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Twelfth Night Identity

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In Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare the characteristics of identity, authority, and selfishness are pronounced. The idea of identity is relatable to people today because human nature allows people to change their perceptive of themselves to better fit in with society. The characteristics of authority and selfishness are relatable because people that have authority over others tend to use it to get the things that they want. Shakespeare’s work is relatable because of the emphasis he puts on themes that are relevant, such as irony and love. Shakespeare’s use of relevant themes and relatable characteristics are reasons why his work is so popular and still told in today’s world. Throughout Twelfth Night Shakespeare portrays the idea of identity …show more content…

The fact that Orsino dismisses Olivia’s wishes to be left alone and considers his love for her to be more important than the love she had for her brother shows a sense of selfishness. In Act 2 scene 4 Viola suggests that Olivia may not be able to love him and Orsino replies with “I cannot be so answered” (2.4.97). The preceding Quote reveals the amount of arrogance that Orsino has and that he thinks that because of his authority and position as duke he cannot be denied access to what he wants. That quote also reveals that Orsino does not care what Olivia wants as long as his wishes are met. The fact that Orsino sends his servants to pursue Olivia for him reveals a sense of carelessness in his moral conduct. He sees her as a prize that can be sought after rather than a person with feelings that matter. The actions of the character Orsino are relevant because everyone has a sense of selfishness and would prefer their desires to be met before thinking of others wishes. Shakespeare’s plays usually provide a reality of a human emotion or a relatable theme. In Hamlet there is a sense of irony, in Macbeth there is grief and pride, in Twelfth Night Shakespeare provides a sense of humor. These themes that Shakespeare includes in his plays are what give his work a relevant and relatable perspective. There are many retellings of Shakespeare’s plays today. The Lion King is a retelling of Hamlet and She’s

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Olivia, the countess that Duke Orsino is in love with in Twelfth Night is Olivia, a simple girl

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Every day many of us are faced with the question, “Should I step in and help?”. Some of us immediately think yes and jump in to help, while others believe it is better to keep walking. The bystander effect happens when a person does not stop and help because they think someone else will. In these situations, some people stand up and respond to the crisis, because they are not worried about what will happen to them, but what will happen to the person in crisis instead. In the novel Night and the poem “The Hangman”, the bystander effect took place because people were afraid to bring attention to themselves.

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In Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, Orsino frequently speaks of his strong love for Olivia. In passage five, Orsino uses metaphors, hyperboles, and similes to explain his love to Viola, claiming that it is too strong of a feeling for a woman to have. This passage is ironic, as Orsino is speaking to Viola, a woman, who is as deeply and passionately in love with Orsino as Orsino is with Olivia. Orsino begins explaining his love with a metaphor, relating his passionate love to a physical beating, both of which, he claims, women cannot stand.

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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.

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1373 Words | 6 Pages

The human psyche seeks to find common ground amongst peers, and, as part of this herd mentality, an early distinction was created to separate men and women. As with any distinct groups, certain traits come to define members, based on their traits and ideals: this reality creates the mental interpretation of gender identity. Although some nowadays would assert that gender identity has never been a bigger issue, Shakespeare uses Hamlet to thoroughly investigate the topic, draw his own conclusions, and share these conclusions with his audience hundreds of years ago. The struggles each character faces paint Shakespeare’s thoughts on the role of gender identity in everyday life. Men in the play, including Hamlet, Claudius, Polonius, Laertes, and

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1428 Words | 6 Pages

There is no question that the makeup of one’s identity is complex and often impossible to distill. Difficulty aside, the investigation into identity acts as one of the principal themes in many of English playwright William Shakespeare’s works. He is perhaps best known for delving into identity in Hamlet where the words “To be or not to be? That is the question,” are uttered by the protagonist in a fit of confusion (Hamlet act III sc. 1 ln. 64). Beyond Hamlet, identity also manifests

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William Shakespeare wrote many plays in his time, many of which deal with important and still relevant themes in life, either the comedic side or the tragic side. The plays Twelfth Night and Hamlet are both surrounded by uncertainty, but differ in their central themes and endings. In both plays, the characters are frequently confused and uncertain, but this stems from different places. In Twelfth Night, the confusion surrounds the genders of the characters, as a girl is dressed as her twin brother.

