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Secrecy And Deceptions In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

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The famous playwright known as Shakespeare has created a variety of plays where secrecy and deceptions are recurring themes found throughout his works. William Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night makes use of these themes through several characterizations, most notably seen with protagonist Viola. As the protagonist survived a shipwreck in the land of Illyria, she intends to aid the noble Duke Orsino in hopes of connecting with mourning Countess Olivia by using a masculine disguise. Throughout the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, examples of disguises, misunderstandings, and mistaken identities contribute to the represented secrecy and deceptions portrayed in the play.
The audience makes note of Viola’s disguise as Cesario during the play. As she survived a shipwreck and landed in Illyria, she hears the news about the lovesick Duke and Countess Olivia grieving her dead brother. Viola sympathizes with Olivia, however, nobody can see her, so she tries to help Duke Orsino instead. She tells the captain, “For such a disguise as haply shall become/The form of my intent. I’ll serve this Duke; / Thou shalt present me as a eunuch to him.” (2.1.51-53). …show more content…

Viola acting as a male named Cesario causes several unwanted problems due to secrecy which includes an unexpected love triangle. Furthermore, the forged love letter written by Maria in Olivia’s writing to Malvolio shows Maria deceiving him as well as Olivia misunderstanding Malvolio’s sanity despite not knowing the reason for his odd behavior. Cesario and Sebastian strikingly resemble each other due to Viola’s impersonation and Sebastian’s following arrival. Elements of secrecy and deception are used in Shakespeare’s comedic play to evoke humor with the use of disguises, misunderstandings, and mistaken identities to represent these themes

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