Examine the Levels of Deception in The Twelfth Night

Examine the Levels of Deception in The Twelfth Night Twelfth Night" is a play based on deceptions, both purposeful and accidental, which I think, Shakespeare uses to convey his ideas of certain aspects of human nature, that he does not particularly like, by presenting it in this humorous lattice of confusion and chaos. The social messages in Twelfth Night are largely about, the need for a balance in life, that you should not judge on appearance as they can be deceptive. Shakespeare makes it clear that deception, when used for entertainment, can be very destructive but also very amusing for the spectators. Probably the most obvious purposeful deception in the play is the character of Cesario, who is not at all what "he" seems. In fact Cesario is actually Viola who disguises herself as a man for most of the play not only to protect herself, but also in order to preserve her state of free will. I think that by placing the heroine in this situation Shakespeare is using Viola as a means for examining female capabilities and instincts. The shipwreck has left her in an unprecedented, indeterminate state: she has no one to connect with at all. Lacking anyone to provide for her, she is forced to take measures to protect herself so that the understood reason for her deception is to insure herself against immediate danger but also to retain her prospects and status for the kind of

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How does Shakespeare use the theme of love to create a comedy?

How does Shakespeare use the theme of love to create a comedy? "Twelfth Night" is a romantic comedy with true love at its heart. The play does have occasional dark undertones but generally the genuine love and the misunderstanding make it a comic play. It was written originally for the Twelfth Night celebrations after Christmas in 1602. These celebrations were light hearted and a time for revelry. It was sometimes known as the "Feast of Fools" and normal behaviour and sensible acts were suspended at this time. Authority was turned up side down. In most universities, private houses and the law schools, a Lord of Misrule was elected. Usually a servant became Master of the Household for a short period of time. He organised dances, masques and make-believe activities. Everything was allowed; pranks, deception, etc., ruled this period between 25th December and 6th January. Afterwards, everything goes back to normal and the original hierarchy is once more obeyed. Even though comedy is a large part of the play, love is most definitely the main theme. There are love triangles, love based on disguise and true love al involved in the lives of the characters. The play transforms one type of love for another, for example, selfish self-love is transformed to genuine love. This aspect shows that true love wins through in the end. Shakespeare uses all of the different types of love to

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the dramatic significance of Feste in Twelfth Night.

Discuss the dramatic significance of Feste in Twelfth Night. Feste is presented as the fool or jester as hired by Olivia to entertain. He is an 'allowed fool'. However many of the other characters are the 'real fools' such as sir Toby belch-an ironic surname due to his tendency to drink heavily or Malvolio who Feste convinces is mad when he masquerades as Sir Topaz. Feste almost reverses the roles talking down to Olivia and making her out to be the fool "do you not hear fellows? Take away the lady".Other characters can not talk to Olivia in the same way as Feste, as she is someone looked up to and respected. This could be due to the Twelfth night celebrations being able to speak his mind-being the fool. Feste is actually a clever and witty character and he shows and presents this through his use of language, quick wit, word play and punning. In scene 5 Feste begins with a pun "he that is well hanged in this world needs to fear no colours" The Elizabethans enjoyed such punning jokes in which the word was pronounced giving two meanings. Maria and Feste are like a comedy duo participating in quick fire exchanges, scoring points off each other and in act 1 scene 5 he hints at her relationship with sir Toby Belch. Shakespeare's characters love to disguise themselves, this theme is often illustrated and important to the plot of his comedies, but in this case, the disguise takes an

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night Coursework Act One, Scene One, is important because it sets up the audience's expectations for the play and introduces one of the central characters. It is set in the palace of Orsino Duke of Illyria, where they are surrounded by comfort and riches, which is in contrast to the next scene which is set on the sea coast of Illyria. The scene shows Orsino's character well, it is obvious that all he thinks about is love and he is indulging himself thinking about it. This is shown in the first line of the scene "If music be the food of love, play on" and in the last line, "Away before me to sweet beds of flowers: Love-thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers". Nothing will stop him thinking about love. One of his courtiers, Curio, tries to change the subject, but Orsino sees it as a metaphor. Most people would not connect hunting with love, but Orsino sees himself as the hart and his desires as the hounds, "That instant I was turned into a hart, And my desires like fell and cruel hounds E'er since pursue me". This is idea is taken from the Greek legend of Actaeon. In the legend, Actaeon was out hunting when he accidentally saw Diana the God of Hunting naked in the river. She turned him into a stag, and his own hounds killed him. He also compares love to the sea which is another unusual comparison "O spirit of love, how

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Cruelty in "Twelfth Night"

Cruelty in "Twelfth Night"- "Twelfth Night" is also subtitled as "What you Will" which shows that this should be a happy, festive comedy, its title is from the twelve-day cycle of celebration enjoyed by medieval revellers each December. As this is a comedy it means that there are multiple marriages in the final scene and happy endings for most, except maybe one person who is seen as a fool throughout the play in this instance, Sir Andrew or Malvolio or some may even think, Orsino if they have seen the Trevor Nunn film of this play, in my opinion Feste will not be an object of humour throughout the play as in the Nunn film he is quite a serious character. There are not any deaths in the play that occur directly as this is a comedy. In this essay I am going to write about how Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" has an underlying cruelty. I am going to look, in particular at Sir Toby's exploitation of Sir Andrew, the way in which Sir Toby uses Sir Andrew as a wallet to buy drinks. I shall also concentrate my essay on the cruelty towards Viola in the love triangle and also briefly at the cruelty towards Antonio. I could also look at cruelty towards Malvolio but I do not think I will be able to have enough time to do so. In the cartoon version, the BBC film and the Nunn film production Andrew is portrayed as a silly, thin, feeble fool with blonde hair and a pale, pasty complexion, the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Twelfth Night, Page 88, Questions 1 and 8

