Explain how Shakespeare gains and holds the attention of the audience in Act 1of the Twelfth Night.

English Coursework. Explain how Shakespeare gains and holds the attention of the audience in Act 1of the Twelfth Night. Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' is a play about love and feelings. It is placed in a festive atmosphere in which three couples are brought together happily. The play starts with the Duke of Illyria - Orsino, expressing his deep love for the Countess Olivia. Meanwhile, the shipwrecked twin Viola fears her brother is dead and decides to disguise herself as a man and enters the Duke's service as a messenger. The Duke then employs Viola, who takes the name of Caesario. Her job is to woo Olivia for him. Ironically, Caesario falls in love with the Duke, and Olivia falls in love with Caesario, who is really Viola disguised. In the midst of this love triangle are the tense situations and confusions among the characters. As always, like in every romantic comedy everyone ends up happy in the end, well almost everyone! The first act sets the scene because it shows us what has been going on in past between the characters. It also shows us the characters feelings towards each other. The first act is the base of the play because it shows us all the problems that the characters have. The 'Twelfth Night' is Shakespeare's only play that has a double title. I think he gave it a double title because the play is mainly about the twins - Sebastian and Viola. It also features

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Is Orsino the best model of a true lover and which other types of love are represented in "Twelfth Night"?

"For such as I am all true lovers are" Is Orsino the best model of a true lover and which other types of love are represented in "Twelfth Night"? In the play "Twelfth Night", Shakespeare explores and illustrates the emotion of love with precise detail. According to "Webster's New World Dictionary", love is defined as "a strong affection or liking for someone". Throughout the play Shakespeare examines three main types of love: true love, self-love and friendship. Within this essay, I will look at the love used throughout the play, especially the love between Duke Orsino and other characters. "Twelfth Night" consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters that are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. Themselves and the others around them are deceiving them. There are certain examples in the play where the emotion of love is true, and the two people involved, feel very strongly towards one another. Viola's love for Orsino is a great example of true love. Although she is pretending to be a man and is practically unknown in Illyria, she hopes to win over the Duke's heart. In act one, scene four, Viola let's out her true feelings for Orsino. This is shown by, "yet a barful strife! Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife". This statement is put into reality when Viola reveals her true

  • Word count: 1090
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the Role of the Fool in Twelfth Night

Discuss the Role of the Fool in Twelfth Night In English Literature, a fool is a person professionally counterfeits folly for the entertainment of others. They are always regarded as comic figures, which provide mediation under tensional circumstances. As Twelfth Night is an atypical romantic comedy, the jester is not the only fool who is subject to foolery, many other characters are subject to foolery by their silly acts as well. There are two types of fool in the play, namely Feste the professional jester who is in fact quite intelligent, and the non-jester fools, who are not fools but act like fools. Since Feste is the only designed fool in the play, the role of Feste will be explored in the following. Feste is more of the comic truth of the comedy. Since Feste is a licensed fool, his main role is to speak the truth. Feste plays the role of a humble jester employed by Olivia's father. "Feste the jester... a fool that the Lady Olivia's father took much pleasure in", Feste is "an allowed fool", meaning he is licensed, privileged critic to speak the truth of the people around him. In Act1 Sc5, Olivia is proved to be a true fool by Feste when she is asked what she was mourning about, there is no point for Olivia to mourn for a person's soul in heaven, "The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother's soul, being in heaven". Feste is a comedic character who is extremely

  • Word count: 1006
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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A lot of action happens in the first 2 acts of the play. How does Shakespeare introduce themes in these acts both verbally and visually?

