Twelfth Night - How does Act 1 prepare the Elizabethan audience for the rest of the play?

Authors Avatar

Francis Chiang    

English - Twelfth Night  

   

First Coursework Essay  

How does Act 1 prepare the Elizabethan audience for the rest of the play?

Act one is the first act of the play. It is very important to understand it as a basis to understand the following acts. It is divided into five scenes. Each scene has its own main theme, which is very important for the rest of the play.

In scene one, although the scene is short, it tells the Elizabethan audience that the Duke of Illyria, Orsino is madly in love with a beautiful countess, Olivia. He is so madly in love that he cannot concentrate on anything. His page, Curio, tries to distract him and asks him if he would like to go hunting. But Orsino is so much in love with Olivia, as he said ‘O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first, Methought she purged the air of pestilence’. Afterwards, his messenger, Valentine comes back with bad news. He couldn’t get in to see her.

This scene brings out some important characters, like Orsino and Olivia who are the main characters in the play.

The other main character, Viola (Cesario) has been shipwrecked near Illyria in scene2. She is worried that her brother might have drowned. The captain tells Viola that Duke Orsino rules the area of Illyria. He also tells her about Duke Orsino’s love for Olivia. The other important thing is that Viola decided to disguise herself as a man. She asked the captain to help her become a servant of the Duke.

Join now!

Concerning on this scene, we know that the most confusing part of the play that is Viola disguised her as a boy called himself Cesario. If Viola isn’t a ‘boy’. Orsino won’t employ him as a servant to send message to Olivia. Olivia would not have fallen in love with Cesario. Viola wouldn’t work in Orsino’s Court; she wouldn’t meet her twin brother, Sebastian In the court. If Viola hasn’t disguised herself as a boy, there won’t be so many misunderstandings at the end of the play. This is to make some questions and misunderstand to solve for the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay