ipl-logo

Twelfth Night Deception Essay

440 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rewiews on deception in twelfth night

‘Twelfth Night’ analyses the role of deception that occurs throughout the play in the representation of the nature of appearances and reality. This is evident when Viola disguises herself as Cesario after she’s shipwrecked in Illyria and when Maria hands a letter to Malvolio making him believe it’s written by Olivia.
Representing the nature of appearances and reality played through the role of deception in ‘Twelfth Night’ is notable in Viola’s consistent disguise as Cesario making everyone believe she’s a man and Malvolio’s delusion of believing Olivia wrote the letter to him. This is first supported in Act 3 Scene 1 when Viola and Olivia are having an open conversation when Viola says, ‘Then think you right: I am not what I am.’ It’s communicated …show more content…

Through this technique, the audience knows what’s happening and can interpret that Viola is deceiving Olivia. This is seen as deception by Viola not telling the whole truth about who she is. This is supported by Viola’s appearance as a man but still hiding the truth. Through this quote, it’s conveyed that Viola’s hinting to Olivia she’s not what she seems to be which is leading Olivia to question why Viola is saying this and how impactful Viola’s appearance has been to manipulate the reality of who she is because of her deception toward Olivia. While Olivia is with Viola, Maria hands Malvolio a letter apparently written by Olivia and later Maria states ‘Most villainously. Like a pedant that keeps a school I’th’ church. That I dodged him like a murderer. He does obey every point of the letter that I dropped to betray him.’ In Act 3 Scene 2, the technique of a simile is used. Through the quote, it’s clear that Malvolio has been blinded by the appearance of it which led him to be compared to a pedant through him being deceived by how the letter appeared and is now willing to look at every minor detail to please Olivia. This demonstrates how the deception through the letter affects Malvolio by him not looking at the reality of it and is clear he’s oblivious to

Show More
Related

How Does The Friar Present Ambition In Romeo And Juliet

696 Words | 3 Pages

(I.iv.98-100). In these lines, Mercutio exhibits a certain wariness of love. He compares love to dreams, which are only brief depictions of false images. He talks as someone experienced in this analogy, hinting that he has had his heart broken and refuses to let his friend Romeo go down the same

Read More

Twelfth Night Viola's Decisions

1166 Words | 5 Pages

In the Twelfth Night written by William Shakespeare, it demonstrates Viola using her head to make the decision to dress up as a boy and become a part of the Duke Orsino’s court. She states, “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid For such disguise as haply shall become The form of my Intent”

Read More

Twelfth Night And Fickman's Changing Contexts

1111 Words | 5 Pages

Although it has improved drastically since Shakespeare’s times, there is still partial mindset of gender discrimination here and there, as shown in the adapted version of Twelfth Night Fickman has produced. “Diana’s lip is not more ruby. Thy small pipe is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound.” In this quote, Orsino describes how Viola as Cesario, regardless of disguise, looks rather feminine for a man. Comparably, Duke Orsino in ‘She’s the Man’ indirectly challenges Viola’s disguise, without actually knowing the deception he faces in saying “Dude, come on, you're a guy.”

Read More

She's The Man Movie Vs Play Analysis

623 Words | 3 Pages

Lastly the movie in the play both reacted very weirdly to viola coming out they didn't freak out like was expected in both Twelfth night and She's the Man. The movie and the play are pretty much based off the same thing love, but the movie started off with soccer, where the play was just mainly about love and the shipwreck. Most parts in the movie and play have the same concept. There is a difference between the way they spoke back then versus how they speak right now. The play was written in more Shakespearean text like it was when the play was written and the movie has more modern language more like how people speak now.

Read More

Forms Of Egotism In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

756 Words | 4 Pages

”(Shakespeare 2.5, ll. 143-146). Malvolio sees these four letters and automatically thinks it means his name because each of those letters are in his name. With him believing that this letter is directed at him, he reads it and it is said to be from Olivia and she confessing her love towards Malvolio. Then, he follows the instructions in the letter and completely embarrasses himself just to win over Olivia.

Read More

Deception And Dishonesty In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

508 Words | 3 Pages

In his play, Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare has his characters participate in the practice of deception and dishonesty of others - after all, the foundation of Shakespeare’s play resides within a lie. One of the major deceptions in the play is executed by the Illyrian countess, Olivia, as she repeatedly claims to need solitude to mourn her brother’s death in order to avoid Duke Orsino and his obsession towards her. This deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole by adding the thematic message, deception and dishonesty is sometimes the better option when it comes to love.     From the beginning of the play, Olivia is introduced as the grieving countess that has recently lost a brother.

