Referring To “Twelfth Night” Discuss How Shakespeare Presents Love In Such Variety

Referring To "Twelfth Night" Discuss How Shakespeare Presents Love In Such Variety Throughout Twelfth Night, love is the major theme along with disguise. Shakespeare shows that love comes in many varieties. The two main ones are courtly love and romantic love. Courtly love was very popular in Shakespearean times; this was where a man would choose a woman, who was often way above him in status, and then he would lavish all of his attention on her until she gave in and agreed to become involved with him. Very often, he would have been rejected but that was part of the ritual. Romantic love was all based on physical attraction between one person and another. Orsino's love for Olivia is more spiritual, and there is not any physical interaction between them; Orsino sends Cesario to Olivia to tell her of his love. He loves her from a distance, through Cesario, we can see clearly in act one that he is infatuated with her, and is in a melancholy state. Orsino sees Olivia's mourning for her deceased brother as proof of her "sweet perfection." The love between Viola and Orsino is extremely intense. We can see this by the way that Viola speaks to Olivia, for example, "Make me a willow cabin at your gate, And call upon my soul within the house; Write loyal cantons of contemned love, And sing them loud even in the dead of night..." Here, Viola is releasing her emotions for

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Shakespeare create dramatic impact in Act 1 Scene 5?

How does Shakespeare create dramatic impact in Act 1 Scene 5? Shakespeare uses a wide range of skills to portray the development of a character throughout the play. Through using the stage and actions of the actors to convey the drama and emphasise how the characters are feeling, and through careful language that allows the audience and reader an insight into the characters personality, both being responsible for creating dramatic impact creating interest which draws the audience in. This scene is the introduction of the first meeting between Viola and Olivia, and both have a presumption of how each other behaves and have a small expectations which alter as the text continues. Olivia is a character we have yet to be properly introduced until this scene so far in the play, all that is known to the audience and Olivia, is that she is of Noble status, in mourning for the death of her brother, and the object of the Duke's desires. She is veiled which gives her a literal disguise, as sense of anonymity which acts as her defence mechanism against the Duke. With the status of being a "Lady" there is a respectable, educated manner that is presumed of her, to which she upholds throughout the play always holding the conversation and keeping control of where it leads. This is shown through the structure of the text, where she is usually asking the questions: "Where you sent

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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To what extent does Twelfth Night fit the genre of a romantic comedy?

To what extent does Twelfth Night fit the genre of a romantic comedy? The name of this play, Twelfth Night, is a holiday period, just after Christmas in which things are said to be 'turned upside down.' Because of the nature of the plot of the play, this title seems fitting. Twelfth Night is what we call a 'romantic comedy,' a comic play drawing on elements of fable, often concerned with love. It is a story of deceit, deception and disguise and filled with dramatic irony, sexual tension and many different kinds of love, both gay and unrequited. It is also set in this fantasy location called Illyria, where the main character, Viola, is shipwrecked on. The main story is of a girl, Viola, who, having been shipwrecked from her presumed dead brother, decides to dress as a boy so she can get a job in a noble household. Already this confusion, trickery and a fantasy type location follow the path of a romantic comedy. This is made even more apparent when Viola, pretending to be the boy Cesario, falls in love with her master, the Duke Orsino. Meanwhile Orsino keeps up his obsessions for Olivia, the countess of a neighbouring court, getting the disguised Viola to deliver her his love messages, unaware of her true identity. The situation gets even more complicated when Olivia falls in love with Viola's disguise, Cesario. 'To any other trust but that I am mad, or else the lady's mad.'