A lot of action happens in the first 2 acts of the play. How does Shakespeare introduce themes in these acts both verbally and visually? 6th January in Shakespeare's day, this was a day of comedy where people swapped roles and dressed up for the day before going back to normal life. The play name can be related to this Twelfth Night. The play is developed as you go in many ways and information is given to add to previous or past moments. The play starts as a shipwreck and twins are torn apart for each other by the brutal sea. The female of the twins is rescued and is left on her own not knowing if her brother be dead or alive she is left to take care of herself. In this essay I will be focusing on who I think are the main characters and in what ways they contribute to the themes in the first 2 acts both visually and verbally. The audience will be able to pin point easily where and what the humour means but there are more jokes which need to thought about deeply to get them. Love that is a theme and that is what is being developed first to give the audience a better understanding of events to come. Orsino who is deeply enthused by Olivia the 'Fair, cruel maid' will do what ever it takes to get his love. Orsino is a pertrachan as well is Olivia he will spare nothing to get what he wants. Orsino likes his music ' If music be the food of love play on, give me excess of it.' But

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Twelfth Night - How does Shakespeare present the characters of Olivia and Orsino? How do their characters change during the play and what influences do Sebastian and Viola have on them?

Twelfth Night Essay How does Shakespeare present the characters of Olivia and Orsino? How do their characters change during the play and what influences do Sebastian and Viola have on them? Introduction The main characters that I will be focusing on are Olivia, Orsino, Viola and Sebastian. I will write about the way that Shakespeare presents Olivia and Orsino their changes during the play and why these changes occur. I will also include the affects Viola and Sebastian have on them. Orsino is the duke of Illyria, he would like to ask Olivia to marry him she is a rich lady with a waiting-gentlewoman Maria. She has recently lost her brother and is in mourning for him. Because of this she does not seem to be interested in any other men including Orsino. Sebastian and Viola are twin brother and sister who during the play are involved in a shipwreck and believe each other to be dead as they become separated. Viola dresses as a man called Cesario and goes to Orsino's court looking for work. Orsino is seen to be very much in love with Olivia. He seems to be so overwhelmed with his passion for her that he acts rather strange. The arrival of Cesario who Orsino seems to take a liking to takes his mind off Olivia but soon he is using Cesario to woo her for him. This affects the situation in a way that he clearly did not intend as Olivia regains her interest in men again but not in

  • Word count: 558
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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In the play ‘Twelfth Night’, Shakespeare bases the plot around a variety of different themes

In the play 'Twelfth Night', Shakespeare bases the plot around a variety of different themes. The themes of disguise, music, loss and death are subtly introduced, however, the main theme of love is dramatically introduced by Orsino's first line; 'If music be the food of love play on'. As well as using a variety of themes, 'Twelfth Night' incorporates the different kinds of love that can have an effect on people. These types of love range from brotherly love to instantaneous love and from unrequited love to impossible love. The use of the theme of love enables almost everybody to relate to events in the play. Love evokes a number of emotions and is a main ingredient, which brings comedy into the play. In Act 1:1 we see Olivia's reaction to the death of her brother. Olivia takes grieving very seriously; '...she hath abjured herself from the sight and company of men', and takes a vow of chastity. She plans to mourn her brother for seven years and she hides herself from the world; 'But like a cloisters she will veiléd walk'. Olivia chooses to dwell on her loss and her strict mourning period could be seen as selfish as life must go on. However, Olivia uses her brother's death to shut herself away from life. In Act 1:5 Feste tries to prove Olivia a fool for taking her mourning period to such an extent. Feste cleverly tells Olivia that her brother's soul is in hell. She

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Viola has a great importance of "Twelfth Night" because she alone helps reveal other main characters' personalities that would've otherwise been hidden

Choose one important character from your extended text. You will write in detail about a character and explain his/her importance in the text. Viola has a great importance of "Twelfth Night" because she alone helps reveal other main characters' personalities that would've otherwise been hidden. Viola who is disguised as Cesario had the greatest effect in revealing Orsino's and Olivia's true natures that were hidden behind their melodramatic and self-involved behaviour. Her strong qualities of being direct, honest and friendly allow her to form close relationships with the both. In just "but three days" in his service, Viola (as Cesario) has already formed a close relationship with Duke Orsino. "I have unclasped to thee the book even of my secret soul", Orsino says to her. He uses this metaphor of being an unclasped book to explain that like an unlocked book he has completely opened up to Viola even into his "secret soul". Before meeting Viola, Orsino appears to be incredibly self-absorbed in his apparent unrequited love for Olivia while he mopes around on "sweet beds of flowers". It is evident that his thoughts were all based around himself and no one else. But as his close emotional bond with Viola develops, Orsino starts to change and reveal that he can be sympathetic and caring about another person. And in that way, his relationship with Viola has taught and changed him

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Explain how the actor viola should show her reactions and give reasons for your suggestions.

