Twelfth Night Confusion Essay
Confusions in Twelfth Night
In 1600, under the great social influence of Queen Elizabeth as the center of culture, William Shakespeare, a English men lived in mystery with an uncertain birthday, was favored by the monarch as well as the whole English society. Therefore, the play Twelfth Night, written in William Shakespeare’s mid-career, was among one of his works being widely spread and highly praised. For instance, it was titled "the last play of Shakespeare's golden age” by a twentieth-century director and critic Harley Granville-Barker (“Twelfth Night” 892). By vividly portraying his characters in the play, Shakespeare represents the frustration brought by the gender identity in society.
Twelfth Night is a play took place in the country …show more content…
Viola as the most important character in conveying the idea of vague in gender position, disguised as Cesario, a pageboy assisting the duke to win Olivia’s favor. With the fuzzy identity being a man in her appearance and being a girl in her heart, Viola fails to avoid the intricate love triangle among herself, Duke Orsino and Olivia. She longs for her love but she can’t express her truth emotion: "O time, thou must untangle this, not I. / It is too hard a knot for me to untie!" (2.2.40-41). Viola explains her concern of love and shows the reluctant feeling toward her condition of disguise. However, such confusion brings Viola a chance to change: "Twelfth Night’s feminine, comic world, however, emphasizes the positive aspects of self-fashioning. Viola’s strange passivity … helps transform self-loss into a new birth" (Melchior). In the process of shaping her persona to meet the socially approved standards as a man, thus getting rid of the confusion brought by disguise, Viola transforms from being lost inside to being brave enough to reveal her true self and her real …show more content…
Diana’s lip
Is not more smooth and rubious. Thy small pipe
Is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound,
And all is semblative a woman’s part." (1.4.31-34)
She impressed Duke with her male identity but feminine outlook and therefore wins herself the job as a pageboy. Viola's appearance blurs border of gender identity and lead "the Duke in Twelfth Night delighting in the page Cesario's fresh youth and graceful responsiveness, and so falling in love without knowing it with the woman beneath the page's disguise" (Barber). Without even noticing the subtle change of his lover in his heart, Duke develop his unconsciously love for Viola majorly due to the misleading disguise.
Last but not least, the impact of obscure identity in gender happens not only on the major characters of the play; it also causes the supporting roles to be delusory. Because of Viola's disguise as a man, she enjoys an appearance similar to her brother Sebastian; hence, the confusion between recognizing the siblings is easily generated. Take Sir Antonio for example, he tries to fight against Viola for Olivia, but accidentally take Sebastian for Viola:
"Nay, let him alone. I’ll go another way to work with him. I’ll have an action of battery against him if
In 1600, under the great social influence of Queen Elizabeth as the center of culture, William Shakespeare, a English men lived in mystery with an uncertain birthday, was favored by the monarch as well as the whole English society. Therefore, the play Twelfth Night, written in William Shakespeare’s mid-career, was among one of his works being widely spread and highly praised. For instance, it was titled "the last play of Shakespeare's golden age” by a twentieth-century director and critic Harley Granville-Barker (“Twelfth Night” 892). By vividly portraying his characters in the play, Shakespeare represents the frustration brought by the gender identity in society.
Twelfth Night is a play took place in the country …show more content…
Viola as the most important character in conveying the idea of vague in gender position, disguised as Cesario, a pageboy assisting the duke to win Olivia’s favor. With the fuzzy identity being a man in her appearance and being a girl in her heart, Viola fails to avoid the intricate love triangle among herself, Duke Orsino and Olivia. She longs for her love but she can’t express her truth emotion: "O time, thou must untangle this, not I. / It is too hard a knot for me to untie!" (2.2.40-41). Viola explains her concern of love and shows the reluctant feeling toward her condition of disguise. However, such confusion brings Viola a chance to change: "Twelfth Night’s feminine, comic world, however, emphasizes the positive aspects of self-fashioning. Viola’s strange passivity … helps transform self-loss into a new birth" (Melchior). In the process of shaping her persona to meet the socially approved standards as a man, thus getting rid of the confusion brought by disguise, Viola transforms from being lost inside to being brave enough to reveal her true self and her real …show more content…
Diana’s lip
Is not more smooth and rubious. Thy small pipe
Is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound,
And all is semblative a woman’s part." (1.4.31-34)
She impressed Duke with her male identity but feminine outlook and therefore wins herself the job as a pageboy. Viola's appearance blurs border of gender identity and lead "the Duke in Twelfth Night delighting in the page Cesario's fresh youth and graceful responsiveness, and so falling in love without knowing it with the woman beneath the page's disguise" (Barber). Without even noticing the subtle change of his lover in his heart, Duke develop his unconsciously love for Viola majorly due to the misleading disguise.
Last but not least, the impact of obscure identity in gender happens not only on the major characters of the play; it also causes the supporting roles to be delusory. Because of Viola's disguise as a man, she enjoys an appearance similar to her brother Sebastian; hence, the confusion between recognizing the siblings is easily generated. Take Sir Antonio for example, he tries to fight against Viola for Olivia, but accidentally take Sebastian for Viola:
"Nay, let him alone. I’ll go another way to work with him. I’ll have an action of battery against him if