, they serve Duke Orsino, and they are both caught in the interplay between the Duke's and Olivia's household. These events occurring to them are similar but not identical and they can be referred to as double dating.

Additionally, in consequence a fascinating issue develops in the play. This is when Viola and Sebastian coincidently collide when they are 3 months apart. Their double time experience brings out two crucial unnecessarily specific temporal references. One of the references is that precedes the sequence of the scenes that results into the problem and the second one is the one that follows those scenes. There are crucial differences in experience for the two twins, for instance Sebastian becomes the beloved of Antonio within 3 months while viola becomes enamored of Orison in 3 days. The disjunction in such as an experience in the play bring varied and interesting responses from the play. The incongruity of the part is not noticeable to the people watching the action and it I only visible to the careful reader of the play.

Gender Trouble in Twelfth Night

The Twelfth Night has become of the major texts for discussion regarding homoerotic representation in Shakespeare interpretive conclusion om the issue of same-sex attraction. From the play his interpretation and conclusion about same-sex attraction and heterosexual marriages are divided. Primarily, the relationship between Sebastian and Antonio is one of the most fertile areas for inquiry. For instance, Pequigney sets out to show that the relationship between the Sebastian and Antonio is homosexual in a play where bisexuality is major recurring theme. Moreover, the other main focus in the play is the relationship between Viola and Olivia. The play offers some intriguing acts at the beginning that brings the question of lesbianism in the play. The relationship between Viola and Olivia id more central to the play than most critics believe and argue. This together with other homoerotic found between Sebastian and Antonio and also between Orsino and his page mainly establishes same sex erotic attraction as one of the main themes in the story. However, the theme neither functions as uncomplicated promotion of today's category of sexual representation. Moreover, how the Twelfth Night represents the basis of sexuality indicate that Shakespeare is trying to show how the society view the topic. Sexuality today has become a norm and everybody has the right to practice what they deem to be good for them.

The Metaphor and Image of "Drowning" in Twelfth Night

Drowning in the play Twelfth Night can be described as a metaphor of loss. The loss can be in the perspective through the submersion of excess. Primarily, the theme is evident from the start of the play as in the first speech Orsino as that he be drowned in the music as it feeds his melancholy love. Mainly, the act is mainly concerned with indicating how the central characters in the play are caught up. Moreover, scene two shows the first of the two-drowning scene. Centrally, Sebastian is not drowned as viola believes and on the other hand Viola i not drown but comes out of the sea to Illyria. Moreover, Sir Toby Belch's sea is that of drink. Primarily, Feste, uses the metaphor when taking to Sir Toby. Feste liken Toby to a madman, a fool, and drowned man. Moreover, the image is also picked by other charterers in the story such as Viola who speaks of the Orsino's and Olivia love as being with adorations. In this case he is linking Orsino's tears of the love he has for Olivia as eye offending home. Other characters drowning in other things apart from tears and drink include Sir Andrew who is absorbed in eating, Malvolio who is drowned in his own self-importance, and Maria who is drowned in trouble making.