William Shakespeare s Twelfth Night - 981 Words

In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the theme of same-sex desire plays a significant role in the play. Shakespeare’s comedy was written around 1601 and during these times, women were not allowed to perform on the English public stage, therefore female roles were written to be performed by trained youthful boys. In this play, Viola is a female character that has the ability and skills to transform herself through character, voice, and gesture into a young teenage boy, whose name is Cesario (Shakespeare 1187). Because of the characters of Viola and Cesario, they are able to explore emotional territories of both men and women and same-sex desire as well as cross-class marriages (Shakespeare 1187). Due to same-sex desires, this provides more stability and meaningfulness to the overall play by falling in love with those whose inner beauty shines more than physical appearance. In the land of Illyria, Duke Orsino, a nobleman, falls in love with the wealthy and beautiful, Olivia. As the play starts off, Orsino sends his messenger, Cesario, to deliver a message to Olivia expressing to her how much Orsino loves her. Because Cesario is young and handsome, Orsino believes that she will listen to him since she has not listened to anyone since her brother died. Viola begins to fall in love with Orsino after realizing how passionate he is for love and that he would go out of his way to try to express his love to Olivia: â€Å"I’ll do my best / To woo your lady. Yet a barful strife! /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)?† w ants to know if Shakespeare wanted to break the pattern of women being passive objects to men in the literature. 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 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 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 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 story 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 Night1155 Words   |  5 Pagesmany 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’sRead 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 Illyria 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 Nightâ⠂¬ , 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 true