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Examine the ways in which Shakespeare creates comedy for the audience in Act 3 Scene 4 of Twelfth Night

Examine the ways in which Shakespeare creates comedy for the audience in Act 3 Scene 4 Shakespeare creates comedy for the audience in a variety of ways during Act 3 Scene 4 of Twelfth Night, some techniques more subtle than others. These comic devices generate humour throughout the play through, in the eyes of the Elizabethans, outrageous puns based on the high or low status of the characters, play on words, dramatic irony and many other means. Shakespeare uses such comic devices in many of his famous Comedies, such as 'A Midsummer's Night's Dream', 'Measure for Measure' and 'As You Like It'. Shakespearean comedies often include a mix of tragedy and humour, although this tragic side could be seen as a modern interpretation of Elizabethan humour, or perhaps just an attempt on Shakespeare's part to experiment and blend together two contrasting genres of play. Either way, the mix of humour and tragedy is one of the factors that singles out Shakespeare's work as original and timeless. All Shakespearean comedies have five acts, of which the climax is the third act. This is certainly true for Twelfth Night, because this is the act in which the main plot, the sub-plot, and all of the confusion, comes to a head. Shakespearean heroes are often only introduced in the very early stages of the play through the conversation of other characters. Their personalities are nearly always

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Which do you think is the more important in contributing to the humour of the play, the characters of the events?

Which do you think is the more important in contributing to the humour of the play, the characters of the events? In the play, Twelfth Night, there are many different themes: deception and self deceit, music, love and of course humour. In all of the play there is an element of humour in it, from Malvolio's letter, to Feste's acting as a Sir Topas, and in some way or from all the themes and characters can be linked by humour. For example, in the event when Maria, Sir Andrew and Feste wrote the letter to Malvolio making him believe that Olivia was in love with him, they were taking him to dress like a fool and humiliate himself in front of everyone, and his accepts: "Jove I thank thee. I will smile, I will do everything that thou wilt have me." - pg. 93 (180) In this sentence he says that he has accepted the fact that she loves him, and is willing to humiliate himself to prove his love for her. He knows that what she is requesting is ridiculous, but he is willing to put his dignity aside for love. This in itself produces a humorous picture, and the way that he acts around Olivia, and the way she acts around him, are also comical: Malvolio: Some are born with greatness - Olivia: Ha. - pg. 127 (39-40) This shows that even the characters themselves think that his appearance is comical and that it is a laughable matter. This scenario that he had been placed in, where

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Orsino is nothing more than a romantic fool.

Orsino Is Nothing More Than A Romantic Fool What is a romantic fool? A romantic fool is someone falls in love easily and quickly without thinking. A romantic fool is someone who is in love with the idea of being in love. A romantic fool is someone who is determined and persistent and will not give up trying till they win over the person they love. A romantic fool is someone who always believes love - just like Orsino. Orsino is one of the main characters in Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night (or What You Will). He is the Duke of Illyria and he falls in love with Olivia - a rich countess. After I read this play, the impression that Olivia gives me is that he is such a romantic fool. Many people do not think of Orsino is a romantic fool, even some characters in the play. For example, in Act 1 scene 2, when the captain and Viola are on the ship, the captain describes Orsino as 'a noble duke, in nature as in name,' The play doesn't show very clearly that Orsino is a romantic fool when there are two biggest fools throughout the play - Sir Andrew and Sir Toby. Unlike Orsino, these two have enough qualities of fool but not romantic fool. Sir Andrew is stupid. In Act 1 scene 3, when Sir Toby tells Sir Andrew to greet Maria, ' Accost, Sir Andrew, Accost', Sir Andrew doesn't understand what does 'Accost' means and he thinks it is the name of Maria, 'Good Mistress accost, I desire

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Twelfth Night has been described as a play of contrast-light and darkness; humour and seriousness; excess and poverty; appearance and reality. What do you learn about Shakespeare's society, and his idea about society, through these contrast.

Twelfth Night has been described as a play of contrast-light and darkness; humour and seriousness; excess and poverty; appearance and reality. What do you learn about Shakespeare's society, and his idea about society, through these contrast. William Shakespeare's play Twelfth night is a play of contrast. Some of the contrast in the play, include humour and seriousness; excess and poverty; appearance and reality. All of these contrasts affect Shakespeare's audience, because he wanted to appeal to all different classes of the society. This meant he needed different characters that appealed to the different society hierarchy, for example Sir Toby, appealed to the lower middle-class, many of whom loved to drink. Orsino and Olivia appealed to the upper aristocrat, many of whom had power, and beauty. Shakespeare also used his characters to question political issues in Elizabethan times, for example, the puritans questioning excess, that the twelfth night celebration is wrong. In Elizabethan times, the twelve days after Christmas, up to 6th of January was a traditional holiday time of festival. During those days, excess was the main theme; drinking and partying all night. However at the end of the holiday festival the winter hardship was to follow. The Elizabethan time, was a dangerous time to live in. The amount of power the wealthy had over the poor was immense; the servants

