Discuss the use of disguise and deception in Twelfth Night and its contribution to the play.

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Discuss the use of disguise and deception in Twelfth Night and its contribution to the play.

Deception and disguise are two key themes in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. They appear in many different ways throughout the duration of the plot. Some disguises are deceptive and some deceptions are disguised. This essay will explore disguise and deception in the characters and situations in ‘Twelfth Night’ and discuss their symbolism in relation to the play as a whole.

    One of the most overt examples of disguise is through the character of Viola. Stranded in Illyria after a shipwreck, she dresses as a male in order to work as a Eunuch for the Duke Orsino ‘Thou shall present me as an eunuch to him’ (Line 58, Act one, scene two). Through her disguise, Viola manages to deceive Lady Olivia, who falls deeply in love with ‘Cesario’ ‘Cesario…I love thee so that maugre all thy pride’ (Act three, scene one). Olivia tries to disguise her feelings but the repressed passion is revealed ‘I wish you were as I would have you be’ (Act three, scene one). Having given herself to mourning, there is a sense of desperation here.

    Viola finds it very difficult to disguise her love for Orsino ‘never told her love, but let concealment, like a worm i’the bud, feed on her damask’

(Act two, scene four). Shakespeare challenges gender roles and the conventions of romance in his use of disguise. Seeing Orsino battle with his feelings for a young gentleman would be perceived as very humorous today but given the restrictions of Elizabethan society, it would have been a radical approach to the traditional ideal of a relationship. ‘Other of Shakespeare’s cross-dressed heroines such as As you like It’s Rosalind re-establish their femininity at the end of the play by returning to their feminine clothes’ (1). Viola does not do this. The sea captain never returns with her ‘maiden weeds’ (Act five, scene one). In refusing to readmit a feminine Viola at the conclusion, the play seems reluctant to relinquish the social and sexual topsy-turvy.

    Disguise represents people pretending to be what they are not. The language often contributes to this idea. In his book ‘Shakespeare’s Language’ Frank Kermode discusses the importance to ‘Twelfth Night’ of impersonation and the attempt to discriminate between the reality and the appearance of reality (2). Viola ambiguously admits to Olivia that she is not being herself ‘I am not what I am’ (Act three, scene one). This also infects other self-identifications so that doubt seems to surround the play’s characters. Another example of this ambiguity is where Olivia replies to Viola’s question ‘Are you the lady of the house…if I do not unsurp myself I am’ (Act one, scene five). This degree of evasive naming allows the play’s language to develop the plot of mistaken identity.

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   Certain characters in the play are very self-deluded. The character of Malvolio is a highly disillusioned man. He believes that his social status is above that of the other servants of Olivia’s house ‘Yes nightingales answer daws’ (Act three, scene four). The other characters see through his self-delusion ‘go rub your chains with crumbs!’ (Act two, scene three). In this line, Sir Toby reminds Malvolio of his ‘Steward’ position – his chain representing his job. Malvolio is badly deceived by Sir Toby, Maria and Feste with ‘Olivia’s’ letter.  He is encouraged to dress in clothes that he would never ...

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