Explain how the actor viola should show her reactions and give reasons for your suggestions Viola is one of the main characters in Shakespeare's play the 'Twelfth Night'. She is dressed as Cesario a man, so you can see how hard it must be for her to show her emotions and reactions. In the play she falls in love with the Duke Orsino but finds it very hard to show her feelings for him because she is dressed as a man. I am using act 2 scene 4 and act 3 scene 1, where she is talking to the Duke in act 2 scene 4, and to the clown Feste in act 3 scene 1. These are very emotional scenes where Viola shows and mentions her feelings, thoughts, reactions and movement. In these scenes Viola has many feelings. She feels mostly for Orsino because she is in love him. At the end of the scene where she is speaking with Orsino she talks about her fathers daughter that loved a man. Orsino gets interested because he is in love with Olivia but Olivia does not love him. Orsino wants to know what happened to the daughter because he is in despair. Viola feels for him and can offer him no comfort. Her words display how helpless she feels. "I am the daughters of my father's house, and all the brothers too-and yet I know not". Earlier on in the scene Viola feels jealous about Orsino because she feels that he might fall in love with another woman and that he will love that woman as much as he

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How does Act 1, Scene 1 prepare the audience for the love theme of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"?

HOW DOES ACT 1, SCENE 1 PREPARE THE AUDIENCE FOR THE LOVE THEME OF SHAKESPEARE'S "TWELFTH NIGHT"? Act 1, Scene 1 prepares the audience for the rest of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" by introducing the central theme of love which runs throughout the play. Orsino, Duke of Illyria is immediately established as one of the protagonists, and it is clear that love is all he is willing to think about. Orsino is indulging himself thinking of love, but he is preoccupied with his own reactions, and doesn't take into account those of the object of his affections, Olivia. He has declared his love for Olivia, which sets up the storyline between them. For Orsino it was love at first sight, which he explains through metaphor when one of his Lords, Curio, tries to change the subject to hunting. He explains by saying that when he first saw Olivia he was turned into a hart, and compares his desires for her to fell and cruel hounds that "E'er since pursue me". Shakespeare has taken this idea from the Greek legend of Actaeon. In the legend, Actaeon was out hunting when he came across Diana, God of Hunting, bathing naked in the river. She turned him into a stag, and then his own hounds hunted him down and killed him. Shakespeare has used this idea to show Orsino's sense of self importance by how easily he can imagine himself in the role of Actaeon. Despite claiming to be this deeply in

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Twelfth night - would you agree with Viola that the use of disguise and deception is wicked?

"Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness, wherein the pregnant enemy does much". (II, iii, 1. 24-25) consider the various types of disguise and deception in Twelfth Night, how far would you agree with viola that this is wicked? Deception is a key theme within Shakespearean drama, whether it be tragedy, history or comedy. It is often the cause of a lot of turmoil, especially within Twelfth Night, as there are many romantic difficulties due to the art of disguise. However Shakespeare does not always use deception to cause romantic problems, he shows the act of deceit in many different lights, as is done in Hamlet, for example. Claudius lies to everyone about the murder of Hamlet's father and as a result is guilt ridden, saying "O heavy burthen", so it seems that Shakespeare often intends to portray deception as wicked, but does the audience agree with this concept? For surely some good must come from the great extent of trickery. Twelfth Night is an ideal play to discuss this, as although the chicanery causes a lot of distress, this is evened out by the happy ending we would not receive when discussing a tragedy such as Hamlet. It seems this play is reasonably unbiased. When we first hear of Viola's disguise there is immediate foreshadowing as she says "what else may hap" (I, ii, 60), surely hinting that a lot shall occur due to the extent of her deception, and we have to

  • Word count: 1838
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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