Analysis of Twelfth Night Essay - 685 Words

William Shakespeare, arguably the most important writer in all of English Literature, is certainly the most influential playwright of the English Renaissance. Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in rural northern England, he was the son of a middle class glove maker. Competing against such illustrious company as Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson, Shakespeare quickly became one of the most popular playwrights in the city of London, and a favourite of the monarch, the powerful Queen Elizabeth I. Shakespeare wrote thirty-eight plays. Twelfth Night was written near the middle of Shakespeare career, around 1601, and most critics consider it as one of his greatest comedies. Twelfth Night is about illusion, deception, disguises,†¦show more content†¦He twisted Olivias words (from a fake letter) around to make it sounds like she will admire his yellow cross-gathered stockings, when she really despises them, considering him as a mad. Feste, the clown, said: ..Madam, why laugh you at such a barren rascal, and you smile not hes gaggd: and thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenge, and by doing so, Feste criticizes Malvolios overestimation, when at their first meeting Malvolio said: I marvel your lady takes delight in such a barren rascal. Through doing this, he shows himself to be a man who condescends to those that he believes to be lower than him, acting on his own personal belief of superiority. Thus, this self-inflated sour character is brought to his knees, unlocked in darkness, because he was considered as a madman, and he holds Belzebub at the staves end as well as man in his case may do. This was done through a fake love-letter writte n by Maria, and when Malvolio appears, he shows the letter arguing that it set off his madness, which he signed as: The MADLY-USD MALVOLIO. Thus, self-love, pride, desire to climb the social ladder, and to burn the social class boundaries, all these factors drove Malvolio to a state of madness, as a consequence he was humiliated, leading to his downfall. By humiliating him, even Puritanism is mocked. Malvolio symbolized Puritanism (strict values, no fancy...), and due to the fact that the joke was around his new dresses for Olivia, yellow socks, smiles, theShow MoreRelatedTwelfth Night Analysis779 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a well-known Christmas play, it is considered as one of the most successful comedies. The play starts when Viola and her twin brother, Sebastian, survive a shipwreck. When they cannot find each other, each thinks the other may be dead. Then they move on to two separate ways, establishing two story lines that finally mee t with each other after involving funny mistaken identities. 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In the end, the concluding outcome of such deceit leads to exposure of a higher truthRead MoreCharacter Analysis of Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare ´s Twelfth Night904 Words   |  4 Pagesdetectives Tommy and Tuppence, it is evident that comedic characters have always been appreciated and acknowledged in literature. Sir Toby Belch is but one of many amusing characters, and is by far one of the most humorous. While Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is surrounded around an issue of romantic entanglement, Sir Toby’s very presence is enough to lighten the mood and accentuate the comedic theme of the story through his creation of problems and unique personality. Therefore, Sir Toby Belch is