Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare is an amazing play writer. He has written many plays that are still famous today! Twelfth Night is one of the best plays he wrote. It is about a brother and sister who are shipwrecked and land up on opposite ends of the island Illyria, both thinking each other is dead. In Twelfth Night there are many themes, but the most dominant theme is masks and disguises. Many characters but on masks to hide their true identity, but at the end of the play they finally reveal themselves.
During the first act of the play, many of the characters use masks and disguises to conceal themselves, and not let people know who they are. For example, Viola wants to serve Olivia so she can hide from the world because she is sad her brother died in the shipwreck. However, she cant serve Olivia, so she decides to work for Orsino, who only takes male servants. “Thou shall present me as a eunuch to [Orsino]; it may be worth thy pains; for I can sing and speak to him in many sorts of music.” (Twelfth Night, Act I, Sc.2, 55) Viola is taking any means necessary to get serve Orsino, so she dresses up as a man, and has the Sea Captain present her to him as a man.
In Act II, the theme masks and disguises is shown again, but with Feste. Feste is known as the “fool”, but in fact he is actually very smart. Festes mask makes him look like a fool and a clown, so the people around him tell him everything, thinking he is too stupid to remember and understand. Since he is actually smart, he knows everything going on in the castle, because of what the people tell him, thus making him the smartest character in the play.
In Act III Antonio puts on a disguise when he is in town helping his friend Sebastian. He is wanted for murder of the dukes men. During a sea fight between him and the dukes soldiers he had to kill some to escape. He keeps to the shadows and changes his appearance so that he wont be noticed. “For which, if I be lapsed in this place, I shall pay dear.” (Twelfth Night, Act III, Sc.3, 35) This quote shows that Antonio needs to hide because he will suffer serious consequences if he doesnt. Also he needs to have a good disguise on if he wants to go outside unnoticed.
In Act IV the theme masks and disguises is shown because Sebastian has a very good disguise that look exactly like Viola. Olivia, Sir Andrew, and Sir Toby all think that Sebastian is really Viola. Sebastian finds himself in the middle of a lot of action; Sir Andrew and Sir Toby want to duel him, and Olivia wants to marry him. “Now sir! So we meet again? Thats for you” (Twelfth Night, Act IV, Sc. 1, 20) In this quote, Sir Andrew thinks he has found Viola and is to duel her for the love of Olivia.
In Act V
In conclusion, the play Twelfth Night portraits many themes. One theme is masks and disguises. In the first