Things in the Twelfth
Night were made topsy-turvy in the realms of gender and social order. Viola who became ship wreaked, but from a
wealthy family, decided to work for Lord
Orsino, was mourning the rejection of his courtly love Olivia. Orsino refused to see any women, so Viola in
search of a job dressed as a man named Cesario.
Another example of challenging the social order was
Malvolio was the punch line of a practical joke. He a straight laced steward, was led to believe
that the lady Olivia had feelings for him.
The lady in waiting Maria forged a note that was pretended to be written
by Olivia, stating that she had feelings for the steward Malvolio. Malvolio was so happy and was excited to move
up on the social ladder, that he didn’t question himself or anyone else of the
validity of the note. His dreams were crushed
and he was very angry when he found he was the punch line for a cruel joke.
Things
are set right at the end, all was explained, and the gender bending is put to
rest for the most part at the end of the story.
Olivia ends up marrying Sebastian, Violas lost twin brother. Although, Olivia believed she was married to
Cesario who was Viola dressed up as a man.
That was revealed that she was dressed as a man and her love professed
to Duke Orisino, who seemed to be interested in Viola’s male role as much as
her female. Maria the mischievous lady
in waiting ended up married to Sir Toby, Olivia’s uncle so her place in society
moved up because he was a knight.
All is well and set right in the end, the only one who
still has a heart broken is Antonio, who was Sebastian’s friend and had
romantic feelings for Sebastian. Sebastian
ended up married to lady Olivia, not out of love at first but for his own social
benefit. Antonio’s love for Sebastian
was unrequited.
Really great blog, I found it very interesting. There seemed to be a lack of direct quotations, it would be great to add quotes so it can help others visualize (if they have never read the Twelfth Night) to better comprehend what is going on.
ReplyDeleteI like how you wrote that Malvolio had his “Dreams crushed” when he found out he was apart of a cruel joke. It made me feel some sympathy for the young hopeful.
It's clear you understand the story and some of it's major themes...but you gotta use direct quotes man. It will back up your arguments.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comments, I completely forgot to use the quotes but I really appreciate hearing feedback!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteThis paper is not bad. I do feel it is more of a summary of Twelfth Night rather than an analysis. You could discuss your thoughts on how Shakespeare portrayed gender roles, such as in terms of courtly love and what you think Shakespeare's opinion on this topic. This needed some quote incorporation (though I'm one to talk because I didn't put any quotes in mine!!0_o). But over all, you showed you really got the main points of Twelfth Night. Just needed a little more personal analysis. Hope this Helps! :)
This blog post is missing direct quotations, which would have helped clarify your points. What about Malvolio falling for Maria's trick seems to represent an upheaval in social order? This point could be pushed further and clarified. Is it that Malvolio should know better than to believe he has a chance at such upward mobility? Push ideas such as this, which tend to represent more plot summary, into analysis. Ask yourself the "Why" questions and attempt to answer them. Why might Shakespeare have written Twelfth Night the way he did? What do the incidences you describe above tell you about Elizabethan England and Shakespeare's attitudes toward societal norms?
ReplyDelete