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In Shakespeare's time women were generally thought of as inferior to men. In "Twelfth night" does the playwright suggest that he may not accept this idea and how does he show the audience this?

Twelfth Night In Shakespeare's time women were generally thought of as inferior to men. In "Twelfth night" does the playwright suggest that he may not accept this idea and how does he show the audience this? When Shakespeare wrote the play Twelfth Night in about 1602, women were generally thought of inferior to men meaning they were lower class. Shakespeare does no accept this idea. He shows this when he was asked by Queen Elizabeth 1 to write a play with love and comedy, the two main characters are very strong women and the male characters are very weak. Olivia is rich, noble and very emotional and very strong in character. In act 1 scene 2 we learn that Olivia's brother and father have recently passed away, Olivia has a very strong love for her brother because of this she made some extreme vows: she will not show her face at ample view, "but like a cloistress she will veiled walk". She will cry in her room everyday, she loved her brother so much that she was willing to keep his memory alive by mourning for seven years, this shows the very strong character she held, as this was an almost impossible task. Women were thought of as inferior at the time the play was written. Women were ruled by the men of the household, but because Olivia's father and brother have died she has no-one to rule her life, this shows her strength as she has taken advantage of this, by ruling her

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Twelfth Night - Consider Shakespeare's portrayal of Malvolio throughout the play and say how much sympathy you feel he deserves by the end'

Harriet Ward 11c2 English Coursework Twelfth Night 'Consider Shakespeare's portrayal of Malvolio throughout the play and say how much sympathy you feel he deserves by the end' Depending on the director, Malvolio is usually played as a unsmiling puritan who wishes to be more than his current 'steward' description. Combining Shakespeare's script and the directors will, Malvolio is generally played to make the audience hate him. Malvolio is first introduced to us in Act 1 Scene 5 and straight away he comes across as an unpleasant person. Shakespeare shows us that Malvolio is very aware of his 'superior' role in the household as Olivia's steward and is very eager to use his superiority to make himself feel more powerful. Evidence of this behaviour is first shown half way through Act 1 Scene 5 . The first hint of what sort of character Malvolio is, is portrayed in the first thing he says in the entire play. 'Yes, and shall do, till the pangs of death shake him: infirmity that decays the wise, doth ever make the better fool' This is an insult to the fool, who Malvolio hates. With Malvolio, Shakespeare has created a character that the audience will have staright away developed an opinion on. In the same scene, Lady Olivia is mourning her brother's death and

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How do characters respond to love in Twelfth Night?

How do characters respond to love in Twelfth Night? This essay aims to explore how characters refer to, and react to, love in Twelfth Night. At the beginning of Twelfth Night, Orsino is quite a traditional man in his beliefs of love and courtship. This is illustrated in phrases like "Let the woman take an elder than herself." His idea of love is that of courtly love, where he places the object of his desire, Olivia, on a pedestal and worships her like a goddess out of reach. In short, my opinion is that he is in love with the idea of love and he has made himself unhappy because his "love" for Olivia is not being returned. "That instance was I turned into a hart, and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, e'er since pursue me." Orsino's love is an unreality. He believes that he is the one true authority on love. This means that Orsino might believe that he is the ultimate lover of all time, but we can clearly see from his methods of chasing Olivia as a mere object of desire, he clearly is not. However, Orsino has a huge amount of passion in the way he speaks, even if he does not actually have the passionate love. "There is no woman's sides can abide the beating of so strong a passion as doth give my heart". As such, there is more to Orsino's love than just the over inflated ego ("one selfsame king") and the materialism ("To her in haste; give her this jewel"). There

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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