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Deception In Twelfth Night

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Amidst the works of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare and Some Like it Hot directed by Billy Wilder, the theme of deception is shared. Through the events that unfold, deception is forced unto the characters. Be it accidental or intentional, the characters of the works deceive one another and themselves with false appearances. Most conspicuously, the characters of the works deceive one another through false appearances. In both Twelfth Night and Some Like it Hot, characters are forced to disguise themselves as the opposite gender. Viola must disguise herself as a man in the former and Jerry and Joe disguise themselves as women in the latter. These false appearances are known to the audience however, they deceive the other characters within …show more content…

In Twelfth Night, Feste the Clown puts on the disguise of a priest, taking on the character of Sir Topas. He puts on the costume in order to trick Malvolio that he is a priest there to perform an exorcism, however the disguise is completely unnecessary because Malvolio can not see him. Wearing the costume deceives the Clown that he is Sir Topas, it allows him to play the character through speech confidently. This is similar to Jerry’s experience with the woman disguise in Some Like it Hot. After a long night of tango dancing with Osgood Fielding III, Jerry is engaged. When confronted by Joe, Jerry reviews his serious plan of going through with the marriage in order to collect alimony after the divorce. Jerry deceives himself with his false appearance, he becomes carried away. Both the Clown and Jerry deceive themselves through their disguises. Undisputedly, deception through appearance is prevalent throughout both Twelfth Night and Some Like it Hot. Deception is provided through false appearances such as the gender switching and disguises of Jerry, Joe, Viola, and the Clown. May it be accidental or intentional, appearances deceive the ones around and the ones providing the

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In the play Twelfth Night, through the depiction of Orsino’s and Viola’s desires for romantic love, Shakespeare portrays how adjustable and self-delusional human romantic attraction can be, especially when blinded by wants and needs. Viola, who puts on the appearance of a man, makes everybody think she is a male. Her disguise becomes a sexual confusion throughout the play for several characters, creating an odd love triangle where Viola loves Duke Orsino, who loves Oliva, which then on the other hand loves Viola, in disguise as Cesario. On the other hand, Malvolio dreams of marrying his beloved Olivia, and gaining authority over his superiors, like Sir Toby. Shakespeare uses disguise in the play to show several confusions and internal conflicts between the characters, proving how malleable and deluded some human attractions can be.

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