Read More

Social Norms In William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

2418 Words | 10 Pages

In the doubly androgynous role of male actor playing a woman playing a man, Viola/Cesario must literally perform the role of the male; her success before the aristocratic Orsino and Olivia consequently points to the constructedness and performative character of gender itself” (Casey,123-124). Shakespeare uses the ideals and rules of society to his advantage. Viola is played by a young boy who is seen as similarly demure and desirable enough to draw a crowd, as well as still standing lower on the social food chain than men do. It finds the perfect balance between socially acceptable and nonthreatening, allowing for a more disguised script hinting at queer desires and gender exploration. The complexity of a man playing a woman disguised as a man is an exploration in the performance of gender alone.

Read More

The Use Of Schadenfreude In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

662 Words | 3 Pages

He becomes comic but by accident.” (On the character of Malvolio). This is part of the comedy of it. Going back to the train wreck analogy, we know that there is nothing that can prevent what is about to happen. Malvolio is head over heels for Olivia, almost to the point where it’s creepy.

Read More

Christianity In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

1845 Words | 8 Pages

When Olivia is first entertained by the Fool, she recognizes that “[Malvolio] [is] sick of self-love,” revealing Malvolio’s arrogance (Twelfth Night 1.5, 89-92). This arrogance is linked to his Christian self-righteousness when Maria describes him as “a puritan...an affectioned ass…[that] persuaded of himself,...that it is his grounds of faith that all that look on him love him, (TN 2.3, 145-150). Thus, Maria identifies that Malvolio’s self-love is tied up in his piousness, and that he uses his moral superiority as justification for his high opinion of himself. Malvolio takes this pride and sense of superiority further by desiring to be “Count Malvolio,” and imagining Sir Toby “curts[ying]” to him, indicating not only his desire for prestige and power, but his belief that Sir Toby is physically lower than himself because of his “drunkenness,”(TN 2.5, 34, 60-73). Malvolio thus uses his Puritanism as fuel for his actions and desires, imagining himself to be morally superior to Sir Toby and therefore more entitled to a higher social position.

Read More

Gender Norms In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

649 Words | 3 Pages

In Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare utilizes the relationship between Olivia and Cesario to subvert Elizabethan gender norms by expressing that men and women aren’t that different and should be treated the same. The play focuses on a love story between multiple characters taking place in the imaginary place of Illyria in the western Balkan Peninsula. A woman named Viola and her brother were wrecked at sea and are separated taking them both on a wild tail featuring love, disguise, and anticipation. Through the disguise of Cesario as a male, Olivia challenges societal expectations by falling in love with a person she believes to be a man, blurring the lines of traditional gender roles and sexual attraction. The fluidity of Cesario's gender identity and Olivia's disregard for societal norms further emphasizes the theme of disguise and the absurdity of

Read More

How Does Olivia Use Power In Twelfth Night

1012 Words | 5 Pages

As the plot emerges at the beginning of the play, Olivia is portrayed to be the most beautiful and wealthy of all. She uses these aspects of herself to stay in control and choose a husband who is not more powerful than herself. She tries to be influential as a woman in charge. In contradiction to a woman gaining power, Viola, shipwrecked in a new land, assumes that men are the most powerful in society, so she pretends to be one. By doing so, she leads the audience to the conclusion that herself, as a woman still does not think women can be as powerful as men.

Read More

Homosexuality In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

1112 Words | 5 Pages

Twelfth Night seems to present gender as a mask to be worn and taken off at will, a fluid concept that changes to suit one’s needs and emotions. By playing Cesario, Viola partly becomes this version of herself, so Olivia, by loving Cesario, has feelings for Viola by extension. When Sebastian makes his reveal, Olivia marries him for two reasons. The first is an external piece of reasoning, being that in Elizabethan comedies such as this, heterosexual pairings must happen for the play to follow the fairly strict expectations of a comedy. The second falls to Sebastian’s demeanor.

Read More

Identity In Twelfth Night By William Shakespeare

544 Words | 3 Pages

Identity is characterized by the ability to present one’s individualism. In Willam Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, the character Viola, a woman, relates to the complexity of identity while undergoing a disguise as a man named Cesario. Viola’s role in this play is to be a love messenger for the Duke, Orsino, as Orsino attempts to win over his potential lover’s heart, Olivia. As Viola and Orsino spend more time together, Viola finds herself in a complex situation where her affection for Orsino turns into a deep love. In Act II, scene 4, lines 104–121, Viola refrains from revealing her true feelings towards the person she loves, Orsino, by expressing her identity through her disguise; and this disguise only adds more torture for herself because

Read More

Viola And Olivia In William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

1851 Words | 8 Pages

In Twelfth Night, Viola and Olivia are the central characters to the play’s plot. Each are young women that take approaches to dealing with the people around them, which are mainly men. There is much trickery that goes on in Twelfth Night, but the ending is for the most part happy. Viola marries Orsino and Olivia marries Sebastian, but the events leading up to this are more or less chaotic. Ultimately, I argue that while Olivia uses her higher social status in order to maintain control of herself and others, Viola resorts to trickery in order to bring about her desires.

Read More

Theme Of Disguise In Twelfth Night

1043 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Twelfth Night Deception Essay

Related Topics

Open Document