Twelfth Night

tragedy focuses on the main character and their despair/pain, while a comedy is created the story of two lovers. By comparing Shakespeare’s plays, King Lear and Much Ado, the structural differences between comedies and tragedies are as different as night and day. The most obvious difference separating a Shakespearean comedy and tragedy is the fact of suffering characters within a tragedy. King Lear written by Shakespeare qualifies as a tragedy…

supernatural figure, and Romeo uses that term to appraise Juliet the way others did during Elizabethan times. 3) Juliet differentiates “true-love passion” with “light love” by stating that “And not impute this yielding to light love, Which the dark night hath so discovered.” (Lines 110-111). Here Juliet explains to Romeo that he shall, and hopes he does, not mistaken what they have as lust instead of love. 4) The explanation behind why Juliet feels the need to change her name is because of all…

In this essay I will be exploring how Shakespeare illustrates the theme of love in Romeo and Juliet with particular reference to Act one scene five and Act two scene two. The play has multiple types of love shown throughout, however in this piece I will be focusing on Romantic love, more specifically, the love between Romeo and Juliet. I find this category of love to often be more vividly expressed in writing, with the use of additional poetic techniques. Act one…

Romeo and Juliet Identity Crushes Shakespeare uses both romantic crushes and identity crushes in plays. These romantic crushes and identity crushes are shown multiple times through Romeo and Juliet. Most examples of these crushes are shown mainly through large events in the plays. Examples of such would be Romeo and Juliet dying as a result of their love and Friar Lawrence telling Juliet to take a poison and she does so because she looks up to Friar Lawrence. Identity crushes and romantic…

The play “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare has many themes a couple being trickery and deceit. In this play the characters Prince, Claudio, Don John, Leonato, and the Friar use trickery to change the minds of other characters. This eventually leads to love and romance when many of the characters use their skills in deceit to help their friends and family fall in love. The themes of trickery and deceit were encountered three main times in the play. First when Prince tricks Benedick…

Measure for Measure is considered a comedy, which is sometimes misleading. Some critics consider the play as being the "dark" element of comedy for its bitterness and cynicism. The play certainly raises important moral issues in its detailed descriptions of Christianity. Measure for Measure can also be called a problem play, because it brings up a difficulty and then seeks to solve it. However, the difficulty lays in misunderstandings and hidden identities as it the moral question of the play.…

Arrogant, unpleasant, and stately, Malvolio from Twelfth Night fills the role of a mean-spirited antagonist and acts as a fool to the other characters. Similar to some of the other characters in the story, Malvolio’s role in life does not match his true nature; Malvolio possesses the demeanor and nature of the aristocrat. One can find evidence in his condescending rhetoric as seen when he describes Feste as “ a barren rascal ” with “ no more brain than a stone”(I.v.9-11). In addition, his moment…

Choice define themselves with actions, but actions will only occur with the inspiration to do so. Dreams and Goals are what satisfy the need for inspiration. Throughout “Twelfth Night”, Olivia and Viola are both in mourning, but while one decides to hide away from the public eye for 7 years, One has the inspiration to keep one going and is even willing to Cross-dress in order to work for the Duke of Illyria. The reason? Inspiration to move on from the death of a close sibling. Or at least of the…

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare presents the difference between love and infatuation. Characters such as Antonio and Viola are shown as deeply caring and selfless, exhibiting true love with their actions, while other characters, such as Olivia and Orsino, display the self-centeredness of infatuation. The play shows that infatuation is self-centered and often involves strong but short-lived passion and emotion, whereas love is focused not on the self but on the person who is loved, and it…

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Olivia, a noble woman in the land of Illyria, is sought after for marriage by more people than any other character in the play. Even with multiple choices for a husband, she still ends up dissatisfied with love. Some of these men who seek her hand in marriage range from servant to nobles just like her, but not one of them can satisfy her. Even though love is one of the most central themes in the play, Olivia still cannot find a two way relationship. She can…