Twelfth Night, Page 88, Questions 1 and 8 . How does Act one, scene 1-3, serve as an effective opening to the play? Comment especially on the way in which Shakespeare establishes the overall atmosphere, main characters, important relationships and key elements of the main plot and subplot. In Act 1, scenes 1-3, there are many ways to which these scenes provide an effective opening to the play. Individually, these scenes each serve a different aspect, which contributes to an effective opening. In Act 1, scene 1, Orsino is introduced into the picture, with his whining and pining towards this love for Olivia, with much exaggeration, due to the excessive use of imagery, and gives us one of the central theme of the play - transient and complex love. Act 1, scene 2 displays Viola and the Captain, and how Viola appears naïve, but is actually a strategist, and plans to disguise herself to get protection and also get closer to Orsino - causing a confusion in gender, identity, and intention. Scene 3, however, gives us another side of the play, where minor characters are introduced, vulgarism used, coarse jokes cracked, simply having this crude addition to the play. Henceforth, we can see that these 3 scenes at the beginning of the play serve as an effective opening to Twelfth Night. Scene 1 is set in Duke Orsino's room, who is the Duke of Illyria, a fictional place. This creates a

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Love 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 different types of love: true love, self love and friendship. "Twelfth Night" consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters who are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. They are being deceived by themselves and/or the others around them. There are certain instances in the play where the emotion of love is true, and the two people involved feel very strongly toward one another. Viola's love for Orsino is a great example of true love. Although she is pretending to be a man and is virtually unknown in Illyria, she hopes to win the Duke's heart. In act 1, scene 4, Viola let's out her true feelings for Cesario, "yet a barful strife! Whoe'er I woo, myself would be his wife (1)." That statement becomes true when Viola reveals her true identity. Viola and Orsino had a very good friendship, and making the switch to husband and wife was easy. Viola was caught up in another true love scenario, only this time she was on the receiving end, and things didn't work out so smoothly. During her attempts to court Olivia for Orsino, Olivia

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Twelfth Night - Analyse how Shakespeare creates tension through the setting, character and the dramatic impact of language, showing how you think the audience is being asked to respond.

TWELFTH NIGHT Analyse how Shakespeare creates tension through the setting, character and the dramatic impact of language, showing how you think the audience is being asked to respond. This is an essay in which I am analyzing how Shakespeare creates tension through the setting, character and the dramatic impact of the language. I am also going to write about how the audience is being asked to respond. The story Twelfth Night is an interesting blend of sadness of separation and love between a brother and a sister when both of them get separated by a shipwreck. It also deals with messages going between lovers, but in return they receive nothing. For instance, Orsino sends his love messages to Olivia throughout the play, but in return he doesn't receive any love from her. In Act I scene 1, the play begins as the Duke of Illyria, Orsino, longing for the love of Olivia, says: "If music be the food of love, play on!" In Act I Scene 2, Viola has confirmation that she also has lost a brother, Sebastian. Then she comes to know from a sea captain who saved her that Orsino is the ruler of the country and he is a bachelor who loves Olivia. Viola decides that she wants to serve Olivia as a messenger. When the captain makes it clear to Viola that Olivia is in seclusion, Viola decides to change herself to a man and serve as a messenger in Orsino's court. The settings of all the three acts

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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An exploration of the different types of love in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth night”. What does Shakespeare convey about the nature and variety of love in this play?

An exploration of the different types of love in Shakespeare's "Twelfth night". What does Shakespeare convey about the nature and variety of love in this play? Shakespeare explores a great variety of themes in this play, the main one being love and its many different natures. The aim of this essay is to examine the text to discover ways in which Shakespeare portrays love using characterisation and style. Orsino is the first character to speak in "Twelfth night"; his first words are "if music be the food of love play on". The main part of his speech describing his love for Olivia is consists of refined and eloquent language, which seems to be used to impress rather than to express his feelings, he also talks more of love its self than Olivia which makes you doubtful of his sincerity: "O spirit of love, how quick and fresh thou art" "Love thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers" He also thinks himself to be "as all true lovers are" in that the love he feels for Olivia is so intense that it is painful: "And my desires like fell and cruel hounds, E'er since pursue me" He is also portrayed as inconsistent, in the first seven lines of the play he tires of the music, which had been played proclaiming that it, is "not so sweet now as it was before". This also hints at the fact that when he possesses something he will lose interest in it. Orsino is Shakespeare's

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How does Shakespeare present the theme of love in Act 1, Scene 5 and Act 2, Scene 4?

How does Shakespeare present the theme of love in Act 1, Scene 5 and Act 2, Scene 4? In Shakespeare's time, the idea of love was very different from what it is today. Throughout the play, he portrays the idea of courtly love, and manages to discreetly show his views and opinions on this type of love. Courtly love is a sexless relationship, where a man woos a woman. The man would ideally be lovesick, depressed and pining for the love of a woman he can't get. He would be romantic and send the woman messages of his love, putting her on a pedestal and worshipping her as if she were a goddess. The woman would be a beautiful but cruel maiden, turning down all the man's offers of love. She would be treated as a possession, wanted for her beauty, wealth or power, not for her personality. This greatly contrasts to the love of today, where both sexes are treated equally and people generally love each other for their personality. Shakespeare takes this idea and writes about the humour of it. He mocks courtly love, using different characters and language to do this. In this essay I will try to explain Shakespeare's idea of courtly love and how he exposes the falseness and humour of it in 'Twelfth Night'. The two scenes that I will analyse will be Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 2 Scene 4. In Act 1 Scene 5 there is the first meeting of Viola/Cesario and Olivia; Viola being sent by Orsino to woo

  • Word count: 2285
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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