Imitation Of Ignorance The Play Twelfth Night example essay topic

An Imitation of Ignorance The play Twelfth Night encapsulates what it meant to be a man and women throughout the 16th century. The roles of each gender were set in stone, and one could not publicly cross over under any circumstances. During Shakespearean times women were not even allowed to portray themselves on stage, men played their roles instead. In my opinion Shakespeare uses the play to show the hypocrisy of the status quo that held people from expressing their true identity. Twelfth Night demonstrates that professions should not be given on a gender basis, skill should be the only consideration.

During the play one sees that only through imitation of another gender can a person reverse the roles, which they are bonded to. In Twelfth Night imitation of another gender is done both out of necessity, and for revenge. In Twelfth Night one's sexual preference was not a reason for gender reversal. Viola / Cesario who has just lost her brother in a shipwreck feels that she needs to dress as a man to survive on the island of Illyria. "And what should I do in Illyria? My brother he is in Elysium.

Perchance his not drown'd what you think". Viola changes her name to Cesario and begins her new life as a man. Viola / Cesariocrosses the boundaries and becomes Orsino's best servant. This portrayal of a woman successfully imitating a man is an obvious denouncement of the so-called gender roles of the Elizabethan era. Throughout the play imitation is used for revenge and plays an integral role in the lives of a few supporting characters.

In this scenario it is used to deceive Malvolio, a pompous servant, to teach him a lesson in his relations with other people. Shakespeare makes it clear that deception, when used for entertainment, can be very destructive. Twelfth Night deals with problems that occur when somebody is forced to imitate another sex, or another person. "Pray God defend me! A little thing would make me tell them how much I lack of a man". These problems are demonstrated through sexual tension between almost all of the characters.

The characters seem to accomplish most of their set goals, but somehow something impedes them from flawless imitation. Viola / Cesario is distressed and has no idea how to live without a proper income. She lives in a society that only allows men to work certain types of jobs. These professions are the ones that bring in most of the money. For this reason she begins to imitate a man, and goes by the name Cesario. Her profession was to be a servant to the Duke Orsino.

"I'll serve this Duke; Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him, it may be worth thy pains; for I can sing and speak to him in many sorts of music that will allow me very worth his service". The captain that saved her agreed to tutor her in manhood, and she fully comprehended what it is to be a man during these times. She picked up her profession extremely quickly. Her imitation did have limitations however.

She ran into problems due to sexual urges and these proved to be insurmountable. Viola / Cesario fell in love with her master, and could not find away to properly inform him of her true identity. The second problem she encountered was Olivia, a rich countess, ends up falling in love with her. Viola / Cesario did not know how to handle these certain situations as a man so she dealt with them as a woman. This becomes evident due to an incident were she almost kisses Orsino; and she does not make it clear to Olivia why somebody would not want to kiss her, a beautiful woman. Throughout the play Shakespeare enlightens his audience by showing alienation, which occurs when somebody is forced to imitate a person who they are not.

Viola / Cesario not only alienates Olivia and Orsino, but she also isolates herself from feelings that are. This causes the characters to be in a confused state and each begins to question their sexuality. Olivia considers herself an attractive woman, and many men have always pursued her. Olivia, however, has never felt the same passionate attraction towards another man.

She finally meets a man, or so she thinks, and he is not drawn to her. This leaves her to question if she will ever find true love. "Yet come again; for thou perhaps mayst move that heart which now abhors, to like his love". Through this ordeal Orsino also becomes confused by his sexuality. He sees past Viola / Cesario clothing and falls in love with her.

After a few moments were Viola / Cesario and Orsino are very close he comes to realize that it would not be morally right to have sexual passion for another man. He slowly moves away and begins to question his feelings. When all is resolved true feelings are finally brought to light, and the characters see both their fates had true love in the future. It is unfortunate though that heartache was due to a simple societal structure that holds no basis in the world. Malvolio, a servant of Olivia, is also hurt by an imitation.

Contrary to Viola / Cesario's imitation this one was not done out of necessity. The imitation is executed by acquaintances of Malvolio that seek revenge at the way he had be entreating them. Feste the jester, Maria, Olivia's uncle Sir Toby Belch, and Sir Toby's friend Sir Andrew Ague cheek -- who scheme to undermine the high-minded, pompousMalvolio. Malvolio is tricked into believing Olivia is in love with him because of a letter that said just that. Malvolio believes the imitation letter, and his character suddenly changes from arrogant to joyful.

"Sad lady? I could be sad. This does make some obstruction in the blood, this cross-garter ing, but as the true sonnet is 'Please one, and please all. ' " Shakespeare placed this sub-plot to show the audience how detrimental trickery can be when it is used with love. When Malvoliodiscovers the evil trick he is distraught, and heartbroken. "Madam, you have done me wrong, notorious wrong".

From Malvolio's case one begins to remember instances where they have used trickery or imitation for revenge upon another person. Malvolio's character shows the damage that can occur to ones' psyche. Shakespeare makes it clear that love is extremely volatile and should not be toiled with. One leaves the theatre remembering previous situations where similar methods were used; hoping that they had not caused damage comparable to that of Malvolio's. Shakespeare delves into waters that were untested throughout the Elizabethan era.

He asks the audience to see if there is any basis for specific gender roles. Theaudience is never surprised throughout the whole play, and the tone of each of the characters does not fluctuate. Even when Orsino finds out his best servant is a man. One must not only look at the tone of the characters, the tone of the audience is important as well. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a presentation of Twelfth Night at the University of Wisconsin this past year.

Many of the social issues concerning Twelfth Night (Homophobia, cross-dressing) still remain prevalent in our society today. During scenes involving homosexual contact, the audience did not seem stunned. The audience appeared to accept that Viola / Cesario was actually a woman, and the love that encapsulated Orsino and Olivia was blind to gender. Theaudience also completely disregarded gender, and agreed with Shakespeare that truelove draws no boundaries. One also became aware that Viola / Cesario could perform the tasks that were asked of her. She even proved to do her job exceptionally and becameOrsino's best servant.

The performance attacked those who are ignorant enough to hold opinions that hinder the advancements of both homosexuals and women. By using subtle examples of political viewpoints, Shakespeare addresses issues that are important to everyday society. He acknowledges the fact Elizabethan society prohibits him from making blatant statements, which go against the moral majority. Shakespeare shows his mastery of the English language by eluding these rules and attacking the subconscious of the audience. One leaves the theatre with a lingering feeling of guilt, which one cannot be understand at the time.

The feeling is comprehended at a later time and one begins to question stereotypes, which are dominant in society today.