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In the story it shows a love triangle between Orsino, Cesario (Viola), and Olivia. Cesario falls in love with Orsino, Viola is in love with Cesario, and Orsino is still in love with Olivia. The characters in the story all show happiness and joy throughout because it’s a story that ends in love unlike Romeo and Juliet where it ends in a tragedy. As said in Twelfth Night, “Its central plot concerns a love triangle between the Illyrian nobleman Orsino, his beloved but unattainable Olivia, and the shipwrecked Viola.” (Lee

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However, love vanquishes vanity. Illyria 's Duke Orsino and Countess Olivia are vain, that is, empty, till epiphanies prepare them to love someone beyond themselves. In this manner, epiphanies resolve Twelfth Night characters ' barriers to the altar, enabling them to recognize, experience, and respond to outwardly directed love.

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She is bounded to him emotionally and inwardly, thus she invariably believes the best of him. Her utmost loyalty to him is a result of her naive, obedient and passive nature. Her love for him is unconditional, and her senses are dimmed due to her absolute devotion to Othello. Consequently, she approaches and analyzes his anger, and their arguments emotionally rather than logically. She was loyal to Othello even after he committed murder to her, which is utterly against the moral values .

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This raises the question over love’s true meaning and whether what Orsino feels is truly “love,” or something else entirely. Shakespeare in his play Twelfth Night uses Orsino’s feelings to prove that feelings perceived at first to be love may actually be lust. The main difference between love and lust has to do with time. Built and

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“William Shakespeare’s Impact on Theater” says that “Theater, in particular, has experienced many changes due to his influence,” and without any major influence like Shakespeare to guide the changes of theater, it would be extremely different (Octane 1). Shakespeare introduced many new elements to theater because of how his writing was unique in his time period. Despite this, his writing appealed to many different audiences. For instance, Octane says that “The way in which Shakespeare’s plots move forward has helped define modern play-writing. Similarly, Shakespeare’s complex characterizations have brought forth a new type of storytelling in which characters’ choices drive plots forward” and “His plays were often imbued with universal truths of human existence, rather than acting as mirrors of the privileged life.

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The first instance which supports the notion that a lapse of communication is responsible for the unsuccessful nature of heterosexual relationships is the case of Duke Orsino and Countess Olivia’s relationship. Both start the play preoccupied with their own concerns, Orsino is worried about finding love, specifically with Olivia, meanwhile she is busy mourning the death of her brother by refusing to marry anyone for seven years. However, it is Orsino’s obsession with seeking love and how he goes about pursuing Olivia that best exemplifies the problematic nature of a male and female’s relationship. Orsino opened the play by saying of love, “Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, / The appetite may sicken and so die” (1.1.1-3), essentially saying that he so badly craves the feeling being in love gives him, that he would like in so great a quantity that it would end his life.

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1827 Words | 8 Pages

Shakespeare work it appears, was prophetic as he tried, to prepare all for the times to come. The Elizabethan ideology itself became a vehicle that Shakespeare rode on to safety and security convey this message of self-redemption. This itself reveals a man of Shakespeare, deep thought and top-notch

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929 Words | 4 Pages

As he states that all lovers are, “Unstaid and skittish in all motions else / Save in the constant image of the creature / That is beloved.” (2.4, 20-22). This demonstrates Orsino’s misunderstanding of the concept of love, as it seems that true love means fickle and erratic according to his definition. Furthermore, in disguise as Cesario, Viola also unintentionally exposes the passionate nature beneath the courtly manner and mourning veil of the “virtuous maid” (1.2, 32), as she causes Olivia to fall in desperate love with Cesario.

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